About

Introduction

According to the decision of the Bishops’ Council, St. John and St. Philaret School of Theology has been launched in 2018. It was decided to found a Theological School to both prepare candidates for priesthood, and provide a theological education for those devout men and women, who want to better their theological knowledge.

Teaching is conducted in English. We are considering the possibility in future to conduct classes also in Russian for those who do not speak English.

It is not by chance that the chosen patron Saints of our Theological School are Saint John of Shanghai and Saint Philaret of New York. Both worked hard in matters concerning theological education under difficult immigrant conditions. As Archbishop of San Francisco, Saint John organised theological courses in which students were tutored by priests from the San Francisco cathedral. One of the graduates of these courses was Father Seraphim Rose. Saint Philaret of New York taught at the Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville. We regard it very important to preserve spiritual continuity from the Holy Trinity Seminary of past years, when such pillars of the Church as Archbishop Averky and Archpriest Michael Pomazansky lectured there. Because of this, textbooks written by them will be included as main references in our classes.

The Lord sent His Disciples out to preach the Good Tidings with these words: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matth 28,19). But how can one teach when he himself has not been taught? Our time, especially, demands from all members of the Church clear and firm theological knowledge.

May God bless our Theological School and grant that it serve for the benefit of our Church through the prayers of our heavenly patrons.

Program Structure

Currently our program includes 8 subjects. There are four semesters spanning over a period of two years. Each one-hour lesson is scheduled fortnightly (every two weeks) through the semester. Thus, the classes alternate on a weekly basis. Students may enrol for full program, or take some of the subjects according to their choice. Each semester contains 13 lesson-weeks, 3 classes per week. Because of the time zone difference the North American group of students will be on one schedule, while the Australian students will be on another. Since most of our students live busy lives, we don't expect them to maintain any workload outside of classes.

The classes will be conducted remotely using the Zoom platform.

Course Descriptions:

Dogmatic Theology

Professor: Bishop Andrei (Erastov) – This course is intended to outline the dogmas of the Orthodox Church. The dogmas are an expression of the Faith of the Church, they are founded on Sacred Scripture and the Apostolic Sacred Tradition. These dogmas are what the Apostles taught and the Fathers fought to preserve. Dogmas are fortresses of truth built up by the Church to resist influences foreign to the Church. Being verbal expressions of the Divine Revelation, the dogmas cannot be comprehended by a human intellect unless it is enlightened from God. It is vital for the future pastors to learn and to ponder on the dogmas of the Orthodox Church.

Spiritual History of the World (Apologetics)

Professor: Fr. Nikita Gregoriev – This course is an overview of the entire human history from an Orthodox Christian perspective. It relates man’s relationship with God starting from Adam and ending with the antichrist. Many of the relevant aspects of human endeavor throughout history are examined on their spiritual effect on the human condition. Special emphasis is placed on tracing the fine thread of the True Faith in God and His Christ as revealed in Holy Scripture. This Faith is compared and contrasted with the false faiths and unbelief that Satan has been sowing to destroy mankind. This course was taught by Fr. Nikita at Jordanville before the MP unia.

Patristics

Professor: Fr. Romaric d’Amico – Patristics (or Patrology) is the study of the Church Fathers. The Fathers are Saints and Clerics whose writings contributed to the expression of the unchangeable dogmatic Revelation given by our Lord to His Apostles, kept in the Orthodox Church. The western scholars generally consider the Patristic period to run from the end of the Apostolic Age to the Second Council of Nicea in 787. But our Orthodox vision must be broader. Because the Holy Spirit never ceases to blow in the Church, it did and will continue to have Fathers. Studying Patristics is extremely important to truly understand our theology and to obtain an “orthodox mindset.” This study is also important to enable one to have a profitable missionary dialogue with heterodox, with the purpose of converting them.

New Testament

Professor: Fr. Lazarus Gahles – The objective of this course is to provide the student with a traditional and patristic understanding and overview of the New Testament Scriptures. This understanding must necessarily be founded in the spiritual life of grace. Thus, this survey of the New Testament will look at the date, audience and theme of each book through the lens of the Holy Tradition of the Church and the Fathers. The work by Vladika Averky (Taushev) will be referenced as our basic textbook.

Liturgics

Professor: Fr. Nikita Gregoriev –Liturgics is a theological discipline, which has as its subject the worship of the Orthodox Church. Through Orthodox worship we are elevated into a live communion with God, and this, in turn, is the preparation of believers for eternal communion with Him, in the future life of the age to come, in the blessedness for which man is destined. Liturgics offers the interpretation of worship from the dogmatic, moral, and historical perspective, for without such an approach to the study of worship, much in divine services may appear to us unclear and incomprehensible. The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with the structure of the public and private worship of the Orthodox Church. Special attention is given to help the future pastors in performing the sacraments and divine services.

Old Testament

Professor: Mother Abbess Evfrosinia –This course provides an overview of the books of the Old Testament. The interpretation of the biblical texts will be based on the writings of the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church and on the varied historical and cultural backgrounds. Special attention will be given to the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. The course will include a detailed study of selected texts from the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Psalms. The students will be acquainted with the composition of the canonical Bible and will be given a survey of the “Deuterocanonical” books. Special attention will be paid to the Septuagint - the Greek Old Testament (LXX), since it shaped the patristic understanding of the Scriptures.

Russian Church History

Professor: Mother Abbess Evfrosinia – The first part of this course will give a brief overview of the history of the Russian Church from the baptism of Rus’ to the revolution of 1917. The second part will deal in greater detail with the events of the last century: the restoration of the patriarchate, persecution of the Church, "Sergianism" and the formation of ROCA. An understanding of the events of recent church history is necessary in order to correctly assess our present situation.

Church Singing and the Order of Services

Professor: Fr Timothy Clader - This course will have a twofold purpose:

- To give an overview of the normal structure of the services of the Holy Church from the perspective of the Reader and the Choir, and
- To give an introduction to the basics of the eight tones and basic melodies used commonly in the Church.

A working knowledge of these basics is useful both in large parishes, but also in the smallest parishes, with only one or two parishioners, and this course is designed with this in mind.

Teachers:

Bp. Andrei (Erastov) – Vladyka Andrei graduated from the Holy Trinity Seminary (HTS) with a degree of Bachelor of Theology (1982). He taught grammar of Church Slavonic at HTS from 1982 till 1995. He authored a textbook on Church Slavonic grammar. Currently he serves as Bishop of Yarraville and Australia and New Zealand within the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (Diaspora District of the Russian Orthodox Church).

Fr. Nikita Gregoriev – Fr Nikita holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree from University of Toronto (Trinity College) as well as a Bachelor of Theology degree from the State University of New York at Holy Trinity Orthodox a Seminary in Jordanville. He currently serves as rector of St Nicetas the Confessor, Richfield Springs, NY. He also serves at Holy Resurrection Church, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Fr. Romaric d’Amico – Fr Romaric was born in 1981. He was ordained a priest in 2015. He studied literature (Master’s Degree), philosophy (Bachelor’s Degree) and theology. He holds a Master’s degree in Patristic studies (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris). He currently serves as rector of the Orthodox Parish of St. Clotilde in Paris.

Fr. Lazarus Gahles – Father Lazarus Gahles is an Orthodox Priest who currently works as a bereavement counselor with hospice. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Theology and Counseling, and a Master of Science degree in Theology and Counseling from Cairn University. Fr Lazarus also is 12 credits short of a second Masters degree in Pastoral Counseling combining classes from Reformed Episcopal Seminary and Cairn University, and holds a Doctorate of Ministry from Nashotah House Theological Seminary having studied under Oxford Patristics Scholar Fr. Dr. John Behr where he researched patristic nosology to write his dissertation entitled "Ministering to the Image of God. "Fr. Dr. Gahles is also a Certified BioEthicist in end of life care from the National Catholic BioEthics Center.

Priest Timothy Clader -

Priest Timothy Clader holds a bachelors degree in Chemistry from Texas A&M University, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Baylor College of Medicine. In addition to being a practicing physician, he was also the choir director (regent) in the Protection of the Mother of God parish in Rochester, New York for over 20 years. After the demise of the old ROCOR, he assumed the same duties in a new parish dedicated to the Grand Duchess Elizabeth in Tampa, Florida, where he now serves as rector, having been ordained to the diaconate in 2015, and to the priesthood in 2020.

Mother Abbess Evfrosinia –

Mother Abbess Evfrosinia studied art history, with a specialization in Byzantine and Medieaval art and arhitecture, and writing at Hunter College and Columbia University in New York City. She is representative of the last generations of ROCOR faithful to receive a solid formation in catechetics, theology and church history that was once standard throughout the ROCOR church school system. She entered the Lesna monastery in 1981 and was appointed abbess in 2019.