The Greek Evangelical Church (GEC) traces its beginnings to 1858, when a young convert began publishing a weekly newspaper and started a Bible study. The Star of the East is still the official monthly publication of the GEC and is the oldest published newspaper in Greece. In 1924 the congregations formed a synod, and in 1938 the present name was adopted.
Though small in size, the GEC is the largest Protestant church in Greece. Its twenty-nine congregations are divided into two regional synods in Greece and one synod in North America. The GEC has about six thousand members and regular attendees. There are currently seven preaching stations and several house meetings. With only seventeen ordained pastors, several smaller, rural GEC congregations are led by elders. The GEC added two new urban congregations in 1996, but the rural congregations are struggling with declining and aging populations. The GEC has an active evangelism program and maintains a mission outreach in Albania.

Mission outreach began early in Albania. Some Albanian historians believe that it was possible that there were mission visits to the port city of Durres as early as the second century. For the better part of two millennia, the presence of the historic Christian church remained an important part of Albania’s life and religious/cultural development. An Orthodox medieval prince and national hero, Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeg, held off the Islamic armies for several decades until he was overwhelmed by the Ottomans on their final push toward Vienna.

The Orthodox Church of Albania remains a partner and player in Presbyterian mission activity today. Katerina Papadhoupulli, translator for the adaptation of church school curriculum for the children of Albania, recently expanded her ministry by becoming a widely active teacher/trainer for several other Orthodox curriculum projects in Eastern Europe and Russia.