The Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary is the central spiritual educational institution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. For many centuries, the teaching staff of Kyiv theological schools has been educating future pastors and theologians of the Church of Christ.
Results of the 2006-2007 academic year
In the 2006-2007 academic year, on May 27, the day of the Holy Trinity, the XII graduation of the academy and the XVI graduation of the seminary took place. In the assembly hall of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the results of the state of theological schools for the past academic year were summed up. Based on the results of final exams, 23 people graduated from the Kyiv Theological Academy. Of these, 18 were awarded the degree of candidate of theology, two defended their theses, and three received certificates of completion. There were 8 graduates in the priesthood (3 deacons and 5 priests).
40 graduates received a diploma of graduation from the Kyiv Theological Seminary. Among them, 6 students in all academic disciplines were rated “excellent” (“5”), 23 graduates graduated with 1st category, 8 with 2nd category, 3 with no rank. Among the graduates of the seminary there was 1 deacon in the priesthood.
As for the correspondence sector, as of May 23, 2007, 175 graduates received diplomas of completion of the Kyiv Theological Seminary in the correspondence department.
The total number of pupils of KDS correspondence courses is 769 people, KDA - 854 people, which in total is 1623 pupils and students.
During the 2006-2007 academic year, within the walls of the Kyiv Theological Academy, applicants defended 1 master's thesis and 60 candidate's theses. The number of defended theses is 148.
Over the 18 years of its existence after its revival, 4 doctors of theology, 3 masters, 296 candidates, 839 graduates with diploma theses defended themselves within the walls of KDAiS. During this period, 1,476 people graduated from the Theological Academy, and 4,071 from the Theological Seminary.
Into the new academic year - with reforms
By the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on May 31, 2007, Bishop Anthony (Pakanich) of Borispol, vicar of the Kiev Metropolis, was appointed rector of the Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary.
In pursuance of the blessing of the Holy Synod of January 24, 2007 regarding the reform of religious education in KDAiS, the new 2007-2008 academic year began with some changes. In particular, the following subjects were introduced into the curriculum: English (1st grade of the seminary), pastoral psychiatry (4th grade of the seminary). Starting from the new academic year, pupils and students have the opportunity to optionally study the Modern Greek language.
To more effectively implement the planned reform of theological education, the number of teaching staff in Kyiv theological schools was increased by a third. Currently, 54 teachers are raising the level of theological education in the capital’s theological educational institution through joint efforts. Former graduates of the Kiev and Moscow Theological Academies, the University of Patras (Greece), the St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris, the Higher Practical School at the Sorbonne, the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and other higher educational institutions were invited to replenish the teaching staff. To teach subjects bordering on secular sciences, teachers from other higher educational institutions have been invited to Kyiv theological schools.
Today, the library of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary is equipped with modern computers and other necessary equipment. Active preparation of a computer class with Internet access is underway, which will help in writing theses and master's theses.
To implement the reform of religious education in KDAiS, monthly meetings of the Academic Council are held, at which pressing issues are resolved and ways to solve them are determined.
Interaction with other educational institutions. Participation in theological forums
To broaden the horizons of the academic family, meetings are held between teachers and students of Kyiv theological schools with representatives of the teaching staff and students of other educational institutions. On November 1, one of these meetings took place at the residence of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the leadership of His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir. The guests of KDAiS were teachers and students of the philosophy department of the Kiev-Mohyla Academy.
Shortly before this, on October 25, a meeting took place between the rector of KDAiS, Bishop Anthony of Boryspil, and the youth club at the Holy Trinity Monastery of St. John.
Teachers of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary take an active part in international scientific and practical theological conferences. Thus, on September 16-19, the XV International Conference “The Transfiguration of the Lord in the Orthodox Spiritual Tradition,” dedicated to Russian spirituality, was held at the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in Bose (Italy). The delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was headed by the rector of the KDAiS, Bishop Anthony of Boryspil. The delegation included teachers from Kyiv theological schools: Archpriest Vladimir Savelyev, priest Sergei Govorun and A. Romanov.
