HCHC Faculty, Students, and Alumni Attend Rome Congress

Hellenic College Holy Cross had a strong presence at the 24th International Congress of the Society for the Law of the Eastern Churches held in Rome, Italy, September 16-20, 2019. HCHC participants included Dr. Lewis Patsavos, Emeritus Professor of Canon Law at Holy Cross and Vice President of the Society; Rev. Fr. Patrick Viscuso (MDiv); Rev. Fr. Chrysostom Nassis (BA, MDiv); Seraphim Villabona (MDiv); Kyle Sterner (MDiv candidate): and Rev. Dn. Bartholomew Mercado (BA, MDiv), Secretary General of the Society. Also participating was His Grace Bishop Kyrillos of Abydos, a former visiting professor of canon law at Holy Cross.

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew opened the Congress with a keynote address at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, where the Society was founded in 1969, and where His All-Holiness served as its first Vice President. The theme of the Congress was “Fifty Years of Encounter Among the Eastern Churches: How Canon Law Assists in Ecumenical Dialogue.” The Congress was followed by several days of presentations on a variety of canonical topics related to this year’s theme. Participants in the Congress were also welcomed in a private audience by Pope Francis.