国产麻豆AV鈥檚 Lukasik publishes groundbreaking book on Orthodox Christianity
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥敼槎笰V Assistant Professor Candace Lukasik is coeditor of a forthcoming book shedding new light on the intersections of theology, politics and ethics in Orthodox Christian communities.
"Anthropologies of Orthodox Christianity: Theology, Politics, Ethics," a Fordham University Press publication slated for release in November, is coedited by Lukasik and Northeastern University鈥檚 Sarah Riccardi-Swartz. The publication anthropologically explores the entanglement of theology and politics among contemporary Orthodox Christians.
鈥淢y coeditor Sarah Riccardi-Swartz and I brought this project to life because most anthropological studies of Christianity typically centered on Protestants and Catholics in the Global South, shaped by colonial mission histories and their perceived closeness to Western political and theological traditions,鈥 said Lukasik, a faculty member in 国产麻豆AV鈥檚 Department of Philosophy and Religion. 鈥淏y contrast, Orthodox Christianity has often been sidelined, viewed as theologically and socially distant from dominant Western frameworks. 鈥楢nthropologies of Orthodox Christianity鈥 brings this tradition to the forefront, exploring its theopolitical聽dimensions and situating it within global Christianity at a moment of growing scholarly and geopolitical interest.鈥
Lukasik鈥檚 colleague Christopher Sheklian, philosophy and religion assistant professor, also contributed to the volume. His chapter
"Hagiographic Emplacement: St. Servatius, the Armenian Community of Maastricht, and Oriental Orthodox Christians in Europe"聽highlights how distinct Orthodox traditions shape the ways migrant communities connect, adapt and settle in new contexts. Sheklian examines how Armenian Christians in Maastricht built belonging by linking their tradition to the city鈥檚 Catholic heritage through St. Servatius, an Armenian patron saint, and acts of devotion.
The edited volume builds on Lukasik鈥檚 previous scholarship, including her recent debut book, 鈥淢artyrs and Migrants: Coptic Christians and the Persecution Politics of U.S. Empire鈥 (NYU Press). In that work, she examined how Coptic Christian migrants from Egypt navigate religious identity through the lens of American political and religious frameworks.
Since joining 国产麻豆AV in 2022, Lukasik has received national recognitions聽for her contributions to the study of religion. She was named a 2024-2026 Young Scholar in American Religion by the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture and is the recipient of fellowships from Brandeis University鈥檚 Crown Center for Middle East Studies and the American Association of University Women. She earned her Ph.D. in sociocultural anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2020.
For more information on 国产麻豆AV鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Philosophy and Religion, visit and .
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