Jürgen Moltmann: Remembering the Person, Celebrating the Legacy
April 23, 2026
The development of twentieth-century theology can be seen as a series of crises it had to confront. One of the key figures of this period was the German Protestant theologian Jürgen Moltmann, who would have turned 100 on April 8, 2026. His formation as a theologian was deeply shaped by the major upheavals of the second half of the twentieth century, including the aftermath of World War II, the rise and collapse of the bipolar world order, the growing threat of nuclear war, and the ecological crisis. Moltmann’s theological work reflects his engagement with these challenges. He rethought eschatology through his theology of hope, sought to understand the tragedies of the Holocaust and the world wars in terms of the suffering of God, reflected on the role of the Church in changing political contexts, and emphasized dialogue as a central form of doing theology.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Jürgen Moltmann’s birth, the Eastern European Institute of Theology and Odesa Theological Seminary are organizing a seminar titled "Jürgen Moltmann: Remembering the Person, Celebrating the Legacy". The event aims to explore Moltmann’s central theological ideas and their continuing relevance today, with particular attention to the Ukrainian context.
The keynote speaker is Paul S. Fiddes, Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at the University of Oxford. In 1976, Professor Fiddes was a visiting scholar at the University of Tübingen, where he studied under Jürgen Moltmann and Eberhard Jüngel. He is the author of several monographs and dozens of scholarly articles. His lecture, titled “Jürgen Moltmann: Theologian and Christian Leader of Our Time,” will examine the central themes of Moltmann’s theological legacy and their significance in the context of the social and political transformations of that period. In particular, he will reflect on hope – so difficult to sustain today – on solidarity in suffering, the Trinity as a source of liberation, the place of creation within God, and the end as the fulfillment of justice.
The two respondents are Ukrainian theologians: Anatoliy Denysenko, Senior Research Fellow at the Eastern European Institute of Theology and author of the monograph Liberation Theology: Ideas, Criticism, Perspectives, as well as a number of articles on contemporary political theology; and Taras Dyatlik, Coordinator for the Development of Theological Education at Scholar Leaders in Eastern Europe, Consultant on Theological Education at Mesa Global, and Vice-Rector for Development and International Cooperation at the Eastern European Institute of Theology.
The seminar will be moderated by Oleksandr Geychenko, Rector of Odesa Theological Seminary and Senior Research Fellow at the Eastern European Institute of Theology.
The seminar will take place online on April 23 at 4:00 p.m. Kyiv time and is scheduled to last two hours.
Ukrainian simultaneous translation will be provided.
To participate in the seminar, please fill out the registration form. Immediately after registering, all participants will receive an automatic confirmation email with a link and instructions to join the event online via Zoom.
