It has often been claimed that the Orthodox do not have a missionary or a missiological tradition. In part this may have seemed true because of historical circumstances, in particular the abrupt interruption of Russian missions in their heyday by the October Revolution (1917) and the vulnerability and weakness of the Greek state, along with most other Balkan states, which were focused on their struggles of national liberation from the Ottoman empire. Nevertheless, these historical misfortunes do not mean that there has not been mission or missiological reflection on the part of the Orthodox. The Faculty of Theology of Athens University has had a vital role in raising missiological awareness and conducting research in the field of Missiology. The late Prof. Leonidas Filippidis was the first to include missiological classes in his main Study of Religion course. He was a key figure contributing to the foundation of a university seat. The actual founder of Missiology as an academic discipline at the University was the late Prof. Elias Voulgarakis, who through his extensive research linked modern Missiology to the ancient patristic tradition. Additionally, the Archbishop of Albania, Anastasios Yannoulatos, a figure of international renown, was not only Professor of the History of Religions but an active missionary, who gave mission, in praxis and in theory, a worldwide appeal. When the Department of Social Theology and the Study of Religion was founded in 1983 under the name ‘Pastoral Department’ as a separate department of the Faculty of Theology, these two professors, along with the equally eminent Professor of the Philosophy of Religions, the late Nikos Nissiotis, inaugurated within the Department a particular division of the Study of Religion entitled the Philosophy of Religion and Missiology, giving a new momentum to Missiological Studies. This presentation will discuss the fluctuations of history while reflecting also on the present and the future contribution of the Faculty of Theology.

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