Peter Kopcha joined the staff at St Vladimir’s Seminary in late January 2025, capping a distinguished career in public and corporate finance. In this interview, we learn about his upbringing in an Orthodox community in Connecticut, his goals for finance at St Vladimir’s Seminary, and his thoughts on how we as Orthodox Christians can approach giving back to the Church.
Please share a bit about your family and faith background; what has been your journey in the Church?
I grew up in the Russian Orthodox Church before the Metropolia received its autocephaly (1970), at Sts Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Church in Terryville, CT. I literally grew up singing in the choir, as my dad was the choir director. I would sing soprano next to my mom, and my three older sisters would sing soprano and alto. As I got a little older, when all my friends moved to the bass section, my dad said, “No, we have to stay in the tenor section.” So, from then on, I sang tenor.
Back then, the Terryville parish was very ethnic-oriented, like many active parishes at the time. After 1970, when autocephaly occurred, the church started using more English and less Church Slavonic, which created some tension. I credit Fr Michael Koblosh (SVOTS ‘68) of blessed memory for helping the parish understand that the Orthodox Faith is not Russian or American but simply Orthodox. There were mixed reactions to this shakeup; some embraced it, and some did not like it, but I know it was the right decision. Fr Michael knew Fr Alexander Schmemann, and his influence was clear in the way Fr Koblosh approached the parish.
I went to UConn and got a B.S. in Accounting, and got married just after college to my wife Pattie. The way we met is kind of an interesting story. Pattie’s aunt was married to my mother’s cousin, so we were distantly related by marriage, but we had never met until we ran into each other at an anniversary party for those mutual relatives.
After Pattie and I got married, we stayed in Terryville for quite a while. We have two kids, William and Rachel, and now three granddaughters: Thea, Natalie, and Samara.
In the late 1990s, I changed jobs and moved to Vermont, where we attended the Montpelier parish with Fr Mark Sherman. It was stressful for the whole family to move—my daughter was in grammar school, my son was in middle school, and my wife was home with the kids there in Vermont, having left all of our friends and family back in Terryville. Fr Mark Sherman was the right priest at the right time. He really knew how to guide the family in the three years that we were there, and we made friends in the Montpelier parish. Once that job ended, we moved back to Connecticut and ended up in Southbury.
We ended up buying a house in Southbury; unbeknownst at the time to us, the house was about a half a mile away from some property that was just donated to the Southbury parish for the building that we now have. So I can now walk to church if I wanted to (but I never want to). (laughter)
I’ve been the choir director at the Southbury parish since I started attending. I have no formal education for this except for back in ‘83 when David Drillock and Helen Erickson came from St Vladimir’s Seminary to New Haven to give some choir directing classes. They really opened my eyes to what directing is all about.
Our current parish is vibrant, with an explosion of growth, particularly among young people and families. What's striking is that there’s nothing ethnic about our church in Southbury, and that shift is largely due to the influence of Fr Michael Koblosh and then Fr Vladimir Aleandro (M.Div. ‘95), who recently retired. I would say that Fr Schmemann’s ideas played a significant role in shaping that broader, more inclusive vision of Orthodoxy.
How did you come to accept the position as CFO at St Vladimir’s Seminary?
Since moving to Southbury in 2000, I’ve had multiple jobs, and I had planned to retire in April of this year. About a year ago, I was talking with our now-retired parish priest, Fr Vladimir Aleandro, and mentioned my plans to retire in the following year so my wife Pattie and I could travel, I could learn Russian, and do other fun stuff. However, late last year when Dr Alex Tudorie was asking people if they knew any accountants who could take the CFO position at St Vladimir’s, Fr Aleandro recommended me for the job. I guess Dr Alex also heard about me from Fr Sergius Halverson, who used to be attached to my parish, and then when he asked our trustee Jeffrey Hoff if he knew of a Peter Kopcha, he said, “No, but I know a Will Kopcha!” My son was a part of Jeffrey’s home parish in New Jersey while he was going to school at Rutgers University.
I view all these connections as God guiding me on this path. Over my career, I've had different jobs: controller, CFO, and Vice President of Finance. I spent a number of years in public accounting before I went to corporate accounting. But when Dr Alex called me late last year and told me about this CFO position, I said, “Oh, that's not what I expected to do with my life at this stage of my career. Let me think about it. I’ll pray about it and get back to you.”
Of course, I talked about it with my wife first. She said, “You know, I know you can't say ‘No’ since this is the Church.” And she was right. I talked with Dr Alex and said yes, I will take the job. When I gave my notice to my old employer, they said, “Well, why don't you stay? You don't have to retire,” and I said, “No, I’m going to work for the Church–it's a calling.” I feel I have a skill set, and there's a need to be filled here.
I happen to be very good friends with Melanie Ringa, who retired as CFO of St Vladimir’s in January 2022 after 15 years on the job. She was my best alto in Southbury. So I called Melanie and she gave me the history about some turnover since she had retired, and I was fully aware of the challenges that would be facing somebody in this position.
Tell us about your first two months on the job.
There's a lot that needs to be cleaned up, but it’s not about judgment. Using the skills I've gained from all these different jobs, I know what needs to be done—I’ve done this before. The goal is to focus on what we need to do moving forward. I've been collaborating with Dr Alex, Dr John Barnet, and Fr Alexander Rentel to make sure we have solid policies and procedures in place, especially from a financial perspective. Once they're set in motion, it's not that hard to stick to them. It’s about working consistently with them on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Honestly, that part of the job is the easy part. The real challenge is what Dr Alex has started to tackle—making those hard decisions to get the finances back on track.
