We are delighted to announce, in collaboration with the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network, the selection of our 2025 Graymoor Scholars: our third cohort of graduate students in theology, ecclesiology, and interreligious relations, who will meet for discussion and present their original research at the Ecclesiological Investigations conference this September 17-20 (“Dissent, Power, and Christian Identity after Nicaea“), publish their work in Ecumenical Trends, and consult with the Graymoor Institute on the shape and future of ecumenical conversations in their institutions of theological education. This year’s Graymoor Scholars include:
Nicholas Brotherton is an MDiv student in Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement at Union Theological Seminary. After discovering theology as a passion and practice, Nicholas has since endeavored to find more opportunities to worship with words. He has recently held a public seminar for critical theology and Biblical studies at his home church in North Carolina. He is excited to develop more programs for co-operative education and community organization as his studies continue.
Matthew Brown is a doctoral candidate in Theology at Fordham University writing on Deification and Atonement. He is a priest in the Orthodox Church and serves at Saint Mary Magdalen in Manhattan. Matthew is the Editor-in-Chief for Jacob’s Well, a magazine of the Diocese of New York & New Jersey (OCA) and he lives with his wife and three children in New Jersey.
Pantelis Levakos is a PhD researcher at the Faculty of Theology in Athens, and the title of his thesis is “The Use and the Perception of the Synodikon of Orthodoxy during the Middle and the Late Byzantine Period.” At the same time, he is doing his Master’s Studies at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of KU Leuven in the field of Liturgical Theology, preparing a thesis under the title “A Reading of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.”
Casey Smith is a PhD candidate in North American religious history at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her dissertation focuses on ecumenical Protestants and family planning, examining how the National Council of Churches navigated issues around birth control in the twentieth century. Other interests include gender and sexuality within American Protestantism and the significance of the ecumenical movement in shaping Christian identity and witness.
We also recognize with honorary inclusion in this year’s Graymoor Scholars cohort Rebekah Mui (PhD Candidate in Virginia Tech’s Alliance of Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought Program), who is not able to attend this year’s international conference but whose proposed work meets every expectation of the scholarship committee.
