Welcome to the New Academic Year!

Dear Pastoral School Faculty and Students,

I would like to welcome everyone to the first day our courses for this academic year! If you have not yet registered please do so as soon as reasonably possible – you'll want to get involved in the discussions in your classes right away!

If you have technical questions please reach out to our IT Lead, Deacon Joseph Appling:

joseph.appling@orthodoxtheologicalschool.org

We are very grateful for Fr. Joseph for his diligent work for our school – please remember him and his family in your prayers!

If you have any other questions please reach out to me – my contact information is below. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions whatsoever, or if I can be of any help to you whatsoever! Your feedback is always welcome.

Tonight following Vespers & Matins for Sts. Adrian & Natalia I will serve a moleben for the Beginning of Every Good Work at our parish in Ann Arbor. With the Lord's blessing I have great hope for a wonderful year together as an academic family - may the Merciful Lord grant us a spiritually profitable academic year!

With Love in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Fr. Gregory Joyce, Dean
fr.gregory.joyce@orthodoxtheologicalschool.org
Cell/SMS/Viber/What’s App: +1-734-649-5746

P.S. Please connect with us via Facebook (@orthodoxtheologicalschool), Instagram (@orthodox_theological_school), or the Dean’s List blog (http://psdcma.blogspot.com/). And please share the word about the Pastoral School – you are our best way to inform others about our programs!

New Students Accepted

The Pastoral School Fall semester begins on September 7, 2020. We are pleased to announce that the following students have been accepted for the coming semester:

Blanchard, Joseph
Bornejko, Reader Kodratos
Cline, Christopher
Dalal, Nina
Eble, Helen
Harrison, Subdeacon Nektarios
Hayward, Christos
Hoort, Innocent
(Keller), Hieromonk Aidan
Kizziah, Michelle
Merritt, Subdeacon Andrew
(Milanovic), Hieromonk Peter
Mona, Tamara
Peter, Maximus
Petrov, Andrei
Purdef, Deacon Christopher
Reighard, Olga
Rimshas, Reader Jesse
Schuler, Nikhon
Sirko, Deacon Joseph

We congratulate these students on their acceptance to the Pastoral School! Many will be studying in the Pastoral Theology Program, others in the Catechist Program.

The next application deadline for the Pastoral School is February 1, 2021. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, so those who would like to apply are welcome to do so at any time for the next semester. The application form can be found here:

APPLICATION FORM

We welcome your application! If you have questions, please contact me.

Fr. Gregory Joyce, Dean
fr.gregory.joyce@orthodoxtheologicalschool.org
Cell/SMS/What's App/Viber: +1-734-649-5746

Ordination of Pastoral School Graduate to the Deaconate

On the feast of the Holy Equal to the Apostles Great Prince Vladimir, July 15/28, 2020, Subdeacon Paul Kentigern Siewers was ordained to the deaconate by His Grace Luke, Bishop of Syracuse. May the Lord grant the newly-ordained many years of service in His Holy Church! 

Academic Calendar 2020-21

Please find the Academic Calendar for 2020-21 at this link:

ACADEMIC CALENDAR 20-21

Faculty and students are asked to review the calendar and put the information from this calendar onto their own calendars so that important deadlines are not missed.

As always, please contact me with questions.

Fr. Gregory Joyce, Dean
fr.gregory.joyce@orthodoxtheologicalschool.org
Cell/SMS/What's App/Viber: +1-734-649-5746

Pastoral School Graduation & Ordination 2020

On June 27, 2020 thesis review and defense, and comprehensive final examinations were held for graduating students of the Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America. This year, for the first time, due to the pandemic, a portion of the examination committee joined the activity remotely. All students were physically present, and all were from the Michigan Deanery. At this session three students defended their theses and passed their final examinations: Hierodeacon Alexei (Dixon), Subdeacon Colin Bower, and Subdeacon Micah Chisholm.

Fr. Alexei’s thesis was entitled: “A Proposal for Glorification: First First Hierarch of ROCOR Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky)”. Subdeacon Colin’s thesis was entitled: “Liturgical Language and Orthodox Evangelism”. And Subdeacon Micah’s thesis was entitled: “Forming Hearts for Mission: Cultivating Evangelical Zeal in 21st Century North America”.

All theses were accepted by the examination committee (made up of His Eminence Archbishop Peter of Chicago & Mid-America, President of the Pastoral School; Archpriest Andre Papkov, Vice President of the School; Archpriest Martin Swanson, Dean Emeritus of the School; Archpriest Gregory Joyce, Dean of the School; and Archpriest John Whiteford, Assistant Dean for Operations of the School), and all students passed their oral final examinations.

Later that day the Resurrectional Vigil was held in the Diocesan Cathedral of the Protection of the Mother of God in Des Plaines, IL. All graduates participated in the Divine Service. The next day (June 28, 2020) Divine Liturgy was held in the cathedral, at which Subdeacon Colin Bower was ordained a Deacon for service at St. Vladimir Church in Ann Arbor, MI. Following the Divine Liturgy His Eminence Archbishop Peter awarded the graduates their diplomas. We congratulate the new graduates and their families on their significant accomplishment. God willing the theses of the new graduates will soon be published for the edification of all.

GRADUATION WEEKEND PICTURES

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.  Applications for admission for the summer semester are due June 12, 2020. The following courses will be offered this year – dates for the courses are June 15 – August 1, 2020 (Liturgics is slightly longer in duration):

Liturgics
Church Slavonic
Intermediate/Advanced Church Slavonic
Parish Management and Operations
Thesis Writing Workshop
Homiletics
New Testament Greek
New Testament Latin

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:

REGISTER HERE

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

LEARN MORE - PSDCMA SUMMER COURSES

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

Synodal School of Liturgical Music Pastoral School Bridge Program 2020

Most years, non-pandemic years that is, our cooperative program with the Synodal School of Liturgical Music, the Pastoral School Bridge program, takes place at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. But this year, as with most aspects in our lives, everything is different. Please visit the web site below to learn more.

PASTORAL SCHOOL SSLM BRIDGE PROGRAM

The same courses offered by SSLM are also offered by the Pastoral School with some of the instructors, but the dates of instruction will be different. So that is really probably the biggest difference this year. Usually we can say that the biggest difference is the opportunity to live and study in Jordanville for several weeks - and that is a very valuable opportunity. We are sorry that this cannot happen this year. God willing perhaps next year.

Fr. Gregory Joyce
Dean