Rachel Contos

Rachel Contos.

Education

B.A. Religious Studies - Hellenic College, 2015

M.A. Theology and Society - Marquette University, 2021

Biography

Rachel Contos is a PhD student in Theological and Social Ethics at Fordham University. Her research interests lie at the crossroads of theological method and activist practice, particularly intersectional method and praxis and how they interact with Orthodox Christian theology.

Rachel graduated with an MA in theology from Marquette University in 2015 with a focus on theology and society. At Marquette she was a Trinity Fellow, which allowed her to take specific classes on social activism and systems change while working at the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM). At HACM, she worked with the Best Babies Zone on the Northwest Side of Milwaukee organizing to decrease infant mortality.

Rachel is the past Vice President and current board member of Axia Women, an organization by, for, and about Orthodox women, in the service of Christ, and lifting up their voices in the Orthodox Church. She is also a past board member of the St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess, which seeks to restore the female diaconate in the Orthodox Church.

Rachel’s fellowships and publications include:

Fellowships

  • 2019-2021: Trinity Fellow, Marquette University
  • 2022-2024: Louisville Doctoral Fellow

Publications

  • “Intersectionality and Orthodox Theology: Searching for Spandrels,” 2023, Journal of Moral Theology special edition on intersectionality