HCHC Professor Leads Renewed OCAMPR Organization

The Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion (OCAMPR) had a record turnout of more than 150 registrants, including a number of HCHC students, for its 2018 Annual Conference, held November 8-10 at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Somerset, New Jersey. The theme of the conference was “Compliance and Resistance: Discerning the Spirit.” Dr. Philip Mamalakis, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, serves as President of OCAMPR, which “has seen a resurgence in the past five years,” he says. OCAMPR is an approved organization of the Assembly of Canonical Bishops of the United States.

This unique interdisciplinary conference yearly brings together Orthodox helping professionals for fellowship and continuing education. The 2018 program included plenary talks by Dr. Helen Theodoropoulos, Dr. Halina Woroncow, and Dr. Renos Papadopoulos, offering different perspectives on the conference theme. There were more than thirty workshops, papers, and presentations, as well as exhibitors from across the United States. Dr. Mamalakis was “delighted to see such a large turnout of students and seminarians, along with therapists, chaplains, clergy, physicians, and theologians.”

Reflecting on the experience, Vasilios Panagopoulos, a second-year undergraduate seminarian at Hellenic College, says, “It gave me the opportunity to learn how Orthodox professionals in psychology and medicine apply their faith to what they do and think about how I can apply what I learned there when, God willing, I become a parish priest.” Catherine Holder, a junior in the Classics program, says, “You don’t have to be involved in medicine or psychology to benefit from participating in the conference because so much of what we learned is universally applicable.”