Theological Academies of the Russian Orthodox Church

The Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy , founded in 1687 , became the first Academy in Russia to carry out the function of training clergy, including bishops , as well as the function of tribunal and censorship of matters of faith. The Academy was funded by the Treasury and Patriarchal orders . At the same time, the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy was not exclusively a spiritual higher educational institution, as it prepared its graduates not only for church service, but also for public service, and was an all-inclusive educational institution in accordance with the Academic privilege . The training was divided into eight classes (“schools”), which included four lower classes, two middle and two upper.

The Theological Academies of the Russian Empire of the 17th-18th centuries trained scientific personnel not only for the Church, but also for public service. With the establishment and development of secular educational institutions, ecclesiastical institutions, including academies, were to become special institutions for "the formation of pious and enlightened ministers of the Word of God" ^[1] .

The academies were in the head office of the Holy Synod and were under the charge of the local diocesan bishops and were supervised under the close supervision and guidance of the rector — a person of the clergy , mainly a monk — by the council and board of professors : cases related to the academic and academic parts were to be administered by the council also managed economic affairs.

The main observation of the progress of academic affairs belonged to the rector, who was given the right, if necessary, to make suggestions and comments to all officials of the Academy in general. Extensive scientific libraries have been organized in all Academies, the composition of which is adapted to the needs of higher spiritual education . The Academy took graduates of the course of sciences in theological seminaries and classical gymnasiums after successfully passing the entrance exams .

During the time of the Russian Empire, students were placed in official buildings in public buildings, self-employed students were allowed only as boarders and lived with state-owned students. Monitoring the behavior of students belonged to the inspector of the academy - a person, preferably a priest , and his assistants.

Since the transformation of theological schools in 1808, the charter of the Theological Academies has been repeatedly changed: according to the charter of 1814, the circle of academic teaching included, among other things, physics and mathematics ; the academies were run by the rector, conference, and board; the highest administration belonged first to the commission of theological schools, and since 1839 , after the abolition of the latter, it was concentrated in the Synod. Professors and bachelors taught science in relation to recommended study guides and programs. The training lasted four years; initially there were two courses, the senior and the youngest - two years each; then four one-year courses were organized.

From the second half of the 19th century, it became an unwritten rule that the rectors of the Academies should be bishops. This norm was not clearly fixed, and at that time persons who were not bishops became rectors. But over time, the trend of appointing vicar bishops to rector positions in the Academies continued to intensify ^[2] .

The charter of 1869 expanded the rights of academic councils, exceeded the requirements for the conditions for the election of professors, teaching subjects were divided into three groups: theological, church-historical and church-practical, the choice of which was given to students; along with bureaucratic students, those who lived outside the academies were admitted, and thus the number of students increased significantly. Public disputes - doctoral and master's - revitalized academic activity, and the academic performance of the academies rose significantly. This charter was valid until 1884 .

According to the charter of 1884, developed for Theological Academies in the Russian Empire, the following sciences should be taught in them: theological , historical , church-practical (for example: church law ), philosophical and verbal , as well as ancient languages ​​( ancient Greek , Latin , Hebrew and Aramaic ) and new languages ​​( English , German , French , Italian , Spanish ). Most of these subjects were required for all students. Theological academies had the right to grant the degrees of doctor , master and candidate of theological sciences . The teaching was conducted by ordinary and extraordinary professors , associate professors and lecturers of new languages. According to many contemporaries, the charter of 1884 was a step back. A number of other factors of a social and cultural nature ultimately led to a decrease by the end of the 19th century in the level of educational and upbringing life in theological schools in general and in the MDA, in particular ^[3] .

