Protodeacon Peter Danilchick remembers exactly when he became convinced that the Orthodox Christian Leadership Initiative (OCLI) was meeting a real need among lay Orthodox professionals. “At one of our first conferences held at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, I had nurses, doctors, engineers, hedge fund managers all asking the same thing: ‘I am a corporate manager and everyone is trying to climb the corporate ladder. How can I be a good corporate manager and still be a person of faith?’”
The mission of OCLI is “to nurture and empower Orthodox Christian servant leadership. It is a national initiative to increase generosity, servant leadership, and social outreach by clergy and laity of all jurisdictions working together nationally, regionally, and locally.”
Towards that end, OCLI has teamed up with St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) to launch a national survey to gauge interest in a hybrid Master of Arts degree with a focus on leadership training. The degree would allow individuals to obtain a theological education and round out their organizational skills by taking courses in effective leadership—without having to relocate to St. Vladimir’s campus to complete the degree. The survey is meant to identify who might be interested in such a program and what they would want and need from it. The online survey takes approximately five minutes or less to complete.
- Click HERE to take the survey
The kind of leadership training that OCLI aims to offer combines the best of current leadership thought with the tenants of Christian theology.
“An example of this is the notion of servant leadership, which has a popular corporate following,” explained Hollie Benton, executive director of OCLI. “However, our starting point is not just a framework of efficiently run organizations nor an individual’s desire to do the right thing which eventually builds leadership influence. For Christians, servant leadership starts with God’s commandment to love God and neighbor. In a Christian context it is not just your will but your duty to obey the commandment of God that we find in scripture.”
“The mission of St. Vladimir’s fits well with that of OCLI,” said Fr. Chad Hatfield, president of SVOTS. “Both organizations are invested in raising up leaders for the Church, so I am pleased we are able to contribute the Initiative’s efforts.”
Both organizations are also teaming up for the 4th Annual National Advanced Leadership Conference Sept. 18-19, 2020. Find more information and register for the online conference at orthodoxservantleaders.com/national-conference.html.
More information about SVOTS degree programs, including its Master of Arts degree, can be found at SVOTS.edu.
