Great Martyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy

A friend sent this over to me recently, and I thought a few folks here might be interested. This institute offers distance learning in Orthodox theology and is run by the Vicariate for Palestinian and Jordanian Orthodox Christian Communities in the United States.

One portion of the site states, "All applicants must be members in good standing of the Orthodox Church to study at the Academy. It is not possible to properly study and understand Orthodox theology if you are not an Orthodox Christian. Applicants who are not members of the Orthodox Church in good standing should get in touch with the Department of Missions and Evangelism." Yet, the FAQ suggests that exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis.

Also, the site specifies that they have no plans whatsoever to seek accreditation of any kind but that diocesan oversight will suffice to maintain their standards.

Either way, here's the link for everyone's reference: http://orthodoxacademy.org/

Thoughts from our ministry folks here?

 

Looks good. I would say that for what they do, hierarchical oversight is sufficient. The school us run by the victims of Ben Lomond debacle in the Antiochian Archdiocese, who apparently landed on their feet in the Jerusalem group - good for them.

 

I hadn't been familiar with the Ben Lomond situation, but Googling around suggests that it was quite messy, to say the least. The former "Evangelical Orthodox Church" folks as well as the OCA & Antiochian Orthodox hierarchs seemed to have valid points.

So, this new school is being run by the former Evangelical Orthodox folks, who wanted to do liturgy, music, etc. their own way? If so, color me confused as the site suggests that the institute wants to be as Eastern Orthodox as possible.

 

Well... I'm not very familiar with BL situation as well; Internet information is messy and inconclusive. From this vantage point though, whatever the sins of the very unusual (but obviously zealous) ex-EOC group at SS Peter and Paul, Met. Philip responding with defrockings, plural, sounds shockingly harsh. The whole affair decimated the thriving parish. I'm glad most folks involved landed on their feet, but it took years.

The President of Great Martyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy, The Very Reverend Father Thaddaeus Hardenbrook, is the son of the former EOC bishop who was the dean of SS Peter and Paul during the conflict, and who had apparently passed away. Fr. Thaddaeus heads the parish that was formed by the Ben Lomond refugees. Looks like he's in good enough standing with the Vicariate (part of the Greek Archdiocese) that they not only keep him in orders but even promote to V. Rev. (implying Protopresbyter) rank. I'm not sure about the other convert priest on faculty, Fr. John Peck, but this: https://leitourgeia.com/2008/09/29/the-orthodox-church-of-tomorrow-by-fr-john-peck/ suggests he at one point struggled with the same cradle/convert dynamic that was part of the Ben Lomond group. Frankly, his rant very much reminds me of our local tensions between the legacies and the newcomers I somewhat experienced myself, so I have a lot of sympathy. He also is a contributor to the Orthodox Study Bible, so clearly worked with at least those ex-EOC guys who weren't kicked out in BL affair (Fr. Peter Gillquist is the editor-in-chief). The third guy, Archimandrite Damaskinos, is a highly educated relatively young priest-monk from the Middle East who looks like someone bound to be a Bishop some day, maybe soon.

EOC folks' practices drew liberally from various Orthodox traditions, and any liturgical innovations were apparently inspired by Fr. Alexander Schmeman's research - seeking precisely to return to the early practices. Of course, hardly anyone follows Fr. Alexander, but he is held in great esteem; the guy founded St. Vlad's Seminary and was a giant in American Orthodoxy. So it's not like BL group didn't strive to be "as Orthodox as possible"; in fact that was the whole goal of the EOC converts, rebels and loyalists alike. The worst people allege about them was lack of proper formation: the EOC clergy got ordained without going through traditional Orthodox seminary. Fair enough I suppose, but do not even begin to approach the grounds enough for laicizations and excommunications. Yeah, yeah, the official reason was "disobedience" and the Metropolitan has prerogative to do that, but c'mon. They should have been permitted to leave for OCA as they asked to. The Archdiocese could still keep the property the group worked hard to accumulate (the law is on it's side), and the "rebels" would still be bitter, but dropping the canonical hammer was both unprecedented and uncalled for. This, if actually talking to the group wouldn't bring some kind of compromise.

 

Can't resist. It's good that Fr. Damaskinos, the bearded, robed Arab, was able to enter the country before the travel bans and the hysteria. I'm not sure even the big bejevelled cross on his chest can convince anyone.

 

I think we're collecting a small list of legit Orthodox DL offerings. Let's see if I can name them:
ROCOR Pastoral School in the Diocese of Chicago
St. Arseny Institute in Canada (OCA)
St. Stephen's Course (Antiochians)
Great Martyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy (Palestinians within Greek Archdiocese, what formerly was Jerusalem Patriarchate in America)

Also:
Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville (ROCOR) has Certificate in Theological Studies (Independent Study) with exams online
St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Seminary (South Bound Brook, NJ)'s course is hybrid, with online portion of the MDiv leading to Master of Arts degree

What did I miss?

 

Thanks for the detailed reply about the BL incident. It does provide even more context than what I'd read elsewhere.

As for your other question about online Orthodox schools, I think the Old Calendarist Greeks in America had something through their Three Holy Hierarchs Orthodox Theological Institute, but I can't seem to find the site any longer. Any chance you know what I'm speaking of?