Opening Ceremony for the 2026/2027 Academic Year

At the start of yet another academic year, as we welcome new students and celebrate in a spirit of fellowship the values that unite the entire academic community, the Faculty of Theology is organising an opening session to be held on Monday 21 September at 11.30 am in the Cardinal Medeiros Auditorium on the UCP Lisbon campus.

Open to all friends of the Faculty, the session will feature Prof. Dr Dirk Ansorge, from the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt, and Prof. Dr Peter Rožič, SJ, from the University of Oxford.

Dirk Ansorge will present a talk entitled “Contribution to the Global Church? German Experiences of Synodality on the ‘Synodal Path’”, offering a critical reflection on the experience of the German Synodal Path and its significance within the broader context of the universal Church.

For his part, Peter Rožič will address the topic “Digital Integral Ecology Commons: Integral Ecology, Digital Governance and Shared Knowledge”, exploring the relationships between integral ecology, digital governance and forms of knowledge production and sharing, against a backdrop characterised by global interdependence and contemporary technological challenges.

Rather than two separate lectures, the session has been designed as a genuine space for dialogue. Each speaker will have around twenty minutes to present their perspective, followed by a period of interaction between the two speakers and a discussion with the participants.

By exploring the relationship between synodality, integral ecology and digital culture, this opening session aims to contribute to a theological interpretation of the profound transformations currently taking place within the Church and society, examining how the Christian tradition can discern, navigate and responsibly guide this change.

Moderator: Alex Villas Boas (UCP–FT / UCP-CITER)

All professors, students, researchers and staff at the Faculty are invited to:

• attend the session at the Lisbon, Braga (Isidro Alves auditorium, ‘D’ building) or Porto (EBI room 100) campuses;
  or
• watch the live stream on the Faculty of Theology’s YouTube channel (distance-learning students).

The Faculty’s academic activities will be suspended during the event.