Brief introduction

I am Professor of Church History at the Department of Theology, School of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, where I currently also serve as Chair of the Department. My academic work focuses on the study of Christian tradition, the institutions of the Church, and the place of Orthodoxy in the contemporary world, with collaborations across international research networks and universities in Europe and beyond. Alongside my academic career, I have served in positions of public responsibility and remain actively engaged in social and political life.

Studies

• I was born in Athens on May 9, 1970, the eldest child of Antonios I. Panagiotopoulos (a theologian and lawyer, from Tourkoleka, Arcadia) and Stamatina Panagiotopoulou, née Liosi (from Athens). I am married to Kalliopi Kanira, and we have two children, Antonis and Tina. I attended the 1st Kindergarten, the 15th Primary School, the 2nd Gymnasium, and the 2nd Lyceum of Ilion, completing my secondary education at the 4th Lyceum of Athens.

• Degree in Theology, Department of Theology, School of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1989-1993).

• Master of Arts (by thesis) in Patristics and Church History, Department of Theology, University of Durham (1997). Thesis: "The Patriarchal Institution in the Early Church (The Pentarchy of the Patriarchs: The Presuppositions, the Evolution and the Function of the Institution)." Supervisor: Prof. Fr. George Dragas.

• Postgraduate Diploma of Specialization in General Church History, Department of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1998). Thesis: "The Question of the Subintroductae in the Early Church." Supervisor: Prof. Vlassios Pheidas.

• PhD in General Church History, Department of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (2002). Dissertation: "The Ecumenical Patriarch Methodius I the Confessor (843-847) and His Work." Supervisor: Prof. Vlassios Pheidas. Advisory committee: Prof. Dimitrios Gonis, Prof. Fr. Georgios Metallinos.

• Scholarship recipient of the George Mavrokordatos Bequest (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY), the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, and SYLFF (Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund).

Academic career & teaching

• Teaching experience in Private and Public Secondary Education as a Theology teacher (1999-2010).

• Faculty member of the Department of Theology, School of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens since 2010, teaching in both the undergraduate program and the department's postgraduate programs.

• I have also taught at the undergraduate program of the Open University of Cyprus; at the Département d'Histoire, Faculté Lettres, Langues et Sciences Humaines, Université d'Angers; at the School of Theology in Graz; at the School of Theology of the Church of Cyprus; in the postgraduate program of the Department of Social Theology and Religious Studies, School of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; in the joint postgraduate program "Greece: Church History and Civilization" (Department of Social Theology and Christian Culture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - Department of Social Theology and Religious Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens); and in the postgraduate program "Greco-Roman - Greco-Italian Studies" (Department of Italian Language and Literature, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens).

Positions & public service

• Reserve Infantry Officer in the Hellenic Army (1997-1998).

• Special Advisor to the Secretary General of Information (2004-2007).

• Head of the Conference Division of the Inter-Orthodox Center of the Church of Greece (2009-2010).

• Secretary General of Media and Communication (2012-2014).

Participation in academic bodies & research

I have participated in a series of research and university programs, in electoral committees for academic appointments, in administrative and academic committees, in organizing committees of conferences, in editorial committees for published volumes, in the evaluation of master's theses and doctoral dissertations, as well as in talks, lectures, presentations, conferences, and research and educational missions to Mount Athos.

Community & civic involvement

• Member of the Board of the "Student Theological Association"; first President of the "Postgraduate Student Theological Association"; first President of the postgraduate students of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

• Member of OIELE (Athens Private Education Teachers' Federation) and OLME (Federation of Secondary Education State School Teachers).

• Member of the "Christian Home of Nea Liosia, i Odos," the "Panhellenic Union of Theologians," the "Brotherhood of Tourkolekaioi, o Nikitaras," the Association "Friends of the Historic Monastery of Saint Demetrios of Tourkoleka," and the Association of Arcadians of Ilion "oi Proselinoi."

• Secretary General of the Board of the Panhellenic "Association of Friends of Mount Athos."

• Treasurer of the Association "The Three Hierarchs."

• Member of the "National Gymnastics Association" (1893).

• President of the AHEPA HJ-37 Chapter of Ilion, District 25 - Hellas.

Political activity

Actively engaged in politics since 1989, I have served as a member and officer of DAP and ONNED, founding member of "Neolaia tis Anoixis" (Youth of Spring), member of New Democracy (ND), member of ND committees and secretariats, candidate for Member of Parliament for Arcadia with New Democracy (January 2015), and I have held government positions.

Current position

I currently serve as Chair of the Department of Theology, School of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.