www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall online education

What does a Byzantine Catholic do if he/she wishes to pursue an education and get a civil (non-clerical) degree in theology or Biblical studies but cannot travel to a seminary? Are there any good Eastern Orthodox colleges that offer online degrees that would be considered acceptable in BC parishes? I know of someone who feels led to pursue this. Thanks for any response,

V

Currently the Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh is offering an online certificate program. It is not a degree, but it is a first step in that direction.

I don't know if it would match what you're looking for, but there's the 3-year St Stephen's Course in Orthodox Theology, a distance-learning program offered through the Antiochian Archdiocese:

http://www.antiochian.org/studies

I'm a second-year student in the program, and I think there might be folks on this forum who have completed it. My Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic pastor was very supportive of my enrolling in it, and has taken an ongoing interest in my studies. Overall, I've been pleased with it, and am learning a lot. They also have other courses of study that you can check out - info on those can also be found at the above link. (The St Stephen's Program does require a one-week residency unit each summer)

The St. Stephen's course can also lead one into the M.A. in Applied Orthodox Theology issued on behalf of the St. John of Damascus School of Theology in Balamaand.

There is also the online M.A. in Eastern Christian Studies program from the Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky Institute at the University of St. Paul in Ottawa, Canada. Through this program you would have the opportunity to study under such great professors as Archpriest Peter Galadza and Fr. Andrew Chirovsky. They offer specializations in Dogma and Spirituality, Liturgical Studies, Ecumenical Studies, and History, all from an Eastern Christian perspective.

For an online M.A. in Scripture I'd recommend the St. Augustine Institute in Denver, CO. Although they aren't Eastern Christian, you would still have ample opportunity to study Scripture through the lens of the Church Fathers and the Eastern/Byzantine perspective. Their professors are top-notch, and most of them are graduates from my alma mater, Franciscan University.

Finally there is the M.T.S. in Biblical Studies available online from the University of Dallas. Again, this is not an Eastern Christian school, nor will you be getting an Eastern Christian perspective. But I'm sure you can supplement that on your own simply by studying the Fathers and modern Orthodox biblical studies. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press has a great selection of both Patristic writings and Orthodox biblical scholarship.

I recommend the Metropolitan Sheptytsky Institute online courses. They are for undergrads. As a former Colorado resident I am very familiar with the Augustine Institute programs in Denver and they are excellent. You might also check with the Catholic Distance University - they have many online courses appropriate for those of us from the Eastern churches.

What does anyone know about St. Athanasius Academy or St. Elias Orthodox Online School?

V

Volodymyr,

If, by St Elias, you are referring to St. Elias Orthodox Seminary and Graduate School [steliasseminary.org], it is neither Eastern Catholic nor Orthodox. In the early 90's, it was begun in Nebraska, under the omophor of a non-canonical, vagante, Old Calendrist jurisdiction called the Eparchy of Nebraska.

At that time - and thereafter - it had a few different names, among them were the Hellenic Orthodox Diaspora University and St. Elias Theological & Philological School. At present, it is in Virginia and under the omophor of the Eparchy of the Old Dominion, a vagante entity so new that I haven't been able to learn much other than that its head is named Bishop Seraphim. (However, it appears that the Eparchy of Nebraska still identifies it as affiliated to it as well.) It's not somewhere that you want to go.

St. Athanasius Academy, on the other hand, is affiliated with the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese in North America. It offers a diploma program, as I recollect, not a degree program. There are others here who are more familiar with it and can give more detailed answers.

Many years,

Neil