ACTS Faculty Rev. Dr. Eugen J. Pentiuc Appointed Dean of Holy Cross

Rev. Dr. Eugen J. Pentiuc has been appointed Dean of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, effective January 1, 2024. His appointment follows an external international search coupled with a decanal nomination by the Faculty of Holy Cross. Fr. Pentiuc joined the Holy Cross faculty in 1998, became tenured Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages in 2009, and since 2018 has been Archbishop Demetrios Professor of Biblical Studies and Christian Origins.

Fr. Pentiuc, with forty years of priestly experience in Romania, Israel, Germany ,and United States, is a Protopresbyter of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. He holds a PhD in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and also earned a ThD in Old Testament from Bucharest Orthodox School of Theology in his native Romania. He is also an Élève titulaire of École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, as well as a Fulbright Scholar Fellow and Lilly Faculty Fellow. In 2019, Fr. Pentiuc was granted a Doctor Honoris Causa in Theology by Cluj University (Romania). 

Gifted teacher, internationally recognized Orthodox biblical scholar and theologian, and prolific author, Fr. Pentiuc has published many books and articles, including West Semitic Vocabulary in the Akkadian Texts from Emar (Harvard Semitic Studies 49. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2001), Jesus the Messiah in the Hebrew Bible (New York / Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 2005), The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), Hosea: The Word of the Lord that Happened to Hosea (The Bible in Its Traditions 3. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2017) and Hearing the Scriptures: Liturgical Exegesis of the Old Testament in Byzantine Orthodox Hymnography (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021). Fr. Pentiuc is also the editor of the prestigious Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity (New York: Oxford University, 2022).

Holy Cross recently received a grant of $ 1,125,995 from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Compelling Preaching Initiative to help establish The Scriptorium: Preaching and Teaching the Word of God in a Digital Age, the proposal for which was designed and written by Fr. Pentiuc in consultation with Dr. James C. Skedros, outgoing Interim Dean of Holy Cross, and Dn. Gary Alexander, HCHC’s Vice President for Administration and Finance. The aim of the initiative is to foster and support preaching that inspires, encourages, and guides people to come to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully.

Of Fr. Pentiuc’s appointment as Dean of Holy Cross, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, Chairman of HCHC’s Board of Trustees, said, “Fr. Eugen’s appointment as Dean of our Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology is a testament to his exceptional scholarly expertise in Old Testament studies. His dedicated service as a professor at Holy Cross has significantly contributed to the enrichment of our academic community and ingratiated him over the years with many students and members of the faculty. His succession of Fr. George Parsenios as Dean represents a continuation of the high standards set by his predecessors and a promise that our School will continue to thrive as a center of excellence in theological education and scholarship. I wish Fr. Eugen all the very best and much success from above in his forthcoming tenure as Dean of our Theological School.”