St. Raphael School Events

View Past Years Event Recordings Here

October 2022 Coffee with the Principals

Joanne Schinstock, Director and Principal

Presb. Maria Koulianos, Principal of SRS

  • Thursday, October 21st

  • 11 am ET

Register

Information coming soon!

Event Recordings

September 2022 Coffee with the Principals

Joanne Schinstock, Director and Principal

Presb. Maria Koulianos, Principal of SRS

  • Thursday, September 22nd

  • 1:30 pm ET

Watch

Come and discuss the essential meaning of temperare. September 22 at 1:30pm ET. Registration Required. Join principals, Joanne Schinstock Director and Principal of Schole Academy, and Presbytera Maria Koulianos, Principal of St. Raphael School, for a brief reflection on temperance from Josef Pieper’s Four Cardinal Virtues followed by a discussion on how restful learning can require the student to discern which good things are worth giving up to attain what is better. “Without rational self-restraint even the natural hunger for sense perception or for knowledge can degenerate into a destructive and pathological compulsive greed; this degradation Aquinas calls curiositas, the disciplined mode studiositas” (151). Parents are not required to read the text prior to discussion, but a PDF copy of the text is available HERE, pp. 145-206.

SRS Q & A Night

Presb. Maria Koulianos, Principal of SRS

  • Wednesday, July 20th

  • 7-8:00 pm ET

Watch

Grab some lemonade and bring your questions for this dedicated time to chat with St. Raphael School Principal, Presbytera Maria Koulianos. Curious about the levels of the Liberal Arts program? Wondering about some of our new courses like theater and finance? Ask!  |  Registration is Required

Feel free to reach out to Presbytera Maria Koulianos at mkoulianos@classicalsubjects.com. 

 

Ancient Faith Live Interview

Fr. Tom Soroka and Presb. Maria Koulianos, Principal of SRS

  • Tuesday, June 7th

  • 9 pm ET

WATCH

Fr. Thomas speaks with Presbytera Maria Koulianos, Principal of the St. Raphael School, an online classical academy that provides supportive services to Orthodox homeschooling families. What has caused the rapid rise of homeschooling, and how can students receive an effective classical education at home?

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE for more about Ancient Faith Radio

 

Open Mic Night

Presb. Maria Koulianos, Principal of SRS

  • Thursday, May 26th

  • 7-8:30 pm ET

WATCH
Celebrate student success at our Annual Open Mic Night on Thursday, May 26th. All students at Scholé Academy are invited to recite original poetry, share artwork, or excerpts from their short stories and essays.

All Are Welcome to Attend  |  Registration is Required

Any student interested in participating should email  Presbytera Maria Koulianos at mkoulianos@classicalsubjects.com with a PDF copy of their original work. The submission DEADLINE is May 13, 2022.

 

Teaching Whole Souls: Rediscovering the poetic mode of knowledge according to Fr. Porphyrios

Hosts: Joanne Schinstock, SA Director, Presb. Maria Koulianos, Principal of SRS

Speaker: Fr. Isaac Danevicius

  • Thursday, May 5th

  • 7-8pm ET

WATCH

The Fr. Porphyrios (James) Taylor Memorial Lecture is hosted by St. Raphael School in memory of our founder.  Fr. Porphyrios was an author, teacher, and leader in Orthodox education, and his work Poetic Knowledge: The Recovery of Education continues to inspire teachers and educational leaders, particularly those laboring to renew Christian classical education in the United States. The annual lecture will focus on themes exploring the intersection of Orthodox spirituality and education, keeping in mind the words of St. Porphyrios:  “Whoever wants to become a Christian must first become a poet.”

