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The Chronicle of Higher Education - September 10, 1999

       News

Hellenic College Reinstates 4 Professors
in Wake of Archbishop’s Resignation

By Beth McMurtrie

Four faculty members at Hellenic College, in Brookline, Mass., were reinstated Thursday, two years after they were ousted by the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a controversial figure who has since resigned.

The four, including the college’s president, were fired, demoted, or reassigned to clerical duties in July 1997. Some on the campus speculated that they had been punished for investigating allegations of sexual misconduct by a priest. At the time, Archbishop Spyridon said he had fired the president to end “year-long internal conflicts.”

Hellenic College, which runs the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, is the only Greek Orthodox college in the country. It enrolls 172 students. The archbishop has significant control over the campus. He is chairman of the Board of Trustees and heads the Board of Corporate Members, which is empowered to appoint and remove the president.

Those and other personnel changes prompted a review by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, which sustained the college’s accreditation this spring after its officials promised to revise the college’s bylaws and its policy on academic freedom.

Archbishop Spyridon resigned from his post in August, ending a stormy three-year tenure. His critics said he was an autocrat who did not appreciate the concept of academic freedom. He was replaced by Metropolitan Demetrios Trakatellis of Greece, a former professor at the Holy Cross Orthodox School of Theology and at Harvard Divinity School. He is expected to arrive in the United States next week.

Bishop George of New Jersey, administrator of the Archdiocese until Archbishop Demetrios arrives, called the reinstatement decision “courageous and fair.”

“This unfortunate episode,” he said in a statement, “has caused a great deal of pain to the hearts of many people.”

In a news release, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America said that the decision had been made in response to the findings of a special committee of Hellenic’s Board of Trustees, which was assigned last year to investigate the matter.

Following are the four reinstated professors, all of whom are priests who taught at the theology school:

• The Rev. Alkiviadis C. Calivas, the former president. He had been removed from his post and returned to the faculty as a professor of liturgics. He has been on sabbatical for the past year and will resume his teaching post this fall.
• The Rev. Emmanuel Clapsis, an associate professor of dogmatic theology. He did not have tenure and was told in 1997 that his contract would not be renewed. He has been working as a parish priest in Marlboro, Mass., and will resume teaching this fall.
• The Rev. George Papademetriou, the college librarian and an associate professor of theology. He will continue teaching this fall.
• The Rev. Theodore Stylianopoulos, a tenured professor of the New Testament. During the past two years, he had no teaching responsibilities but continued to receive his salary. This fall, he will return to the classroom.

None of the four professors could be reached for comment Thursday. Nikki Stephanopoulos, director of news and information for the Archdiocese, referred all questions to Hellenic College. James Skedros, acting dean of the college, did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

[ The Chronicle of Higher Education
  https://www.chronicle.com/article/hellenic-college-
  reinstates-4-professors-in-wake-of-archbishops-resignation/
  September 10, 1999 ]