The inauguration of the Office of the Laboratory of Ethics and Bioethics of Religions of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) took place on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at the Theological School Building in the Zografou Campus of the University of Athens with great success.

The modest ceremony began with a Holy Mass, which was celebrated by the Reverend Fr. Evaggelos Markantonis, Dr. Theology (Christian Ethics – Bioethics), Ephimerios of the University Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary (Kapnikarea).

This was followed by the inauguration of the Laboratory’s Office by the Rector of the University of Athens, Professor Meletios-Athanasios Dimopoulos, and the Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Associate Professor Christos Karagiannis.

In the festive meeting that took place afterward, the Rector of the University of Athens, Mr. Demopoulos, referred to the new Office of the Laboratory of Ethics and Bioethics of Religions, including its establishment and operation in the projects of radical modernization of the research, the educational and operational infrastructure of the Faculty of Theology, which was made by the Rectorial Authorities of the University of Athens in close cooperation with the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Professor Christos Karagiannis, the Presidents of the Departments and the Directors of the Postgraduate Studies Programmes of the School.

The Dean of the Faculty of Theology, in turn, highlighted the fact that the Laboratory of Ethics and Bioethics of Religions was established shortly after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Its establishment and operation are further tangible evidence of how immediate and effective the response of the Faculty of Theology and the UoA to the challenges of the pandemic has been. The Laboratory for Ethics and Bioethics of Religions is also an investment of the Faculty of Theology as a whole in research and knowledge in the fields of the future, a fact that was particularly positively evaluated in the recent honorary distinction of the Faculty of Theology’s ranking among the 140 best schools in the world in the field of “Theology, Theology and Religious Studies” by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds).

The common denominator of the speeches by Professor Konstantinos Kornarakis, Deputy Chairman of the Department of Theology, Professor Diotima Liantini, Deputy Chairman of the Department of Social Theology and Religious Studies, and Professor K. Circe Kefalea, Director of the Postgraduate Programmes of this Department, is the request to design and implement collaborations at the interdepartmental, interscholastic and inter-university level. In this field, the Laboratory of Ethics and Bioethics of Religions is already active, with important research, educational, and training initiatives, both in person and at a distance, as well as interdisciplinary collaborations with researchers and institutions of international importance.

In the same spirit were the statements of His Eminence Archimandrite Aristarchos-Vassiliou Greka, Assistant Professor, Director of the Laboratory “Church and Culture” of the Department of Theology, and the Associate Professor of the Department of Social Theology and Religious Studies, Mr. Athanasios Glaros, who represented the Laboratory of Canon Law of the Department of Social Theology and Religious Studies.

The festive meeting of the Laboratory of Ethics and Bioethics of Religions was concluded with an address by the Director of the Laboratory, Mr. Vasilios Fanaras, Assistant Professor of the Department of Social Theology and Religious Studies. By treating Ethics and Bioethics in their philosophical, theological, and, above all, interreligious dimensions, the Laboratory promotes with remarkable success academic extroversion and specialized research on topical issues such as Ethics and Bioethics, Ethics of Religions, Bioethics of Religions, Intercultural, Interreligious and Inter-Christian Dialogue on Ethics and Bioethics, Astrobiology of Religions, Narrative Bioethics and Literature, and Methodology of the Science of Ethics and Bioethics.

At the same time, the development and continuous improvement of the operational infrastructure of the Laboratory, as well as the infrastructure for the dissemination of its activities, remains a key priority, Mr. Fanaras noted.

After the inauguration ceremony, the Rectorial Authorities of the University of Athens and the Director of the Laboratory of Ethics and Bioethics of Religions warmly thanked the Laboratory’s Associates Mr. Dimitrios Alexopoulos, MSc. Social Anthropology, LSE, Min. Doctor of the Theological School of NKUA, for the general Coordination of the project of highlighting the Office of the Laboratory and the development of its social and academic networking media, as well as Ms. Maria Katarti, Min. Doctor of the Department of Social Theology and Religion, for the thorough editing of the event.