Mission Statement
The mission of the Institute for Peace Studies in Eastern Christianity is to conduct research, educate, and offer consultancy to educators, policymakers, and religious leaders in exploring and implementing methods of peacemaking emerging from the traditions of Eastern Christianity.

History
The Institute for Peace Studies in Eastern Christianity (IPSEC) was created by Marian Gheorghe Simion in the spring of 2008 based on his research in religious and political violence with a personal focus on Orthodox Christianity. IPSEC’s first institutional public presence was at the 32^nd Congress of the American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences (held during July 22-26, 2008 at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston), where IPSEC co-sponsored the theology and philosophy session of the congress. IPSEC was incorporated within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on March 27, 2009 as a non-profit organization under 503(c), and on April 9, 2009 the IRS assigned IPSEC Employer Identification Number 26-4633958. Currently, IPSEC is in process of obtaining its tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service.

IPSEC was inaugurated on July 2, 2009 in Bucharest Romania, during an unprecedented Pan-Orthodox expert consultation on Orthodox Peace Ethics in Eastern and Oriental Christianity, which reunited experts from twelve Orthodox Churches. The consultation was hosted by the Romanian Orthodox Patriarch Daniel at the Patriarchal Palace, during June 29-July 3, 2009. In preparation for this consultation, and at the request of Ms. Semegnish Asfaw of the World Council of Churches, Marian Gh. Simion prepared a concept paper and proposed the research questions, which focused on the teaching and practice of churches on peace ethics, to be discussed from the historical experience of each local church. In search for funding, Ms. Semegnish Asfaw of the World Council of Churches together with Dr. Heinz Gerhard Justenhoven of The Institute for Theology and Peace from Hamburg, Germany fully endorsed the proposal and funded the conference. During this successful gathering, IPSEC earned its international reputation and credibility, as key experts in the field coming from twelve Orthodox and Oriental Churches expressed their desire to a close collaboration with IPSEC.

Currently, IPSEC is working in partnership with the World Council of Churches, the Institute for Theology and Peace, and Patriarchate of Antioch in organizing the Second International Expert Consultation focusing on developing the principles of a Just Peace Theology.

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