On October 3-4, the International Scientific and Practical Conference “The Acts of St. Demetrius of Rostov”, dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the canonization of the saint, was held at the Glukhov State Pedagogical University. From the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary, the conference was attended by the teacher of the KDS, the head of the office of the KDAiS Vladimir Kotsaba, who made a report on the topic: “The preaching activities of St. Demetrius of Rostov.”
With the blessing of His Beatitude Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine, on October 7, an internal academic scientific conference dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the canonization of St. Demetrius of Rostov was held in the assembly hall of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, chaired by the rector of the KDAiS Bishop Anthony. After the opening speech of Bishop Anthony, in which he emphasized the importance of the scientific activity of the saint in the history of the Orthodox Church in Rus' and in the formation of the Christian worldview, teachers and students of Kiev theological schools read out reports that comprehensively examined the biography, preaching activity and historical significance of the actions of St. Demetrius.
On October 11, celebrations were held in Moscow dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the resumption of the patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church. As part of the celebrations, a scientific conference “Patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church” was held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in which the rector of the KDAiS, Bishop Anthony of Boryspil, took part. The Bishop read a report on the topic “Local Churches and Church Unity. A few words about the nature of church autocephaly.”
On November 13-14, the V All-Ukrainian philosophical and theological readings “Orthodoxy in World Culture” were held in Dnepropetrovsk, at which Kyiv theological schools were represented by KDA associate professor Archpriest Vasily Zaev.
From November 13 to 16, the International Theological Conference “Orthodox Teaching on the Church Sacraments” continued its work in Moscow. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was represented by the rector of KDAiS, His Eminence Anthony. As part of the work of the section “The Sacrament of the Priesthood,” the Bishop Rector made a report “The Patristic Foundations of the Sacrament of the Priesthood.” In total, more than 100 speakers from 15 countries took part in the conference.
Pupils and students represent KDAiS at internal church and international scientific conferences. One of these was the International Student Scientific and Practical Conference “Science and Religion”, held on November 2-3 in Minsk at the Institute of Theology named after Saints Methodius and Cyril of the Belarusian State University. With the blessing of the rector of KDAiS, Bishop Anthony of Boryspil, the forum was attended by KDA students Viktor Ivashchuk (IV year, report on the topic “On discord and general provisions in evolutionism and creationism”) and Sergei Savenkov (II year, presentation topic - “Understanding the phenomenon of clinical death in modern science and Christian anthropology").
Guests of Kyiv theological schools are famous church and secular figures of our time
On October 2, the rector of KDAiS, Bishop Anthony of Boryspil, received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Hellenic Republic to Ukraine Dimitra Charalampos, and on October 5, the famous Greek singer Anni Alexopoulou visited the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary.
The arrival of Patriarch of Alexandria Theodore II was a historical event for the capital's theological schools. On October 15, the entire KDAiS, headed by the rector, communicated with His Beatitude. By the decision of the Academic Council of the KDA dated October 15, 2007 (Journal No. 63), His Beatitude Theodore II, Pope and Patriarch of the great city of Alexandria, Libya, Pentapolis, Ethiopia, all of Egypt and all of Africa, was elected an Honorary Member of the Kyiv Theological Academy. The diploma of election was presented to the Patriarch by the rector of the KDAiS, Bishop Anthony. In a letter of gratitude dated October 18, 2007 addressed to His Grace Anthony, His Beatitude the Pope and Patriarch wrote: “We express our patriarchal gratitude and satisfaction with the high honor that you have bestowed upon us by awarding us the title of honorary member of your Theological Academy.”
