Waymart, Pennsylvania, November 17, 2025
stots.edu
St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Waymart, Pennsylvania, has received a grant of $920,107 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish a program aimed at addressing the growing need for ordained clergy in the Orthodox Church across North America.
The program, titled Sowing for Plentiful Harvests: Multiplying Vocations Regionally in a Season of Vocational Need, will focus on developing pathways for older, second-career priestly vocations through four key initiatives: strengthening and updating the traditional Master of Divinity curriculum, integrating a diocesan-level satellite M.Div. extension, establishing a pre-seminary preceptorship system, and enhancing chaplaincy training through the Institute for Clinical Pastoral Education, the seminary reports.
“The Orthodox Church in North America is growing rapidly as the apostolic witness is shared. This growth requires growing pastors and institutions that can serve those who are hungry and waiting for the Word,” said seminary dean Archpriest John Parker. “This program is water, spirit, and fertile soil for that growth.”
The grant comes through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which supports theological schools in strengthening their educational and financial capacities to better prepare pastoral leaders for Christian congregations. St. Tikhon’s is one of 163 theological schools that have received grants through the initiative since 2021.
OrthoChristian has previously reported on the Orthodox Church in America and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America receiving Lilly Endowment grants.
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