Fr. Isaac Danevicius
Fr. Isaac Danevicius
Pastor @St. George Orthodox Church in Altoona PA
Fr. Isaac is currently the pastor of St. George Orthodox Church in Altoona PA, a husband, and father to six energetic young children. When not at church or doing related work, he enjoys brewing his own beer, cooking, planning projects at home and on his little bit of land, and reading and discussing great books. Fr. Isaac and Fr. Porphyrios (then James Taylor) began their relationship in Topeka, Kansas, where the two were part of a monthly discussion group which centered around readings from the Church Fathers. Over the course of their interactions, Dr. Taylor became more and more drawn toward Orthodoxy and was eventually Chrismated into the Church at Ss. Peter in Paul in Topeka, with Fr. Isaac acting as sponsor. It was also during this time that the idea for starting an online Orthodox School began to grow in Dr. Taylor’s heart. Soon, Dr. Taylor founded the St. Raphael Orthodox school and invited Fr. Isaac to teach elementary Greek for a time.

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE for more about Fr. Porphyrios and St. Raphael School

 

Scholé Academy: Houses of Study Open House

Joanne Schinstock, SA Director, Presb. Maria Koulianos, Principal of SRS, and Rhea Bright, Chair of the Canterbury House of Studies

  • Tuesday, April 26th

  • 7-8pm ET

WATCH
Our Scholé Academy community which includes Canterbury House of Studies, The Aquinas House of Studies, and St. Raphael School is a Christ-centered fellowship of believers united by the common threads of classical, Christian education. Welcoming learners into our Great Hall, our students gather to join in the great conversation and delve deeply into math, science, language, and other core subjects. Off the Great Hall, our ecumenical vision reflects that we honor with dignity each Christian tradition found in the renewal of classical Christian education through studies specific to these traditions: Anglicanism and the broader Reformed Protestant Tradition, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy. Join us to learn more about the 2022-23 course offerings in the houses of studies, April 26th at 7 pm EASTERN. Facilitated by Scholé Academy Director, Joanne Schinstock, Principal of St. Raphael School, Presb. Maria Koulianos, and the Chair of Canterbury House, Rhea Bright; event will include Q/A with house instructors. Registration Required.
 
 

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE for more about our Great Hall and Houses of Study

 

Classroom Experience: Well Ordered Language

Charissa Stethman

  • Tuesday, April 5

  • 7-8pm ET

WATCH

Come and see Well-Ordered Language at Scholé Academy! Learn more about this rich, interactive, delightful English grammar study, available as a live, online course.

Scholé Academy Classroom Experience events highlight live classroom activities with a veteran Scholé Academy instructor. We host these events to provide prospective parents and families with an inside look at Scholé Academy’s culture, community and pedagogy. On April 5, join us for a special focus on our Grammar department, featuring instructor Charissa Sethman and academy director Joanne Schinstock!

Event Agenda:
• Welcome and Introduction
• Scholé Academy Overview and Teaching Philosophy
• Teacher Testimony
• Classroom Experience (featuring Grammar mini-lessons and activities led by Charissa Sethman)
• Q&A

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE for more about SA Well-Ordered Language Courses

 

Greek Language Program Curriculum Night

Principal of SRS, Presbytera Maria Koulianos, Greek Department Instructors

  • Thursday, March 31

  • 7:00pm ET

WATCH
St. Raphael School offers Biblical Greek courses for beginning and continuing students. Come and see what is NEW for the 2022-2023 academic year and how SRS students will engage, learn, and grow from knowing this ancestral language.
Studying Greek trains children in the art of grammar universal to all language, as well as giving them access to the New Testament and Septuagint, Byzantine hymnography, and Patristic writings in the original tongue.

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE to explore our Greek Language Courses

 

Inaugural Feast Day of St. Raphael of Brooklyn Lecture & Discussion

Speaker: Fr. Jonathan Resmini, PhD

  • Monday, February 28

  • 7:00pm ET

WATCH
COME and JOIN US for St. Raphael School’s inaugural annual event: St. Raphael of Brooklyn Lecture & Discussion Series. We will be honoring the feast day of St. Raphael School’s patron saint and learn more about his life, legacy, and lessons. This year we will have the privilege hearing from Fr. Jonathan Resmini, Ph.D. who is currently presiding over Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Charlotte, NC. As one of our houses of study, St. Raphael School is a ‘school within a school’, and we would welcome the whole Scholé Academy community to this event.
Fr. Jonathan Resmini, PhD

Our Clergy

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE for a Hagiography of St. Raphael of Brooklyn

 

Scholé Academy Spring Open House

Learn more about the role our restful, engaging, live online courses can play in your students’ education!

