October 21, 2022: Due to the illness of our speaker, Frederica Mathewes-Green, the 2022 Eastern Churches Seminar scheduled for Saturday, October 29, has been postponed until a date to be determined based on the recovery of our speaker. She has been diagnosed with COVID-19. Our speaker is very sorry about this situation. We are also sad to announce the illness of Father Remus Grama and his wife, also related to COVID-19. Please remember Frederica, Fr. Remus and his wife in your prayers.
Notre Dame Colleges annual Eastern Churches seminar will feature an expert and author in Christian spirituality and the Eastern Orthodox faith discussing the Jesus Prayer.
The College will continue to celebrate its centennial year with the 38th Eleanor Malburg Eastern Churches Seminar for 2022 on Saturday, October 29, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. Mary Romanian Orthodox Cathedral, 3256 Warren Road, Cleveland.
Frederica Mathewes-Green, who has authored 10 books and has been honored multiple times for best Christian and best spiritual writing, will present “Praying the Jesus Prayer.” This Eastern Churches seminar will delve into insights describing the ancient desert that “tunes the heart to God,” according to the speaker.
The seminar begins at 10 a.m. The presentation takes place from 10:30-11:30 a.m., and a Q & A with the speaker will be at noon. Tours of the Romanian Ethnic Art Museum also will take place at noon. The event is free and open to the public. Donations are accepted.
The Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner,” is believed to have been part of the early Church and is vital for spiritual growth, according to the Internet edition of the Orthodox Prayer Book, compiled for Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church; Lowell, Mass.
According to Matthewes-Green, the prayer “has historically been passed on face-to-face, from one Christ-loving person to the next, down the generations ever since the desert saints…As you form the habit of saying this prayer in the back of your mind all the time, it soaks into you, like dye into cotton, and colors the way you encounter every person and circumstance you meet.”
About Frederica Mathewes-Green
Frederica Mathewes-Green, who is from Johnson City, Tenn., has published 10 books, including “Welcome to the Orthodox Church” in 2015, “The Jesus Prayer” in 2009, “Facing East: A Pilgrim’s Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy” in 1997 and “The Illumined Heart: The Ancient Christian Path of Transformation” in 2001.
Mathewes-Green’s has been honored for Best Christian Writing in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006, and Best Spiritual Writing in 1998 and 2007. She has published more than 700 essays.
The posts on her website, Blogs.AncientFaith.com, include movie reviews, humor, marriage and family, cultural issues and more.
Her work has appeared in diverse publications, such as the Washington Post, Christianity Today, Smithsonian and the Wall Street Journal. She has been a columnist for the Religion News Service, Beliefnet.com and Christianity Today.
She has been a regular commentator for National Public Radio (NPR) Morning Edition and All Things Considered and the Hallmark TV network; has recorded a podcast for Ancient Faith Radio; and was a consultant for Veggie Tales.
Mathewes-Green has appeared as a speaker more than 500 times, at places like Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Cornell. She has presented at the Smithsonian Institute, Aspen Institute, Washington National Cathedral, American Academy of Religion, the Family Research Council and the National Right to Life Committee.
She has been interviewed over 700 times, on venues including NPR, PBS, CNN, NBC, Fox News, and by Time, Newsweek, the New Republic, and USA Today, among others.
About the Eleanor Malburg Eastern Churches Seminar
The Notre Dame Department of Theology, in collaboration with Orthodox, Byzantine and Roman Catholic churches, presents the Eleanor Malburg Eastern Churches Seminar each year with the hope that knowledge and ecumenical dialogue will lead to greater understanding and mutual respect.
The program is open to all Christians—Eastern and Western Traditions—and to all those interested in deepening their understanding of the Eastern Churches. Clergy, deacons, religious, seminarians and parishioners are encouraged to participate.
The Eastern Churches Seminar planning committee, comprised of clergy and laity from the Orthodox, Byzantine Catholic and Roman Catholic traditions, seeks patrons to help defray seminar expenses. Donors contributing at least $100 will be listed on the patron page of the seminar program.
For more information, contact Ken Kovach, an adjunct instructor at Notre Dame, at kkovach@ndc.edu or 216.245.5150.
October 2022
Kimberly Kroszer ’17 contributed to this article
About Notre Dame College
Notre Dame College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts college in South Euclid, Ohio, committed to teaching students how to make a good living and live a good life. Founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1922, the College offers bachelor’s degrees in 30 disciplines plus a variety of master’s degrees, certification programs and continuing and professional development programs for adult learners on campus and online. For more information, visit NotreDameCollege.edu.