Value/Utility of UA Degree - Louisiana Baptist University

Full disclosure: my daughter was baptised by a guy who teaches Canon Law at St. Sophia. It happened in an actual building of a church he pastors, in St. Petersburg, Florida (hi Fr. Harry!).
Now, accredited Orthodox seminaries are held in high esteem in Ukrainian churches. Having said that, I feel St. Sophia grad will have an edge with both our hierarchs and, importantly, the people, compared to someone educated by the Greeks or, even more suspiciously, the Russians (I am using a polite word here). We can be very territorial, partly for valid historical reasons. It is also helpful to practice the chanting and the Liturgy in the actual language, and there are also minor variations in the tradition better learned at the in-house school.
(Ukrainian Orthodox seminary in Canada, St. Andrew's College, is affiliated with U. of Manitoba and therefore accredited. Doesn't offer DL though.)

 

Another school comes to mind: sporadically-discussed St. Gregory Nazianzen Orthodox Institute of Puerto Rico/Mexico/Guatemala (but really, Puerto Rico). It is founded and ran by a St. Sophia grad priest-monk who went on to collect a dizzying array of hono(u)rs, including three accredited, DL doctorates, as well as three real-but-for-sale British feudal "lordships". It presents itself as fully accredited, by both the Archdiocese of Mexico and Guatemala (through affiliation with URG); these claims are not easy to verify. I believe them to be most probably true.

Here is an administrator of the school whose credentials would normally raise a red flag:
Acting Registrar
The Very Reverend Protopresbyter Christopher Grist,
•D.Sc., cand. (in Orthodox Studies), St. Gregory Nazianzen Orthodox Institute, MX
•Cambridge International Certificate for Teachers and Trainers, cand., University of Cambridge, UK
•M.Sc. (in Orthodox Studies), St. Gregory Nazianzen Orthodox Institute, MX
•B.Sc. (in Orthodox Studies), St. Gregory Nazianzen Orthodox Institute, MX

Here is the guy with all his degrees from the school itself, obviously an acolyte (broad term, not actual minor order) of the Father Lord Rector Dr. Dr. Dr. Andrew himself. He is probably one of the few people doing most of the actual work, as well. Normally, not a good sign. But - but! - he does boast "The Very Reverend Protopresbyter" title. Now, these guys are not a vagant church; they are part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The illustrious Lord Rector, then, would lack authority to just ordain Fr. Gist himself. An actual Bishop did it, most probably Abp. Athenagoras of Mexico. This is a tangible sign of utility for the StGNOTI training and degrees. Also, apparently the Archdiocese looks favorably upon Fr. Gist's work, seeing that he levelled up to the Protopresbyter rank (also in a ceremony presided by most likely Abp. Athenagoras). That's a minor but tangible sign of recognition.

 

Thanks!

Th.B., Louisiana Baptist University
JD, Regent University School of Law
Appellate Advocacy

Ummm, well, it's on the internet so it must be true. However, this is evidence that someone beat the system, not a statement of utility. If one contacted Regent University and asked about their acceptance of LBU degrees in general, in would be interesting to hear their response.

 

You are attempting to compare apples to oranges. No one is suggesting that LBU degrees have great utility, or as a rule, that Regent accepts LBU graduates. The suggestion is merely that some universities may be more accepting of LBU grads than are other universities, and that Regent and Liberty might be counted among those that could be more accepting. Ample evidence exists that acceptance of LBU grads at universities like Regent, Liberty and Luther Rice is something greater than zero. We can also be certain that acceptance of LBU grads at many other universities would be zero.

 

That I can agree with!

 

Also a PCC grad (quite possibly earned prior to accreditation).

 

PCC and BJU are both in that very small percentile (and I mean very small) of unaccredited religious institutions that have a reputation for offering substantive/rigorous academic programs. LBU is not in the same league.