On Thursday, 29 January 2026,in the B’ Amphitheater of the Faculty of Theology, a special ceremony established the Named Chair entitled: “Metropolitan of Drama Pavlos – Ecclesiastical History and Culture of Eastern Hellenism (11th–20th century),” honoring 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.

Among the speakers were His All-Holiness, the Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Rector of Aristotle University, Professor Kyriakos Anastasiadis, the Chair of the Department of Theology, Elias Evangelou, the Deputy Minister of Education, Nikos Papaioannou, the Deputy Minister of the Interior (Macedonia and Thrace) Kostas Gkioulekas, the Secretary General for Religious Affairs Georgios Karatzis, Metropolitan Theophilos of Thessaloniki, Metropolitan Varnavas of Neapolis, Stavroupolis, and Metropolitan Ioustinos of Nea Krini and Kalamaria.

The Aristotle University established the Chair in cooperation with the General Secretariat for Religious Affairs, the Holy Metropolises of Thessaloniki, Neapolis and Stavroupoli, Nea Krini and Kalamaria, as well as the Apostolic Ministry of the Church of Greece.

The Chair operates within the School of Theology of the Faculty of Theology and aims, among other objectives, to promote scientific research and teaching in the ecclesiastical history and culture of Eastern Hellenism (11th–20th century), to attract students and researchers, and to establish 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 Zone, as well as refugee memory, spiritual life, ecclesiastical organization, and the cultural presence of Hellenism in these regions.

Through its research and educational activities, the Chair aspires to further strengthen the role of the Aristotle University as an international center of reference for the study of Byzantine and modern ecclesiastical history and the cultural heritage of Ecumenical Hellenism.

The Chair will receive annual funding from the participating ecclesiastical bodies and will soon be staffed by a member of the Teaching and Research Personnel specializing in the Ecclesiastical History and Culture of Eastern Hellenism.