Theological education in Lipetsk. “The development of theological education is a condition for the true revival of Russia Theological Education

Where can a simple parishioner get it today?

We go to church regularly, listen to the sermons of the clergy, read books and articles. But how often do we want to know more about theology. So that we ourselves can tell our friends and acquaintances correctly about Orthodoxy, about God, about the Church, in order to be able to teach at a university or school, to become a clergyman or organize parish church life, Sunday school, a youth club at a church, social Orthodox care. Where to get an Orthodox theological education we will tell in this article.

Theological Seminaries/Academies- These are religious educational institutions involved in the preparation of future clergy. Admission to them is possible only with the blessing of the ruling bishop.

The form of education, as a rule, is full-time, for active clergy - distance learning is possible. Most of the time, there are no tuition fees.

Seminaries are preparing bachelors of theology, while academies are preparing masters and candidates of theology. Upon graduation, graduates receive a diploma that is recognized in the church, but not recognized by state institutions. Seminary graduates, as a rule, become priests and clergymen. Women are not admitted to the Seminary and Academy.

Theological seminaries are located in many dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Sites: mpda.ru , spbda.ru, kdais.kiev.ua, minds.by.

Orthodox St. Tikhon University for the Humanities- one of the leading Orthodox universities, along with other humanitarian specialties, leading training in the direction of Theology (theology).

The University trains bachelors and masters of theology (theology). University diplomas are recognized in ecclesiastical and state institutions, as well as for the purposes of further education.

Education in correspondence and evening forms is paid from 32 tr. in year.

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Reference

Theology- this is a complex of sciences about the history of beliefs, about the forms of religious life, religious cultural heritage (religious art, monuments of religious writing), about religious scientific activity and education. Theology studies the religious worldview from within. It is also called non-religious theology.

Outside of Russia, theology is classified as a humanitarian discipline, such as philosophy. Such famous American universities and colleges as Harvard, Yale and Princeton were originally founded specifically for the education of Christian clergy.

Today in Russia there is a revival of religious traditions, the rich spiritual heritage of our ancestors is being studied. The specialty "Theology" is added to the programs of universities.

Description of activity

Graduates of the program "Theology" can be engaged in research, educational and expert advisory work. Theologians serve in religious institutions (church parishes, mosques, Buddhist temples), teach in educational institutions, and work in secular institutions.

In the parish, the theologian organizes cultural and leisure activities, conducts educational work with children and youth, prepares religious holidays (Christmas, Eid al-Adha, Easter).

In secular institutions and military units, theologians carry out religious and educational activities.

Specialists in the field of theology actively interact with local government bodies. In order to attract parishioners to the temple, the theologian develops and implements social projects (construction of rehabilitation centers, houses of mercy, providing psychological assistance through a helpline).

In the process of work, the theologian studies a large amount of literature in different languages. For example, a specialist in the field of Orthodox theology has an impeccable command of Russian and classical church languages: Church Slavonic, Ancient Greek, Latin. And the theologians of Islam, in addition to knowledge of the Russian and national languages, will also need Arabic.

Wage

average for Russia:average in Moscow:average for St. Petersburg:

Job responsibilities

The duties of a specialist depend on the place of his service. Theologians-teachers read relevant disciplines (theology, philosophy, theology, history of religion) in educational institutions, conduct educational activities in kindergartens.

Specialists of state security institutions act as analysts for the prevention of the activities of extremist cults and sects. Theologians working in public organizations and the media provide advice and independent expertise on religious issues. The duties of a theologian serving in a church or mosque include organizing circles and sections, youth clubs, organizing recreation for children and adults. In institutions of social adaptation and rehabilitation, this specialist conducts interviews with patients.

Theologians often perform the duties of translators from Church Slavonic, Arabic, Greek, Latin and other languages. They accompany tourist groups, usually pilgrims.

Features of career growth

Theologian- a generalist. He can realize himself in completely different industries. Theologians are in demand as school teachers (subject "Fundamentals of Religions"). In higher and secondary specialized educational institutions, they teach such disciplines as religious studies, church languages, and the foundations of religion. Also, a theologian can work in research institutions, book publishers and the media as a translator or editor of religious texts. Knowing foreign languages, the theologian can find himself in the field of religious tourism.

Some graduates of the specialty "Theology", depending on the religion they study, get a job in a church or a mosque. Here they can rise to the rank of abbot.

