www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Eastern Catholic Seminaries

My wife asked me recently about Eastern Catholic seminaries, and I realized that I didn't have very much of an understanding of how they work.

I assume that the Melkite, Ruthenian, Maronite, etc have their own seminaries.

That being said, we were wondering more specifically about the Ruthenian seminary and priestly formation program. These are mostly her questions, and I won't say how I responded in order to not color the responses any certain way.

But what are the current seminarians taught about the topics that we tend to bring up most often on this forum? Would one say that new priests can be assumed to be more "Eastern-minded" than many of the older guard that lived through the Latinization period? What is the general pulse? Are there only a trickle of new priests on the horizon or a new generation coming?

Interesting questions, at the present time Orthodox academics are on the faculty of the Ruthenian Seminary in Pittsburgh in the disciplines of Homiletics, Moral Theology, Languages and Liturgical Theology. In the recent past, scripture and patristics have also been taught by Orthodox adjuncts.

To clarify your assumption about the Melkite-

There are two Melkite priests on the staff at Ss Cyril and Methodius, one is full time the other is adjunct.

Archbishop Cyril had decided to send seminarian(s) to Ss Cyril and Methodius for priestly formation. Bishop Nicholas has stated that he will continue this.

As a member of the first diaconal formation class in 1999-2003 (and a former member of the Seminary Advisory Board), I can shed some light on your second question. The men in presbyteral and diaconal formation are certainly receiving a thoroughly Byzantine/Eastern formation. Father John Petro, the rector of the seminary, has made it his stated mission that Ss Cyril and Methodius is to be a Center of Byzantine Spirituality for all men and women, with its main focus to be the continued formation of men for Holy Orders.

Thank you for those answers, that is actually a more positive situation than I imagined.

Does anyone have an idea of enrollment levels and from which church? Most interested in Ruthenian/BCC levels.

Archbishop Nicholas plans to continue the use of St. Cyril & methodius for the Melkite priest formation, from what I have been told.

A straightforward economic analysis would probably find that we need only two seminaries for all Eastern Catholic jurisdictions--one on the East Coast, the other on the West Coast. Consolidation would be in everybody's interest and benefit. Further consolidation, so that Orthodox and Eastern Catholics use the same seminaries (and why not?) would be even better, as it would begin laying the groundwork for eventual absorption of the Eastern Catholic Churches back into their Orthodox Mother Churches.

For a number of years Melkite seminarians studied at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary. At least two Melkite priests studied at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary. I myself studied Syriac, taught by a Franciscan tertiary, at St. Nersess Armenian (Orthodox) seminary where I routinely participated (as a priest) at Vespers.
How good and gladsome it is for brethren to dwell together as one! (Ps. 133).

Indeed,it is, my friend!

This site [cappex.com] says there are 6 part time and 7 full time enrollees. Does anyone know if/how accurate that is, or what churches they belong to?

I would love to be able to have hope in this institution's ability to help shape the BCC, and I realize that is probably a naive sentiment.

The Paul Gojdich Seminary in Presov has eighty right now. The Theodore Romzha Seminary in Uzherod has a waiting list of 400.