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His Grace Bishop Andonios of Phasiane
Chancellor of the Archdiocese
10 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075-0106

1/21/2017

Your Eminence,

This letter is a confidential follow-up to our last communication sent to the Archdiocese in October of 2016. Our hope was that our first letter would bring real change in Father Chris’ attitude and behavior. Unfortunately, this has not been the case, and feel obligated to report to you what has happened since that time.

After our letter was posted to the Internet, Father Christopher threatened legal action against both the writers of the letter and the founder of the website "Monomakhos." His visits off campus became longer in duration- and initially the faculty and staff felt some relief. Yet even away from the School Father Chris’ statements and behavior continued to raise serious questions. In bids to raise money from parishes, Father Christopher has made promises to "improve the situation at the school" while at the same time making false or misleading statements to increase enrollment and drive up tuition.

Statements brought to our attention during his fundraising trips include the following:

• His pledge to start a new “Science Center.” This new Center will apparently attract students interested in nursing and/or life science. At this time, the School has a single faculty member to teach Science classes. Does he plan to hire an entire new faculty?

• Major building projects of questionable value while our students pay the ninth highest dormitory rate in the country

• Promising that Doctoral level studies in theology and other disciplines will be available in the near future- even though the faculty is already over stretched and a doctoral program has almost zero chance of accreditation

• His pledge to “cut the fat”- and lay off staff and faculty that are not up to “his standards”

• Bishops prefer priestly candidates with college degrees from Hellenic College over other schools.

A number of faculty and staff have confronted Father Chris about these and other statements. Instead of accepting constructive criticism, he became very defensive. He lashed out citing “ all the money” he has raised for the school. At faculty gatherings, he frequently referenced specific dollar amounts in conversation. Thankfully, he no longer includes exact dollar amounts in his sermons..

At the same time, Father Chris threatens junior faculty with not having “enough money” to give them tenure. He continues to lay off administrative staff- insisting that the school requires 10,000 dollars a day to operate. This is discouraging to talented professors who do their best for students and administrative staff who fear losing their jobs.

This obsession with money is a classic example of Father's modus operandi. Although his own inauguration cost the school well over 100,000 dollars (the most expensive of all time by a wide margin) when it comes to faculty and staff there is never enough money. He is truly a far cry from the outstanding example shown by our former president, Father Nicholas Triantafilou. Father Nick was a man of real charity and humility and an extraordinary example for our young seminarians.

As your Eminence knows, the School faces a number of challenges that have not been addressed. The School has nearly lost accreditation twice in the past five years at the undergraduate and graduate level. What the school needs is an educated, motivated faculty lead by a president who can best help the Church form the servant-leaders of tomorrow.

Our Archdiocese is filled with energetic, thoughtful, and engaging clergy and laypeople. Father Chris is not a good fit for our institution, discouraging both talented faculty and seminarians from seeking ordination by his word and example.

In closing, please attend to this matter as soon as possible. Father Christopher continues to invoke the authority of the Archbishop and Holy Synod to defend his actions and his behavior. An example of this is attached- recorded during one of his outbursts. Only one question needs to be asked: Does this man really represent you?

Sincerely,
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Holy Cross Graduating Class of 2017