ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ
By Helleniscope’s Editorial Team
Recent history demonstrates that significant institutional land sales rarely occur in a vacuum. In New York, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York sold a Manhattan property valued at roughly half a billion dollars in order to meet the financial demands of sex-abuse settlements and ongoing litigation. While deeply troubling, that transaction at least came with public acknowledgment of the underlying crisis that made it unavoidable.
By contrast, the decision by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and its affiliated institution, Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (HCHC), to sell a substantial portion of its Brookline campus land is being presented as a benign act of environmental stewardship and financial prudence. What is missing from the narrative is any disclosure of whether legal liabilities, pending lawsuits, or extraordinary financial pressures exist that might be influencing this move.
If none exist, transparency would quickly and decisively put concerns to rest. If some do exist, the faithful, donors, and public have a right to know. When a religious institution quietly converts irreplaceable real estate into cash—particularly through a structure that avoids normal oversight—the absence of disclosure is not neutral; it is consequential.
The scale of the asset involved makes this silence impossible to dismiss. The HCHC campus represents one of the largest remaining institutional landholdings in Brookline, where property values rank among the highest in Massachusetts. The property’s total value is widely understood to approach half a billion dollars. Against this backdrop, the proposed sale of up to 25 acres—nearly half the campus footprint—for an estimated $25 million raises fundamental questions about valuation, process, and intent.
HCHC leadership has emphasized the land’s environmental character, describing it as steep, ecologically sensitive, and potentially a liability. Yet this framing conveniently diverts attention from a crucial procedural fact: a conventional sale or redevelopment of land at this scale would almost certainly require lengthy state and municipal approvals, and regulatory review. Those processes exist to ensure transparency, fair market value, and accountability when assets of extraordinary worth are transferred.
By pursuing a conservation-based transaction, HCHC effectively sidesteps those safeguards. While legally permissible, this approach avoids the scrutiny that would otherwise accompany the disposition of land potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Environmental value, however genuine, should not function as a procedural shortcut—or worse, as a rhetorical shield.
The financial justification is equally unconvincing. The institution has publicly acknowledged a significant financial rebound, with its endowment rising from $28.5 million in 2019 to over $38 million by mid-2025, alongside the receipt of a historic $7.4 million grant from the Lilly Endowment. This improved position weakens the claim that a rapid partial liquidation of land is necessary for institutional survival, and strengthens the case for a slower, more transparent evaluation of long-term alternatives.
Moreover, labeling land as “non-developable” does not negate its economic value—particularly in a dense, land-constrained community like Brookline. Conservation restrictions may limit development, but they do not justify a transaction price that appears strikingly modest when measured against the overall worth and strategic importance of the property.
The issue is not opposition to conservation, nor hostility to strengthening HCHC’s endowment. The issue is the quiet transfer of an irreplaceable asset through a process that minimizes oversight, suppresses valuation scrutiny, and raises unanswered questions about underlying motivations. The recent example of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York demonstrates that when extraordinary pressures drive extraordinary decisions, institutions can—and should—be forthright about them.
Until the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America openly discloses whether legal, financial, or institutional liabilities are influencing this land sale, skepticism is not cynicism; it is a rational response to silence. When property valued in the hundreds of millions is at stake, transparency is not optional. It is the price of trust.
December 24, 2025, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
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Hellenic College moves to sell Brookline land amid financial rebound
School officials say the sale will further bolster the school’s endowment, following pre-pandemic struggles.
As small colleges across Massachusetts struggle to stay afloat, Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology is taking a different path: selling up to 25 acres of land for conservation and directing $25 million into its endowment, a move leaders say will help secure the Brookline institution’s long-term future.
Over the past five years, the school has successfully turned its financial situation around. As of June 30, 2025, the endowment was just over $38 million, up from $28.5 million in 2019, according to financial statements.
“We’re at a moment of transformational change at HCHC, just as our Church stands at an inflection point,” President Demetrios Katos and in a statement. “The five-year plan presented to the Trustees reimagines this sacred institution, expanding programs that equip future clergy and lay leaders to guide the Orthodox Church into its next century.”
The Hellenic College is an independent institution affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
The accredited school comprises an undergraduate liberal arts college and a graduate school of theology, whose mission is to prepare students to become priests and lay leaders in the Orthodox community.
According to a news update from the school, the trustees of the 88-year-old institution voted unanimously on Dec. 9 to approve the sale of the land.
