Documentary: St. John of Damascus Theological Institute- Balamand

Resource: www.theology.balamand.edu.lb History .......The need for a theological institute to meet university standards was widely felt, in order to promote the training of clergy, teachers, and religious educators. Metropolitan ANTONY (Bashir) of blessed memory, the head of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America, assumed the responsibility of enabling his Mother Church to establish a higher institute of theology, a thousand years after the closure of the first school of Antioch. In 1965, during the general convention of the Archdiocese of New York and North America, it was decided to establish an institute of theology on the hill of the Balamand, which occupied a privileged place in the heart of every Antiochian Orthodox. A Board of Trustees was constituted........ On August 10, 1966, the Antiochian Holy Synod decided to lay the corner stone of the Institute. This was done by Patriarch THEODOSIUS VI of Thrice Blessed memory on August 15. Metropolitan PHILIP pledged to carry out the will of his predecessor, and complete the construction of the Institute. After the election of Patriarch ELIAS IV, the Board of Trustees was made up of the following members: Metropolitan ELIAS (Qurban) of Tripoli, Metropolitan IGNATIUS (Hazim) of Lattakia, Metropolitan GEORGE (Khodr) of Byblos and Botrys, Mr. Munir Berbari, Mr. Kamal Rafqa, Mr. Anis Shubat, Dr. Karim Azkoul, Prof. Raymond Ghusn, Dr. Lutfallah Milki, Dr. Costy Bendaly, Mr. Ghassan Tueini, Dr. Constantine Zurayq, Dr. Munir Atiyah, Mr. Albert Lahham and Mr. Adib Nassur. The Institute was established in 1970 under the leadership of Metropolitan IGNATIUS of Lattakia (Patriarch IGNATIUS IV of Thrice Blessed memory). On October 7, 1971, it was officially inaugurated by Patriarch ELIAS IV in the presence of Mr. Suleiman Franjieh, the President of Lebanon, members of the Holy Synod, government officials, and a large number of Orthodox faithful. During the academic year of 1972-1973 the Dean of the Institute was Archimandrite PANTELEIMON (Rodopoulos) (Later Metropolitan of Tiroleyi and Siranpion), professor of Canon Law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. A commencement for the first graduates of the Institute was held on the feast day of the Patron Saint of the Institute in 1974. On February 26, 1975, the President of the Lebanese Republic issued Decree No. 9764 licensing the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East, to establish an Institute of Higher Learning in Orthodox Theology at the Balamand. However, the outbreak of the war in Lebanon forced the administration to transfer its students to Thessaloniki to complete their studies. In the year 1978, a Synodal Commission was appointed to supervise the Institute. It consisted of Metropolitans ELIAS (Qurban) of Tripoli, ALEXIS (Abdulkarim) of Homs and GEORGE (Khodr) of Byblos and Botrys. Deacon Michel Kyriacos (now Metropolitan of Tripoli and El Koura) was appointed director. In 1980, Fr. Michel Najm became Dean of the Institute. On March 8, 1984, during the meeting of the Holy Synod in the Institute itself, a new Synodal Commission was formed. It was comprised of Metropolitan CONSTANTINE (Papastephanou) of Baghdad, Metropolitan ELIAS (Audeh) of Beirut, and Metropolitan BOULOS (Bendaly) of Akkar. In 1986, MetropolitanCONSTANTINE (Papastephanou) took upon himself the administration of the Institute. In the academic year 1987-1988, Archimandrite JOHN (Yazigi) (now His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X), became Dean of the Institute. On June 4, 1988, and by virtue of the Decree No. 4885 issued by the President of the Lebanese Republic, the St John of Damascus Institute of Theology became one of the three faculties, which constituted the University of Balamand. After it became one of the most important faculties of the University of Balamand, the responsibilities of the dean were assumed by Bishop GEORGE (Abou Zakhm) (now Metropolitan of Homs), later by Archimandrite PAUL (Yazigi) (now Metropolitan of Aleppo), then Bishop JOHN (Yazigi) (now His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X) for a second term. Then, from 2005 to 2010, Dr. Georges Nahas, vice-president of the University of Balamand, was the dean, followed by Bishop GHATTAS (Hazim) from October 2010 till September 2013. Then, Fr. Porphyrios (Georgi) was appointed Dean till September 2020. Then Archimandrite Prof. Jack Khalil was appointed Dean....