Employee characteristic

Theologian- a professional with a broad outlook. He is armed with knowledge, both in the field of religion and in the field of general humanitarian and natural science disciplines. In particular, he is well versed in sociology, psychology, pedagogy, political science, history and culture of different nations. The theologian constantly improves and expands his knowledge, which requires a good long-term memory. Research and methodological work will require analytical and logical thinking, a developed literary language. And work in the field of education, upbringing, as well as social orientation - sociability and oratory. He must be patient, friendly, responsive, be able to listen carefully and support a person.

The other day, the chairman of the Higher Attestation Commission stunned the public with a statement that theology in Russia had become a scientific specialty. We decided to take a closer look at Western experience and publish an interviewwith Professor Chris van Trostwack (Dr. Chris Doude van Troostwijk) is a specialist in the field of philosophy with many years of teaching experience at leading universities in Europe, including theological faculties. Chris, first of all, I would like to say a few words about myself. I know that you have worked and still work in many universities and worked in television for a while?

Thank you very much for your question. I must admit that my professional biography has developed along a rather unusual trajectory. The first higher education was completely connected with the natural sciences - medicine and biology. Only later did I decide to study theology, but not because I was distinguished by the firmness of religious convictions or considered it my vocation, but, as often happens in life, because I was attracted to this universal human phenomenon - religion. In addition, even then I was an active participant in theatrical life and began to study dramaturgy, cinema and television at the same time as the theology course. These two directions determined my future scientific career.

After graduation, I worked in two places: as an interviewer and screenwriter for Dutch television, and as a lecturer in philosophy at the Faculty of Theology in Amsterdam. I have not been educated in this area. How was I entrusted with teaching philosophy? The answer is simple, though perhaps surprising given Russian realities. Theology in Holland, especially at the time when I started my studies (in the 1980s), was considered exclusively as a scientific, academic discipline. Education was built on the principle of "duplex ordo": after the first general academic educational cycle, for those who want to become a priest or work in the church, a second cycle of theological disciplines was offered. I only completed the first cycle, so in general it can be said that the theological education I received is exclusively "scientific".

Of course, such an interpretation largely depends on what meaning is put into the concept of "science". I must admit that the principle of "duplex ordo" existed on paper, but in reality the curriculum was built classically with an emphasis on Christianity. Therefore, we studied the history of the church, Greek, Hebrew and Latin (to read the Bible in the original), exegesis, as well as philosophy and ethics, sociology and psychology of religion, anthropology. It is worth noting that the first three academic disciplines are the result of established historically determined traditions, because Holland is a country where the foundations of the Reformation are still strong. This explains the approach to the study of the material - open, critical and at the same time even somewhat Marxist. (This was the heyday of liberation theology in South America; the names of the largest theorists of this direction were heard, for example, Gustav Gutierrez and others.)

During my studies, I have never experienced the pressure of the dogmas of faith: the history of the church is a discipline where we studied the socio-political history of the church (Western and Eastern). Exegesis is a discipline built in the traditions of Judaism and a historical-critical approach to the interpretation of fundamental Christian church texts.

Of course, most of the questions that were touched upon in the philosophy course concerned metaphysics, but the answers we came to and the authors we read cannot be called clerical. For example, we had an exam in the course "Philosophical Critique of Religion", where the views of such philosophers as Marx, Nietzsche and Freud, whom the French philosopher Paul Ricœur called "the three masters of suspicion", play a central role. I studied representatives of the Frankfurt School (Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Erich Fromm, Jurgen Habermas, Herbert Marcuse) and devoted my master's work to the concept of tragedy and tragedy in the early works of Soren Kierkegaard.

I know that you work in the Protestant and Catholic departments at the same time. Is it really possible to simultaneously teach in the structure of different confessions?

In the department of education of the Catholic Archdiocese of Luxembourg, I work in the areas of finance, philosophy and ethics, as well as the philosophy and history of mysticism. Only recently did I change my field of activity. In the future, I will be engaged only in research and teaching exclusively in the field of philosophy and theological issues related to financial activities.

