14th Annual
EIGHTH DAY SYMPOSIUM
Attend To Thyself
Attentiveness & Digital Culture
Anno Domini 2024, January 10-13 - Wichita, KS
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Attend To Thyself!
Be ruthless. Do everything possible to attain stillness and freedom from distraction, and struggle to live according to God's will, battling against invisible enemies.
Be like an astute business man: make stillness your criterion for testing the value of everything, and choose always what contributes to it.
~Evagrius the Solitary
The Speakers
Mark Bauerlein
English professor emeritus at Emory University and a senior editor of First Things
Fr. Maximos Constas
Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, The University of Austin (UATX)
Ken Myers
Host and Producer of Mars Hill Audio and Music Director at All Saints Anglican Church in Ivy, Virginia
The Seminar
January 10-11, Anno Donimi 2024
"Attend To Thyself" in the Bible, the Fathers, the Liturgy & Literature
If you really want to dig into the Symposium theme, come early and join us for the seminar. In addition to prayer and teaching, we'll be reading and discussing texts related to the Symposium theme from the Bible, the Fathers, the liturgy and literature.
Seating is limited to first 12 registrants. Notebooks with the texts will be delivered the week before the seminar.
The Festal Banquet
St Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain–with the Watchful Fathers & the Kollyvades Fathers–& Cultural Renewal
As any past Symposium attendee will attest, one of the highlights is the annual festal banquet. In addition to the a stringed-quartet and delicious food, each year we celebrate a hero of our faith (past years include St Gregory the Theologian, St Anthony the Great, St. Athanasius, St Cyril of Alexandria, St Gregory of Nyssa, St Basil the Great, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Augustine) and the Symposium speakers offer reflections on cultural renewal. But the most stunning part of the evening has consistently been the Cathedral Choir's series of ancient hymns. And the dessert auction has become quite the adventurous (and competitive) way to cap the evening off.
Symposium Speaker Testimonials
Ralph WoodBaylor University
James K. A. SmithCalvin College
What Attendees Are Saying
Protestant
The Schedule
PDF version of the full schedule.
Wednesday 1.10.24
11:00 a.m. Pre-Symposium Seminar at The Ladder
"Attend to Thyself" in the Bible: Job 38-42 (bring your own Bible)
12:30 p.m. Lunch
2:00 p.m. Seminar continues until 3:30 p.m.
"Attend to Thyself" in the Liturgy: Midnight Office for Weekdays
Thursday 1.11.24
11:00 a.m. Pre-Symposium Seminar at The Ladder
"Attend to Thyself" in Literature: Technopoly by Neil Postman (discussion focused on Ch. 1 but we strongly encourage you to read the book! Click here for PDF.)
12:30 p.m. Lunch
2:00 p.m. Seminar continues until 3:30 p.m.
"Attend to Thyself" in the Fathers: "On Asceticism & Stillness" by Evagrius the Solitary (Click here for PDF)
4:00 p.m. VIP meeting with speakers for Patrons & Pillars
6:45 p.m. Vespers at St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
7:30 p.m. Opening Reception at Eighth Day Books
Friday 1.12.24
9:00 a.m. Third Hour Prayer at St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
9:30 a.m. Convocation and Contemplation
10:00 a.m. Plenary Lecture I - "The Jesus Prayer and Human Salvation: The Prologue to the Philokalia" by Fr. Maximos Constas
11:30 a.m. Breakout Sessions
"A Robot Ate My Student's Homework: A Report from the Frontlines of College Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" by Matthew Umbarger
"How Not to Look at God: Art and Contemplation in the Age of the Screen" by Jeff Reimer
"Mindfulness & the Ancient Faith: Orthodoxy as a Healing Path" by Scott Spradlin
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Plenary Lecture II - "The Demons of Silicon Valley and Beyond" by Mark Bauerlein
6:00 p.m. Festal Banquet at St. George - Dressy Casual Attire
Cash Bar, Dessert Auction, Cathedral Choir, the Life of St Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain, & Plenary Speakers on Cultural Renewal
Saturday 1.13.24
9:00 a.m. Third Hour Prayer at St. George Orthodox Cathedral
9:30 a.m. Convocation & Contemplation
10:00 a.m. Plenary Lecture III - "The Mind and the Heart: St Nikodemos and the Handbook of Spiritual Counsel" by Fr. Maximos Constas
11:00 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m. Breakout Sessions
"Poetics of the Jesus Prayer" by Fr. Maximos Constas
"How to Pay Attention: The Ear and the Eye Can Be Trained" by Mark Bauerlein
"Attentiveness for Truth's Sake" by Ken Myers
12:30 p.m. Lunch & Book Signings
2:00 p.m. Plenary Lecture IV -
"The Ancient (and Heretical) Sources of Modern Techno-utopianism: Behind (and Before)
The Abolition of Man" by Ken Myers
3:00 p.m. Break
3:15 p.m. Panel Dialogue with Q& A
6:00 p.m. Great Vespers at St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
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Eighth Day Symposium Begins in
Seminar
$100
2 Sessions Wed
2 Sessions Thur
Morning Snacks & Coffee
$50
Festal Banquet Dinner with Reflections on Cultural Renewal by Plenary Speakers
Dinner
Cash Bar
Dessert Auction
Dressy Casual Attire
The heart is the mystical and hidden chamber of the mind. You must guard your heart and your mind. You must humble yourself, retire in silence, and cut yourself off from everything that will cause agitation and obstruction to your prayer.
~St Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain
Abstracts
Theme-Related Content
Lodging
Location and Contact
Eighth Day Books: 2838 E Douglas Ave, Wichita, KS 67214
Eighth Day Institute at The Ladder: 2836 E. Douglas 67214
St George Orthodox Christian Cathedral: 7515 E. 13th St. N. 67206
Have a question? We are here to help. Send us a message and we’ll be in touch.
Contact Us
Past Eighth Day Symposia
2023
Be Not Afraid! by Jake Meador, Fr. John Strickland, James Matthew Wilson, et al
2022
Sex & Lies: Delusions of the Self by Hans Boersma, Jennifer Roback Morse, Fr. Alexis Torrance, Carl Trueman, et al
2021
Hope in the Age of Anxiety:
A Digital Library of Twelve Presentations by Fr. Calinic Berger, Bradley Birzer, Erin Doom, Shailesh Mark, Louis Markos, Fr. John Strickland, Joshua Sturgill, et al
2020
For I Am Holy: The Command to be like God by Dr. David Fagerberg, Fr. Stephen Freeman, Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, et al