If you are a theologian, you will pray truly. And if you pray truly, you are a theologian.
-Evagrios the Solitary

Mission Statement: Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary prepares its students for service to the Church, emphasizing spiritual formation and the pursuit of intellectual and cultural knowledge in accordance with the standards and traditional teachings of Orthodox Christianity.

The Seminary is an institution of higher learning under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia that seeks to train students in disciplines that are preparatory for active service to the Church as clergy, monastics, choir directors and cantors, iconographers, and lay leaders.

The Seminary offers a three-year program of study leading to a Master of Divinity, a four-year program leading to the degree of Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.), a two-year program leading to a Certificate in Pastoral Studies, and a two year self-study program leading to a Certificate of Theological Studies, and is chartered by the Board of Regents of The University of the State of New York for and on behalf of the State Education Department. 

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary is a Candidate institution and a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE or the Commission) www.msche.org. Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary’s accreditation status is Candidate Status Granted. The Commission’s most recent action on the institution’s accreditation status on June 26, 2025 was to grant candidate for accreditation status. MSCHE is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education to conduct accreditation and pre-accreditation (candidate status) activities for institutions of higher education including distance, correspondence education, and direct assessment programs offered at those institutions. The Commission’s geographic area of accrediting activities is throughout the United States.

As the only seminary within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the Seminary opens its doors annually to applicants not only from the United States but also from abroad, thereby serving its mission to serve parishes in all corners of the world.  Many members of ROCOR are now primarily English-speaking, and the English language has gained prominence as an international language.  Therefore, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary has risen to meet this need of our Church by offering instruction in English to English-speaking Seminarians.  The Russian language continues to be taught at HTS.  

The Seminary emphasizes the importance of the spiritual life in theological education. Active participation in the life of the monastery, on whose premises the seminary is located, allows students to experience firsthand the spiritual depth of the Orthodox Church and gives future clergy the rare opportunity of gaining a thorough foundation in and experience of the Orthodox liturgical life. The Seminary strives to preserve the high scholarly standards, teaching, and traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

The Seminary is located near New York's historic Mohawk Valley, one mile north of the village of Jordanville, within a triangle formed by Cooperstown, Utica, and Albany. It was founded in 1948 under the auspices of Holy Trinity Monastery, and the Seminary's life continues to be intimately bound with that of the Monastery.