At the Protestant faculty of the University of Strasbourg, I teach ethics, this year also the course "Introduction to Ethics" (classical views and schools) and the course "Ethics of Financial Beliefs". Perhaps the last of these courses shows just how much wiggle room a philosopher has in a Protestant theological faculty. I intend to begin the course with a discussion of the 19th century dispute between William Clifford and William James about "the right to believe what one chooses to believe" and lead to a discussion of the financial realities of late capitalism and ultra-liberalism, posing the following question: "Does a person have an unconditional right to believe what he likes and wants to believe, even if the factual premises prove the inconsistency of his beliefs? Of course, this question can equally be asked in connection with religious beliefs. But if it were possible to raise the question of faith in this way in a theological faculty, then in my eyes such a faculty would lose its scientific and academic dignity.

Of course, criticism and discussion are more or less the hallmarks of Protestantism. However, the same freedom of research (perhaps with b about with more restrictions) also exists in Catholic religious institutions. The only difference is in the attitude towards dogma. Every day here in Luxembourg I am convinced that the Catholic religion leaves a lot of room for "experimentation". The only condition is that all thoughts and actions must be done in the name of the church and must not contradict official dogma. There is a difference between fundamental theology (dogma) and systematic theology (philosophical-dogmatic interpretation that clarifies and develops evangelical traditions, norms and habits). We must not forget that many of the radical intellectual discussions of the Middle Ages were inaccessible to a general audience who did not speak Latin. The Latin language was thus a kind of "intellectual wall" and it was a big mistake to tell uneducated people about existing doubts or alternative views. Why not accept the point of view that in those days the church (with a certain view of historical development) in the person of the priests was concerned about the spiritual health of believers, and did not seek (as we used to think) to impose an absolute dogma on a person?

Despite this, to be honest, to me, a Protestant, this dual Catholic strategy often feels like hypocrisy: not saying what you think, or even saying what you think, but within the limits imposed by dogma.

But at the same time, there is also scientific "neutrality", and therefore scientists publish their opinions (if they are real scientists) without fail from a relativistic position and with prudent modesty. Thus, in both cases - within the framework of "neutral science" and "church dogma" - each specific scientific work has a temporary conditional character. Within the framework of "church dogma", this nature of work implies the existence of "absolute, indisputable truth", and within the framework of "neutral science" it implies the postulate of fundamental uncertainty: "Truth is a judgment that has not yet been disputed" (Kuhn) or "Truth is that which most scientists consider to be true" (Feyerabend).

Chris, tell me: are theological faculties in the universities of modern Europe just a tradition or a real education? What are the features of its organization and structure?

I think you can see how the field of academic theology has changed in the last decade. In most universities in Western Europe, the term "theology" has been completely replaced or included in the concept of "religious studies". These changes reflect the fact that church traditions no longer have predetermined significance in the preparation of curricula. Instead of the traditional faculties of scientific theology and religious studies, commercial institutions, such as Bible schools, Catholic theological seminaries or educational courses for priests, are coming to the fore. This is happening against the background, in my opinion, of paramount importance for the separation of church and state. We must and can see the difference between "state theology" and "ecclesiastical theology", between the public and the private. Both sciences have their own arsenal of means for turning scientific goals into specific methodological approaches, and each of them has its own horizon of interpretation. For state theology, the horizon of absolute church dogma is unacceptable. For ecclesiastical theology, a hermeneutic that goes beyond official dogma (for the Roman Catholic Church) or goes beyond the evidence of biblical texts for classical Protestants is inconceivable. Of course, for the concept of liberal theology, the boundaries between scientific research and the interpretation of dogma are very blurred.

In my opinion, modern theological faculties must take into account the constantly changing context and horizons of reality. That is: theology should consider itself as an activity aimed at the ongoing interpretation of the existing changing reality. Every age has its own theology. Theology students should therefore be able to: receive information and knowledge from the contemporary context, which is predetermined by scientific, economic and technological characteristics; consider religious traditions from the point of view of a hermeneutic open and critical approach; distance themselves from their own spiritual traditions (the same for everyone - atheists, Christians, etc.).

Becoming a priest in the church after receiving a scientific theological education means returning to the situation that was before training.

What is the connection between theological education and theological faculties with modern European and world science? With the humanities and natural sciences?

As I said, today we are witnessing a shift from theology proper to religious studies. Theology in the structure of a classical university has always stood out as a separate faculty, it was a multidisciplinary educational science. (That's what attracted me to theology at one time—the many different academic disciplines.) Today, this multidisciplinary approach is not only reinforced by the current trend in religious studies, it includes a fundamental change - the interdisciplinary sciences.