In order to expand the practical perception of theological disciplines, on the initiative of teachers, students and pupils of KDAiS visit educational institutions of other religious denominations. In particular, on November 5, fourth-year students of the KDA visited the Church of St. Catherine of the German Evangelical Lutheran Community in Kyiv. The purpose of the visit was to study the history, doctrine and liturgy of Lutheranism within the framework of the course on the history of the Reformation. Pastor Peter Zachy, who has been serving in St. Catherine’s Church for 7 years, answered students’ questions.
On November 16, third-year students of the KDA made a trip to the Catholic Theological Seminary in the town of Gorodok, Khmelnitsky region. Our students got acquainted with the life and everyday life of the seminary, with its scientific and theological process, attended the celebration of the Mass of the Roman rite, which was led by Bishop Leon of Kamenets-Podolsk, listened to lectures by seminary professors, and also held a lively theological dialogue with the students there on the topic of historical and religious events in Western Europe during the Middle Ages.
To broaden the horizons of pupils and students, well-known church figures and workers in various industry areas are invited to meet with them. So, on November 1, in the assembly hall of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the teacher of the Ugresh Theological Seminary, candidate of theology Vladimir Pitko, gave a lecture on the topic: “History and development of Islam.”
The famous modern missionary, teacher of the St. Tikhon's Theological Institute, Deacon Andrey Kuraev, has repeatedly become a guest of Kyiv theological schools. The exciting rhetorician constantly gathers around him many seminarians and academicians, with whom he communicates on various theological topics, answering the questions posed in his original style.
Assembly day
November 9 - the memory of the Venerable Nestor the Chronicler - the annual Assembly Day of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary. This year it was especially festive: representatives of all theological seminaries of the UOC, as well as the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and Seminary, Archimandrite Leonid, and a representative of Moscow theological schools were present at the celebrations. During the service on this day, a number of teachers were awarded high awards by His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir.
The ceremonial part of the celebration in the assembly hall of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra was opened by the rector of KDAiS, Bishop Anthony, after which His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir addressed those present with a welcoming speech. After the report for the 2006-2007 academic year by the vice-rector for educational work, Archdeacon Sergius Kosovsky, KDA professor Archpriest Georgy Somenok read a report on the topic: “The baptism of the Rus in the church-cultural context of Greek-Slavic relations.”
The greetings from the guests were warm. And the teaching staff of Kyiv theological schools on this day was replenished with 3 associate professors. They were: Bishop of Nizhyn and Baturinsky Iriney (Semko), Archpriests Dimitry Denisenko and Vladimir Savelyev. Certificates of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were awarded to students and pupils of the KDAiS who worked on the creation of a new edition of the “Law of God”. At the end of the festive evening, the choir of Kyiv theological schools under the direction of Hieromonk Roman (Podlubnyak) gave a festive concert.
Cultural life of KDAiS
As part of cultural and educational activities, the leadership of Kyiv theological schools, in collaboration with other state cultural and arts institutions, organizes theater visits and operettas for students. Pupils of theological schools go on excursions to museums (in particular, the Museum of the Great Patriotic War), visit city libraries (Vernadsky National Library), etc.
On the basis of the Kyiv Theological Academy there are catechetical courses, a Sunday school for children and adults, and Orthodox pedagogical courses.
Home improvement
Much attention in KDAiS is paid to creating comfort in the everyday life of students and pupils. During the summer period, a major overhaul of the administrative and academic buildings was carried out, new furniture and necessary equipment were purchased. Currently, one of the buildings is undergoing restoration, which in the future will become a student dormitory.
In Kyiv theological schools there is a medical office where doctors monitor the health of students. High-quality medical examination is very important for the normal educational process. Through the efforts of the chief physician of the Kyiv Clinical Ophthalmological Hospital “Center for Eye Microsurgery”, chief ophthalmologist of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Honored Doctor of Ukraine Sergei Rykov, a cardiograph, a device for performing a cardiogram of the heart, recently appeared in the medical office. In the future, it is planned to fully provide the necessary medical equipment. If necessary, city hospitals respond to requests from the administration of theological schools and provide medical care to KDAiS pupils and students.
