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The present text provides a critical approach from an Eastern Orthodox perspective to the joint message issued by Pope Francis, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and the Archbishop of Canterbury for the protection of creation. After contextualizing the message in the framework of the various initiatives recently undertaken by the Church leaders as well as the last UN summit (COP 26) on climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, the author highlights certain strong points of the text (ontological link between people and creation; solidarity for the poor, etc.), along with few shortcomings (e.g. a thin liturgical dimension; absence of an animal studies perspective). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document titled For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Ortho dox Church, authored by a special commission of Orthodox scholars appointed by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is a document that can be definitely understood as a political manifesto of Eastern Orthodoxy for the 21st century, namely for this period of history and not for a by-gone historical setting or a Christian utopia (either the Byzantine Empire or Holy Russia), a period of time with urgent problems and challenges that call for our attention. Therefore, bringing to the fore the personalist anthropological view inherent in the document itself, an attempt has been made in the text to critically reflect and highlight certain relevant aspects of the document (a positive reception of liberal democracy, human rights language, solidarity to the poor, etc.). The goal is to show how theologically important this document is for the Church witness to our pluralistic world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1972, Fr Alexander Schmemann, claimed that two fundamental theological trends exist within modern Orthodox theology that may be sharply distinguished from each other by their difference of methodology and orientation. Even if these two currents of thought do not take the form of two radically distinct schools, it is nevertheless certain that for several decades until recently it was almost a commonplace in the relevant scholarship that the history of twentieth-century Orthodox theology may be characterised by the existence of two different, if not radically opposed, schools of thought. This polarity, however, has recently been questioned by a number of studies that seek a more synthetic and irenic understanding of the history and theology of the twentieth century Orthodox theology. In this light the person and work of Metropolitan Kallistos Ware of Diokleia may be regarded as a genuine attempt to achieve this sort of synthetic overview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 and the following centuries of Ottoman occupation, especially in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, a series of unpredictable and difficult factors prevented Eastern Orthodoxy from engaging in a creative dialogue with the emerging Reformation of Martin Luther (1517), an event that decisively changed the course of Western history by triggering a chain of events at all levels of life. In spite of this, Luther and other Lutheran leaders initiated a continuing relationship and frank dialogue with various Orthodox churches, especially the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This encounter culminated in an official bilateral dialogue during the second half of the 20th century. In addition to the intensive formal efforts made by both traditions to find their way toward Christian unity, the long process of direct and indirect dialogue between theologians of both traditions points to a fundamental common doctrinal background shared by both church families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper an attempt is made to discuss the importance of the Holy Spirit in the development ofan Orthodox political theology, by bringing into critical dialogue the recent contributions of two of the most known Orthodox theologians of the young generation, namely A. Papanikolaou and P. Kalaitzidis. It is commonly recognized that the Holy Spirit is closely related both to the very "constitution of the whole Church" in virtue of the Eucharistic event, as well as to the everyday charismatic lives of individual Christians due to the various forms or stages of ascetism. In this respect a careful comparative examination of these two important works, would highlight some invaluable elements (Eucharistic perspective, eschatological orientation, historical commitment, ethical action, open and critical dialogue with modernity etc.) toward a formulation of a comprehensive and urgently necessary political theology. This sort of political theology should have inevitable implications for the Christian perception of the communal and the individual ecclesial life. This "theo-political" program proposed by the two thinkers and founded on a robust Pneumatology, could be perfectly included, following the apostolic kerygma and the patristic ethos, into a new way of doing (Orthodox) Christian theology, that takes as its starting point the grammar of the self Revelation of God in the ongoing history of salvation ("Church and World Dogmatics"). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pareizticīgo teoloģija atšķirībā no katoļu un protestantu teoloģijām universitāšu vidē ir iegājusi relatīvi nesen (kopš 19. gs.), tāpēc modernais to ir iespaidojis daudz mazāk. Tomēr 20. gs. arī pareizticīgo teologu aprindās sākās pavērsiens no bizantiskā uz moderno un postmoderno pasaules redzējumu, precīzāk, uz kristīgām refleksijām, kam izveidojies dialogs ar šiem strāvojumiem. Vienlaikus pareizticīgā teoloģija atbrīvojās no Rietumiem pārņemtās un tai svešās sholastiskās pieejas. Tās vietā gan daudzi Austrumu baznīcu teologi ar jaunu sparu idealizēja patriarhālo Bizantijas perioda kristīgo domu. Rakstā noraidīta sholastiskā pieeja, kas nodala radīto pasauli no Dieva žēlastības; tās vietā akcentēta dievišķā-cilvēciskā sinerģija. Ticība Kristū atklātajam Dievam nosaka teoloģijas un ar to saistītās izglītības pastāvēšanas veidu. Katrs kristietis Dieva atklāsmes vēsturē ir liecinieks un ikona, līdz ar to vienīgais veids, kā teoloģijai palikt uzticīgai tās pamatiem, ir uztvert cilvēces vēsturi pozitīvi un akadēmiskajā kontekstā būt atvērtai citām disciplīnām. Rakstā teoloģija postulēta kā atvērts, attiecībās ar citām ideju sistēmām topošs projekts, ņemot vērā, ka 21. gs. par tās centrālo problēmu ir kļuvusi antropoloģija. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it seems that modern Orthodox theology has finally overcome (or not?) the so-called "Babylonian or scholastic captivity", it seems to havefallen prey to a newform of captivity. This means that the glorious patristic and Byzantine past continues to be its basic point of reference, determining the method but also the content of modern theology. If this is the case, the distinction between Church dogmatics and Church and World dogmatics (P. Valliere) could be used here to describe the current situation in modern Orthodox theology, at least in the Greek milieu. Although more or less a schematic one, this distinction provides us with a good hermeneutical toolfor exploring the methodology, content, and perspective of contemporary theological education and curricula, and possibly the means of articulating a new perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Over the past decade, advances in micro and nanofluidics, have influenced a range of areas spanning from chemistry to semiconductor design. The phenomena observed at micro- and nano-scales are characterised by their inherent multiscale nature. Accurate numerical modelling of these phenomena is the cornerstone to enhance the applicability of micro and nanofluidics in the industrial environment. In this paper a novel multiscale approach, in the hybrid continuum-molecular framework, is presented. In this approach molecular models are employed as refinement for calculating data required by the continuum solver. The method has been applied to a number of test cases including Couette flows with slip boundary conditions, Couette flows with roughness and Poiseuille flows of polymeric fluids. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Over the last few years, significant efforts have been devoted to exploring the capabilities of carbon based structures for gas separation and filtration. In the present study the layering behavior of carbon dioxide transported through carbon nanoscrolls is examined through molecular dynamics simulations. The layering arrangements are investigated for carbon nanoscrolls with intralayer distances spanning from 4.2 to 8.3 Å at temperature of 300 K and pressures ranging from 5 to 20 bars. Characteristic layering structures are developed around the internal and external surfaces of the nanoscroll for all the examined cases. It is shown that the number of layers, their relative strength, and the starting point of bifurcation phenomena vary as a function of the nanoscrolls' intralayer distance, scroll's core radius, CO2 density, and gas structure interactions. It is also shown that the number of carbon dioxide molecules adsorbed per scroll's carbon particles is a function of the scroll's surface-to-volume ratio and is maximized under certain structural configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the combined effects of surface stiffness κ and wall particles' mass mw on the slip length. It aims to enhance our understanding of the momentum and energy transfer across solid-liquid interfaces. Elastic spring potentials are employed to simulate the thermal solid walls and model the surface stiffness κ. The thermal oscillation amplitude is primarily dictated by values of stiffness, whereas the oscillating frequency is proportional to √ κ/mw. It is shown that for cases with variable wall mass the relation of slip length and thermal oscillating frequencies can be approximated by a "master" curve according to which the length initially increases, then approaches a peak value, and afterwards is reduced toward an asymptotic value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Layering phenomena of carbon dioxide transported through carbon nanotubes are investigated through molecular dynamics simulations. The layering formation is examined for carbon nanotubes spanning from (8,8) to (20,20) subjected to pressures and temperatures that range from 1 to 20bar and 300 to 400K, respectively. Well defined layers are developed around the internal and external surface of the nanotubes for all the examined cases. It is shown that the number of layers along with their relative strength varies as a function of the nanotube’s diameter, size, carbon dioxide density and gas-structure interactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents a review of computational uncertainties in scientific computing, as well as quantification of these uncertainties in the context of numerical simulations for thermo-fluid problems. The need for defining a measure of the numerical error that takes into account errors arising from different numerical building blocks of the simulation methods is discussed. In the above context, the effects of grid resolution, initial and boundary conditions, numerical discretization, and physical modeling constraints are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]