The Sts. Cyril & Athanasius Institute is offering its third set of Symposia this month, in two different California locations: in San Francisco on the 15th and 16th, and in the Los Angeles area (Riverside) on the 22nd and the 23rd. The theme of each is the same - "Martyrdom in the Christian Life: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow".

The talks will focus on various aspects of martyrdom throughout the history of Christianity, as well as the renewed manifestations of martyrdom in the modern age, and looking ahead at what the future might hold.

The speakers in San Francisco will include Hieromonk James (Corazza) of the Old Holy Virgin Cathedral, Igumen Calinic (Berger) of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and the Rev. Economos Theodore Dorrance of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, as well as the participation of Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg), director of the Institute. The Riverside speakers will include the above mentioned clerics, as well as Archimandrite Nathanael (Symeonides) of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, and Archpriest Lawrence Russell of the Orthodox Church in America, as well as an informal talk and tour of St. Andrew Orthodox Church (Antiochian Archdiocese) by the rector, Archpriest Josiah Trenham.

Full program details, more information on the speakers, and registration is available online at the Institute's site.

Founded in 2011, the Sts. Cyril & Athanasius Institute is a pan-Orthodox educational venture of higher learning. It operates under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, in the Western American Diocese, and is headed by Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg), cleric of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk Church in San Francisco. The Institute operates a Certificate Program in Orthodox Studies by Distance Learning, and also conducts conferences and symposia in various states and cities throughout the diocese. It aims to draw from the wealth of various Orthodox jurisdictions present in America, while promoting pan Orthodox dialog amongst the faithful at large, all within an academic and traditional context.