With the blessing of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir, today Kyiv theological schools are fulfilling their main mission with inspiration and devotion - educating future clergy to preach the Gospel of Christ.
In the middle of the 17th century.
| Kyiv Theological Academy (KDA) |
|
|---|---|
| Kiev Theological Academy | |
| International name | Kiev Theological Academy |
| Former names |
Kiev-Brotherly School (1615-1631) |
| Year of foundation | |
| Closing year | |
| Type | closed religious educational institution |
| Location | Kyiv |
| Media files on Wikimedia Commons | |
Academic Church of the Kyiv Theological Academy
Story
Kiev-Brotherly School (1615-1631)
Kiev-Mohyla Collegium (1631-1701)
In its basic character, the college was reminiscent of the foreign colleges and academies in which Mogila himself studied. The following were taught here: languages (Slavic, Greek and Latin), singing and elementary music theory (on the European model), catechism, arithmetic, poetry, rhetoric, philosophy and theology; students were divided into eight classes: analogy, or fara, infima, grammar, syntax, pyitics, rhetoric, philosophy and theology. In addition to studying these subjects, the students practiced debates every Saturday. The officials in charge were: the rector, the prefect (inspector and housekeeper) and the superintendent (overseer of the deanery of the pupils); Among the figures of this college, the most famous are: Innocent Gisel, Joasaph Krokovsky, Lazar Baranovich, Ioanniky Golyatovsky, Anthony Radzivilovsky, Gabriel Dometsky, Varlaam Yasinsky, St. Demetrius (Tuptalo), Stefan Yavorsky, Theophylact Lopatinsky, Feofan Prokopovich, St. Innokenty Kulchinsky and Gabriel Buyaninsky.
Kiev-Mohyla Academy (1701-1817)
In 1701, the college was renamed an academy, and the range of sciences was expanded: the languages French, German and Hebrew, natural history, geography, and mathematics were introduced; For some time, architecture and painting, higher eloquence, rural and home economics, medicine and Russian rhetoric were also taught.
The number of teachers by the end of the 18th century reached 20 or more; the academic library had more than 10,000 books. Since 1759, theology was taught according to the system of Feofan Prokopovich, rhetoric - according to Lomonosov's manual of eloquence, other subjects, mainly - according to foreign manuals.
At first, the external well-being of the academy was unenviable. The students, whose number reached 500, were partly supported by monastery funds, partly they themselves collected donations around the city in money, food and firewood; They dispersed to the cities and villages of the Kyiv and Chernigov provinces to collect alms, and sang sacred poems in front of the windows of houses. Before the holidays of the Nativity of Christ and Easter, they walked with a star, a nativity scene and a paradise. In the summer, they gathered in traveling groups and scattered to different areas in order to earn food for themselves by singing cants, performing dramas, tragedies and comedies, pronouncing poems and speeches, and holding services in parish churches. Donations from the Court, clergy, nobles and hetmans somewhat eased the lot of the poor. From the end of the 18th century. The government began to allocate special sums for the maintenance of the academy. The Kiev Academy is important in the history of Russian education in the 18th century.
A significant number of figures emerged from it in various fields of public service: its students became teachers at the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, the St. Petersburg Alexander Nevsky Seminary and the Kazan Academy; they re-established many seminaries.
Kyiv Theological Academy (1819-1919)
The Kiev Theological Academy was opened “in its new structure” on September 28, 1819 in its historical place, in the Brotherhood Epiphany School Monastery.
Several museum showcases of the Kiev One Street Museum are dedicated to the activities of the Kyiv Theological Academy and outstanding historical scientists, professors of the KDA, who lived on Andreevsky Spusk: Afanasy Bulgakov, Stepan Golubev, Pyotr Kudryavtsev, Fyodor Titov, Alexander Glagolev and others.
