PATRIARCH ATHENAGORAS ORTHODOX INSTITUTE (PAOI)

PATRIARCH ATHENAGORAS ORTHODOX INSTITUTE (PAOI). Incorporated in 1981 as St. Joh n the Divine Orthodox Divinity Institute at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) (q.v.) in Berkeley, California, the Institute’s name was changed in 1987 on the occasion of the centennial of the birth of the late Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras (q.v.) to honor one of the great ecumenists of this century. At a convocation of the GTU at that time, the establishment of the Alexander G. Spanos Chair in Orthodox Studies was announced-the result of a most generous endowment that Fr. Leonidas Contos (q.v.) had secured and to which he was subsequently elected. It is the only endowed chair of its kind in the nation.

The Institute has had a steady growth and today occupies three buildings adjacent to the University of California (UC) campus, where its library, offices, meeting facilities, and chapel are housed. The UC Orthodox students meet regularly at the Institute’s Chapel of St. Demetrius for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and fellowship.

The PAOI Trustees envision a broad range of objectives for the Institute, both immediate and longer term, to be fully realized as resources increase and other endowments mature. In addition to the regular courses of instruction, these include lectureships, symposia, workshops, and scholarly publications. Several “Distinguished Lecturers” and colloquia for the GTU and UCB communities have also been held.