Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Program

Overview & Schedule

The St. Tikhon’s CPE program offers two units per year. Each summer term, the faculty offers an accredited 12-week intensive unit for select (matriculated) Master of Divinity students, typically in between their second and third years. The unit is held in concurrence with enrollment in the requisite second-year summer parish internship experience for Master of Divinity students. During the fall semester each year, the faculty offers an accredited 16-week extended unit to ordained Orthodox Christian clergy serving in full-time ministry who seek enrichment and development in their pastoral practice. First consideration is given to clergy alumni of St. Tikhon's Seminary, but other Orthodox clergy applicants are also welcome to apply.

Program Coordinator & Accreditation

Father Michael Demko serves as the current Program Coordinator for Clinical Pastoral Education at St. Tikhon's Seminary. The program operates in collaboration with Father David Alexander and is an approved training center under the accreditation of Clinical Pastoral Education International (CPEI). CPEI is a federally recognized, graduate-level-accredited training organization for CPE. Through its accreditation by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), CPEI is formally recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). For those seeking to eventually pursue credentials in professional chaplaincy, units accomplished in the St. Tikhon's CPE program will be recognized by all certifying bodies in the United States.

Purpose & Structure

CPE provides a process for students to strengthen their Orthodox pastoral theological foundations while building balanced and effective approaches to spiritual care in a variety of contexts. Training processes include directed reading paired with interactive discussion, didactic presentations by faculty on salient topics in spiritual care, group supervision of pastoral encounters enabled by case studies, and training in group relations and dynamics. The foundational text for the course is Leaping Into the Hands of God: Lessons from My Teachers on Hypostatic Spiritual Care (SVS Press, 2025) by Father David Alexander. The intent of the program leaders is to provide a warm, relational atmosphere in which guidance, support, challenge, and exploration can all occur when necessary, all centered on our mutual work in Christ for the sake of Christ and His Church. Inquiries and intentions regarding the Clinical Pastoral Education program can be directed to the Program Coordinator for CPE, Father Michael Demko: frmichael.demko@stots.edu