Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The first 2025 session of the CrossRoad Summer Institute took place from June 7-17, with Hellenic College Holy Cross hosting thirty-five high school students in Boston, Massachusetts. The teens were immersed in a program of faith and experience, challenged to dive deeper into what it means to be an Orthodox Christian in the 21st century. CrossRoad curriculum focuses on three important questions: 1) who am I? 2) who is God? and 3) who is my neighbor?
In the first stage of the program, participants explored an Orthodox understanding of vocation: “your unique and ongoing response to Christ’s call to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself.” Each of our responses to Christ’s call is not only unique to us, but a continual, lifelong journey. The session started with team-building activities and a high ropes course to bring out everyone’s skills and strengths, while facilitating team bonding and friendships along the way!
The program’s second stage focused on learning about God and the students’ relationships with Christ, with participants also learning the impact of the saints as intercessors and guides in our relationship with God. During this stage, they also visited the Boston Telos Center.
In the final stage of the session, the students analyzed the Parable of the Good Samaritan, in which Christ teaches us that our neighbor is the one in need; our neighbor is every person we encounter. Here, the participants learned how to move from reflection to action, from asking questions to living answers. The students interacted with residents in nursing homes and senior care facilities, reflecting on the value of intergenerational relationships and what it means to truly listen.
In addition to staying in HCHC dorms and learning from HCHC faculty and staff, throughout the session, participants visited many Orthodox churches in the Boston area, including Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral and Ever-Virgin Mary Romanian Orthodox Church, and engaged in outings to Boston Commons, Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall, and the beach! The students were also blessed to celebrate Pentecost at the chapel of Hellenic College Holy Cross and to attend Program Director Dn. Andrew Bushell’s ordination to the priesthood.