Christos Giannaras has passed away at the age of 89. He was a philosophy professor, distinguished philosopher, and author. The news of his death was announced via Facebook by his son, Spyros Giannaras.
Christos Giannaras was born on April 10, 1935. He studied theology at the University of Athens and philosophy at the University of Bonn and the University of Paris (Sorbonne). He held a doctorate in philosophy from the Faculty of Humanities at the Sorbonne and the Theological School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He was also an honorary doctor of the University of Belgrade, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in New York, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and the Holy Cross School of Theology in Boston. He served as the director of the magazine Synoro, which published twelve issues from 1964 to 1967.
From 1982 to 2002, he was a regular professor of philosophy at Panteion University of Political and Social Sciences in Athens, initially in the then-unified Department of Political Science and International Studies and later in the Department of International and European Studies. He taught philosophical terminology and methodology, political philosophy, and cultural diplomacy. He also taught as a visiting professor at universities in Paris, Geneva, Lausanne, and Crete.
Christos Giannaras demonstrated a rich literary work with themes related to the research of the differences between Greek and Western European philosophy and Orthodox Christian tradition. His book “The Freedom of Morals” is considered to have defined the core of what later became known as “neo-Orthodoxy” and has been characterized as “May ’68 in Orthodox theology and ethics.” Many of his works have been translated into at least 10 European languages.
He was a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, an elected member of the Society of Greek Writers, as well as the International Academy of Human Sciences (Brussels). He actively intervened in social and political issues for many years through regular articles in the newspapers “To Vima” and “Kathimerini,” along with parallel television appearances.