Any religion is a unique psychological-socio-cultural-political phenomenon, whose secrets can only be learned by studying it in the context of many different disciplines. As in other branches of human activity, modern theology is becoming a platform for applying the methods of natural sciences, such as physics or biology. For example, researchers may ask: Are religious feelings a consequence of the hormonal-chemical processes of the human body? In my opinion, 90% of the new methods used in religious studies (sometimes the name remains the same: theology) are borrowed from psychosociology and literary studies. This means that the religious feelings of believers receive the status of social and psychological processes: the methods of statistics and comparative studies, traditional for anthropology, are applied to phenomena that until recently were exclusively the object of study of classical academic theology. On the other hand, theology is reduced to hermeneutics, which makes it possible to apply the methods of literary and historical sciences. Religious belief systems are analyzed as an example of a series of narratives containing socio-cultural features that serve as a mental guide and a means of uniting individuals and society.

Is theological education essential to the modern educational system? What prospects does it open for the student? Is it necessary, say, for a researcher in the natural sciences?

I believe that theology, taken in this "modern" critical sense of the word, is an integral part of any intellectual education. It belongs to the cycle of subjects that Humboldt in the 18th century called "democratic education for the citizen." To date, we have witnessed a strange paradox: in the geopolitical sense, religion continues to be in its leading role as a strong player, however, in science and education, it is avoided or even rejected altogether for ideological reasons, often based on simplistic ideas. I believe that religion should be part of the educational system. Otherwise, we run the risk of history repeating itself, when our society is overwhelmed by a new wave of ignorance due to a lack of knowledge and a critical position (positive or negative) on the part of citizens and teachers.

It is also important for natural scientists to study religion, which will help them open their eyes to their own blind spots. I like the pun on the following saying: Most scientists think about what they know; some of them don't know what they're not thinking; others know what they don't think, and only a small group has the courage to think what they don't know. Science without self-criticism is a dead ideology; scientists who claim to know most often hide their uncriticized beliefs under the guise of ingenuous facts. There is something very religious about how stubbornly so many people continue to believe in the neutrality of science. I use the word "religious" because their faith is devoid of a critical component. Thinking, i.e., analyzing and criticizing, is a process inseparable from science, during which semi-proofs, short-term truths, and not taken seriously “proven research results” arise. To engage in critical theology means to take the path of self-criticism, to learn to debunk one's "naive" postulates.

Theology in this critical (and philosophical!) academic sense of the word is a science that teaches a critical attitude towards one's own convictions, and this is precisely the main and unconditional characteristic of any scientific or dogmatic theory. Be self-critical, study theology!

Who usually studies and teaches in theological departments? Do students from other faculties show real interest in them?

Teachers and researchers in a theological faculty very often specialize in one of the subjects taught. For example, my teachers of the interpretation of the texts of the Old Testament and Hebrew taught at the same time at the Faculty of Foreign Languages. My philosophy teacher was an atheist, a communist philosopher, etc.

Today, educational programs at the university consist entirely of modules. Students choose subjects according to their interests, including coming to lectures on theology and / or religious studies. This trend is especially pronounced in the magistracy. I think that the future of theology lies precisely in the development of such interdisciplinary master's programs (in my case, for example, "philosophical and theological critique of financial value systems in the era of capitalism"). Religion is a wide field of reality that attracts students and researchers and allows them to make new discoveries.

What do you think about the prospects for theological education at universities in Europe and around the world?

In Western Europe, theological faculties are now fighting a real battle for survival. This is not due to the complexity of the object of study, this is due mostly to the fact that theology is essentially a multidisciplinary science. Thus, any other faculty or educational institution can make the study of religion its main subject. Therefore, the decline of theological faculties is associated not so much with secularization and the decline of the church, but with the lack of concerted action within the faculties. This, however, is not only true of theological faculties. Every educational discipline goes through this stage of disintegration as a consequence of specialization. The very idea of ​​an “academically united faculty” is now in jeopardy. (Comparison with the influence of the theories of individualism and capitalism on these processes is difficult to deny).

Again, I believe that the future of theology lies in an interdisciplinary approach to its study. Most likely, this will become a rebirth of the theological faculty, which will not be confined within the framework of one dogma or established traditions, on the contrary, the faculty will dynamically develop in accordance with other educational and research units, meeting the empirical requirements of modernity. Religion is back on the modern agenda, religion is back on private life, and that's why we have to accept it or let it become the new ideological anti-modernist force. For us, scientists, thinkers and citizens, this is precisely our intellectual duty.

