By Subdeacon Nektarios, M.A.
In our crazy modern world of so-called "internet Orthodoxy" we are often met with the reoccurring debates concerning various topics ranging from the reception of converts to praying with heretics who are outside of the Church and all of the other usual topics that ecumenists rage about from their innovationist corners of Orthodoxy. Invariably, we will be confronted by modernist clergy and laity who will use the ad hominem attack of, "you don't have a degree," or "you never went to seminary," or they will make sure that you know they have a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree; therefore, they must know more than you or that somehow that makes them more qualified to speak on a particular topic. We see this time and again especially coming from graduates of seminaries belonging to the Metropolia (OCA) which is ground zero for forming Orthodox Christians into storm troopers for the cause of the heretical ecumenist agenda.
Many of the laity will often be intimidated by online encounters with these M.Div. Ecumenists because they have been led to believe that someone with a college degree, particularly a Master of Divinity or other graduate-level degree is, or at least should be, considered an expert in a particular topic. Especially here in the United States where the hammer of indoctrination concerning the need to go to college to be knowledgeable is relentless. However, is that the case? Does a Master of Divinity degree, especially from the lower-tier seminaries such as those of the Metropolia make or break the theological knowledge of an Orthodox Christian? To begin to answer this question we can take a look at the academic catalogue of one of these seminaries to give the laity, who probably have never researched the topic, what the requirements are for a Master of Divinity.
As an example, we can use Saint Vladimir Seminary's 2021-2022 academic catalogue to see what a Master of Divinity degree is and what the requirements are for it. According to this school, the only requirement for admittance to the program is a bachelor's degree regardless of major, which is standard for most seminaries. The academic catalog states that the program learning outcomes for students are to:
- Read Scripture and the Church’s tradition with discernment in order to teach, preach, and minister according to the gospel;
- Think theologically and pastorally about the world and about their cultural context in order to address contemporary realities in a manner faithful to the Church’s tradition;
- Grow in faith, emotional maturity, and spiritual life in order to develop the capacities needed for pastoral leadership;
- Celebrate the offices of the Church with beauty and dignity in order to worship God rightly, forming a community in the faith and life of the Church; and
- Employ managerial skills and understand administrative procedures in order to lead a community in accordance with the commandments of Christ and the discipline of the Church, so that they might witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ [1].
As we can see these program learning outcomes are not extremely heavy and are oriented to teach seminarians how to function as a newly ordained priest. The majority of Master of Divinity programs are a three-year endeavour like a majority of graduate programs at any other university, which is not a long time to become a subject matter expert in any given topic. However, the focus of the Master of Divinity program is not oriented toward becoming an academic scholar. According to the program description on the official website of Saint Vladimir Seminary, they state that the "Master of Divinity [...] may be described in the most general terms as a graduate professional degree whose purpose is preparation for the ministries of the Church [and] is designed chiefly for qualified Orthodox [Monophysite and Nestorian] students who wish to prepare themselves for ordination to priestly ministry in the Orthodox Church [2].
As we can see from the academic plan here, the majority of the coursework is entirely geared toward how to function practically as a parish priest. The majority of the coursework required is in liturgics, liturgical music, homiletics, and pastoral theology, which teaches them how to work with people from a pastoral perspective. There are thirty-one potential courses that a student will take and of that thirty-one, not even a handful of them are Church History, Dogmatics, or Canon Law; roughly around two to three each depending on the chosen electives of the student. The Master of Divinity program, as we can see here, is not oriented toward academic scholarship or to become a subject matter expert in Church History, Patristics, Canon Law, or Dogmatics. These programs are designed to create educated and functioning parish priests who can minister to the laity and serve the liturgies properly.
The Orthodox Christian faithful should not feel inadequate, intellectually inferior, or intimidated by those of us who have these degrees because it is not the degree that educates the individual. Education is gained through the constant effort of life-long learning and within Orthodoxy, this knowledge comes through participation in the divine services as much as possible. If an M.Div. discontinues educating himself of continual study and participating in the life of the Church as soon as he graduates, that newly obtained expensive piece of paper hanging on the wall collecting dust will do no good. Does that mean that all Master of Divinity programs are entirely worthless? Of course not. The most valuable Orthodox Christian Master of Divinity program in the United States is at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, New York, which is co-located with Holy Trinity Monastery and is the only one I recommend. That is because the seminary's focus is not entirely on the education portion; but is a complete integration of the student into the monastic life of the Church and is comprised of constant participation in the daily cycle of services which, in reality, is the real education that comes out of that program and produces the most well-rounded and firmly grounded clergymen.
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