Public Lecture on the Reproductive Sciences Held at Seminary

On Thursday, November 21, 2019, Presbytera Agnieszka Ferens delivered a public lecture in the auditorium of the Saint Photios Orthodox Theological Seminary on various aspects of the reproductive sciences. Her lecture was based on her extensive professional knowledge and experience as a registered nurse and as a midwife. She currently works at the Jacobs Medical Center of the University of California San Diego Health System in La Jolla, California.

The modern reproductive sciences, a new field established within the past four decades, includes the study of contraceptive techniques and technologies, as well as infertility treatments and alternatives, such as in vitro fertilization. Presbytera Agnieszka presented a basic overview of some of the most recent developments in these fields, along with the parallel legal developments in various countries in response to these advances. She also provided valuable personal testimony from her work at the Jacobs Medical Center, which conducts cutting-edge research in the reproductive sciences. While her presentation was primarily informative, Presbytera Agnieszka emphasized the need for the contemporary Orthodox Church to put forth a well-informed, Patristic response to these new developments, especially for the pastoral use of clergymen, who must confront these issues in their parish ministries.

A founding and active member of the Saint Seraphim of Sarov and Saint John of Kronstadt Orthodox Church in La Mesa, California, a parish of the Holy Diocese of Etna and Portland of the American Eparchy of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece, Presbytera Agnieszka is the mother of two of the Seminary’s faculty members, the Reverend Hierodeacon Photii and Mr. Mateusz J. Ferens. She also serves as a medical advisor to the Seminary.