Holy Cross Awarded $1 Million Grant to Launch Digital Media Studio
New “Scriptorium Initiative” studio will expand preaching, teaching, and continuing education beyond campus through livestreaming, podcasts, and online learning.
BROOKLINE, MA — On Oct. 7, 2025, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology announced that it had been awarded a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment’s "Pathways for Tomorrow" initiative to establish a state-of-the-art interactive media studio. The new facility will support "The Scriptorium Initiative," a major effort to bring Orthodox preaching and teaching beyond the seminary walls and into digital spaces for clergy, lay leaders, and the wider faithful.
Authored by Holy Cross Dean Fr. Eugen J. Pentiuc, the successful grant proposal will enable the studio to produce live-streamed and recorded masterclasses, webinars, podcasts, and video content that supports current degree programs and expands continuing education.
“This grant extends our educational impact beyond the physical confines of campus,” said HCHC President Dr. Demetrios Katos. “The possibilities it provides Holy Cross are boundless and exciting as we engage clergy and laity in new and meaningful ways.”
The five-year initiative will position the studio as a hub for digital pastoral formation across more than 500 Greek Orthodox parishes in the U.S. and beyond. It also supports long-term sustainability through philanthropy, continuing education, and content partnerships.
Holy Cross is one of 163 theological schools across North America to receive funding through the Pathways initiative, which seeks to strengthen the capacity of theological institutions to prepare effective leaders for Christian congregations today and in the future.
Previously, UOJ reported that the Holy Cross diaconate program had celebrated record enrollment.
