The Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute (PAOI) is a member of the

Graduate Theological Union The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is a consortium of eight private independent American theological schools and eleven centers and affiliates. Seven of the theological schools are located in Berkeley, California. The GTU was founded in 1962 ...

, an ecumenical and interfaith consortium of nine independent seminaries and ten affiliated centers based in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

. The institute is a unique, independent, not-for-profit teaching and research institution. The PAOI exists to educate, communicate, promote and sustain the traditions, values, teachings and culture of

Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

. It is the only independent and permanently endowed Orthodox educational center with a physical presence at a North American university. The PAOI is chartered by the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

in modern-day

Istanbul, Turkey ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

, and is named in honor of Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople, the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople ( Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of ...

from 1948 to 1972.

Academics

The PAOI offers the

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Eastern Orthodox Christian Studies as a two-year degree program. It is the only MA program in Orthodox theology in North America outside of those offered by the Orthodox seminaries in the Eastern United States.

Programs

The Paul Manolis Distinguished Lecturer Series brings prominent Orthodox scholars from throughout the world. Previous lecturers include Metropolitan

Kallistos Ware Kallistos Ware (born Timothy Richard Ware, 11 September 1934 – 24 August 2022) was an English bishop and theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church. From 1982, he held the titular bishopric of Diokleia in Phrygia ( gr, Διόκλεια Φρ� ...

and former vice-rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, Fr. Robert Taft. The institute's Campus Ministry assists with the social and spiritual needs of Orthodox Christian students, and is a sponsor of the Cal Berkeley chapter of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship. The InterOrthodox Press is the publishing arm of the institute; it makes available for purchase books and other materials reflecting the work of the Institute as well as works written by scholars on topics of concern to the Orthodox Church.

Community Outreach

The Institute regularly offers educational programs to the faithful of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. These range from courses in Byzantine Chant, seminars and workshops, to the annual Summer Institute. The institute has been active with local history groups, working to collect, preserve, and share the history of the Greek-American community in the United States.

Personnel

Metropolitan Tarasios (Antonopoulos) was the most recent director of the Institute .

History

The institute was incorporated as an Affiliate Member of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California in 1981, under the leadership of (then) Bishop

Anthony (Gergiannakis) of San Francisco Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco was the first Metropolitan Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, a metropolis of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, under the spiritual authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Const ...

and The Very Reverend Dr. Leonidas Contos. In 1987 the Alexander G. Spanos Chair of Eastern Orthodox Christian Studies was established through a generous donation by Alexander and Faye Spanos.

Previous Directors

* 2002–2006, Dr. Anton C. Vrame. Dr. Vrame holds degrees from DePaul University and University of Chicago, oly Cross School of Orthodox Theology hchc.edu(Masters of Divinity, 1989) and Boston College (Ph.D. in Theology and Education, 1997.) Prior to being named the director of the PAOI, Dr. Vrame was the managing editor of Holy Cross Orthodox Press, the publishing arm of Holy Cross School of Orthodox Theology, Brookline, Massachusetts, from 1996 to 2002. Previous positions were adjunct Assistant professor in Christian Education at Holy Cross and Lecturer in Religious Education at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. He was named the Director of the Department of Religious Education of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America effective January 1, 2007. * 1981–2001, Paul G. Manolis. Mr. Manolis was the founding director of the St. John the Divine Orthodox Institute that later was named the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute.

References

{{Authority control Eastern Orthodox seminaries Religion in the San Francisco Bay Area Eastern Orthodoxy in California Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Eastern Orthodox ecumenical and interfaith relations 1981 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1981 Christian organizations established in 1981 Eastern Orthodox organizations established in the 20th century Graduate Theological Union Christian ecumenical organizations