The reception of the first-year students of the Faculty of Theology of EKPA took place yesterday at the “Chrysostomos Papadopoulos” Central Amphitheater, in the presence of the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos, who delivered the keynote address.

THE Primate of the Hellenic Church spoke about the challenges of modern society, while focusing on the violence observed among young people, a phenomenon observed to intensify, but also on the need for a deeper understanding of the causes behind social problems. He emphasized, in fact, that the Orthodox Church approaches these issues through the understanding of human nature and man’s relationship with God, proposing love and freedom as fundamental claims for dealing with social challenges.

For his part, the Dean of the Theological School, Professor Emmanuel Karageorgoudis, underlined the importance of modern theological education in the international academic environment. He also pointed out the need for a synthesis between academic rigor and ecclesiastical tradition, as well as the contribution of Orthodox thought to the global theological dialogue.

Afterwards, the president of the Theology Department, Professor Dimitrios Moschos, described theology as a “voice coming from the future”, but he also pointed out the subversive nature of the theological vision for a world free from fear and hatred.

The professor of the Department of Social Theology and Religion, Diotima Liantini, addressed the freshmen, to emphasize the importance of active participation in academic life and the utilization of the opportunities offered by the university.

The event was attended by chief secretary of the Holy SynodArchimandrite Ioannis Karamouzis, the Metropolitan Dorotheos of Syros, the Metropolitan Grigorios of Peristeri, the vice-president of the Board of Administration of EKPA, N. Thomaidis, the vice-chancellors of EKPA, Christos Karagiannis and Efstathios Efstathopoulos, the bishop Tanagras Apostolos and the director of the Foundation for Pastoral Education of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens, archimandrite Theologos Alexandrakis.

At the end of the event, Archbishop Hieronymos distributed the New Testament to the students. Subsequently, in the Conference hall of the School, an important memorandum of cooperation between the Church of Greece and EKPA was signed by the Archbishop, Bishop Tanagras, the vice-president of the Management Council of EKPA and the vice-chancellor Christos Karagiannis. The memorandum provides EKPA with the possibility of using the facilities of the Church of Greece delegation in Brussels and the development of joint programs with the Church of Greece.