Doctoral defenses are always a highlight of my work in Helsinki. Today Lauri Kemppainen defended his thesis on David Bentley Hart and ontology of peace (in Finnish). The opponent was Serafim Seppälä, Professor of Orthodox Systematic Theology in Joensuu, Eastern Finland University. In addition to the big Theology Faculty in Helsinki, we have in Finland two smaller academic institutions, a Swedish-speaking one in Åbo Akademi, Turku, and a Lutheran-Orthodox institution in Joensuu. We regularly visit one another in these examination duties and can thus benefit of each other’s expertise. Some time ago I was myself opponent in Åbo (to Robert Ojala) and in Joensuu (to Eeva Raunistola-Juutinen).

In late June I was at the Luther500 conference in Melbourne, wonderful hospitality with 200 participants. In the photo of keynote speakers you see Frans Posset, Oswald Bayer, Theo Dieter, yours truly, Kirsi Stjerna and James Nestingen.

I realize again that updating this is a challenging task. I was from January to early June in Heidelberg (with a March-April break in Helsinki), completing a number of tasks I hope I can soon inform of at this site.
The picture above is from Anne Birgitta Pessi’s CoPassion conference in January. Other highlights include an Areiopagi conference with Alister McGrath in Helsinki in January, Renaissance Society in America conference in Boston with Andrea Robiglio, Lautenschläger Awards Conference and Gift conference with many Heidelberg colleagues, and teaching theology of recognition seminar in Heidelberg with Friederike Nüssel.
In late May-early June we had a big Reflections on Recognition conference in Helsinki, and then I took doctoral students to Oxford to meet Werner Jeanrond and others.