  • Thursday, February 24

  • 7:00pm ET

WATCH

Join the Scholé Academy team on Feb. 24 to learn more about the role our restful, engaging, live online courses can play in your students’ education!

Our LIVE Open House event will feature:

• Scholé Academy Overview (with director Joanne Schinstock)
• Discussion on Scholé Academy Culture & Community
• Testimonies from students, families, and instructors
• Q&A with department chairs

Whether you have registered your students for 2022-23 courses, are considering registration, or have just heard about our academy, we look forward to providing you more insight about Scholé Academy’s Christ-centered culture, award-winning courses, and family-oriented community.

 

Classroom Experience: Writing with Emily Brigham

Learn more about how your students will be taught in a Scholé Academy online writing classroom!

  • Tuesday, February 15

  • 7:00pm ET

WATCH

Scholé Academy Classroom Experience events highlight live classroom activities with a veteran Scholé Academy instructor. We host these events to provide prospective parents and families with an inside look at Scholé Academy’s culture, community and pedagogy. On Feb. 15, join us for a special focus on our Writing department, featuring instructor Emily Brigham and academy director Joanne Schinstock!

Scholé Academy Classroom Experience: Writing with Emily Brigham – Event Agenda:
• Welcome and Introduction
• Scholé Academy Overview and Teaching Philosophy
• Teacher Testimony
• Classroom Experience (featuring Writing mini-activities led by Emily Brigham)
• Q&A

 

Scholé Academy Lecture Hall Presents Ecclesiastes 

What the Strangest Book in the Bible Teaches Us About Education: Author/Teacher/Consultant, Josh Gibbs

  • Monday, December 6

  • 7:30pm ET

WATCH

No book in the Bible offers a more glum assessment of this life, or inspires deeper yearning for the life to come, than Ecclesiastes. This glum assessment is a caution for those who believe that classical education can “change the world” or that reading old books can help students “get ahead in the world.” And yet, Ecclesiastes also insists that refusing to “love the world or the things of the world” will actually make a man’s life tolerable, joyful, and spiritually fruitful.

This event is free to attend, but registration is required. Click here to register for this Lecture Hall event. (Nota bene: Personal information provided in the registration process will be shared with Josh Gibbs, owner of Gibbs Classical.)

Josh Gibbs Biography

Joshua Gibbs teaches classic literature to children & adults and offers consulting via GibbsClassical.com. He writes for the CiRCE Institute blog The Cedar Room, his long running column on pedagogy, parenting, and classical literature. He is the creator of the weekly Proverbial podcast in which he works through one proverb, discussing its meaning for a modern audience. Josh is also the author of several books, including Something They Will Not Forget and the forthcoming Love What Lasts.

To contact Joshua Gibbs, please use the inquiry form on GibbsClassical.com.

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE for more about Gibbs Classical

 

Fall Scholé Academy Instructor & Tutor Recruitment Night

Joanne Schinstock, Presbytera Maria Koulianos, Charissa Stethman

  • Thursday, November 4

  • 7:30pm ET

WATCH

Scholé Academy, including St. Raphael School, Canterbury House of Studies, and The Aquinas House of Studies*, is seeking online instructors and tutors, K-12, for the 2022-23 academic year! Instructors and tutors in math, science, humanities, Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, Latin, modern foreign languages, writing, catechism, Bible, and art will be considered. If you’re passionate about restful learning and would like to contribute to the renewal of Christian classical education, we invite you to Scholé Academy’s Instructor & Tutor Recruitment Night.

