SPEAKERS

Renos K. Papadopoulos is Professor of Analytical Psychology at the Centre for Psychoanalytical Studies and Director of the Centre for Trauma, Asylum and Refugees at Essex University in England. He also works as a clinical psychologist and family psychotherapist at the Tavistock Clinic in London. Dr Papadopoulos has been a consultant to the UN and other organisations, and has worked with refugees and other victims of political violence, torture and disaster in several countries. He lectures and conducts training courses worldwide and his writings have been published in 15 languages. More recently, he has been researching the links between Orthodox spirituality and psychology, and is a professor at the Antiochian House of Studies. Professor Papadopoulos held severals talks and seminars with teachers and parents at St. John's School, as well as presented papers during our previous conferences. 

Fr. Alexey Uminsky is a well-known pastor in Russia and elsewhere. For several decades, Fr. Alexey was the pastor of the Holy Trinity Church in Moscow, actively involved in pastoral care for children with cancer and their families, and visited prisoners, including prisoners of conscience. Fr. Alexey studied French language and Literature and holds a Master's degree in Theology. Before becoming a clergyman, he taught French at school. Before becoming a school teacher, he was a hippy. Father Alexey has published books on prayer, spiritual life, children in the church. In January 2024, he was banned from ministry by the ecclesiastical court of the Russian Orthodox Church and left Russia. Since this spring, he has been a priest in the Church of the Sign of the Mother of God in Paris, under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. During his emigration, he keeps in touch with the Russian-speaking audience on his YouTube channel "The Seventh Day". Father Alexey has spoken at our conferences on several occasions and has held seminars to teachers of St. John's School. 

Fr. Stephen Platt is the Rector of the Orthodox Parish of St Nicholas the Wonderworker in Oxford and General Secretary of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius. He is in charge of youth work and inter-Christian relations for the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland. He is married to Anna Platt who combines her own service in the parish with her work as a librarian in the University of Oxford. Fr. Stephen and Anna have five grown up children. In their presentation, they will talk about the experience of their parish in Oxford and the organisation of Orthodox summer camps over the years. Fr. Stephen's talk at our conference two years ago can be watched HERE. 

Kristiina Kivil graduated from the University of Tartu in 2003 with a BA in Theology and from Tallinn University in 2019 with a MA in Education Sciences. Since 2003, she has worked mainly with kindergarten and primary school children, translating fiction and non-fiction (Roman Frister's The Cap, Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk, Carl Gustav Jung's Answer to Job, David Bentley Hart's The Experience of God). Kristiina is the editor of two collections published by St. John’s School, I See People. I See People Like Trees (2021) and 10 Light-Years. Reflections on Education at St. John's School (2022). As of this academic year, Kristiina teaches a course in Christian Anthropology at St. John's high school and Math in 9th grade. 

Naatan Haamer is a pastoral care worker, clergyman, family therapist, supervisor, grief and crisis counsellor, trainer and lecturer who for the past 30 years has been supporting people amidst their life crises, from childhood to old age. He started his counselling work in Viljandi Youth Prison in 1990, and has been working at Tartu University Clinic since 1995.  As a crisis psychologist with extensive life and work experience, Naatan Haamer shares advice on how to get through life crises and support onself and others in difficult times, including in his book Time Heals Well-attended Wounds (2021). Naatan Haamer will speak to secondary school students at our youth conference. 

Aleksander Pulver is Associate Professor of Personality Psychology, Head of the Academic School of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences at Tallinn University. His main research interests are social sciences and culture, psychometrics, neurobiological models of personality, stress and coping, well-being. He holds a PhD in psychology from the University of Tartu since 1995. 

Philip Mamalakis, with his wife Georgia and seven children, lives in Boston, Massachusetts, where he is the Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Dr. Mamalakis directs the field education program and teaches classes on pastoral care, marriage and family, grief, death and dying, and topics related to pastoral counseling. He has a private practice in Newton, Massachusetts, where he works with individuals, couples, and families. Dr. Mamalakis has an M.Div. from Holy Cross and a Ph.D. from Purdue University in child development and family studies, specializing in marriage and family therapy. He has been offering parenting courses and writing on parenting for 21 years. His book Parenting toward the Kingdom was published in Estonianby St. John’s School in 2018. 