Thank you, Chris. We will wait with great interest for new materials on the specifics and new trends in the educational process in modern Europe.

December 17, 2011

What is theological education? It has several distinctive features that make it different from the mainstream education. While “worldly”, that is, ordinary education is associated only with knowledge, studying in theological schools is tightly connected with the spiritual world of students and from the beginning contains an internal conflict: the information flow and the faith of students fight and transform each other. So, in extreme cases, those who want to “accumulate knowledge” lose faith, or, on the contrary, come to a complete denial of the benefits of theological education, returning to where they started. It is certainly true that after graduating from Christian schools, most believers become different people. For example, we can cite the following situation: suppose nationalists, convinced participants in the “Russian marches” go to study history and sociology related to national identity and ethnic politics for a couple of years. Of course, I understand that nationalists are unlikely to go to study sociology or anthropology, but if they did, it would have a huge impact on their beliefs.

Almost every personal story of a theological student is a small tragedy. I think this is true of any religious theological school: Jewish, Islamic, Christian, and so on. I recently re-read the old student newspapers of St. Petersburg Christian University. Articles of students and teachers are filled with arguments about the problem of the relationship between education and faith. The balance was hard to find. One teacher wrote: “The church is in charge of spiritual formation. The principle of any Christian university is the separation between the academy and the church.” Another professor countered, arguing "the value of questioning and critical reflection on familiar beliefs" for spiritual growth. One of the students even wrote: “The responsibility for the education of Christians lies not with the so-called “peri-church structures”, but with the elders-teachers of the local churches.” I still remember the debate on whether SPCU is a church or not.

The main problem of Christian education is freedom of thought. Modern life proves that where there is a lot of information, there is freedom of thought. The division of Christianity into confessions and opinions does not accept this freedom. In the practical life of believers attached to their communities, freedom of thought is a guarantee of rejection from the majority, of ostracism. Can a believer remain in the bosom of Orthodoxy, who suddenly began to consider communion not a sacrament, but only a symbol? In principle, his place is in the Protestant or Evangelical Church. Can one remain an exemplary Baptist who no longer believes that full immersion under water at baptism is necessary for salvation? It is a theological education that makes such a change of outlook possible. Accordingly, theological education blurs the boundaries of confessions.

It is the breadth of views that begins to torment the conscience of graduates of theological schools in their communities and churches, where such a breadth of views brings instability. Many graduates and students of SPCU could not find their place in practical ministry precisely because they were not "trained", but given the opportunity to choose in the learning process. It would be much easier if graduates were stamped in batches in "confessional vocational schools", where the truth entirely "belongs" to the confession. Such religious vocational schools do exist - in denominations prone to totalitarianism. They teach a very truncated theology, adapted to the needs and requirements of their communities. It is quite natural that it is precisely the subordinates of a particular congregation of the school that continue to exist. The rest, where there is freedom of thought, wither away for lack of support. I'm talking about schools in the post-Soviet space, where theology as a science is not yet recognized by the state.

Many graduates of Christian universities have ambivalent feelings. On the one hand, they are grateful to their "alma mater" for the liberation from many prejudices in their faith and personal life. On the other hand, they feel discomfort due to the lack of demand for their capabilities and knowledge. I am convinced that students and theological education as such are not always to blame in such a situation. The Christian society, divided into confessions, is to blame for this, which, first of all, tries to keep people on their benches, and not to find the truth, which, as you know, does not belong entirely to any of the confessions. Free theological education, despite all its mistakes and imperfections, will not disappear. As the boundaries of Christian denominations become more and more blurred, the Christian community will need to voice the revealed truths. Theological education as an honest intellectual and moral search for Divine truth is a necessary element in the evolution of the Christian community.

Once angry-tongued atheists said that science was "the handmaiden of theology." Those days are long gone. Now the former mistress herself has become a servant of religious organizations. The slogan of such a fat, well-fed, helpful and tedious theology is "I will not say anything new." For something new, perhaps, it is not worth running around, but, finally, theology would have long been obliged to become a wise servant of God. Getting a theological education should be seen as an effective attempt to fulfill the words of Jesus Christ "know the truth." And the better we search for the truth (which has not yet been found), the faster we will find real freedom.

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