The Very Rev. Sergius Halvorsen (M.Div. ‘96; Ph.D., Drew University, 2002) is Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric at St Vladimir's Seminary and serves as director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, and Director of the Compelling Preaching project. In addition to teaching homiletics and rhetoric, he also teaches courses in Christian education and the sacred art of narrative. Fr Sergius is a priest of the Orthodox Church in America, he is attached to Holy Transfiguration Church in New Haven, CT, and has contributed to a number of "Archangel Voices" recordings. He currently lives in New Haven, CT, and serves part-time as a chaplain at Yale New Haven Hospital. He loves gardening, hiking, biking, and reading biographies and fiction.

Educational Background

• B.A. Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1992
• M.Div., St Vladimir's Seminary, 1996
• Ph.D., Drew University, 2002

Teaching Interests

Homiletics, Rhetoric, Faith-based Storytelling, Christian Education, Distance Learning

Current Projects and Research Interests

During the twenty years that I have taught preaching, my primary focus has been on the art and craft of liturgical preaching; the sacred art of preaching within the context of the Divine Liturgy. Increasingly, I have become interested in how clergy and laypeople can better share their Orthodox Christian faith beyond the liturgical context. In the fall of 2022, St. Vladimir's Seminary received a grant from the Compelling Preaching Initiative of the Lilly Endowment, and this has provided an opportunity to explore and develop faith-based storytelling as a dynamic, personal approach to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a proof of concept, I recently incorporated faith-based storytelling into a seminary course, and the results vastly exceeded expectations. Not only were the stories compelling and dynamic, but the process of developing stories and sharing them strengthened the faith of the storytellers and built relationships of faith between the storytellers.

Recent Courses Taught at SVOTS

Homiletics, Sacred art of Rhetoric, Christian Education