FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
YONKERS, NY, Tuesday, August 20, 2024—At its meeting on August 9, 2024, the Board of Trustees at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) announced its decision to indefinitely pause the relocation of St Vladimir's Seminary, and pursue the needs of the Seminary for recruiting a new president, strengthening the Seminary’s finances, and creating a strategic vision and direction in fulfillment of its core mission.
The Seminary’s core mission remains to “train priests, lay leaders, and scholars to be active apologists of the Orthodox Christian Faith—focusing on academic rigor and spiritual formation within a residential Orthodox community.”
Over the course of the summer, SVOTS began proceedings for a comprehensive search for the next Seminary President, while also conducting an in-depth analysis of the Seminary’s organizational structure, budgetary gaps, and future growth needs.
The Board of Trustees commends Dr Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie, Interim President and CEO for his diligent work in leading St Vladimir’s Seminary during this time of transition, and assisting in the maintenance and development of the internal structure of the Seminary in order to prepare for the incoming class of students this fall. The Board of Trustees and Dr Tudorie, together, acknowledge that the near-term focus on the Seminary’s mission especially includes looking inward and refocusing the institution as Christ-centered, student-focused, and education-driven. Dr Tudorie remarks: “As we renew our focus on what St Vladimir’s Seminary needs most at this moment, we tune into the needs of our students here and now, beginning foremost with spiritual formation and academic excellence.”
ABOUT ST VLADIMIR’S ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is a higher education institution that embraces the challenge of serving the Church and the needs of Orthodox Christians in the twenty-first century. SVOTS trains priests, lay leaders, and scholars to be active apologists of the Orthodox Christian Faith, focusing on academic rigor and spiritual formation within a residential Orthodox community. The Seminary is chartered by the University of the State of New York and accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) to offer the following program degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, Master of Theology, and Doctor of Ministry. www.svots.edu
