STEUBENVILLE, OH—Franciscan University of Steubenville will host a seminar, Understanding the Eastern Schism, on Friday, January 31, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in the Seminar Room of the St. Joseph Center. Talks will be given by guest scholars James Likoudis and Dr. Robert Fastiggi.

Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the Eastern Schism, the path to reconciliation, and the role of the pope, says Rob Palladino, director of Chapel Ministries at Franciscan University, which is a sponsor of the seminar.

Likoudis, a former college professor and a nationally known writer, will speak at 7:00 p.m. His talk, “At the Origins of the Byzantine Greco-Slav Schism,” will trace the separation of the Greek and Russian Churches from the Catholic Church back to the 9th and 11th centuries.

At 8:00 p.m., Fastiggi will speak on “The Authority of the Roman Pontiff and Other Points of Division Between Orthodox and Catholics Today.” A professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan, Fastiggi will explain some of the dividing issues from a Catholic perspective, such as divorce and remarriage, contraception, the dogmatic status of purgatory and the Immaculate Conception. He will also take note of some recent dialogues between the Holy See and the Orthodox.

A panel question-and-answer session with the speakers will follow the presentations.

The conference is sponsored by Franciscan University’s Chapel Ministries, Students for Catholic Liturgy, Society of Blessed Theodore Romzha, and the Ut Unum Sint Society for Christian Unity.