A centre of higher learning, research, ecumenical understanding and prayer communicating the power of Christian Faith and living Tradition so that all may share in the very life of God. Mission Statement of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies
OUR MISSION
As a centre of higher learning, research, ecumenical encounter and prayer, the Institute is an autonomous
unit of the Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto offering accredited basic and advanced degree programs in Eastern Christian Studies to men and women – lay, religious and ordained. OUR COMMITMENT
As a centre of higher learning, the Institute is committed to quality education in Eastern Christian theology and related disciplines, both at the University of St. It is particularly devoted to following the mandate of the Second Vatican Council and developing a distinctive Eastern Catholic theology in all its breadth. As a centre of research, the Institute is committed to scholarship and publication in the various fields of Eastern Christian Studies, cooperating with other educational institutions, learned societies and individual scholars. As a centre of ecumenical and interfaith encounter, the Institute is committed to fostering respectful and fruitful dialogue among the various Eastern Christian Churches (Orthodox and Catholic) and between Eastern and Western Christians. The Institute also promotes understanding between Christians and members of other faith traditions, especially the Jewish and Muslim faiths. It does so by integrating liturgical services into its daily schedule and sponsoring initiatives such as the Sheptytsky Institute Choir and the Institute’s schola (krylos). OUR HISTORY
Founded at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1986, the Institute came under the national patronage of the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Bishops of Canada in 1989, and in 1990 became a part of Saint Paul University in Ottawa. In 2017 the Institute relocated to the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto. That same year, Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk accepted the invitation to become the Institute’s international patron. OUR HOPE
In dialogue with contemporary societies and mindful of the need to foster healing in today’s world, the Institute aspires to communicate the power of Christian Faith and living Tradition, so that all may share in the very life of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Adopted unanimously by the Sheptytsky Institute Council, September 11, 2017.
