This article was originally posted on Eurasia Review by Andreja Bogdanovski.
When the 14th century Tuman Orthodox monastery in eastern Serbia unveiled its own chatbot, Tumanko, in September, the priest-like figure dressed in a black robe and holding a smartphone attracted over 800,000 interactions in the first 24 hours, causing its servers to crash.
Tumanko is limited to providing information about the church and its history, but others are going further. In October, the Metropolis of Nea Ionia in Athens became the first major Church institution to release a fully endorsed chatbot – called LOGOS – offering guidance grounded in Orthodox tradition. Its chief creator, Athanasios Davalas at HERON ICT Lab, describes LOGOS as “a careful theological assistant”, used most often by those with questions about religious rites and Orthodox history.
OGOS, Davalas told BIRN, was created to address the “very real pastoral need” of a growing number of people seeking faith-related answers online but who too often encounter generalised, vague and misleading content. “LOGOS was never meant to replace spiritual guidance, but to offer reliable support grounded in Church teaching,” he said.
But as AI tools proliferate, there is growing pressure on churches in southeast Europe to address the theological and practical aspects of AI use while integrating and supervising these tools within their structures.
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