In 1983, the Pastoral Department of the School of Theology of Aristotle University transferred John Zizioulas from the University of Glasgow, where he was teaching at the time, to teach the course of Dogmatics and Comparative theology. His obligations at the University of Glasgow, and partly also the prevailing unrest in the Universities of Greece at the time, made him very hesitant to accept this call, despite the honor it entailed for him. However, the sense of debt to his homeland, and indeed to the Orthodox Church, as well as the willingness of the Department to facilitate the parallel fulfillment of his obligations at the University of Glasgow for a long period of time, led Zizioulas finally, and after exhausting everything the time limits for postponing the acceptance of the call-up provided by law, in the decision to accept the call-up and assume his duties on May 16, 1984.

During his teaching at the University of Thessaloniki, he taught the course of Dogmatic theology and Comparative theology, covering the six areas of systematic theology:

a) Introduction to Dogmatics [definition and method of Dogmatics],
b) Problem of knowing God,
c) Concept of faith and revelation,
d) Doctrine of God and the Holy Trinity,
e) Christology,
f) Ecclesiology, and
g) Eschatology.

In order to cover, on the other hand, the area of ​​the Comparative theology, he taught Western theology, with reference to the origins of the differences between Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant theology, and the consequences of these differences for the modern effort of theological dialogue between the divided Christian Churches and denominations, in the context of the so-called Ecumenical Movement of our days.

These traditions, which were followed with interest by students from other faculties of the University, were characterized by the effort to maintain fidelity to the paternal theology, but also to highlight at the same time the consequences of this theology for the existence of man. That is why, during the presentation and analysis of doctrines, the discussion of their philosophical implications is not omitted, which makes Dogmatics a lively and interesting subject. In this way, there is an analytical report and examination of problems from the area of ​​Ethics, which correctly, according to the Orthodox point of view, should not be approached as an independent subject but only as an extension and existential interpretation of dogmatic teaching.

At the level of postgraduate studies, Professor Zizioulas had the opportunity, apart from the regular classes, to direct his students to the preparation of doctoral theses, which are examples of systematic interpretation and exposition of the theological and philosophical aspects of Orthodox dogmatic and patristic theology. Prominent among these theses are a) The Eucharistic Ontology of prof. Nikolaos Loudovikos (Domos publications, Athens 1992), and b) Stavros Yagazoglou’s thesis on the Synthesis of Christology and Pneumatology in the theology of Saint Gregory of Palamas.