Johnstown, Pennsylvania, October 21, 2026
Photo: acrod.org
The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese has kicked off a fundraising campaign to finish its new seminary building and add housing for students, with seminarians already studying in the new space.
The campaign was launched at the 26th Diocesan Council under Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa. It aims to support completion of the new facilities and expanded housing at Christ the Savior Seminary, including added accommodations for single and married students and their families, the diocese reports.
With the start of the 2026-2027 academic year, seminarians began using the former Christ the Savior Cathedral Education Center as their new academic home. Classrooms, chapel space and related facilities are now operational, while the historic Strayer Mansion continues to serve as their residence. The official dedication of the new seminary building and chapel is planned for spring 2027.
Photo: acrod.org
In an October 19 letter to clergy and faithful, Metropolitan Gregory says the diocese’s Board of Trustees began discussing repair or replacement of the seminary in 2021. It became clear that the Strayer Mansion, built in the late 1800s and altered over the years to hold classrooms, a library, and student housing, had reached the end of its useful life. The leadership of the Education Center later donated its building, which sits directly across from the cathedral and the Diocesan Chancery, to the diocese. Demolition began in 2023, and construction is now complete, he writes.
The letter says the seminary will offer state-of-the-art classrooms that connect with other educational institutions, an expanded permanent reference library, and wider access to educational and degree programs for seminarians and lay leaders.
Metropolitan Gregory writes that the diocese is focused on three areas of support: the new building, a seminary endowment to expand academic offerings, and new housing for current and future seminarians. He says he will send further communications over the next two months and will explain in November how parishes, faithful, and organizations can give.
Photo: acrod.org
Christ the Savior Seminary was founded in 1940 through the efforts of Metropolitan Orestes (Chornock), the first bishop of the diocese. It first opened in New York City, later held classes briefly in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, and in 1941 moved to Metropolitan Orestes’ property in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The diocese acquired the Strayer Mansion in Johnstown in 1951, and the seminary opened there that September.
The seminary has two missions: training men for the Orthodox priesthood, and offering theological and spiritual formation to men interested in the Orthodox tradition, whether or not they seek ordination. Chartered in 1960 by the Pennsylvania State Council of Education, it grants a Bachelor of Theology degree, normally a three-year program for students who’ve already finished undergraduate studies. It also runs the Diocesan Diaconate Program and offers financial assistance, limited married student housing, a delayed vocation program and flexible scheduling.
Follow OrthoChristian on Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, and MeWe!