Please visit our Employment Page for more information. Interviews begin December 2021. Please email questions to support@scholeacademy.com.

*Catholic instructors interested in hosting courses in The Aquinas House of Studies for the 2022-23 academic year should email support@scholeacademy.com.

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE to be connected directly to our Recruitment Page.

 

Coffee with the Principals

“A Psalm of Life”

  • Thursday, November 4

  • 3:00pm ET

WATCH
Come and join SRS Principal Presb. Maria Koulianos and Schole Principal Joanne Schinstock for for a leisurely reading of “A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. We hope that this can be a time for building relationships as a community, and parents can participate in close reading, a way of diving deep into readings. This is a common reading practice typical for a Scholé Academy student. You can find a copy of this poem HERE. 
 
About the Principals

Presbytera Maria Koulianos has been an educator since 1997 holding two Master Degrees from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Indiana University. As principal of Saint Raphael School, she is a servant-leader who is charged with building a community that supports students and parents striving for Orthodox restful classical education.

Joanne Schnistock Joanne has been an educator since 2005, with a Master in Humanities from the University of Dallas. As principal, she supervises the promotion, development, and operations of Scholé Academy, building a community that supports students and parents striving for restful classical education.     

 

 

Scholé Academy Lecture Hall Presents Citizenship in Heaven: Augustine and the Liberal Arts

Dr. Joseph Clair, Exec. Dean of Cultural Enterprise and Assoc. Professor of Theology & Culture at George Fox University

  • Tuesday, October 26

WATCH
Writing in the explosive finale of the Roman Empire, Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) radically revised the connection between education and citizenship by introducing the Biblical concept of “citizenship in heaven” as the central goal of liberal arts education. This not only imbued classical education with a different sense of purpose but an entirely new view of history, human nature, virtue, and the role of sin and grace. Now at our own historical turning point in the history of education and citizenship, this lecture will apply Augustine’s insight into the creative tension between our earthly and heavenly citizenship in the present context. Ultimately our schools, and our lives, remain caught in the fray between these two cities – the city of man and the city of God – imperfectly marked by a conflict of lower and higher loves, and pride and humility. For Augustine, the formation of good or bad citizens ultimately comes down to the everyday work of raising children and teaching and learning. For it is by the essential, everyday work of creating reading lists and curricula, honestly confessing our weakness and sin, and beginning again that new citizens are formed and find the grace to be both eternal sojourners and loyal citizens here on earth.
 
Dr. Joseph Clair Biography

A native Oregonian, Joseph Clair followed his educational pursuit all over the world and earned degrees in both England and the United States. He became professor of Theology and Philosophy and now dean at George Fox University after receiving his doctorate in Religion, Ethics, and Politics from Princeton University in 2013. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Wheaton College (IL), a master’s in theological studies from Duke, a master’s in philosophy at Fordham, and a master’s in philosophy of religion from Cambridge where he studied as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. He is the author of Discerning the Good in the Letters and Sermons of Augustine (Oxford University Press, 2016) and On Education, Formation, Citizenship, and the Lost Purpose of Learning (Bloomsbury, 2017) along with numerous articles and essays on faith, culture, education, and ethics. In his spare time, he likes to spend time with his wife, Nora, play with his four kids, fly fish Oregon’s many rivers, and work on his hobby farm.

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE for more information about Dr. Clair and George Fox University. 

 

 

Coffee with the Principals

At the Home of Martha and Mary

  • Thursday, September 23

  • 3:00pm ET

WATCH
Come and join SRS Principal Presb. Maria Koulianos and Schole Principal Joanne Schinstock for the first Coffee with the Principals, September 23rd at 3pm ET. Our topic will be “At the Home of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42). We’ll consider together Luke 10:38-42 in which we see Jesus 
at the home of Martha and Mary. We’ll contemplate the ideas of rigor versus rest and how a combination of both Martha and Mary is Scholé. How can we, too, make time, at the right time, for both?
 
