James C. Skedros, ThD, has been appointed Dean of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA. Interim Dean for this past year, Skedros is Michael G. and Anastasia Cantonis Professor of Byzantine Studies and Professor of Early Christianity at the School. He is an accomplished educator, administrator, and scholar with research and publications in the areas of popular religious practices in Late Antiquity and Byzantium, history of the Byzantine church, Byzantine hagiography, pilgrimage, and Christian/Muslim relations.

A graduate of Holy Cross, Skedros received his ThD in the History of Christianity from Harvard Divinity School. As a Fulbright Scholar, he conducted field and archaeological research in Thessaloniki, Greece related to the veneration of St. Demetrios. After completing his doctoral studies, he was Assistant Professor of Orthodox Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Skedros also served as the Assistant Director of the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute in Berkeley California.

“Since 1998, Dr. Skedros has proven his effectiveness as a scholar, teacher, colleague, administrator, and leader,” observed Fr. Nicholas C. Triantafilou, President of Hellenic College Holy Cross (HCHC). “His long history of collaboration with colleagues and intuitive sense of the academic needs of the students he serves, makes this next step in his career in his service to Hellenic College Holy Cross most exciting.”

Upon receiving the unanimous support of the Hellenic College Holy Cross Board of Trustees, Skedros said, “I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to serve as Dean of Holy Cross. I look forward to working with my faculty colleagues to enhance the long tradition of academic excellence and pastoral formation that has been a hallmark of Holy Cross. The challenges facing the Church are the same challenges we face at Holy Cross. Our role as a theological school is not simply to educate clergy for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, as critical as this is. We must reach beyond the confines of our gorgeous campus to be the theological, spiritual, and formational center for both clergy and lay leaders, the Church, and society.”

Hellenic College Holy Cross is the intellectual, educational and spiritual center of the Greek Orthodox Church in America. HCHC’s mission is the formation and the education of the person within the life of an Orthodox Christian community. To that end, it educates men for the holy priesthood of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and other Orthodox Christian entities, as well as men and women for leadership roles in Church, chosen professions, and society.