It was a goal of Metropolitan Archbishop Paul (Saliba) to have locally-based theological education at a tertiary level, for the education of clergy and lay-workers. To that end, he directly supported the establishment of the Melbourne Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, being its onetime president.

The [[Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand]] has had a large role Since it's establishment in establishing and coordinating MIOCS2003, particularly through [[St. Anna Convent (Preston, Australia)|St. Anna's Convent]](Antiochian Orthodox) has played a major part in MIOCS, with the [[Superior]], Sister Virginia, being the Registrar and does so with Secretary; as has the [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|ROCOR]] Dean of Victoria, Archpriest [[Michael Protopopov]], . With the support of Rev. Prof. Robert Gribben and the priest United Faculty of Theology, the [[Church first subjects under the aegis of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] parish MIOCS were offered in Melbourne, Fr Igor Filianovsky2004.

Established There has been some turbulance in 2003the history of MIOCS, mainly from Greek Orthodox sources (including in a Greek-Australian newspaper); some of this has centred around the appointment of Dr Christos Galiotis, a graduate of [[St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College (Sydney, Australia)|St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College]], as first subjects under president, while others have centred on former lecturers being out of communion with the aegis of mainstream Orthodox Church (including a Macedonian Orthodox priest). This has been such that Protopresbyter [[Thomas Hopko]]'s 2003 MIOCS were offered in 2004-sponsored lecture was reason enough to deny him an audience at St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College.