# Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology

This article forms part of the series :
Eastern Orthodox Christianity in North America :
History :
History of Eastern Orthodoxy in North America
Eastern Orthodoxy in North America timeline
Eastern Orthodoxy in the United States bibliography
Ligonier Meeting :
People :
Saints
Bishops
Writers :
Jurisdictions (list) :
Monasteries :
List of monasteries in the United States :
Seminaries :
Christ the Saviour
Holy Cross
Holy Trinity
St. Andrew's
St. Herman's
St. Tikhon's
St. Sava's
St. Sophia's
St. Vladimir's :
Organizations :
vte :
Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (HCHC) is a private Orthodox Christian liberal arts college and seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts. Its mission is to educate individuals for life and service in the Orthodox Christian community; this includes men preparing for the priesthood of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and other Orthodox Christian entities, as well as men and women for leadership roles in the church or within secular society. HCHC includes a graduate school of theology (seminary) for clerical training and education, and several undergraduate and certificate programs in business, education, literature, and other secular professions. The institution was founded in 1937 as Holy Cross Theological School in Pomfret, Connecticut, but was moved to Brookline, Massachusetts in 1947.

## History

Archbishop Athenagoras of America soon after his enthronement became convinced that a seminary was needed in America to prepare American born man for the priesthood. At the 1936 Clergy-Laity Congress, he announced that the school would open next year in Pomfret, Connecticut, on an estate owned by the Archdiocese, bought for a song during the Great Depression. The establishment of the seminary in Pomfret was a bold experiment, fraught with difficulties. Demetrios Michaelides, who entered the Holy Cross in the 1937, remembered: "The first year was very hard. We were isolated. Being the first class of the start of the seminary was a challenge. The school had very little money, which was a hardship for all. There was not much money for food or books or other supplies. People from Boston and Worcester would bring food for us."
In 1966, Holy Cross expanded its undergraduate division into a full four-year liberal arts college named Hellenic College, which opened in 1968. Hellenic College Holy Cross is the only accredited Orthodox Christian college, seminary, and graduate school of theology in the Western Hemisphere.

## Academics

Hellenic College offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree.
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology offers graduate programs of study leading to the degrees of Master of Divinity (M.Div), Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.), and Master of Theology (Th.M).

### Accreditation

Hellenic College has been accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education and Holy Cross School of Theology has been accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada since 1974. Holy Cross is also a member of the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium.

## Campus

Hellenic College is located on a 59-acre (24 ha) campus in Brookline, Massachusetts just outside Boston on the former Weld estate. It is notable for having been the longtime practice site of the Boston Celtics.

## Summer programs

* CrossRoad is a ten-day, vocational exploration program for Orthodox Christian high school graduates and rising seniors. Two sessions are held on the HCHC campus each summer.
* The Pappas Patristic Institute is a seminar based program that focuses on readings in the Early Church Fathers. This program is geared towards undergraduate and graduate students.

## Notable people
### Notable faculty

* Georges Florovsky
* Eugen J. Pentiuc
* John Romanides
* Nomikos Michael Vaporis

### Notable alumni

* Archbishop John of Tiranë, Durrës and All Albania
* Archbishop Nikitas (Lulias) of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
* Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
* Metropolitan Evangelos (Kourounis) of Sardes, titular bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
* Metropolitan Gerasimos (Michaleas) of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco
* Metropolitan Isaiah (Chronopoulos) of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver
* Metropolitan Methodios (Tournas) of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston
* Metropolitan Nicholas (Pissare) of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Detroit
* Metropolitan Savas (Zembillas) of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh
* Bishop Andonios (Paropoulos) of Phasiane, auxiliary bishop and Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
* Bishop Demetrios (Kantzavelos) of Mokissos, auxiliary bishop and Proistamenos of the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine
* Bishop Dimitrios (Couchell) of Xanthos, titular bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
* Bishop Kyrillos (Abdelsayed), auxiliary bishop for Christian Education and Dean of St. Athanasius and St. Cyril Theological School in the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii
* Demetrios Constantelos
* Emmanuel Lemelson of Massachusetts of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston
* Alexander Karloutsos

### Interments

* Archbishop Iakovos (Koukouzis) of America
* Bishop Gerasimos (Papadopoulos) of Abydos
* Metropolitan Silas (Koskinas) of New Jersey