When people asked me if I was nervous about this job, I could honestly say the accounting aspect doesn't intimidate me—accounting is accounting. My background is in manufacturing, retail, and wholesale enterprises, so nonprofit accounting with endowments and grants isn’t extremely complicated. However, what does intimidate me is the seminary’s rich history. There are so many people who have been part of the seminary—graduates, instructors, theologians—who have profoundly impacted Orthodoxy, not just in America but globally. To be able to contribute to ensuring that the seminary remains strong for future generations, continuing that legacy, is truly awesome.
It’s a big responsibility. Working with Dr Alex has been great, and everyone I’ve met here shares the same vision for the seminary’s success. Dr Alex’s efforts in the months leading up to my hire were extraordinary. While he’s not a finance person, he was certainly on the ball, demonstrating a strong grasp of what needed to be done. He was under immense pressure from two fronts: the ATS focused team visit, which was coming in January to review the finances, and the audit for FY24, which had been started but not completed. There were errors in the transition from older systems, and much of the work hadn’t been done.
The small team we have here in finance put in a huge effort to keep things afloat and move things close to the finish line. By the time I came on board in January, the groundwork had been laid, and I was able to complete the audit. Dr Alex’s determination, despite lacking a finance background, was phenomenal. He really went above and beyond to ensure things were in order.
When I left my last job and told my boss I was moving to the seminary, he asked me why. In my previous role, my motivation was simple: I wanted a paycheck. We were a publicly traded company, and our job was to ensure the shareholders received their dividends. But that wasn't a good motivation for me. Coming to the seminary is a completely different motivation—working for the Church, working for future generations. It’s a big responsibility, and I just pray to God that I can meet the challenge.
You mentioned your goals for your time at St Vladimir’s: ensuring financial stability and consistency. What other concrete goals do you have?
From the outset, one thing that was made clear was the goal of keeping things in the black and making that process a little easier. To achieve this, I need to work closely with people like Ginny Nieuwsma, Ted Bazil, and Jeff Brown to generate funds for the endowments and grants. Another part of the goal is ensuring that the funds we have are sufficient to cover scholarships. Right now, due to the history of the endowments, it’s a bit challenging to maintain financial stability. It’s not just about breaking even or making a small profit; we need to re-energize those endowments. If they are inadequate, it will negatively impact the amount we can contribute to scholarships. The goal is for students to attend with zero out-of-pocket costs, relying on their parish, diocese, endowments, and grants from the seminary. To make this possible, we need to ensure our investments are strong.
Another key part of the goal is managing costs—not just through large cuts but also by making small, mindful adjustments. We need to be cautious and ask, "Why are we spending this? Can we do it more efficiently or cost-effectively?" Ultimately, the focus is on ensuring we have sufficient funding to support our students now and in the future.
You have spoken eloquently about your upbringing in the Orthodox Faith and about your commitment to serving the Church. As a finance professional and faithful Orthodox Christian, how do you view the role of financial stewardship in the Orthodox Church?
Thinking back to my younger days, I remember the concept of church dues—how, if you were behind on your dues, you couldn’t be buried in the church cemetery. To me, that always seemed like a strange concept.
As I reflect on it now, I see how the concept of tithing—giving your time, talent, and money—became more meaningful to me. It’s about getting your priorities straight in life. Tithing is important because you’re giving back to the Church and to God what you can. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the idea of a set 10% as the "right" amount. As a finance person, I typically focus on numbers, but I don’t think tithing should be limited to a hard and fast percentage. For me, tithing means giving because you love the Church, Orthodoxy, and God. Setting a specific percentage like 10% feels too much like paying dues, like $50 a month.
For me, it starts here—in the heart, in the soul. If your priorities are straight, you’ll have no trouble giving what you can. The important thing is that God comes first. Once you get your priorities right, everything else will fall into place. I remember speaking with some fellow parishioners recently—a wonderful young woman, her husband, and their energetic toddler. She’s five months pregnant and just got laid off from her job at the IRS. I can relate to that feeling because, in my own career, I’ve been through transitions where my job was eliminated or my employer moved. You never know where it will lead, but I believe God will guide you to where you need to go. You may not like it, and you may not understand it, but everything that happens is part of God’s plan. If you have faith and place your trust in God, knowing that He will take care of you, then you’ll be okay. It starts here—from the soul.
Beautifully said! In our final question, we would like you to speak a bit more on your work here at the seminary, which relies on donor support. What would you say to those who support the seminary?
First of all, I want to thank our donors. Without them, the seminary wouldn’t be here. To those who support us, I would say that we have to think about the future of the Church as a whole. One thing that frustrates me as an Orthodox Christian is the jurisdictional divisions within the Church. There are squabbles, even when it comes to funding. Some might say, "I’m only going to fund students from my jurisdiction," but that’s maddening to me. We are one Orthodox Church, and we must think about finances from the perspective of unity. There is one God and one Orthodox Church, and we need to ensure the Church as a whole can prosper and grow.
I’ve seen the fruits of this vision in Southbury, where we’ve witnessed tremendous growth, especially among young families. There’s a thirst for Truth in this country, and young people are doing their research, testing the waters. Not everyone will choose this path, but there’s a real desire for Orthodoxy, and we need to nurture that. For that to happen, the seminary must have the funds to support both laypeople and clergy in their education. We need to broaden our perspective and think beyond our own jurisdictions to ensure the growth of the Orthodox Church as a unified body.
