St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

. It is chartered under the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

and accredited by the

Association of Theological Schools The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. History The ATS was found ...

. It is a pan-Eastern Orthodox institution associated with the

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In ...

(OCA). It is named after St. Vladimir,

Grand Prince of Kiev The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes also Grand Duke) was the title of the monarch of Kievan Rus', residing in Kiev (modern Kyiv) from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prin ...

and

Prince of Novgorod The Prince of Novgorod () was the title of the ruler of Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod in present-day Russia. From 1136, it was the title of the figurehead leader of the Novgorod Republic. The position was originally an appointed one until the late ...

, who "introduced Orthodox Christianity to the

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

History

The seminary was founded in 1938 and its first classes were held in the parish house of the Church of Christ the Savior in Harlem. In 1939, it found a home on the campus of

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

in Chelsea and by the 1940s in apartments on 121st Street rented from

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

. It moved to its current location in 1962. Four years later, it was accepted as an associate member of the

American Association of Theological Schools The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. History The ATS was foun ...

, with accreditation following in 1973. In November 2021, the Board of Trustees of the seminary voted to relocate the campus citing the high cost of living in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

, but by 2024 decided to pause further discussion of a move.

President/Chancellor

# Chad Hatfield (2007–2024) #

Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie is a Romanian church historian, Orthodox theologian, and Byzantinist. He is Professor of Church History and serves as the Academic Dean and President of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Yonkers, New York. Tud ...

(2024–present; interim)

Deans

# (1938–1944) # (1944–1947) # (1947–1950) #

Georges Florovsky Georges Vasilievich Florovsky (; – August 11, 1979) was a Russian Orthodox priest, theologian, and historian. Born in the Russian Empire, he spent his working life in Paris (1920–1949) and New York (1949–1979). With Sergei Bulgakov, V ...

(1950–1955) #

Leontius (Turkevich) Metropolitan Leontius (Leonty, secular name Leonid Ieronimovich Turkevich, ; ; August 8, 1876 – May 14, 1965) was the Metropolitan of the North American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1950 until his death in 1965. He was succe ...

(1955–1962) #

Alexander Schmemann Alexander Dmitrievich Schmemann (; 13 September 1921 – 13 December 1983) was an influential Orthodox priest, theologian, and author who spent most of his career in the United States. Born in Estonia to émigrés from the Russian Revolution, ...

(1962–1983) #

John Meyendorff John Meyendorff (; ; February 17, 1926 – July 22, 1992) 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 unt ...

(1984–1992) #

Thomas Hopko Thomas John Hopko (March 28, 1939 – March 18, 2015) was an Eastern Orthodox Christian priest and theologian. He was the Dean of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary from September 1992 until July 1, 2002 and taught dogmatic theo ...

(1992–2002) #

John H. Erickson John H. Erickson is an Eastern Orthodox American scholar, with specialization in the areas of Orthodox canon law and church history. From 2002 until 2007, he served as the Dean of Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in the United Sta ...

(2002–2007) #

John Behr John Behr (born 16 October 1966) is a British Eastern Orthodox priest and theologian. Since 2020, he has served as the Regius Professor of Humanity at the University of Aberdeen. He is the former dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Se ...

(2007–2017) #

(2018–present)

Academics

St. Vladimir's Seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and approved by ATS to grant the following degrees: Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts (MA), Master of Theology (Th.M.), and Doctor of Ministry (D.Min).

St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press (SVS Press)

St. Vladimir's Seminary Press was founded in 1962 and is the largest publisher of Orthodox Christian books in the English language. Among their titles is the

Popular Patristics Series The Popular Patristics Series (abbreviated PPS) is a series of volumes of original English translations of mainly first millennium Christian texts published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. Overview The aim of the series is "to provide readable ...

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Eastern Orthodox seminaries Seminaries and theological colleges in New York (state) Orthodox Church in America Education in Yonkers, New York Educational institutions established in 1938 Eastern Orthodox churches in the United States Eastern Orthodoxy in New York (state) 1938 establishments in New York (state) Vladimir the Great