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GOARCH - May 22, 1997
OFFICIAL NEWS

St. Basil Academy Teacher's College to Open in the Fall

New York - St. Basil Academy Teacher's College will re-open this fall as scheduled with the mission of training Greek Orthodox men and women as specialists who combine unique mastery in Greek language education with catechism, youth ministry and parish office management.

According to information from the Very Rev. Sylvester Berberis, director, the Academy will offer a three-year program. The first year will be devoted to total immersion in Greek language study. The following two years will include methodology of teaching, religion, psychology, computer skills, accounting and church office management.

In addition to the core language course in the first year, the academy also will offer other courses, including visiting lecture series on Greek America, and on youth activities and religious education.

The Greek language program will be the only one of its kind in the nation. The relative isolation of the campus offers an advantage in carrying out such an intense program. It would be otherwise impossible to hold it at Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology or at any other College without seriously disrupting its four-year curriculum.

Students from Hellenic College or Holy Cross School of Theology and other colleges also will have the opportunity to study and master the Greek language for a semester or two without the burden of other courses and as an alternative to spending time in Greece to acquire language proficiency.

In addition, the students will practice their skills at the Greek afternoon school of the Academy on campus.

St. Basil's Teacher's Academy could also become a major center of archival material and publications pertaining to Greek-American studies. And in cooperation with other institutions it could become the site of major conferences and publications on various aspects of the development, problems, needs and prospects of our various Greek Orthodox communities.

Those having completed the three-year program will be eligible to go on to Hellenic College to complete their fourth year and earn a BA degree. This new program will also appeal to adults of any age who may already have a college degree or high school diploma and want to serve the church at large or their parish in particular.

Fr. Berberis said that, upon completion of the program, all students will be bilingual and fluent in both modern Greek and English. They will also have knowledge of motivational and educational psychology development, of Greek Orthodox faith and practice, and the basics of Greek literature, history and culture.

Students will be allowed to waive the tuition requirement if they commit themselves to at least five years of employment in a parish of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

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