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Christ is Risen! Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and the Diocese of the Midwest of the Orthodox Church in America are humbled and excited to announce a bold and creative partnership intended to form and train a select cohort of qualified men for the Priesthood in the Chicagoland area over the next three years.
Born of creative discussions between His Eminence Archbishop Michael, Rector of Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, and His Eminence Archbishop Daniel, and undergirded by a multi-faceted Lilly Grant of nearly $1,000,000, the Chicago Program intends to grant an accredited Master of Divinity, the degree of preparation for ordained ministry. The Cohort, who will follow the same program offered in residence at Saint Tikhon’s, will be taught by highly-qualified instructors local to the Diocese of the Midwest in classes combining synchronous online instruction and in-person intensives, making use of Diocesan-appointed and trained mentors for parish internships and liturgical formation. The Cohort will spend additional intensive time in residence at St Tikhon’s each of the three years of the program.
The concept meets a demographic need not previously possible: those long-established in the Orthodox Faith, who for reasons blessed by His Eminence, Archbishop Daniel himself, are not able to relocate to seminary for the customary three-year residential formation. Both the Seminary and the Diocese of the Midwest note the following with clarity: We remain absolutely committed to residential formation for ministry as the long-standing, gold standard of formation. This special cohort is not open for applications. It is an episcopally hand-selected group of married men, well-known to their communities, and long-serving in the Orthodox Tradition. The Chicago Program is an effort to add additional clergy to the roster through creative, formal spiritual, theological, liturgical, and pastoral formation, at a time when our churches are bursting at the seams and more clergy are urgently needed.
This special program was blessed by the Holy Synod of Bishops at their Autumn 2025 meeting in Springfield, Virginia. Presently, the leadership team, which includes Fr John Parker, Dean of St Tikhon’s; Fr Paul Witek, Academic Dean of St Tikhon’s; and Dn Timothy Heinbokel, Chicago Program Director; are working through the academic and practical specifics, as well as the accreditation details, which are pending. With awaited approval from the ATS and pending participation in the relevant interstate distance education agreement (SARA), the program is anticipated to begin in Fall 2026, with the cohort graduating in Spring/Summer 2029.
For more information or to help provide much-needed scholarships for this unique effort, please write to us directly at dean@stots.edu, indicating “Chicago Program” in the subject line.
Glory to God for all things!
