THE CHURCH IN THE AGE OF CORONAVIRUS

The Chair of Systematic Theology of the Institute of Theological Sciences of the University of Szczecin invites you to the international scientific conference 'The Church in the Age of Coronavirus'. The conference will be held remotely, via electronic media, on October 28-29, 2020.

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The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic that hit the world in early 2020 has clearly affected the course of history. Countries around the world have faced the difficult task of caring for the health of citizens while securing their material existence. The idea of large-scale social distancing associated with the suspension of many enterprises has proved to be one of the most effective ways to fight the virus. The introduced sanitary restrictions have severely hit the state of finances in most countries. In addition, the epidemic has exposed the weaknesses of various systems, ranging from the economy to health care and education.

The sanitary restrictions have also revealed many phenomena in Church which have hardly or rarely been met before. Limiting the number of liturgy participants has practically deserted the churches overnight.  This decision - despite the dispensation granted by the bishops - met with a disapproval of certain groups of believers for whom it was unthinkable not to attend a Sunday or holiday mass. In many cases, it was also unacceptable to receive Holy Communion on hand as recommended by Church authorities. Some doctrinal errors violating the theory of transubstantiation developed by the Catholic theology have occurred with recognized theological authorities becoming their preachers. A narrowed liturgical awareness have resulted in liturgical law abuse, e.g. airplane flights with the Corp of Christ on board or Eucharistic processions held on temples’ roofs.

It is encouraging to learn that, despite the said malpractices, many positive aspects of Church activities have evolved, such as charitable service.  Church has not only provided financial or material support but also got involved in voluntary activities (e.g. Dominican nuns helping at public nursing homes). Media, including social media, have accepted the challenge and provided a substitute of liturgical life online.  Priests have organized meetings and retreats on Facebook, and many parishes broadcast their services there.

One of the noticeable phenomena was quite a strong polarization of church environments. While some believers tried to find some opportunity to verify their religious attitudes during the outbreak of the disease, others saw it as a punishment for sins, and perhaps even the beginning of fulfilling of apocalyptic visions. The sanitary restrictions were accepted by the first group, whereas the others saw them as an element of a struggle against the Church and Christianity.

One may venture an opinion that epidemic – just as war is rather something unwelcome – have resulted in some positive effects as well. On one hand it has become an occasion to self-reflection and intensification of spiritual life for believers, on the other hand it has unveiled camouflaged abnormalities, even fanaticism.

The anticipated conference shall be an attempt to face – both from pastoral as well as doctrinal part – problems of Church suffering from epidemic. It seems that the conference’s biggest advantage is the validity of the proposed issue. Due to the fact that the meeting is scheduled for the time bound by national restrictions concerning social distancing, all sessions shall be remote and broadcast by Microsoft Teams. Each participant shall receive a link to connect with from any place of the world. The conference participation is free.

You are kindly invited to submit your speech proposal. We anticipate 20-minute speeches with a possibility of a brief discussion after each of them. Applications shall be sent via the form available on our website. The deadline for accepting proposals shall be October 9. The organizers are considering the possibility of publishing speeches.