There is debate in the scientific community about whether the Kyiv Theological Academy can be considered the successor to the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, since after the reform of 1819 the educational process completely changed and only one person was retained from among the old teaching staff.
Modern life
The rector of the academy from May 31, 2007 to December 21, 2017 was Anthony (Pakanich), Metropolitan of Brovary, manager of the affairs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
On December 21, 2017, Sylvester (Stoichev), Bishop of Belogorod, was appointed rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary.
The rector of the academy is currently Metropolitan Epifaniy (Dumenko) of Kiev and All Ukraine. From July 6, 2000 to July 27, 2010, the rector was Metropolitan Dimitry (Rudyuk).
Rectors
Inspectors
Notes
Literature
- Askochensky V. I. Kyiv with its oldest school, the Academy. - K., 1856. - part 1, 2.
- Askochensky V. I. History of the Kyiv Theological Academy after its transformation in 1819. - St. Petersburg. , 1863.
Russian Orthodox Church.
Ob-ra-zo-va-on 28.09 (10.10). 1819 in connection with the re-or-ga-ni-za-tsi of the spirit in the Russian Empire on the basis of the Kiev Spiritual Se-mi-na-ria (until 1817 the Kiev-Mo-Gilyanskaya aka-de-miya). In 1819-1869 - the center of the Kyiv spiritual and educational district, which included 17 dioceses. Initially, the staff consisted of a rector (with the rank of archimandrite), 6 professors and other teachers. In 1917, 20 professors, 16 associate professors, and 2 lecturers taught at KDA.
The course of study lasted 4 years. Throughout, the Holy Scriptures were studied, as well as classical (Latin, Greek and Hebrew) and modern (German or French) languages. Among the subjects studied in the first two years were philosophy, literature, general and Russian history. The senior courses taught theology, church history, church literature, geography and other subjects. Every year from 30 to 75 people graduated from KDA (in 1823 - 39 people, in 1867 - 53, in 1884 - 74, in 1889 - 40, in 1905 - 48 people). The Academy primarily trained teachers for theological seminaries.
In the 1830s, theology and philosophy at the KDA began to be taught not in Latin, but in Russian. The level of teaching dogmatic theology was high [archimandrite (since 1885 bishop) Sylvester (Malevansky) introduced a historical approach in his presentation], literature and go-mi-le-ti-ki (Ya. K. Amphiteatrov, priest N. S. Grossu ), as well as items directly related to pastoral activities [archimandrite (since 1858 bishop, since 1867 archbishop) Anthony (Amphiteatrov), V.F. Pevnitsky, etc.]. M. N. Ska-bal-la-no-vich and A. A. Dmit-ri-ev-sky worked in the field of liturgical theology.
A special role belonged to the philosophical school of the KDA. Its founder is considered to be Professor I.M. Skvortsov (1795-1863), who taught the history of philosophy, logic, psychology, metaphysics and moral philosophy. His successor was Archimandrite Theophan (Avsenev), an adherent of classical German idealism, who already took monastic vows as a professor. P. D. Yurkevich is considered their best student. Students of the KDA philosophical school also included professor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy V. N. Karpov, known for his translations of Plato, O. M. Novitsky, who was the first to teach the history of ancient philosophy in Russian, S. S. Gogotsky, M. M. Tro-its-ky.
The foundation for the development of historical science at KDA was laid by Metropolitan Evgeniy (Bolkhovitinov), who encouraged the study of antiquities among students and established a prize for the best historical essay in 1827. The first head of the department of church history in 1841-1842 was Macarius (Bulgakov); later it was occupied by: I. I. Malyshevsky, F. G. Lebedintsev, F. A. Ternovsky, N. I. Petrov, S. T. Golubev, F. I. Titov. Representatives of the historical science of the KDA paid special attention to the study of the history of the Kyiv Metropolis of the late 16th-18th centuries, publishing a corpus of documents on this topic.