St Katherine College

One of the greatest needs for the Church in America is an Orthodox school system.  With few  exceptions, Orthodox Christian children attend public schools.  Yes, some attend private religiously affiliated or secular schools.  But there are very few Orthodox parochial school.   A noticeable exception to this, is Three Hierarchs Eastern Orthodox School (THEOS), “a private, non-public, non-profit religious school” that services children in the metropolitan Pittsburgh area.

Turning from elementary school children to older students, the lack of Orthodox educational options is even more striking.  With the exception of Hellenic College, in Brookline, MA there are simply no Orthodox institutions dedicated to undergraduate education.  While there are no doubt a number of reasons for this, it is hard for me to avoid thinking that all of this represents a significant failure of the Church in America.  For all practical purposes, with the exception of seminaries, the Orthodox children are educated by State, by the faithful of non-Orthodox Christian communities and by the faculties of private educational institutions.

God willing, at least as far as undergraduate education is concerned, all of this will change in the Fall of 2011 when St Katherine College begins offering classes in San Diego, CA. Continue reading →