About the Principals

Presbytera Maria Koulianos has been an educator since 1997 holding two Master Degrees from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Indiana University. As principal of Saint Raphael School, she is a servant-leader who is charged with building a community that supports students and parents striving for Orthodox restful classical education.

Joanne Schnistock Joanne has been an educator since 2005, with a Master in Humanities from the University of Dallas. As principal, she supervises the promotion, development, and operations of Scholé Academy, building a community that supports students and parents striving for restful classical education.     

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE for the Bible Scripture of Luke 10:38-42.

 

 

Level 1 Illustrated Classics

Sneak Peek Night

  • Thursday, August 19

  • 7:30 – 8:30pm ET

REGISTER HERE

Don’t miss out in getting a SNEAK PEEK at our Liberal Arts Level 1 Illustrated Classics Course! We want to share our plans with you for the year! Children ages 5-7: bring your favorite book or a piece of artwork to share, or wear a costume of your favorite book character.

Parents, come prepared with questions. We’ll have a brief demonstration of how the class words and share an overview of our curriculum for the year. We will end with a brief overview of our Level 2 class also.

About Instructor Erin Moulton
Erin Moulton has a deep love for education and has been teaching in some capacity for over two decades. She holds a PhD in Slavic linguistics from the University of Kansas and has also studied at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, and in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In the past, she served as an instructor of Russian language, literature, and culture at University of Kansas. She works professionally as an editor and project manager in the field of international compliance and serves as youth communications liaison for the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of the Midwest and as board president of the Orthodox Christian Translation Society. Erin and her husband, Christian, are parishioners at Holy Trinity Church in Overland Park, Kansas, where she teaches church school and assists in creating a multiyear cycle of curriculum for the parish. Erin and Christian have four sons, all of whom she has educated at home over the past 13 years. E-mail: moultonee@gmail.com
            

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE to learn more about Level 1 Illustrated Classics

 

 

Community Book Discussion

Joseph Pieper’s The Four Cardinal Virtues “Fortitude”

  • Thursday, July 15, 2021

  • 7:00 – 8:30pm ET

WATCH
Join fellow Scholé Academy and SRS parents and teachers for an evening discussion on the topic of courage.  For the past two summers we have read and discussed the virtues of prudence and justice.  This summer we will read chapter section three of Joseph Pieper’s The Four Cardinal Virtues entitled “Fortitude” (pages 117-141).
About Joseph Pieper & The Four Cardinal Virtues
Josef Pieper (1904-1997) was a distinguished twentieth-century Thomist philosopher. Schooled in the Greek classics and in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, he studied philosophy, law, and sociology, and taught for many years at the University of Münster, Germany.
 

In The Four Cardinal Virtues, Joseph Pieper delivers a stimulating quartet of essays on the four cardinal virtues. He demonstrates the unsound overvaluation of moderation that has made contemporary morality a hollow convention and points out the true significance of the Christian virtues.

REVIEW

“Dr. Pieper, with his grounding in Scholastic thinking, especially Thomas Aquinas, brings to the reader an interpretation of this classical tradition that has things to say about the human person today. He attempts to make what could become a list of requirements for ethical behavior into a human quest for the wisdom that enables one to become the kind of person one strives to be.” —Studies in Formative Spirituality                      

MORE INFO:

CLICK HERE to Download The Four Virtues by Joseph Pieper

 

 

Meet Our Liberal Arts Middle School Instructors and Learn about Our Program

Presbytera Maria Koulianos, Sarah Fothergill & Elizabeth Crispina-Johnson

  • Tuesday, May 25, 2021

  • 7pm ET / 6pm Central

WATCH

Meet our Middle School Teachers and learn more about our program. Students of the past and present will share their experience and perspective of Children’s Classics, American Classics, and British Classics.

