- Thomas Hopko
The Very Reverend Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko (born
March 28 ,1939 , Endicott,New York ) is an Orthodox Christianpriest andtheologian . He was the Dean ofSaint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary from September1992 untilJuly 1 ,2002 and taughtdogmatic theology at this institution from1968 until2002 . After his retirement, he carries the honorary title of "Dean Emeritus".Life and Education
Thomas Hopko is of
Rusyn descent. His ancestors are linked to theRusyn village ofHrabské near the eastern Slovak city ofBardejov . He was baptized and raised in St. Mary’s Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek-Catholic Church, Endicott, New York. He gained hisB.A. in Russian Studies,Fordham University , 1960, followed by hisM.Div. , St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, in 1963. He then took an M.A. inPhilosophy ,Duquesne University , in1968 and gained hisPh.D. inTheology ,Fordham University , in1982 .At St. Vladimir's Seminary, Hopko studied with such renowned Orthodox theologians as Fr.
Alexander Schmemann , Fr.John Meyendorff ,Nicholas Arseniev andSerge Verkhovskoy . He was ordained to the rank of presbyter in1963 and served several parishes in the states ofOhio andNew York . In1968 he began to teach at St. Vladimir's and eventually succeeded his teacher, Serge Verkhovskoy, as professor ofdogmatic theology . He was elevated to the rank ofarchpriest in1970 and, upon his election as Dean, to the rank of protopresbyter (1995 ).Activities and affiliations
Fr. Hopko is a prominent Orthodox
Christian lecturer and speaker, well-known both in the Orthodox andecumenical circles. He served as a member of the Faith and Order Commission of theWorld Council of Churches and as a delegate from theOrthodox Church in America to the Assemblies of WCC inUppsala ,Sweden andNairobi ,Kenya . He was also President of theOrthodox Theological Society in America (1992 -1995 ).
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