Holy Spirit Church is scheduled to host a Catholic-Orthodox Ecumenical Gathering on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. The event includes a reception in McDonough Hall.

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory and Archbishop Alexios, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Atlanta, will preside at the gathering, which will also feature music by the Chantors of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral and the Traditional Choir of Holy Spirit Church.

The theme of the gathering is “Pilgrims of Peace and Messengers of Hope,” building upon Pope Benedict XVI’s meeting in Assisi in October of last year. The ecumenical event takes place during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The keynote speaker for the event is George Demacopoulos, Ph.D., associate professor of historical theology and co-director of the Orthodox Christian Studies program at Fordham University in New York. Demacopoulos has earned graduate degrees in theological studies and religious studies from the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Demacopoulos’ research and teaching interests are in the fields of early Christian and Byzantine Church history, and he specializes in the relationship between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics during the Middle Ages. He is also the author of “Five Models of Spiritual Direction in the Early Church,” which explores the impact of monasticism on the practice of pastoral care in the early church. His second book, “St. Gregory the Great:  Book of Pastoral Rule,” provides an introduction and translation (from Latin) of Pope Gregory I’s famous treatise on pastoral care. He is currently working on a new book that will explore the reception of Roman claims to authority in the early medieval church.

Holy Spirit Church is located at 4465 Northside Drive, Atlanta.