HCHC Celebrates Academic Convocation

Convocation is an annual event at many schools, including Hellenic College Holy Cross, at which the faculty, administration, and staff formally welcome new and returning students to campus early in the academic year. As HCHC’s President, Rev. Fr. Christopher Metropulos, says, “Convocation commends and honors our students’ success and affirms the mission of Hellenic College Holy Cross to develop their vocation for service to the Church and society.”

2018 Convocation took place on Wednesday, September 26, beginning with a procession of faculty and students to the Maliotis Cultural Center. The varied and colorful academic regalia of our professors was not only visually impressive but also a reminder of the many great universities here and abroad where their wearers earned their credentials.

The highlight of the program in Maliotis was the inspiring and thought-provoking keynote address delivered by Rev. Dr. Thomas FitzGerald on the topic of “Life Together.” Fr. FitzGerald is Professor of Church History and Historical Theology at Holy Cross, of which he is an alumnus. The Dean of Holy Cross from 2006 to 2013, he is currently serving as Interim Dean.

Fr. FitzGerald is a Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and frequently represents the Patriarchate and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America at theological conferences and ecumenical consultations. He is the Orthodox Executive Secretary of the Orthodox-Catholic Bilateral Theological Consultation in North America.

Fr. FitzGerald represented the Ecumenical Patriarchate as the senior Orthodox theologian on the executive staff of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1994 to 2006. A prolific author and editor, he most recently co-edited Journey Toward Unity (2017), a two-volume work containing the documents of the dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.