The academic charter of 1910 still suggested the possibility that even a representative of the white clergy could become the rector of the academy - an exception to the Moscow and Kiev theological academies: there the rector must be a member of the religious community, but according to the amendments to the Charter in 1911, the rector of the Theological Academy there could only be a bishop with a degree not lower than the master of theology ^[2]

Soon after the Decree on the separation of the church from the state and the school from the church, any religious education was actually banned. Under these conditions, professors of the Theological Academies and clergy and representatives of the church intelligentsia tried to organize secular theological institutes: in 1918 the Orthodox People’s Academy was established in Moscow, in 1920 the Petrograd Theological Institute in Petrograd, and in 1921 the Kazan Theological Institute ^[4] . All of them were soon closed by the authorities.

In the 20th century, the modern Orthodox Theological Academy of the Russian Orthodox Church underwent a period of closure and destruction, after its renewal (in the second half of the 20th century) for the most part they retained the main characteristics and features set forth in the charter of the Theological Academies of the Russian Empire of 1884.

On December 8, 2016, the head of the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science ( Rosobrnadzor ) Sergey Kravtsov signed orders No. 2071 and No. 2072 on state accreditation of the educational activities of religious organizations - the spiritual educational organization of higher education “St. Petersburg Theological Academy of the Russian Orthodox Church” and spiritual educational organization of higher education "Moscow Theological Academy of the Russian Orthodox Church." The presence of a certificate of state accreditation allows granting applicants, upon admission to theological academies, privileges provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, and full-time students with deferment from military service. The academies will issue their graduates a diploma of higher professional education of the state standard, which gives them the right to enter the magistracy in the future, and is also recognized by employers of both state and non-state institutions ^[5] .

Orthodox Theological Academies :

1. Church-wide postgraduate and doctoral studies in the name of Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius ,
2. Moscow Theological Academy ,
3. St. Petersburg Theological Academy ,
4. Kiev Theological Academy ,
5. Minsk Theological Academy ,
6. Chisinau Theological Academy ,

Orthodox Theological Universities and Institutes :

1. Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University ,
2. Tsaritsyno Orthodox University of St. Sergius of Radonezh ,
3. Novosibirsk Holy Makaryevsky Orthodox Theological Institute ,
4. St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute (originally conceived as a theological academy)
5. Chernivtsi Orthodox Theological Institute .

At the initiative of Patriarch Kirill , a reform of theological education began in the Russian Orthodox Church. Transformations are aimed at integrating Russian spiritual education into European and domestic educational and scientific space. The main goal of the reform is to increase the level and quality of spiritual education in Russia ^[6] .

In accordance with the Bologna process, spiritual education in the Russian Orthodox Church will be three-level ^[7] :

• The first level is the Bachelor's degree : 4 (compulsory) years + 1 (pastoral and practical) year of study at the Seminary , the result of which is the writing of the Thesis for the degree of “ Bachelor of Theology ”.
• The second level is the Master's program : a 2-year program in Theological Academies , the result of which is the writing of a Master's thesis for the degree of “ Master of Theology ”.
• The third level is the Graduate School : a 3-year program at Theological Academies , the result of which is the writing of a Ph.D.
• Candidates of theology can continue to engage in theological sciences in Doctoral studies at the Church Graduate School and Doctoral School. St. Cyril and Methodius (“ Doctor of Theology II degree” or “ Doctor of Divinity” ) or at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy (“ Doctor of Theology ” or “ Doctor of Theology ”).

In 2010, the formation of a three-level spiritual education, in accordance with the Bologna process , has been practically completed so far only in two higher educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church - in the Uzhgorod Theological Academy named after St. Cyril and Methodius ^[8] and the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University ^[9] .

• Barsov N.I. Theological and educational institutions // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Orthodox Orthodox Academies // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Shkarovsky M.V. St. Petersburg (Leningrad) theological schools in the 2nd half of the 20th - beginning of the 21st centuries // Bulletin of Church History . 2008. No. 4 (12). S. 171-210.
• Holy Maxim Kozlov, V.A. Fedorov. ACADEMIES OF SPIRITUAL ORTHODOX IN RUSSIA // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2000. - T. I. - S. 349-352. - 752 s. - 40,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89572-006-4 .

• The official website of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Education Committee: “Educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church” (inaccessible link) - 05.21.2010.