In the presence of His All-Holiness Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Ceremony for the establishment of the Endowed Chair entitled “Metropolitan Pavlos of Drama, Ecclesiastical History and Culture of Eastern Hellenism (11th–20th centuries)” will take place on Thursday, 29 January 2026, at 11:00 a.m., in the 2nd Amphitheatre of the Faculty of Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
The new Endowed Chair is being established by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in collaboration with the General Secretariat for Religious Affairs, the Holy Metropolises of Thessaloniki, Neapolis and Stavroupolis, Nea Krini and Kalamaria, as well as the Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece. It honours the memory and work of the late Metropolitan of Drama, Pavlos (Apostolidis), a distinguished hierarch and scholar of the ecclesiastical history of Pontus and the East.
The Chair operates within the Department of Theology of the Faculty of Theology and aims, among other objectives, to promote scholarly research and teaching in the ecclesiastical history and culture of Eastern Hellenism (11th–20th centuries), attracting students and researchers and fostering collaborations with academic and cultural institutions in Greece and abroad.
Another objective of the Chair is the study of regions such as Cappadocia, Ionia, Pontus, and the Black Sea region, as well as refugee memory, spiritual life, ecclesiastical organisation, and the cultural presence of Hellenism in these areas.
Through its research and educational activities, the Chair aspires to further strengthen the role of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki as an international centre of reference for the study of Byzantine and modern ecclesiastical history and the cultural heritage of Ecumenical Hellenism.
The Chair will be supported through annual funding provided by the participating ecclesiastical bodies and will soon be staffed by a member of the Teaching and Research Personnel, specialising in Ecclesiastical History and the Culture of Eastern Hellenism.