BOSTON – The battles raged for ten years in the legal conflict between Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and the Maliotis Cultural Center, costing millions in legal fees on both sides, but the dispute has finally been resolved due to the intervention of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.
In an interview with The National Herald Professor Philip Seraphim, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Maliotis Cultural Center said, “I am pleased that the conflict between two major Greek establishments, Hellenic College Holy Cross and the Maliotis Cultural Center, which serve two very interconnected institutions: Orthodoxy and Hellenism, is finally over. I am very happy that we will be able to continue the cultural programs for the Omogenia and the philhellenes of New England as envisioned by our great benefactor Costas Maliotis.”
Dr. Seraphim said that “the agreement is final. It was reached on Tuesday, December 10th, late in the afternoon. The trial began at 9 AM on Wednesday, December 11, and the lawyers told the court that the two sides had reached an agreement and this ten-year legal dispute ended.”
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When we asked him to state what this agreement provides, Dr. Seraphim said “the Maliotis Cultural Center’s Board of Directors will become the College’s Standing Committee for the Maliotis Cultural Center and the Chairperson of the Maliotis Cultural Center’s Board will become a Trustee of the College’s Board of Trustees. This new committee will oversee the operation of the Maliotis Cultural Center and organize and fund its cultural programs. In addition, the committee will finance the maintenance costs inside the building (cleaning, electricity, etc.). The College will bear the costs of external maintenance (gardening, snow cleaning, etc.) and all capital expenditure (roof repairs, etc.).
The committee will have its own account, completely independent of the College, for its revenue (donations, etc.) and its expenses (internal maintenance, cultural programs, etc.). In case of a disagreement between the College and the committee, the Archbishop will arbitrate. The Archbishop and the President of the College have confirmed in writing that there are no plans for the sale or relocation of the College from Brookline at this time.”
Asked how the whole controversy started, he explained that, “in 1981 the late Maliotis donated the building to the College with the important condition that the Archdiocese pay $ 50,000 a year to the Friends of the Maliotis Cultural Center (which is the seven-member Board for the Maliotis Cultural Center) for its Greek cultural programs and for the maintenance of the building.
The Archdiocese made these payments until 1985, when following Maliotis’ death, they stopped. The College did not even pay for the expenses directly related to the use of the building by its students! The Friends of the Maliotis Cultural Center did not want to take the College to court for breach of the original contract with the donor, Costas Maliotis. For the next 24 years, as long as the Friends of the Maliotis Cultural Center were tolerating the breach of contract by the College, relations were smooth. But the Friends of the Maliotis Cultural Center could not continue to maintain the building under these conditions. In an effort to put pressure on the College, the Friends closed the building in 2009 for one day. Following this, the College took the Friends to court for trespassing. This is how the ten-year long lawsuits started and cost more than $3,500,000!.”
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(Photo: Maliotis Cultural Center)
Dr. Seraphim emphasized that “the solution was found shortly after the change of the Archdiocese’s leadership, that is, when His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros was enthroned. He wholeheartedly welcomed members of the Board of Directors of the Maliotis Cultural Center, listened attentively and proposed a very good general framework that would enable the close cooperation of the College and the Maliotis Cultural Center for the benefit of both. The details of the agreement were worked out by the new College President, Mr. George Cantonis and me. This collaboration was excellent. Both Boards subsequently approved the agreement. There was only one dissenting vote out of seven on the Maliotis Cultural Center Board.”
To the question, “why wasn’t a solution found earlier,” he said “the previous leadership of the Archdiocese did not want to meet with the Maliotis Cultural Center’s Board and insisted that the agreement should be reached only through lawyers. The College’s lawyers have consistently proposed unacceptable agreements. I also believe that there were leading members of the College who did not recognize the Hellenic cultural values. Finally, there were members of the College who wanted to use the building for purposes other than what the donor, Costas Maliotis, specified. In addition, since the Friends distrusted the Archdiocese and the College, for obvious reasons, they were afraid that the two of them would once again breach the contract.”
He added that “the Maliotis Cultural Center will now be able to deal almost exclusively with its cultural programs (music, dance, children’s library, lectures, STEM, cinema, and theater). It will move forward with the support of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidoforos and the new College President, Mr. Cantonis, instead of fighting with the Archdiocese and the College for the salvation of the Maliotis Cultural Center. Our Board of Directors and our Cultural Committee are in the best position to organize the quality programs which our friends in New England deserve. We look to the future with optimism.”
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