HOLY CROSS(Cont'd from front page)
Today, a new era is dawning in the history of
the School, as new leadership and fresh resources emerge to meet the challenges
of the third millennium. Our Archbishop Demetrios, a former professor at Holy
Cross, has shown himself an especially eloquent and devoted advocate of the School.
The new president of Hellenic College and Holy Cross, Fr. Nicholas Triantafilou,
brings a wealth of administrative and pastoral skills that will help to ensure
the success of the School in the new millennium. In addition, Leadership 100,
with its generous $10 million commitment towards the creation of new scholarships
over the next ten years, has helped to ease the tremendous financial burden placed
upon our students.
As impressive as these recent developments are, however, they are not enough.
We must do more to support our beloved Scholi. I envision a day when students
who study for the priesthood at Holy Cross will emerge free from the constricting
chains of debt and ready to serve the Church wherever they are needed; a day when
Hellenic College will emerge in its own right as a world-renowned institution of
classical studies; a day when both schools will be enrolled to full capacity,
and there will be no shortage of priests, theologians, and educators to supply
the needs of the next generation.
For all these reasons, I have decided to declare the new ecclesiastical year
"The Year of the Holy Cross" in the Diocese of San Francisco, in honor of our
beloved Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of Theology. Throughout this
ecclesiastical year, the Diocese will organize a series of events aimed at
heightening awareness of the School and its vital mission in our Archdiocese.
We will begin by inviting the President of the School, Fr. Triantafilou, to come
for a series of "fireside chats" throughout the Diocese, and seeking to organize
a team of seminarians to visit our parishes during the course of the winter break.
In order to further accentuate "The Year of the Holy Cross," I am hereby announcing
a six-month awareness campaign beginning today, the Sunday after the Feast of the
Holy Cross, and extending through the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross
on March 18, 2001. The intent of the campaign is threefold:
- To publicize the mission of the School throughout the Diocese.
In addition to its primary mission of priestly formation, the School of
Theology is responsible for the development of lay leaders, educators,
and theologians to serve the needs of the Church, as well as providing
a vital forum for theological inquiry, dialogue, and publication. For
its part, Hellenic College represents a unique institution of higher
learning, offering a comprehensive liberal arts education with a special
emphasis on classical Hellenic studies.
- To recruit promising new students for Hellenic College and Holy Cross.
We must impress upon our young people that the School represents a sound and
viable investment in their future, whether they are contemplating a vocation
of full-time service to the Church, or are simply desirous of attending an
institution of classical learning where our Hellenic and Orthodox traditions
are valued and affirmed.
- To raise funds for the needs of the School. To this end, I strongly
urge every parish to organize a major fund-raising event to benefit the School
over the course of the next six months. Moreover, because the scholarships from
Leadership 100 will not immediately benefit every student, it is vital that we
continue to support and augment our own Diocese Scholarship Endowment Fund.
Therefore, my beloved in the Lord, let us celebrate the "Year of the Holy Cross"
by renewing our commitment to support Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of
Theology. There can be no greater investment in the future of our Orthodox Church
and Hellenic heritage than an investment in the School. May Christ our true God,
through the power of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, protect and establish our
sacred School and sustain its crucial mission within our Church, until His glorious
and second coming; Amen.
Paternally,
 Metropolitan Anthony
of the Dardanelles
Bishop of San Francisco
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