We use classic books teaching students in a thoughtful manner recognizing each person of our learning community as members of the body of Christ, made in the image of God, Baptized and Chrismated with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Following from this Orthodox Christian vision of the classroom and the enlightened view of the human person, classes are taught in the “conversational mode” rather than mere lecture. The term “conversation” indicates a “turning together” around a subject of significance and the questions of wonder and inquiry that naturally follow.

About Our Instructors

Presbytera Maria Koulianos has been an educator for over 20 years, loving every minute, with vast experiences in both public and private schools as a classroom teacher, a developer and implementer of learning programs for students, and an area administrator. She earned her bachelor of science in education from Indiana University with certifications in elementary education, 7/8 non-departmental, language arts 1–9, and computer education K–12. She holds a master of divinity and a master of theology from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, where she wrote her thesis, “The Annunciation of the Theotokos from a Liturgical Perspective.” Presbytera Maria and her husband, Father Dionysios, live in the greater Springfield area where he is the Dean of Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Springfield, MA. She hopes to inspire her students to love literature and become lifelong learners. mkoulianos@raphaelschool.org 

Sarah Fothergill has been teaching for 12 years. She holds a BA in 7-12 English and History Education and an MA in Secondary Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Throughout her career, Sarah has taught writing, literature, and speaking to both middle and high school students. Sarah is excited to offer Scholé Academy students her passion for studying literature and history, and looks forward to helping them learn, grow, and reflect on “the good, the true, and the beautiful” in everything.

In addition to teaching, Sarah also enjoys leading Sunday school and Vacation Church School classes, and serving as a youth group instructor and chanter at St. George Orthodox Church in Kearney, Nebraska. She also loves spoiling her two young nieces, reading, writing, gardening, and spending time with her husband and two adorable kittens.    sfothergill.schole@gmail.com

Elizabeth Crispina Johnson draws from both her experiential and academic backgrounds in her teaching. She started homeschooling the first of her 3 children in 1983, and continues homeschooling with 3 of her 8 grandchildren. As time allows, Elizabeth also writes children’s books, 4 of which have been published by Ancient Faith Publishing. She holds a master’s degree in intercultural training, a bachelor’s degree in Bible and theology, an associate’s degree in early childhood education, and also attended a 1-year missiology program at Fuller Theological Seminary. Elizabeth lives in western New York and attends St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Rochester. srs.elizabethcrispina@gmail.com

MORE INFO:

The Liberal Arts Level 4 Children’s Classics course is a two-year rotation designed to increase student communication skills through reading, writing, speaking and listening, and the study of the English language. Additionally, it will focus on nature studies and the composition of personal letters, narratives, essays, and short speeches.

The Liberal Arts Level 5 which consists of a two-year rotation,  American Classics and British Classics, is designed to increase student communication skills through reading, writing, speaking and listening, and the study of the English language. Students will read a selection of British classics alongside a timeline of history, as history plays a fundamental role in shaping literature. Additionally, this course will focus on nature studies and the composition of personal letters, narratives, essays, and short speeches.

 

Scholé Academy and St. Raphael School Open House

Come and Join Us!

  • Thursday, May 6, 2021

  • 7pm ET / 6pm Central

WATCH MAIN SESSION
WATCH SRS SESSION

Join SRS Principal Adam Lockridge and Scholé Academy Principal Joanne Schinstock for a virtual tour. Whether you are a new family or a long-time family, we want to take some time to tell you about our courses, instructors, and answer many of our most common questions. Breakout sessions will dive into more specific questions about Lower School and Middle / Upper School. A special breakout session with St. Raphael School instructors will look more in depth at SRS offerings for 2021/22.

