The Pontifical School of Theology organized a theological conference, titled “Light in the Midst of Darkness”, on December 12, 2025. The spiritual and intellectual input in this event was markedly influenced by the hope embodied by Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lebanon.

After a welcome address delivered by Dean Fr. Elias Hanna, Bishop Roger Akhrass, patriarchal vicar for Syriac studies at the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, delivered the first lecture on “hope in the teachings of Saint Jacob of Serugh”. Presenting hope as a salvific force rooted in God’s mercy and incarnating in the resurrected Christ, Bishop Akhrass explained how hope encompasses all men, whether sinners, in pain, bedridden, or lonely.

The greatest danger facing humankind, he argued, is not sin, pain, or death, but the loss of hope. This virtue culminates in Christ’s incarnation and resurrection, as Jesus becomes the hope of the living, the resurrection of the dead, and the final victory against all kinds of despair.

Episcopal Vicar General Mgr. Antoine Awkar delivered the second lecture on hope in the teachings of Saint Paul. The underlying idea was that hope is not time bound, but rather based on a hope in the afterlife, linked to Christ’s resurrection. Mgr. Awkar started by describing Saint Paul’s conversion as a radical shift in hope, from one rooted in reliance on one’s personal righteousness and the letter of the law to hope in God’s grace and the work of the Church as the body of Christ.

Having portrayed Paul’s hope as feeding on the word [of God] and collective life, the lecture explained how this hope translates as steadfastness in times of pain, a permanent orientation towards the Lord, and a transformation of the body mirrored after the Lord’s glory.

In conclusion, Mgr. Awkar emphasized that faith, hope, and love are intertwined, noting that love remains the culmination of Christian life at the personal and Church levels.

The event concluded with a debate session followed by a reception.