With an eye to perceiving the present and future needs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, the late Patriarch Mstyslav (spiritual leader of the Church) had the foresight to establish the Saint Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary at the Church’s Spiritual Center in South Bound Brook, New Jersey. Seeing that the education provided by seminaries of different jurisdictions, both in the United States and Canada, did not fit all of Church’s particular needs, a seminary that would be truly our own was the logical solution. In 1975 our seminary was duly instituted and the white mansion at the corner of Davidson and Easton Avenues became our permanent home. Being in close proximity to Rutgers University, New Brunswick Theological Seminary and Raritan Community College provided additional educational resources for those who wished to complete their undergraduate degrees.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, any Orthodox Church, is in its essence a hierarchical church, similar to other traditional Christian denominations, but unique in its adherence to the idea that the hierarchs are guided by the Holy Spirit in the administration of the Church.

The faithful relate to the whole Church, mystical Body of Christ, through its ordained agents, the hierarchy of the Church. Ordination is conferred upon Deacons and Priests. Hierarchs are chosen from priests who have taken monastic vows. Thus, the experience of the faithful is dependent on the quality of persons chosen to be ordained.

The primary, though not exclusive, goal of this seminary is to help form and train true Orthodox pastors, teachers, and leaders of the people of God who follow the example set by our Lord God and Savior, Jesus Christ, in His own earthly ministry. Through a program of professional education, spiritual growth, vocational awakening, the following objectives are set before the student:

• A deepening of one's own personal Orthodox Christian experience and commitment to more profound service in the Lord's vineyard.
• A vivid awareness of the contemporary world in which God works with and through people of faith.
• A growing understanding of the Orthodox faith through critical theological reflection and liturgical worship.
• An awareness of the nature of Orthodox Christian priesthood and diaconate and cultivation of the vocation of those men called to these holy orders.
• An integration of one's theological understanding and worldview with one's own life in Christ.
• An appreciation of the Ukrainian Orthodox ethos and polity and our Church's salvific mission in the modern world.

Since 1975 Saint Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary has been educating, training, and forming the clergy and the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States of America. In that time great men and women of the faith have grown up to lead the church and contribute to the strength and vitality of the whole church. Through flexibility and adaptability balanced with a loyalty to tradition and the ancient faith established by Jesus Christ and conducted through the apostles the fathers of the church and all of the Saints, Saint Sophia Seminary has fulfilled and will continue to fulfill its mission, as an extension and support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and by extension the whole orthodox faith.

The continued growth vitality and planting of new parishes is proof of the quality of the graduates and candidates for ordination that the seminary produces. Graduates are adept at biblical studies, pastoral care, and liturgical propriety by the time they complete the course of studies.

Saint Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary serves the students, the hierarchs, and ultimately, the parishes and the faithful of the entire Ukrainian church here in the United States of America. It produces both well-rounded clergy and educated and enlightened laity, ready and willing to serve and support the rest of the faithful.

Saint Sophia Seminary is a branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States of America and because of that fact the education and formation received at the seminary is unique. That the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States of America is orthodox means that it is hierarchical, liturgical, and biblical.

A hierarchical church implies ordination to the deaconate, the priesthood, and elevation to the episcopacy. Those trained for this vocation are trained in specific ways that cannot be applied to churches or organizations that do not rely upon a hierarchy. Their formation is more than intellectual, more than mental. The student of Saint Sophia Seminary is formed in obedience and therefore humility. Humility being the only attitude which allows for learning and growth.

The students of Saint Sophia Seminary are trained in the study and exegesis of the Christian scriptures, for it is there that the words and actions of our Lord Jesus Christ our recorded and it is from there that most of our liturgical texts are gleaned. Our father among the Saints, St. John Chrysostom, doctor and pillar of the church, famously said, “Most of the church's problems stem from and ignorance of the scriptures.” The Orthodox Church, as dependent upon the Scriptures as it is, is not a “sola scriptura” church. Vladimir Lossky, the famous orthodox theologian of the last century, described tradition as the life of the Holy Spirit in the church. The church as mystical body of Christ is enlivened by the Holy Spirit and is where the wholeness of the faith resides.

Buttressed by the hierarchy and informed by the scriptures, students at Saint Sophia Seminary have a third focus, a focus that is not present in its complexity and nuance in any other denominations’ requirements. Students of Saint Sophia Seminary are required to learn the liturgical function of the church through serving, in administration of its rites and mysteries. Chief among these is the divine liturgy and the administration of the sacrament of Christ's body and blood.

The three legged stool of humble formation, scriptural study, and sacramental worship, form the identity of the students of Saint Sophia Seminary and ultimately its graduates and the future pastors of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA.

The Seminary student body is comprised of Ukrainian-Americans, converts, as well as students from Brazil, Ukraine and Rumania. Like other Orthodox Theological Schools in North America, we now accept women who wish to pursue an education in Theology.

All students take the core of subjects necessary to give a solid theological foundation. Ukrainian language, church history, Kyiv Chant, and the unique Ukrainian cultural history are also stressed, so as to fully prepare our candidates to serve the needs of our Ukrainian Orthodox faithful.

As prayer life is at the heart of a seminarians day, the services in the chapel are both a joy and an education in themselves. Twice a day, services in the morning and evening provide some spiritual feeding as well as giving opportunity for familiarity with hours, vespers, compline, midnight office and other services of the daily cycle. To sing Vespers or a Divine Liturgy in the St. Andrew Memorial Church is also a valuable experience. At times students visit parishes as the hierarch makes his parochial visitations. Not only does this provide practice with liturgical services, but it gives exposure to practical parish life.

Classwork and study is but one focus of daily seminary life. A work-study program provides some financial remuneration for specified jobs around the seminary. Our students are also exposed to College chaplaincy and many other areas of practical pastoral service through the Field Education Program.

The seminary wants to give the general public access to Orthodox theology and has instituted both a fall and a spring lecture series, which has had good response from Orthodox of a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Through the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement, our students have met with seminarians of different Orthodox seminaries and have forged bonds of friendship and co-operation. 

In short, Saint Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary welcomes this opportunity to review and to evaluate the many things that comprise this school’s life and work, and in particular, the activities of the past 48 years.

Saint Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary is a vibrant community in which to learn, live, work, and grow. In many ways, it is the same seminary it was in 1975, the year of its founding. These moments of stability speak of fundamental commitments and convictions.  

A seminary can be the barometer of the health of the church as a whole. In order to keep providing worthy clergy for our Church we must have more candidates. We are very serious about the training of our seminarians and we hope that not only are you praying for people to heed the call to serve the Lord, but that you are busy nurturing and giving needed encouragement to those who are interested.

When you receive an appeal for the support of St. Sophia's, YOUR SEMINARY, we hope that you will be generous. This institution will not have a future, if our faithful do not give their financial and moral support to it. 

Archbishop Daniel
Academic Dean