The Sretensky Theological Academy () is a higher educational institution of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

that trains

Orthodox clergy Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

. It is located on the territory of the Sretensky Monastery in the Sretensky District of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The academy has an extensive

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

(more than 40 thousand titles), which includes books of the 16th-19th centuries and a small archaeological museum (about 30 exhibits). There are electives for in-depth study of ancient languages (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

History

The abbot of the Sretensky Monastery, Moscow, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), decided to establish the Sretensky Higher Orthodox Monastic School at the monastery: "The inhabitants gathered, mostly young people. Of course, they needed to be educated… Gradually, the idea was born... to create a monastic theological school. We assessed our capabilities, including financial ones, and I turned to Father John (Krestyankin) for a blessing. He was very pleased that we have such a desire and opportunity, and blessed us to create an educational institution within the walls of the Sretensky Monastery. Of course, the main blessing in this case was for the rector of our monastery, the late His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II." Classes began in October 1999. The first lecture was given by Doctor of Philology Alexander Uzhankov, it was devoted to Ancient Russian literature. The very first classes were held outside the walls of the monastery, in one of the buildings adjacent to the monastery. Later, when repairs were made in the fraternal monastic buildings, it became possible to arrange new premises for the seminary in them. Initially, the school did not have an official status: neither state nor ecclesiastical. On December 26, 2002, it was transformed into a theological seminary. On April 13, 2021, it was transformed into a theological academy. On December 28, 2013,

Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...

, Kirill of Moscow,

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

the new building of the Sretensky Seminary, equipped for teaching and living for students. Since May 19, 2018, the acting rector is Hieromonk Siluan (Nikitin). Since December 29, 2022, the rector of the academy is John (Ludischev).

Rectors

* archimаndrite (later bishop) Tikhon (Shevkunov) (15 July 1999 - 19 May 2018) * hieromonk Siluan (Nikitin) (May 19, 2018 - July 9, 2019) acting * archbishop Ambrose (Yemakov) (July 9, 2019 - August 25, 2020) acting * archpriest Maxim Kozlov (August 25, 2020 - June 17, 2021) acting * archpriest Vadim Leonov (June 17, 2021 - December 29, 2022) acting * hegumen John (Ludischev) (since December 29, 2022) acting until March 20, 2025

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sretensky Theological Academy Universities and colleges affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church 2002 establishments in Russia Educational institutions established in 2002 Christian organizations established in 2002 Meshchansky District