Tarmo Toom is an Estonian theologian who taught patristics for almost ten years at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and another ten years at Georgetown University, also in Washington, D.C. He has published numerous research articles and books on early Christianity (see academia.edu/Tarmo Toom). His most recent works include Cambridge Companion to Augustine’s Confessions (Cambridge, 2020) and Early Christian Theology ("Varakristlik teoloogia", Tartu, 2022). He is also a co-editor of the six-volume Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. Since the autumn of the past year, he has been conducting a project called Patristic Introductions to the Bible and Its Interpretation under the auspices of the Tartu University. In addition to patristic hermeneutics, his main research areas include Augustine, classical Trinitarian theology, and the history of Christian creeds.

Yauheniya Danilovich was born in Grodno (Belarus), studied Orthodox theology in Minsk. In 2014, she received her doctorate at the Evangelical Theological Faculty at the University of Tübingen (Germany). Since 2014, Yauheniya is a researcher at the Evangelical Theological Faculty of the University of Münster, as well as lecturer at the Institute for Orthodox Theology at the University of Munich. Her postdoc project is dedicated to the topic Religious education in post-migrant society. Attempt to lay a multi-perspective foundation for subject-oriented religious education in the Christian-Orthodox diaspora in Germany. Selected research areas: Orthodox religious education, multilingualism and religious education, churches and political crisis in Belarus. 

Brother Luc (Bourgoin) was born in Marseilles, France. After four years of medical studies he joined the Taizé community in October 1981. Between 1984 and 2006, he was in charge of welcoming young people in Taizé and participated in the preparation of youth meetings in various European countries. From 2008 until 2019 resided in Nairobi (Kenya) organising sessions for religious training of young people from 18 to 30 years old. Br. Luc is in Estonia from September 2024 to January 2025 to prepare the European Pilgrimage of Trust that will take place in Tallinn from December 28 through January 1. Br. Luc will address St. John's high school students at our youth conference. 

Olga Januškevičienė has doctoral degrees in Mathematics and in Pedagogy. She has contributed to the theory and history of teaching Orthodox culture, Developmental Psychology, Moral Education, Ethics, Mathematical Statistics. In 2010 she was Robert and Rene’ Glidden visiting professorship, Ohio University. Currently she is professor of mathematics and pedagogy, lecturer at Theological Courses in Vilnius, has more than 200 research papers, monographs and textbooks in the Orthodox culture. 

Francesco Fadigati is a teacher and one of the directors of La Traccia School in Bergamo, Italy. Our students and some teachers have also had the opportunity to visit La Traccia. Francesco Fadigati has taught Italian literature at the school for many years.  Francesco is also the author of several novels. His latest novel for young adults, Too Much Man, was published in 2023 and tells the story of a teenage boy's search for meaning in life. In 2018, Francesco was a speaker at our conference I hope, therefore I am. A Pedagogy of Hope.

Irina Pärt is Associate Professor of Orthodox Church History at the Department of Church History, Faculty of Theology, University of Tartu. She is the author of two scholarly monographs. Irina Pärt is a co-chair of the IOTA (International Orthodox Theological Association) group Orthodox Asceticism and Spirituality and a member of a research network of the Institute for Academic Study of Eastern Christianity (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam). Irina is one of the founders of the St. John's School and has organised the school's educational conferences since 2014. Irina is currently teaching Cultural History at St. John's High School. Irina's presentation from the 2023 conference, Between Martha and Mary,  is available HERE.

Airiin Demir is a clinical psychologist, the head of Verge Estonia and a well-known trainer on preventing conflict, aggression and behaviour problems. Airiin's first album Hingeväel came out in 2023 and covers almost 20 years of creative effort. Airiin has her channel on YouTube, The Singing Psychologist. Triin Norman is a composer, singer and musician, whose first album Üle Maarjamaa was released in 2019. Together, Airiin and Triin have put together a concert-workshop An Hour for Oneself, which intertwines music and psychological insights, revolving around self-care.  

Pavel Levushkan is a Lutheran priest, journalist, theologian, modern Christian mystic, founder of the Center for Contemplative Life (Latvia), teacher of mindfulness and silence practices, Benedictine oblate, certified professional coach and Mindfulness Teacher. He shares his accumulated knowledge and experience with his students and clients, lives mostly in Latvia, but also spends time in Israel, Poland, and other countries. For over 12 years he has been helping people to solve their problems and find inner harmony and fulfillment in life. 

Maria Pukach is special education teacher, speech therapist, developmental psychologist, and music therapist. She is the author of educational and methodological mate