The initiation of 140 training programs of the Pastoral Training Foundation of the I.A.A., with 3,000 participants, which cover 20 different thematic units, such as Liturgical-Ritual, Confession, Aesthetic of Worship, Ecclesiastical and Canon Law, Byzantine Music but also Administrative Organization of the Parishes, as well as an educational program for the Saints of Athens, the history of Islam and anti-Semitism, was announced yesterday afternoon in special online event by His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Mr. Ieronymos II.
“Pastor’ pastoral care has always been our priority. This is why we created the Pastoral Training Foundation, the Center for Lifelong Learning of the Church, which has many and important accomplishments all these years “, said, among other things, the Archbishop in a special video dedicated to the I.P.E. shown at the event. “From the first moment I took over the helm of the Church of Greece, I realized with my colleagues the need to create that will shepherd those who shepherd. To train more deeply and effectively, in a modern way, the clergy and the laity, maintaining the tradition of our Church and highlighting our roots and culture “he mentioned, while adding that:” The I.P.E. enjoys the recognition of the academic world, but is also warmly accepted by the Holy Dioceses and the clergy, who realize how useful their training is in contemporary and other issues that concern them “.
The new training programs are expected to be attended by more than 3,000 people and address to clergy, lay people, associates and volunteers of the Church and its agencies, but also to the human resources of non-church organizations and social welfare services and cover the following 20 thematic training units:
- Worship and culture in modern life (Liturgical – Ritual)
- Consulting on current issues (Confession)
- Canon – ecclesiastical law: extensions and application in the modern way of life
- Ecumenical Councils and modern reality
- The aesthetics of worship
- Pedagogical use of biblical texts
- Contemporary problems and cutting-edge issues from the perspective of the Church Fathers
- Organization and administration of the parish – offering to the people
- Training of new church executives and volunteers on top issues (Candidates – new clergy and lay executives)
- Theory of organization and development of the ecclesiastical mission
- The saints of Athens. Faces and cultural monuments of the ecclesiastical history of Athens and their messages to modern society
- Individual and the environment in the perspective of a green universe
- Vulnerable social groups and the Church
- The impact and effects of technology on modern individual
- Aspects of the Greek revolution of 1821
- Islamic panorama: World, Europe, Greece from the beginning until today
- Holocausts and anti-Semitism
- Training of expert singers and traditional musicians
- Deepening in Byzantine and traditional music
- Greek and European musical culture with emphasis on church music.
In the special online event that took place focusing on the Holy Archdiocese of Athens, His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Mr. Ieronymos II was present as the president of the I.P.E. and the members of the Board of Directors: His Eminence Metropolitan of Ilion, Acharnon and Petroupoleos Mr. Athenagoras, His Eminence Metropolitan of Nea Ionia, Philadelphia, Heraklion and Chalcedon Mr. Gabriel, the Most Venerable Metropolitan of Fanari Mr. Agathangelos, General Director of Apostolic Ministry, the Most Venerable Archimandrite Barnabas Theocharis, Protosyncellus of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens, the Most Reverend Professor of Theology George Filias, Dr. Grigorios Lakiotis, Director of the Surgery Clinic of the General Hospital “Evangelismos” and from the substitute members the Most Venerable Metropolitan of Thermopylae Mr. Ioannis. Also present were the Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Mr. Eleftherios Oikonomou, the Deputy Minister of Development Mr. Giannis Tsakiris, the Special Secretary for the Management of the European Social Fund Ms. Niki Dandolou, the Rector of the University of West Attica Mr. Panagiotis Kaldis, the Deans of the Theological Schools of Athens Mr. Christos Karagiannis and of Thessaloniki Mr. Chrysostomos Stamoulis, the Archbishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and General Director of the Orthodox Academy of Crete, as its representative, Dr. Konstantinos Zorbas. The event was coordinated and presented by the Deputy Director of IPE, His Eminence Archimandrite Theologos Alexandrakis, the Scientific Manager of the Project.
The 33 authors of the original training material participated digitally through a special application (webinar) which was presented by His Eminence the Metropolitans and their representatives, the Director of the Military Priests of the Armed Forces, Mr. Athanasios Fraktopoulos, the Head of Unit B2.3. “Management of Lifelong Learning Operations & Linking Education and Training with the Labor Market” of E.Y.D. Ms. Florentia Karavatas and a large number of people watched the event through live streaming offered by the website of IPE.
The programs are part of the Act “Lifelong Learning Programs of the Church’s Human Resources – Development of Open Online Courses” which is co-financed by the Business Program “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2020” and national resources.
The development of the educational material for the thematic units of the Act was undertaken, after quantitative and qualitative research to detect educational needs in 4,700 questionnaires, by distinguished academics and clergy, members of the Holy Dioceses, with the corresponding specialization, who wrote 4,000 and more pages of original material that will be provided to the trainees in the most modern and interactive way, as the programs are implemented with the method face to face and distance education. In fact, for the support of distance programs, a system of synchronous and asynchronous distance learning is created, an electronic platform exclusively for the needs of IPE. and the Church, which hosts all the thematic units and rich original multimedia educational material in an advanced educational environment.
The “Pastoral Training Foundation of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens” (IPE) is an autonomous educational and research ecclesiastical institution of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens, which was established by decision of the Permanent Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, and is a Center for Lifetime Learning of the Church for the entire Greek Nation.
As an educational and research center, it aims at the theological and pastoral training of the clergy, lay members and volunteers of the Church and their continuous information on social, cultural, technological and spiritual developments. At the same time, it organizes a series of scientific-research activities and studies aiming at maintaining and highlighting the richness of the Orthodox tradition and the Greek-Christian culture utilizing all modern technological means.
Indication of the success that the presentation had, is the expression of interest for the implementation of programs already by several Holy Dioceses.
You can watch the above inaugural event on the website of I.P.E. www.ipe.gr