After the sale, the land will be placed into a permanent trust with The Trustees of Reservations, a statewide conservation and preservation nonprofit that stewards 120 protected sites.
The parcel, which is non-developable primarily due to its steep grade and high ecological value, abuts the Emerald Necklace park system, which links Jamaica Pond and the Francis Parkman Memorial.
The preservation will ensure the natural area remains undeveloped and becomes a publicly accessible green space with maintained trails and paths.
The expected conservation proceeds, estimated at around $25 million, will be allocated entirely to the school’s endowment.
The school will retain about 30 acres of developable land to accommodate the future institutional needs.
The board also approved a comprehensive five-year strategic vision with goals to grow enrollment to 500 students, expand revenue, and increase the endowment and cash flow.
The announcement of the sale also came after the school received its largest grant ever of $7.4 million from the Lilly Endowment. The funding will support a redesign of the Master of Divinity program and the establishment of an intensive parish internship practicum.
“This is mutually beneficial for both HCHC and the wider community,” Archbishop Elpidophoros, the chairman of the board, said in a statement. “It secures the beauty of God’s creation for future generations while at the same time securing the permanence of funding for our beloved school.”
Transparency and the G.O.A do not go together. Secrecy, spinning the truth, outright lies are part of its culture. Do not trust anything they tell you. Most likely they’re misleading you. And you better not attempt to get to the bottom of any issues that might concern you. You’ll be ignored and if you insist, you’ll become an enemy.
There are two interesting angles in this verbiage:
“…The news release stated that the land poses a safety concern to the campus community and is a potential liability for the institution. The parcel, which is non-developable primarily due to its steep grade and high ecological value, abuts the Emerald Necklace park system, which links Jamaica Pond and the Francis Parkman Memorial….”
1) Presenting a “steep hill” as a liability…if you put “no trespassing” and “danger” signs, maybe even a “kiddie fence” of sorts, usually that liability would be reduced to the same level of liability the slippery stairs and sidwalks that HCOC already has on its campus…
2) Finding a “fool” willing to buy “non-developable” parcel for millions of dollars is actually a remarkable achievement. However, Beth Treffeisen craftily elects to stress and highligh the fact that “public money” is being spent for this purpose…taxpayer money. Why would taxpayers want to spend money to transfer ownership for land that the state has ALREADY declared “non-developable” (i.e. for conservation purposes)? Sounds like a waste of public money to me, but I’ll defer to the residents of that state to decide if they enjoy the phrase “Tax-achussetts”… :)
Also, this phrase below provokes two very targeted questions:
“….selling up to 25 acres of land for conservation and directing $25 million into its endowment, a move leaders say will help secure the Brookline institution’s long-term future….”
Question 1…What exactly is the FULL AMOUNT that is needed to “SECURE” the institution’s long-term future?
Question 2…If that “FULL AMOUNT” doesn’t end up in the endowment fund, what is the current “draw-down rate” from the endowment, and exactly how many years has the school simply managed to “kick the can down the road” by “amputating” a parcel of land….and what is the next piece of property that will require “amputation” again in “xyz” years if the “FULL AMOUNT” isn’t achieved?
Markos
Your questions are valid. This issue of the sale of the land by the Holly Cross college, is of concern to all of us. Why not contact the archdiocese and put those concerns to their attention. All of us have the right and the duty to keep them on the straight and narrow.
If you note my post on this same issue, I’ve had questions on other matters, which I called the archdiocese. They promised they would call me back, which of course, they never did. Because they’re ordered by their masters, the clergy, that anyone who contacts them and is not offering money, they are to be ignored, lied to and never replied to.
I’ve had Marissa Costidis, the Orthodox observer “reporter” lied to me, that she’ll have someone return my call, which they never did. Then, when I followed up, she hanged up on me. Then, they dont answer the phone.
The archdiocese scribe, George Tsougarakis, told me that they “only follow orders”, obviously from their masters, the clergy. The most sinful people are to be found at the archdiocese and the NJ Metropolis. . They have no fear of God.
Consider calling them and let us know what you were told.
Bob,
If the Archbishop and the metropolitans have no fear of God, that means that they don’t believe in God!
Even if they were believing 1% that there is God, they would be afraid for the consequences of their sinful and heretic actions… It looks like our supposed “shepherds” are atheist Freemasons!
The question is if they are atheists, why they became priests? Because they could, someone could think. Any other possible explanations?