Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement

Last updated

The Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM) was founded in the 1960s to foster prayer, fellowship, and cooperation among seminarians of the Eastern Orthodox Church in North America. During OISM retreats, seminarians gather together and participate in a simple program which incorporates prayer, reflection, and discussion among the future leaders of the Church.

After OISM had been dormant for a number of years, in late 2003 Fr. Michael Dahulich (dean of St. Tikhon's and also a former member of OISM) invited a number of schools to St. Tikhon's in an effort to revive the organization. At this fall retreat, students met in prayer and fellowship. They also participated in a lecture by Fr. Daniel Kovalak which emphasized the importance of missiology in the church. At a meeting which concluded the festivities, representatives from the various schools formed an interim board with the goal of re-establishing the organization.

In the Spring semester of 2004, a general assembly was convened at St. Vladimir's Seminary in Crestwood, New York. At this general assembly, in addition to St. Vladimir's Seminary, there were representatives present from St. Herman's Seminary of Kodiak, Alaska; Holy Cross Seminary/Hellenic College of Brookline, Massachusetts; Holy Trinity Seminary of Jordanville, New York; and St. Tikhon's Seminary of South Canaan, Pennsylvania. During the course of the weekend a constitution was adopted and an executive board was formed.

The executive board is composed of a presidentelected at the general assemblyand two representatives from each voting member school. The current president is Paul Murray of Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.

Participating schools

This article incorporates text from Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement at OrthodoxWiki which is licensed under the CC-BY-SA and GFDL.

Related Research Articles

Orthodox Church in America Eastern Orthodox church in North America

The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In 2011, it had an estimated 84,900 members in the United States.

John Meyendorff

John Meyendorff was a leading theologian of the Orthodox Church of America as well as a writer and teacher. He served as the dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in the United States until June 30, 1992.

Saint Tikhons Orthodox Theological Seminary

Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary is an Orthodox Christian seminary located in South Canaan Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania. It is one of three seminaries operated by the Orthodox Church in America, the others being St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, Yonkers, New York, and St. Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska.

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary is an institution of higher learning under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) and located near Jordanville, New York. Associated with Holy Trinity Monastery, the Seminary offers a four-year program of study leading to the degree of Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.). It is accredited by the Commissioner for Education and the Board of Regents at the University of the State of New York. The Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree program began in Fall 2018.

The Reverend Father Protopresbyter George Dion Dragas is an Orthodox Christian priest, theologian, and writer. He is currently professor of patristics at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Herman (Swaiko) Primate of the Orthodox Church in America from 2002 to 2008

Metropolitan Herman is the former primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). As the head of the OCA, he was the former Archbishop of Washington and New York, and Metropolitan of All America and Canada. He was elected Metropolitan on July 22, 2002, replacing Metropolitan Theodosius (Lazor), who retired due to health problems related to a series of strokes.

Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Alaska

The Diocese of Alaska is a diocese of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Its territory includes parishes, monasteries, and missions located in Alaska. The diocesan chancery is located in Anchorage. The Diocese was founded when Alaska was part of Russia and is one of the oldest in the United States. The Church of the Holy Ascension (1826), which belongs to the Diocese, is one of the oldest American churches. Altogether, twenty-three churches are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; thirty churches are considered National Historic Landmarks. As of 2013, the Diocese includes 89 parishes, which represents the highest concentration of Orthodox Church in America parishes among the states.

Orthodox Church in America Stavropegial Institutions Institutions under the direct supervision of the Orthodox Church in America

The Stavropegial Institutions are churches, monastic communities, and theological schools which are stauropegions of the Orthodox Church in America, meaning they are under the direct supervision of the Orthodox Church in America's primate. The Stavropegial Institutions are located in three states in the United States and one Canadian province – California, New York, Ontario, and Pennsylvania.

Archbishop Nikon of Boston

Archbishop Nikon was an Albanian bishop who served as the head of the Orthodox Church in America's Albanian Archdiocese and New England diocese.

The timeline of Eastern Orthodoxy in North America represents timeline of the historical development of religious communities, institutions and organizations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in North America.

Archbishop Gregory was the Archbishop of Sitka and Alaska from 1973 to 1995, and author of books on Theology and Eastern Orthodoxy in North America in both Russian and English.

Orthodox Christian Fellowship or OCF is the official campus ministry of the Orthodox Episcopal Assembly of North America, and was formerly under the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA). OCF is a Pan-Orthodox campus ministry that supports local OCF chapters. Local chapters are made up of students and young adults within a college or university, or from different colleges and universities in an area. The mission of OCF is to support fellowships on college campuses, whose members experience and witness to the Orthodox Christian Church through community life, prayer, service to others and study of the Faith. OCF was previously headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts but in 2008 it moved to Indianapolis, IN. OCF provides a variety of thoughtful and innovative programming, including regional training, annual conferences, and domestic and international service learning projects to chapters on over 300 university campuses across the U.S. and Canada.

Jonah Paffhausen

Metropolitan Jonah is a retired American Eastern Orthodox bishop who served as the primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) with the title The Most Blessed Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada from his election on November 12, 2008, until his resignation on July 7, 2012. Metropolitan Jonah was the first convert to the Orthodox faith to have been elected as the primate of the OCA.

Michael Dahulich

Michael (Dahulich) is an Orthodox archbishop in the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of New York and New Jersey. He is the former dean of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, and serves there as Rector and Associate Professor of New Testament and Ethics.

Tikhon Mollard

Metropolitan Tikhon is an Eastern Orthodox bishop and the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, holding the rank of Metropolitan of All America and Canada. Previously, he was the ruling bishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania. He was elected as Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America on November 13, 2012 at the 17th All-American Council in Parma, Ohio.

Nomikos Michael Vaporis

Nomikos Michael Vaporis (1926–1997) was an historian of the Byzantine Empire and Modern Greek Hellenism at Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, United States. He also served as Dean of Hellenic College (1975–1985), Acting Dean of Holy Cross (1977), Acting Dean of Hellenic College (1993) and Interim Dean, Holy Cross (1993–1995). His other positions included: Director of Holy Cross Orthodox Press (1976–1995), Editor of the Greek Orthodox Theological Review (1972–1995), and Founder and Co-editor of the Journal of Modern Hellenism (1984–1997). During his career he also worked for interfaith dialogue, participating in peace missions, and organizing conferences and publishing academic works on the subject.

Archbishop Kiprian was bishop of the Orthodox Church in America, archbishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania since 1964.