Study Overseas

During the past two decades, interest in Eastern Christianity and the Orthodox Church has increased dramatically in the US. This new interest is due to several factors: international attention to and awareness of Eastern Europe, Russia and the Balkans which are traditional centers of Orthodox Christianity; the assimilation and acculturation of second, third, and fourth generation Orthodox immigrants in the United States; the recognition by Catholics, Protestants and Anglicans of the historical and theological roots of Eastern Christianity; and the increase in the number of theologically trained Orthodox Christians in America who are capable of articulating the Orthodox Christian tradition to a non-Orthodox world.

Given this interest in Eastern Christianity, the opportunities to study Orthodox Christianity in the US have increased as well. Historically, the main opportunities for the study of Orthodox Christianity have been and continue to be the seminaries of the various Orthodox jurisdictions in America. The two premier Orthodox theological schools or seminars in America are Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, and St. Vladimir's Seminary, located in Crestwood, New York. Holy Cross is the seminary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which is under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. St. Vladimir's is a seminary of the Orthodox Church in America, and has its historical roots in the Russian Orthodox tradition. Both schools have a long history of theological education, and command international recognition. Academically, the two institutions are quite similar, and offer comparable degrees.

The Master of Divinity degree (M.Div) is designed primarily for students who are preparing for ordination in the Orthodox Church, giving students a foundation in both the academic theological disciplines and practical ministry. Master degrees (MA, MTS) are also available for students who do not seek ordination, but who wish to undertake professional lay ministry at the parish level, or wish to gain a solid foundation in the various disciplines of Orthodox theology as part of the preparation for further graduate studies in theology or religion.

The Master of Theology (Th.M), a popular degree program for international students who already hold a degree in theology, is an advanced degree which builds upon the first graduate-level theological degree, normally the Master of Divinity. The primary goal of the Th.M program is to provide scholarly concentration in a particular area of theology in a context of an Orthodox community. St. Vladimir's also offers a Doctor of Ministry degree which is oriented towards deepening one's ministerial and pastoral skills. A similar Doctor of Ministry degree in the Orthodox theological context is offered by Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in cooperation with the Antiochian House of Studies.

Two additional seminaries, St. Herman's Theological Seminary located on Kodiak Island, Alaska and St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary located in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, provide theological education and pastoral training in the Orthodox Christian tradition. St. Herman's primarily serves the pastoral needs of the local native Alaskan Orthodox Church, while St. Tikhon's offers a four-year undergraduate degree in conjunction with Marywood College, as well as the Master of Divinity degree.

Although at present there is no American institution of higher learning which offers a doctoral degree in Orthodox studies, theology or history, there are several opportunities where one can combine doctoral work at a major research University with Orthodox course work. The Graduate Theological Union, located in Berkeley, California, is a consortium of nine theological schools, with the GTU itself a degree-granting institution, offering an MA and PhD in religious studies. Students at the GTU are able to take courses from the neighboring University of California, Berkeley. Affiliated with the GTU is the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute, which houses an extensive library of Orthodox books and research materials, as well as supporting one full-time faculty member and adjunct faculty in Orthodox Studies. Students may receive a PhD from the GTU under the supervision of the Orthodox Studies professor.

Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology is also in a unique position to assist doctoral students studying at other institutions. Holy Cross is a member of the Boston Theological Institute, a consortium of eight theological schools in the Boston area. Students pursuing doctoral degrees in theology at Harvard University, Boston College, and Boston University may take courses at Holy Cross, and may utilize faculty from Holy Cross as advisors and committee members in their doctoral work.

With the heightened recognition of Eastern Christianity in the Western hemisphere, there has never been a better time to study Orthodox Christianity in America than today. The various cultural expressions of Orthodoxy found in America offers the student a broad range of possibilities in encountering an age-old Christian faith and tradition in an American educational context.

Author
James C Skedros
Associate Professor of Church History,
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology