DIOCESE OF CHICAGO AND MID-AMERICA: July 3, 2013
Graduation at the Pastoral School of Chicago and Mid-America

On June 2/15 , 2013, the Pastoral School of Chicago and Mid-America of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia marked its seventh annual graduation. Before vigil at the Diocesan Cathedral of the Protection of the Mother of God in Des Plaines, IL, three students received their diplomas in Pastoral Studies: Hiermonk Innokenty (Reichert), Aleksandr Andreev, and Alexander Cooley. Earlier that day the students had defended their theses and successfully passed oral exams before a board consisting of His Grace Bishop Peter of Cleveland (President of the School), Archpriest Andre Papkov (Vice President of the School), Archpriest Martin Swanson (Dean of the School) and Archpriest Gregory Joyce (Associate Dean of the School). A fourth student, Cristian Ailincai, also passed his oral exams earlier in the day in New Zealand before a panel headed by Archpriest Vladimir Boikov.

This year the Pastoral School had 56 students participating in its distance-learning format courses. The distance learning format allows students and instructors to participate in regular and lively classroom discussions on-line. Many public and private universities use this format, which engages the students in almost constant interaction and learning. Distance learning provides the student with a full complement of resources which are available at any time and at any place. For more information on the Pastoral School please visit the school’s web site:

orthodoxtheologicalschool.org

Registration for the fall semester is now open. Students must apply not later than September 1 to be considered for admission. Please note that Pastoral Theology majors’ wives may register at a discounted rate for the Orthodox Studies major. Students may wish to apply before the September 1 deadline so that they can take advantage of the need-based scholarships available to incoming students (applications for scholarship are due August 15 ). More information on admissions may be found at this link:

orthodoxtheologicalschool.org/admissions-overview/admissions-information

More information on scholarships may be found at this link:

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