Event

5th-7th June 2026

Ex Oriente Lux

Iași, Romania

Grand Hotel Traian
Piața Unirii 1
700056 Iași
Roumanie

The Canon of Western Civilisation has been shaped by many sources over the course of its millennia’s long history. Amongst the most important of these influences is the spread of Christianity from East to West, and the continued role of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Join New Direction on 5th-7th June for Ex Oriente Lux – a special conference in Iași, Romania, looking at the unique place that the Eastern Orthodox Church has played in the making of modern Europe, and how we can better build bridges between the different Christian communities that share our continent.

Agenda

Friday, 5th June

18:00-19:30

Welcome Cocktail at Hotel Traian

Georgiana Teodorescu, MEP and Board Member of New Direction

Saturday, 6th June

09:00-09:15

Opening Speech

Georgiana Teodorescu, MEP and Board Member of New Direction
Mihail Neamtu, MP and President of Mihail Eminescu Conservative Institute

09:15-09:35

Documentary Screening

09:35-10:00

Keynote Speech

Daniel Mahoney, Professor emeritus at Assumption University, Senior Fellow at Claremont Institute

10:00-11:15

Panel I

Institutions and the Formation of the Person

Dr Vlad Muresan, Lecturer at Babeș Bolyai University
Mario Fantini, Editor-in-Chief of the European Conservative
Andrej Kolarik, Executive manager of the Conservative Summit at the Ladislav Hanus Institute
Ryszard Czarnecki, Former Vice President of the European Parliament and host of RH+ Rozmowy Czarneckiego (Moderator)

11:15-11:30

Coffee break

11:30-12:30

Panel II

Spiritual Culture, Monastic Discipline, and the Crisis of Integrity

Father Michel Quenot, Author
Jurgis Klotins, MP and Board member of New Direction
Andrei Dirlau, Mihail Eminescu Conservative Institute
Mario Fantini, Editor-in-Chief of the European Conservative (Moderator)

12:30-13:30

Panel III

The Liberty of Philosopical Imagination

Prof Dan Dungaciu, Sociologist
Stephanie Lind, Make Europe Healthy Again
Brian Brown, Founder of the International Organization for the Family
Mina Cristiana, (Moderator)

13:30-14:30

Lunch break and Networking

14:30-15:30

Panel IV

Ex Oriente Lux - European Legacy

Dr. Mihai Neamtu, MP and President of Mihail Eminescu Conservative Institute
Peter Costea, Legal Adviser at New Direction
Agnieszka Heszen, Cracow’s Jagiellonian University
Witold d'Humilly de Chevilly, Executive Director at New Direction (Moderator)

15:30-16:00

Closing speech

Natural Contemplation in Byzantium

Dr. Adrian Ștefan Cârstea, Senior researcher in theoretical physics at the “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering

Byzantine Sacred Music

Constantin Reileanu, Musician

16:30-18:30

Visit of the Cathedral

18:30

Traditional Romanian Dinner

Dinner speech by Cristina-Gabriella Dumitrescu, Senator, AUR

Dinner upon invitation only

Sunday, 7th June

07:00-08:00

Holy Liturgy

Metropolitan Cathedral

Bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt 16, 700064 Iași

09:30-11:30

Cultural visit of Iasi (Monasteries)