Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology

This section needs expansion . You can help by adding to it . ( October 2025 ) Origins 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 . [ 12 ] In 1937, Pomfret seminary was established as The Greek Archdiocese Institute, which would soon become known as Holy Cross Theological School. [ 13 ] [ 11 ] The establishment of the seminary in Pomfret was a bold experiment, fraught with difficulties. Demetrios Michaelides, who entered the seminary 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." [ 19 ] The seminary reached its current location in 1947, when it moved from Pomfret to Brookline, Massachusetts. [ 14 ]

In 1968, Holy Cross expanded its undergraduate division into a full four-year liberal arts college named Hellenic College. [ 15 ] In 1974, Hellenic College was first accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education , and the Holy Cross Theological School was first accredited by the Association of Theological Schools the same year. [ 16 ]

In the spring of 2019, the college was warned by the state of Massachusetts and its accreditor of financial problems. [ 20 ] This led to college announcing measures to ameliorate financial difficulties, and the resignation of the institution's then president, Christopher Metropulos. [ 21 ] By late 2019 and early 2020, Hellenic College Holy Cross was put on probation by the NECHE, and considered at risk of losing its accreditation . [ 22 ] [ 23 ] The college was removed from probation in March 2021, with the NECHE finding progress in relevant areas. [ 24 ] [ 25 ]

Demetrios S. Katos is the current president of HCHC. [ 5 ] The institution is also administered by a Board of Trustees . [ 26 ] The chairman of the institution's Board of Trustees is Archbishop Elpidophoros of America . [ 4 ]