About Our Principals
Adam Lockridge, Principal, is an experienced classical educator who was raised in Olathe, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. It was there that he met his wife, Rachel, who continues to be his greatest blessing and encouragement. They met in high school and were married as students at the University of Kansas, where Adam studied philosophy and Rachel studied art education. In addition to studying together at KU, Rachel and Adam spent their second year of marriage as Fellows at the Trinity Forum Academy in Maryland. Adam later taught upper-school humanities at a classical school in Tennessee for 7 years. At KU, Adam was first exposed to many of the writers who would later inspire his teaching—especially Plato and the other Greek philosophers. He went on to complete his master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Memphis. alockridge@scholeacademy.com

Joanne Schinstock, Principal has been an educator since 2005, with a Master in Humanities from the University of Dallas. As principal, she supervises the promotion, development, and operations of Scholé Academy, building a community that supports students and parents striving for restful classical education. Joanne joined the faculty of Scholé Academy in 2016 and enjoys teaching the Writing & Rhetoric series. After studying a year abroad focusing on Italian language and culture in Florence, Italy, she began her teaching career as a middle school classroom instructor in Language Arts. The Dallas Catholic Diocese recognized Joanne as a Work of Heart Award recipient, honoring outstanding teachers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. You can read more about Mrs. Schinstock’s philosophy of education here. She and her husband, Brad, find joy in forging their family culture in their Catholic faith and in the classical Christian tradition, participating in their church community, their children’s school community, The Academy of Classical Christian Studies in Oklahoma City, and delighting in weekend family outings. jschinstock@scholeacademy.com

MORE INFO:

St. Raphael is an Orthodox school that is part of Scholé Academy, as a “school within a school.” This means that while St. Raphael School functions as a dedicated Orthodox academy, we also enjoy the benefits of being affiliated with a larger Christian classical online academy. Students from St. Raphael may also take courses at Scholé Academy, and sometimes our teachers at St. Raphael will offer courses with Scholé Academy. Both St. Raphael School and Scholé Academy are divisions of Classical Academic Press. St. Raphael School also benefits from the various staff resources and expertise at Classical Academic Press, in the areas of web development, promotion, order processing, and customer service.

Inaugural Fr. Porphyrios Taylor Memorial Lecture (online event)

Hieromonk Alexii Altschul

  • Thursday, May 13, 2021

  • 8pm ET / 7pm Central

LISTEN

The Fr. Porphyrios (James) Taylor Memorial Lecture is hosted by St. Raphael School in memory of our founder.  Fr. Porphyrios was an author, teacher, and leader in Orthodox education, and his work Poetic Knowledge: The Recovery of Education continues to inspire teachers and educational leaders, particularly those laboring to renew Christian classical education in the United States. The annual lecture will focus on themes exploring the intersection of Orthodox spirituality and education, keeping in mind the words of St. Porphyrios:  “Whoever wants to become a Christian must first become a poet.”

About Hieromonk Alexii

Hieromonk Alexii Altschul is a priest-monk with the Serbian Orthodox Church. After 20 years of serving an inner-city parish in Kansas City, MO, he was tonsured as a monk in October 2013, following the death of his Matushka in March, 2012. 

In 1993, he became an Eastern Orthodox Christian and eventually was ordained a priest, known as Fr. Paisius. He and his wife, Matushka Michaila, worked together reaching out to people in need, first as non-denominational Protestants, and then, after their conversion to Orthodoxy in 1993, through St. Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church in Kansas City, MO.

At that location, they saw, with the help of many dedicated servants of God, over 150 souls brought into the Orthodox Church, the founding of the Ancient Christianity and African American Conference, the founding of Reconciliation Services, and two books, An Unbroken Circle and Wade in the River. 

In addition to seeking to unite people through Christ, serving those in need, and providing a sacramental environment for healing, Fr. Alexii had also been a trained clinical social worker.

After his tonsure, he was sent by His Grace, Bishop +LONGIN (New Gracanica and Midwestern Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America) to stay in Mt. Athos for nearly 7 months. He returned to rural Northwest Missouri where he was blessed by His Grace Bishop +LONGIN to form Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete in July, 2014. For more information on the skete, visit www.archangelmichaelskete.org.

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