The International Theological Conference entitled Cultus publicus and mass media. Liturgy durch, mit und in Medien (Public worship and mass media. Liturgy through, with and in mass media) took place in Vienna, Austria, from March 3 to 6, 2022.
For more than two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has held the whole world, States, society and the Church in suspense.
For several months, public worship could only take place behind closed doors. However, Church services have really taken off thanks to modern media tools, especially during times of isolation and restrictions.
Thus, the media has become an integral part of the spiritual life and will continue to be so in the future.
Based on this observation, the conferences and workshops organized during the Vienna conference highlighted the use of media in Christian worship from different angles.
Thus, the liturgical and theological discussion was enriched with practical perspectives in the vast field of broadcasting and the media organization of services.
Both in the traditional media and in the online environment, the Orthodox Church has held its place, the purpose of which is to preach the word of God and to offer common prayer in the Church for those who cannot be present at the services, mainly sick people.
On behalf of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Archdeacon Vlăduț-Iulian Roșu of the New Saint Spyridon Cathedral in Bucharest took part in this conference, giving a lecture entitled Liturgie und Medien in der Rumänisch-Orthodoxen Kirche (Liturgy and Media of mass in the Orthodox Church).
He underlined the excellent functioning of the Media Center of the Basilica of the Romanian Patriarchate under the coordination of Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The media center consists of five departments: radio station (Radio Trinitas), television (Trinitas TV), newspaper (Ziarul Lumina), Basilica news agency, and press and public relations office.
He also presented how religious services are broadcast in the Romanian Patriarchate, highlighting the benefits and challenges or threats that online participation in religious services can bring.
Conference partners included the Roman Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paderborn (Germany), the Renovabis Association, the Department of Religion and Ethics of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) and the Catholic Media Academy (Katolische Medien Akademie, KMA).
The event took place at the Kardinal-König-Haus training center of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna.
Article by Archdeacon Vlăduț-Iulian Roșu
Source: basilica.ro
