To enter the theological seminary of the Russian Church, it is important to meet certain requirements and have a suitable education. Only men who are single or only in their first marriage can enroll in such an institution. To begin with, it is important to determine how to enter a theological seminary for training.
Basic entry requirements
Education received at the seminary is defined as higher and is assigned to the undergraduate degree in accordance with European standards. Education for citizens of the country is free. Only after completing the courses of the seminary can a person get a job as a priest in Russia, begin to help people in the Orthodox Church.
Any Orthodox citizen aged 18 to 35 years can enter the seminary. Such a person must be churches without fail.
Important documents
A person who wants to connect his life with the church and study at the seminary should:
- to have a certificate of completion of secondary education;
- to submit to the commission the results of the exam in subjects that are declared as necessary in the institution to which the interested person enters;
- show health certificate;
- to have a Russian passport;
- provide a copy of the medical policy;
- present a military ID;
- bring a certificate for admission;
- make recommendations from the clergy who serve in the place of residence of the applicant (all recommendations must be confirmed by the bishops).
In order to earn a positive recommendation, applicants to the Moscow Theological Seminary must actively participate in the church life of the parish in which it is a member. For example, to be a participant in obedience on the choir is to read and sing. Also, a person who wants to go to seminary to study should help the clergyman, look after the utensils in the church, and help teachers in Sunday schools. In addition, you need to communicate with the abbots of the temple as often as possible.
Exams for admission
How to enter a theological seminary? Examinations for admission to the seminary are different from entrance examinations to other educational institutions. Those who wish to study should write essays on church topics that are reflected in the general history.
The admissions committee also conducts interviews with applicants. The main goal of entrance exams is to determine:
- how close is the person who wants to study at the institution to church subjects and is enlightened in this area;
- whether he knows the main Orthodox prayers;
- can he read and write in Church Slavonic;
- Did you study the bible and church history?
- familiar with church holidays, as well as basic traditions;
- Does the concept of church giving?
- whether he can read morning and evening prayers, troparia of the twelfth holidays on his own.
An applicant can study in more detail the required parameters for admission and the exams passed on the official website of the institution in which he plans to study.
Personal qualities
When entering the seminary, it is customary to pay special attention to the general intellectual development of a person, his education. An important role is played by human readiness, cultural development. It is important that the applicant knows well the historical events in his country, follows all the events in the world. It is also customary to ask an applicant what he does in his free time. Interviews and exams in most cases are held in free form.
A graduate of a theological seminary, in which everyone can study, if he fulfills some of the rules, receives a higher education that will help him get a decent job and achieve his goals.
Studying time
How to enter a theological seminary and how much to study? The duration of the seminary varies from 4 to 5 years. In different institutions, these terms will vary. The training course will include mainly humanitarian disciplines. The training is carried out in order to develop the spiritual education of the student, to form a full-fledged personality who can follow the laws of God and inspire other people to serve God. Some institutions additionally undergo a program of higher mathematics.
There is an opportunity to enter the seminary at the correspondence department. In this case, the training time will reach 5 years. At the same time, a charity contribution of 4 thousand rubles is required annually. Students also pay for accommodation during the session.
How do they become priests? The seminary entitles graduates to continue their studies at the Theological Academy. All those who graduated from the institution receive a referral to the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Existing Institutions
Currently, in Russia there are a large number of seminaries of the Orthodox Church in which you can study after receiving a basic secondary education and providing a certificate for admission. The most famous is the Moscow Theological Seminary.
Also, such educational institutions are open in St. Petersburg, the Far East and Siberia. The largest institution in Russia is Moscow Seminary, located in Sergiev Posad. A large number of new establishments were opened in the 1990s. Now citizens of the country can graduate from seminaries and get a church education.
The seminaries of the Russian Church are located in many countries, for example, in Japan and the USA. This helps Orthodox people living in other parts of the world to complete church education, become members of the Orthodox Church and receive the profession of a clergyman.
Receipt details
How to enter a theological seminary? If the desire is expressed by a person who is already serving at the temple, then he talks about his goals to enter the seminary for the priest. He helps those who wish to figure out what and how to do, what knowledge to possess. For this it is important to fully know the church charter, to understand the main types of services, to know their meaning. A student who wants to study at the seminary must understand exactly what shepherd he wants to become in the future, what he wants to do in his life.
After the applicant learns in detail about all the settings, he can take a short exam with the priest to determine exactly what areas he is versed in and what are the problems. Next, the priest determines whether to recommend to a seminary or not. If the priest is ready to be responsible for the entrant, he draws up a sheet with a recommendation to the bishop. The bishop sets the date for the commission. It is the commission that will determine whether the person who wants to start studying at the institution, and which seminary is best for him to choose for himself.
Commission passage
On the established date, the applicant must come to the diocesan examination committee. Most often, it takes place three weeks before the entrance exams. It is here that the knowledge of the applicant and his level of education are checked. If the young man does not have enough knowledge, then he is advised to wait another year and prepare more.
Questions may be very different, but they are all needed to determine the knowledge of the applicant. In most cases, they push the young man to explain the understanding of worship, his point of view on the topic of the order of service. It is also very important to remember the main church songs well, to be able to explain what they mean.
Often questions are asked to learn more about a person’s personal qualities: interests, skills, and a favorite hobby. When passing the commission, not only the knowledge of the applicant is taken into account, but also his form of communication, openness, friendliness, and character traits. If the entrant completed all the tasks and presented himself with a worthy side, then he receives a special direction from the ruling bishop to study at the seminary.
Modern priest
How do they become priests? The ministry of a priest is not limited to serving God and requiring fulfillment. This profession includes missionary work, talking with young people, and preaching. The priest should remember that parishioners are people with higher education (especially in cities), so reading a sermon from a leaflet or retelling someone else will be wrong.
Now people are asking the priests a large number of questions that interest them, so they must know the answers to them and submit them correctly. The theological seminary was created in order to teach students to independently seek answers, think broadly and constantly form.
Full-time or distance learning
Many are confident that full-time education has greater advantages than correspondence. It pushes the student to study more, gives the opportunity to communicate with people who understand a lot in this area. It is this form of training that helps to educate a person. It is in some way similar to the army: rise and end at a certain time, strict rules. Self-study is always a good thing, but in the seminary you can do the same and at the same time ask interesting questions to those who can fully answer them and explain what is not clear.
Full-time training helps to gain more knowledge due to direct contact with professional teachers. Distance learning is best used by those who are already in the priesthood, who have experience in the parish life, but need to improve their knowledge. Such students are distinguished by a special discipline. They do not need to be constantly motivated, because they know why they entered the training.
If possible, then admission to general education will be the best option, since in this case the student will show diligence, interest, regularly communicate with the priest, who will help explain any incomprehensible topic. When entering an institution, the main thing is not to worry and try to forget about fear, for this it is best to prepare yourself mentally in advance.