Learning & Engaging with the Greek Orthodox

Why is this topic important:

One of the three historic churches is the Orthodox Church. You cannot understand Greece but also many of the countries of Eastern Europe and Russia without first having understood the Orthodox faith. Beyond that, however, Orthodox theology exerts a huge influence on many levels on Protestant Theology.

What we are going to do:

On this day we will have the opportunity to get to know the basic beliefs of the Orthodox Church, we are going to visit an Orthodox church and try to understand the way they worship and finally, we are going to learn various practices that characterize the spiritual life of an Orthodox.

The Goal:

Our goal is to get a better understanding of this new and different world and at the same time to look at the ways in which one could share the gospel in this context.

Your Host:

Giotis Kantartzis

Born and raised in a Christian family, Giotis felt the call to pastoral ministry at the age of 16. He completed the Bible School in Greece when he was 21 and started serving the Greek Evangelical Church of Volos as its pastor. He then went on to continue his theological studies in Boston, while serving as the pastor of the Greek evangelical church there. For the past 20 years he has been serving as pastor of the First Greek Evangelical Church of Athens. Through the ministry of First Greek Evangelical, he was enabled to conceive and initiate a wider vision for church planting in Athens, leading to what is today called the “Polis” network.
Giotis studied Sociology (BA, Panteion University) and Theology (Diploma in Theology, Greek Bible School) in Athens before transferring to the USA for further studies (MSt, Boston University School of Theology, and MDiv, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary). He also holds a PhD, awarded by the theological faculty of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Since 2019 he has been serving as a coordinator for City to City Balkans. He is married to Nopi and they have three sons, George (25), Theofilos (23), and Jason (20).