Master of Divinity

The Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program at St. Tikhon’s Seminary is the Seminary’s primary degree for priestly formation, designed to prepare candidates for ordained ministry and pastoral leadership within the Orthodox Church. Rooted in the living tradition of Orthodox theological education, the program integrates rigorous academic study, liturgical life, spiritual formation, and practical pastoral experience within a residential seminary community shaped by prayer, worship, and fellowship.

Drawing upon the rich theological and spiritual heritage of the Orthodox Church, the curriculum provides students with a comprehensive foundation in Scripture, theology, Church history, patristics, liturgics, pastoral care, and ministry. Through classroom instruction, field education, mentorship, and participation in the daily liturgical life of the Seminary, students are formed not simply for professional ministry, but for faithful service in Christ’s Holy Church. While primarily intended for candidates preparing for ordained ministry, the program also welcomes lay men and women seeking graduate-level Orthodox theological education, deeper spiritual formation, and preparation for service and leadership within the Church.

The Master of Divinity (M. Div.) degree is the normative first-professional post-baccalaureate academic degree designed to prepare candidates for ordained ministry and for general pastoral and religious leadership responsibilities in parishes and other settings. It is the required degree for admission to Doctor of Ministry (D. Min.) degree programs and the recommended first theological degree for admission to advanced programs oriented to theological research and teaching. Admission into the Master of Divinity degree program (CIP 39.0602) is offered to candidates for priestly formation who have earned a baccalaureate and/or a higher academic degree from an accredited institution of higher education or have attained baccalaureate equivalency.

The M. Div. degree program is the primary program by means of which St. Tikhon’s Seminary accomplishes its institutional mission of professional Orthodox theological education, “providing the necessary theological, liturgical, spiritual and moral foundations for Orthodox men to become, as God so wills, good shepherds of His Holy Orthodox Church (Seminary Bulletin).” We are committed to a program of integrated theological learning that challenges the assumption that ministry is a craft defined by the sum of acquired academic knowledge plus the many separate tasks that need to be done in order for the local parish to be maintained as a healthy religious and social unit. We lift up, instead, a cohesive image of the priest as theologian, a spiritually mature person of prayer and theological reflection, engaged in active ministry to God and fellow man. Such an image locates all significant aspects of ministry and professional tasks not in some ivory tower or medieval fortress but within the foundation and force of the Christian faith itself, lending quality and integrity to the witness of the Church.