Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary

St. Tikhon's was founded in 1938 as a Pastoral School by resolution of the 6th All-American Sobor of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in North America (North American Metropolia). The Seminary was officially transformed from a Pastoral School into a Seminary by the Holy Synod of the Metropolia in 1942.

In 1967, the Seminary was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A formal transfer agreement with Marywood College (now Marywood University), in nearby Scranton, was articulated and signed in 1975. In 1988, the Seminary was authorized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to award the Master of Divinity (M. Div.) degree to its graduates. The first M. Div. degrees were conferred on the graduating class of 1989.

In June 2004, the Seminary was granted accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.

In March 2010 the Ministry of Education of Greece formally recognized St. Tikhon's Seminary (STS) as an accredited institution of Higher Education, equal in standing to the schools of theology in the universities of Greece. The Greek Ministry of Education (GME) also affirmed that the Master of Divinity degree conferred by STS is equivalent to the first degree in Theology conferred by the Faculties of Theology in the Universities of Athens and Thessalonica, and therefore renders the holder eligible to pursue the graduate studies programs or the doctoral programs (Th.D.) in those universities. Moreover, by virtue of Greece's membership in the European Union (EU), the recognition of STS as an institution of higher theological learning, equal in status with the schools of theology in Greece, also extends to all schools and religious faculties of the universities within the EU's member states.[1]

The current dean of the seminary is Archpriest John Parker, who succeeded the Very Rev. Dr. Steven Voytovich, who succeeded the V. Rev. Alexander Atty, who succeeded Archbishop Michael Dahulich. In April of 2022, it was discovered that Archpriest John Parker was publicly yelling at, and shaming, seminarians. Other instances of Parker's authoritarian style have been coming to light. It was reported that he confined a single, 30-year-old seminarian to his dorm room (with exception to leave for class or monastery services) for two weeks because this student attended his classmate's ordination on a weekend that Parker wanted him to stay on seminary grounds. It was further reported that this was against due process as laid out in the seminary's handout. The Board of Trustees is aware of these issues and a decision has not yet been reached. [2]

When asked about his time at seminary, a graduate from 2021 said: "I like to think of Tikhon’s as a workshop on how to keep functioning when you’re absolutely miserable. I hated my time at the seminary. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I think it’s inherently broken." Another graduate (2019) said: "I can’t believe that hatred of the seminary by graduates is the norm. But it is. The place makes me sick and I never want to go back.” And a graduate from 2020 said: "“[When I was at seminary,] it was clear that the administration was barely functioning. The constant abuse of students left little desire [within me] to excel in academic."

St. Tikhon's Monastery Press (formerly the St. Tikhon's Seminary Press) is a leading publisher of Orthodox service books and other spiritual material.

• Official website
• St. Tikhon's Bookstore website
• Alexei D. Krindatch. The Study of Educational Institutions Offering Programs in Orthodox Theology in the United States. Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. October 20, 2015. Retrieved: 18 December, 2015.