About the Speakers – Philadelphia 3rd Annual Benefit Event

Back to the event page

Keynote Prof. Jeffrey Wills

Educated at Harvard University and the University of Oxford , Prof. Wills is a former Harvard classmate of Rev. Gudziak. When visiting Ukraine in the mid-1990s, he was energized and impressed with what could be accomplished at what was then the Lviv Theological Academy. Prof. Wills is invaluable in UCU's development; his work has included overseeing the management of university finances, building projects, fundraising, library acquisitions, and the implementation of state-of-the-art academic technology.

Prof. Wills: “In many ways, UCU's strength comes from the wide sowing of seeds of the diaspora that throughout the years Ukrainians scattered over the world. Now Ukrainians from all countries are returning to UCU, working for UCU …You are also alumni of UCU, you grew up with Slipyj and Sheptytskyj, you've worked for this, you've prayed for this for many years.”

Keynote Prof. Antoine Arjakovsky

Professor of Theology at the UCU and the director of the university's Institute for Ecumenical Studies. Recognized internationally as a leading Christian theologian, Prof. Arjakovsky, a French national, is the son of Russian Orthodox émigrés who fled Soviet communism. He received degrees from the Sorbonne and the School for the Advanced Study of Social Sciences in Paris , and served as a diplomat at the Embassies of France in Moscow and in Kyiv.

Prof. Arjakovsky believes that ecumenism must be lived, not just discussed. It is the daily expression of faith among people of good that is at the core of the philosophy that guides the work of the institute.