Graduation Symposium 2017 Speakers Announced

We are pleased to announce the speakers for our initial Pastoral School Graduation Symposium. The symposium is set for Sunday, June 25, at the Diocesan Cathedral of the Protection of the Mother of God, 1800 Lee St., Des Plaines, IL 60018 during the meal following the Divine Liturgy that day. The speakers and their topics of discussion are:

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Metropolitan Philip of Poltava and Mirgorod: “The Work of the Department of Religious Education, Catechism, and Missionary Endeavor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church”

FACULTY SPEAKER: Archpriest Gregory Joyce: “Russian Orthodox Clergy Attitudes towards Practitioners of other Religions: Implications for Orthodox Clerical Formation in the 21st Century”

STUDENT GRADUATE SPEAKER: Deacon Daniel Franzen: “The Maladies of Modernity and Orthodox Praxis According to the Homilies of St. Gregory Palamas”

Please plan to join us in person if you are able. We intend to broadcast the symposium on Facebook Live, as well as record the proceedings – both audio and video. These recordings will be posted after editing on our Pastoral School blog, The Dean’s List.

Priest Gregory Joyce
Dean

January Graduation Cycle Added

With the blessing of His Eminence, Archbishop Peter of Chicago & Mid-America, President of the Pastoral School, we are pleased to announce that in addition to our usual spring cycle of comprehensive examinations, thesis defense, and graduation, an addition cycle will be added to the school calendar beginning in January 2018 and each January thereafter. This cycle will be centered around the patronal feast day of our school, which falls on December 20/January 2 each year. More information will be forthcoming. Please contact me if you would like to learn more. We already have two graduates scheduled for January 2018!

Priest Gregory Joyce, Dean

Pastoral School Instructor Ordained to the Priesthood

On the great feast of Pentecost our instructor in the Catechist Program and Homiletics, Deacon Joshua Genig, was ordained to the priesthood by His Grace Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk at the St. Nicholas cathedral in New York City. Please join me in congratulating Fr. Joshua with his ordination! Fr. Joshua asks the prayers of all as he undertakes his ministry as a servant of the holy altar.

Priest Gregory Joyce, Dean

Left to Right: Archpriest Roman Star, Bishop John, Priest Joshua Genig

Independent Study this Summer - the Church and the Layworker

The Summer Semester begins on June 19, 2017. One of our seniors graduating next year will be conducting an independent study of the course “The Church and the Layworker”. This is the capstone course of the school for those pursuing the Orthodox Studies track. If others would like to join this independent study that would be welcome. Please contact me with questions or to sign up.

Priest Gregory Joyce, Dean

Archbishop Peter Meets with Students of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary

On 4/17 May, 2017, His Eminence Archbishop Peter, Rector of the Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America, met with some of the students of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary following their end of year examinations. The discussion, which lasted more than one hour, touched on a wide range of subjects from parish life in America, to St. John of Shanghai & San Francisco, to other topics. Both Archbishop Peter and the students were very engaged – the discussion likely could have lasted for hours longer if Vladyka did not have to move on to other business already arranged at the Caves Monastery where the Academy and Seminary are located. Later that day Archbishop Peter met with Metropolitan Anthony, Rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary, about which more will be said here in the near future. Archbishop Peter is pictured in the photos below with the students as well as Fr. Rostislov Snigerev, a member of the faculty of the Academy and Seminary.

You can hear the students present pray at the end of the meeting with Archbishop Peter HERE.

Call for Proposals – Faculty

We are seeking a faculty member to make a presentation at the first of what we hope will be an annual Graduation Symposium for our school on June 12/25, 2017. We have a guest speaker and a student speaker (both soon to be announced), but we do not have a faculty speaker yet. Please contact me as soon as possible to reserve you spot as THE faculty speaker at this event! Go down in history as the first faculty member to present at our annual Graduation Symposium!

Fr. Gregory

Summer Course Offerings Announced

Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America to Offer Summer Courses

With Archbishop Peter's blessing, this year summer courses will again be offered in the Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America.  The following courses will be offered this year – dates for the courses are June 19 – August 5, 2017 (Liturgics and Advanced Byzantine Canon Law are slightly longer in duration):

• Liturgics
• Church Slavonic
• Parish Management and Operations
• Thesis Writing Workshop
• Homiletics
• New Testament Greek
• New Testament Latin
• Advanced Byzantine Canon Law - NEW

All Pastoral School summer courses are available to the general public without the need for a formal application to our complete Diploma program.  To register please visit the following link:

http://www.orthodoxtheologicalschool.org/admissions-overview/summer

To learn more about the summer courses and all the offerings of the Pastoral School please visit this link:

http://www.orthodoxtheologicalschool.org/curriculum/course-descriptions

For more information or with questions please contact the Dean of the Pastoral School, Archpriest Gregory Joyce (fr.gregory.joyce@orthodoxtheologicalschool.org).