Houston, March 27, 2026
Photo: stots.edu
The Orthodox Studies Institute has published a detailed review of a November 2025 report from the Office of the Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, raising questions about its conclusion that the OCA isn’t expecting to face an acute clergy shortage in the near future.
The Chancellor’s report, authored by Fr. Alessandro Margheritino, represents a striking shift from a 2020 report by the same office, which warned that “the crisis regarding an upcoming shortage of priests is apparent and can be reasonably inferred from the data.” The author of the review Matthew Namee notes that the 2025 report makes no mention of the 2020 warning despite drawing on similar language and metrics.
According to the 2025 report, the OCA currently has 502 active priests—defined as priests serving as rectors or priests-in-charge of parishes—across 683 parishes, with 118 parishes lacking a rector. The Chancellor’s Office acknowledges that vacancies “may have any number of causes” and that some communities “may be drawing near to closure due to geographic and demographic realities.”
On the age distribution of clergy, the Chancellor’s report notes that 124 active priests, or 25% of the total, are at or above the conventional retirement age of 65, while only 102 priests are under 44. An additional 107 priests, representing 21% of active clergy, are between 55 and 64 and will reach retirement age within the next decade.
The report also points to growth in the seminary pipeline. OCA enrollment in Master of Divinity programs at St. Vladimir’s and St. Tikhon’s seminaries stands at 55 students, up from 36 in 2020, representing an average of 18 potential priests per year. However, Namee questions whether this growth is sufficient, noting that the 2020 report already deemed 12 graduates per year inadequate, and that the OCA has been adding an average of six net new parishes per year since 2021—the same number by which annual seminary output has increased.
The Chancellor's Office also noted that the post-COVID period has seen rapid parish growth, with 41 parishes opened and only 12 closed between 2021 and 2025, a trend the report gives no indication of slowing.
Namee raises several questions the report leaves unanswered, including the number of priests ordained, retired, or removed from active ministry each year, and how many parish vacancies reflect a genuine shortage versus communities too small to support a priest. He has announced that OSI will publish its own comprehensive report after Pascha addressing these questions.
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