St. Tikhon's Seminary

📣 Applications Now Open! Saint Tikhon’s Seminary is now accepting applications to the Master of Divinity degree program for the 2026-27 academic year: 🗓 Application Deadline: May 1, 2026 ✏️ Application Portal: stots.edu/apply_mdiv 👉 Questions? Contact our Registrar at applicants@stots.edu. Considering seminary but not ready to apply? You can schedule a visit during the academic year by emailing info@stots.edu. #sttikhonsseminary #stots

The program does include some synchronous online coursework, but it isn’t a “distance program” in the traditional sense. Cohort formation will take place locally in the parish and diocese through a combination of online coursework, in-person intensives, local mentoring, pastoral and liturgical training, and time in residence at St. Tikhon’s Seminary. So while there is an online component, the formation itself is grounded in real community life and is not primarily remote/distance.

@SaintTikhons @tweetmattingly @OrthodoxHistory @midwestdiocese The “synchronous online instruction” isn’t distance? Or is your point that the program it isn’t fully distance because of the “in-person intensives?” Or is your point something about the balance of online to in-person? Or am I missing something else?

This is a hugely positive development, a real step forward in addressing the priest shortage. Both @SaintTikhons (Abp Michael and Fr John Parker) and @midwestdiocese (Abp Daniel and Fr Herman Kincaid) should be commended for their vision. The short version: a cohort of longtime Orthodox men, handpicked by Abp Daniel, will go through a hybrid seminary program to prepare them for the priesthood. None of these are men who otherwise would have gone to seminary, and they represent exactly the kind of "market inefficiency" I've been going on and on about for several years now. I hope this program is wildly successful and is imitated by other dioceses across the country.

Mr. Mattingly is correct! This program is not the same as a distance program. The Cohort, who will follow the same program offered in residence at St Tikhon’s, will be taught by highly-qualified instructors local to the Diocese of the Midwest in classes combining synchronous online instruction and in-person intensives, making use of Diocesan-appointed and trained mentors for parish internships and liturgical formation. The Cohort will spend additional intensive time in residence at St Tikhon’s each of the three years of the program.

@ThomasOfStBede @OrthodoxHistory @SaintTikhons @midwestdiocese Chicago project is not a distance seminary. It's based on training "priests of the village," locals -- often deacons - who exhibit vocations in their work in local or nearby settings. Yes, AOHS could be part of this wider effort.

Again, not exactly, though, we can understand why one would get that impression. The Cohort, who will follow the same program offered in residence at St Tikhon’s, will be taught by highly-qualified instructors local to the Diocese of the Midwest in classes combining synchronous online instruction and in-person intensives, making use of Diocesan-appointed and trained mentors for parish internships and liturgical formation. The Cohort will also spend additional intensive time in residence at St Tikhon’s each of the three years of the program.

@OrthodoxHistory @SaintTikhons @midwestdiocese Online priest courses. Hahaha

Not exactly, though, we can understand why one would get that impression. The Cohort, who will follow the same program offered in residence at St Tikhon’s, will be taught by highly-qualified instructors local to the Diocese of the Midwest in classes combining synchronous online instruction and in-person intensives, making use of Diocesan-appointed and trained mentors for parish internships and liturgical formation. The Cohort will also spend additional intensive time in residence at St Tikhon’s each of the three years of the program.

@SaintTikhons Online priest courses. Hahaha

Christ is Risen! Saint Tikhon’s Seminary and the Diocese of the Midwest of the Orthodox Church in America are humbled and excited to announce a bold and creative partnership intended to form and train a select cohort of qualified men for the Priesthood in the Chicagoland area over the next three years. Read full press release here 👉 bit.ly/ExtendedLearni… #sttikhonsseminary #stots

The annual basketball game with @SaintTikhons is in the books! Thank you to STOTS for hosting this year's game, and thank you to our seminary families who made the trip and formed a formidable cheer squad!

Christ is risen! Greetings to all on the anniversary of the repose of His Eminence, Metropolitan Platon, successor to St. Tikhon. #sttikhonsseminary #stots

☦️ Christ is risen! Truly He is risen! Saint Tikhon's Seminary wishes all a blessed and joyous Pascha! #sttikhonsseminary #stots #pascha

☦️ Great and Holy Saturday

☦️ Great and Holy Friday

☦️ Great and Holy Thursday

☦️ Great and Holy Wednesday

☦️ Great and Holy Tuesday

☦️ Great and Holy Monday

Wishing all a blessed Palm Sunday! #sttikhonsseminary #stots

Wishing everyone a joyous and blessed feast of the Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary! Read a sermon on the Annunciation 👉 bit.ly/Annunciation20… #sttikhonsseminary #stots

May God grant His Grace Bishop Gerasim of Fort Worth and Auxiliary to the Diocese of the South many years on the occasion of his Name Day! Eis polla eti despota!! #synod

A blessed Sunday of Orthodoxy to all! #sttikhonsseminary #stots

🎨 Spring Appeal: They called them Father first Before ordination... Before the altar... Before anyone says, “Father, bless…” The largest group on our campus isn’t seminarians — it’s seminary kids. 🖍️ Come and see seminary life through a child’s eyes. When you support St. Tikhon’s, you are supporting more than just an education. You are supporting a place that families call home for very formative years of their lives! 👉 stots.edu/news/2118/spri… #sttikhonsseminary #stots