Athanasios Angelopoulos

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Athanasios Angelopoulos (Greek: Αθανάσιος Αγγελόπουλος) (born November 6, 1939 in Katerini, Northern Greece) is a Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; founder and in-honour president of the Institute for National and Religious Studies (Karipion Institute). He has studied at the Theology School of the University of Athens as well as in Belgrade's Theology School. From 1973 to 1981 he was instructor of theology at Aristotle University; in 1982 he became an assistant professor and in 1984, full professor of Ecclesiastic(Church) History at the Department of Pastoral Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Professor Angelopoulos (left) with his nephew and collaborator, Nikolaos Mottas; Boston, Massachusetts, April 2006

He is the founder and in-honour president of the Institute for National and Religious Studies - Karipio Melathro, which is based in Thessaloniki, Greece. Angelopoulos is the co-organizer, alongside with the Greek National Line publishing House of Athens, of the program Ecumenical Hellenism.

He has been honoured with the title of the Archon Actuary of the Holy in Christ Great Mother Church, by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople; the award of the Academy of Athens, in 1980; and with various other awards and prizes from Churches, States and Institutes. Angelopoulos had been appointed in the past as Secretary of the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs; he worked as an advisor of the Orthodox affairs committee of the Greek Parliament and as a special advisor of the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace.

He wrote many books about Religion, Church History, Orthodoxy and plenty of articles written by him have been published in magazines, journals and newspapers. He is currently a collaborator of the newspaper "To Paron".

Having a personal friendship, for many years, with Iakovos, Archbishop of America, he was appointed as the responsible for the scientific diligence and publication of the inedited correspondence of the late Archbishop; a work which is planned to be published in 2007.

On January 2007, Angelopoulos was appointed by the Church of Greece as special advisor and collaborator of the Holy Synod in Athens.

[edit] Memberships

President of the Institute for National and Religious Studies, Thessaloniki, Greece
Member of the Macedonian studies Society, Thessaloniki
Member of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (Columbus, Ohio)
Member of the Centre for the Appeals for Freedom (New York), Russian and East European Centre (Illinois)