Faculty Co-Edit Book on Christianity and Politics
Fordham’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center sponsored a conference in 2013 that focused on Western politics and Christian Orthodoxy as a part of the Patterson Triennial Conference Series. The goal of the conference was to bridge the gap between the Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The book, Christianity, Democracy and the Shadow of Constantine (Fordham Press, 2016), was co-edited by the Orthodox Christian Studies Center’s co-directors, Aristotle Papanikolaou, Ph.D., the Archbishop Demetrios Chair in Orthodox Theology and Culture, and George E. Demacopoulos, Ph.D., the Fr. John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies. The book focuses on how Eastern European and traditionally Orthodox cultures had to deal with the relationship between Christianity and the new influence of Western liberalism after the fall of communism. Many cultures felt that the new liberalism held beliefs that went against their traditional and sacredly held Christian values.
Dominic Balestra, Philosophy Professor, Dies
On Tuesday, Nov. 8, Professor of Philosophy Dominic Balestra died at age 69. Balestra was the former chair of the philosophy department and the former dean of arts and sciences. Balestra’s funeral was held on Saturday, Nov. 12 at St. Catherine’s Church in Pelham, New York. Balestra joined the philosophy department at Fordham in 1975 and has been a part of the Fordham community for over 40 years. He served as a tenured professor on the Faculty Senate and held positions on multiple administrative boards. Before working at Fordham, Balestra received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from St. Francis College and his doctorate in philosophy from St. Louis University, where he was also a lecturer and assistant director of the honors program. Balestra was also the author of more than 35 academic philosophy articles and gave more than 40 speeches around the world for colleges and professional conferences.
Professor Co-Publishes History of Ireland
Christopher Maginn, Ph.D., professor of history, served as a co-editor for the new collection of essays, Frontier, Stages and Identity in Early Modern Ireland and Beyond (Four Courts Press, 2016). These original essays are in honor of Professor of History at the National University of Ireland Steven G. Ellis, and they focus on the history of Ireland. Maginn co-edited the book with Lecturer at Metropolitan University Prague Gerald Power. The two scholars asked those who knew Ellis to submit essays that were inspired by his work and research. Maginn contributed his own essay, One state or two? Ireland and England under the Tudors, to the collection. Maginn’s essay is concerned with whether the kingdoms controlled by the Tudors — a major European power in the 16th century — in England and Ireland were considered a single united state or two different states.
Alumni and World War II Veteran Honored
William J. Schneider, FCRH ’46, was honored on Nov. 1 for his bravery in the Second World War during a battle at Dogna, Italy in 1945. At the event, where Schneider’s friends and family gathered, the veteran was awarded the Silver Star Medal, the U.S. Military’s third-highest combat award. Schneider took a break from his time studying at Fordham in order to serve his country during World War II as a flight commander and major in the U.S. Army Air Corps’ 310 Bombardment Group. Schneider is 97 years old and the ceremony was held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. Schneider returned to Fordham after the war, received a business degree and spent his life working in sales and management. It took Schneider’s daughter four and half years and the help staffers for the state legislators to track down the necessary proof that showed her father’s commanding officers recommended him for the award.
-Compiled by Mike Byrne
