St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)
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St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York) is one of three institutions of professional theological education in the Orthodox Church in America. The other two schools are St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania) and St. Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Kodiak, Alaska).
Degree programs
Along with priestly vocation, St. Vladimir's also provides education for other church leaders, such as choir directors and religious educators. Along with the Master of Divinity program (M.Div.), the seminary also offers the Master of Arts in Theology (M.A.) and the Master of Theology (Th.M.).
History and influence
Protopresbyter Georges Florovsky was instrumental in its founding after his departure from Orthodox Theological Institute of St. Sergius (Paris, France). It has counted among its deans Protopresbyters Alexander Schmemann, John Meyendorff, and Thomas Hopko—nearly a who's who list of twentieth century theology. St. Vladimir's counts as alumni bishops and priests of many jurisdictions, professors of numerous colleges, universities and seminaries, and noteworthy lay leaders in worldwide Orthodoxy. It would be difficult to overestimate the impact of the seminary on Orthodox theology in the last fifty years.
Criticism
Especially in recent years, St. Vladimir's has been the subject of criticism regarding its approach to teaching Orthodox theology and praxis. Critics usually cite adherence by faculty to modern historical-critical methods of Biblical exegesis and study of history rather than traditional patristic interpretive methods.
Library and publishing
St. Vladimir's library is one of the largest Eastern Christian resources in North America. The seminary also houses a large publishing house, SVS Press. It publishes a quarterly theological journal, St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly.
Deans
- Bishop Makary (Ilyinsky), 1938–1944
- Archimandrite Dionysius (Diachenko), 1944–1947
- Bishop John (Shahovskoy), 1947–1950
- Georges Florovsky, 1950–1955
- Metropolitan Leonty (Turkevich), 1955–1962
- Alexander Schmemann, 1962–1983
- John Meyendorff, 1984–1992
- Thomas Hopko, 1992–2002
- John H. Erickson, 2002-June 2007
- John Behr, July 2007–present