Mission Statement

The mission of the St. Athanasius Theological Seminary is to provide the participants with a sound Orthodox Christian education, which prepares them to become Christian leaders who are spiritually mature, Biblically and theologically responsible, professionally competent, intellectually astute, deeply committed to sharing the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ and fully equipped for the various ministries of His church.

The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States believes that Theology needs accuracy of interpretations, definitions, expressions and knowledge of the reliable sources believed in by all Christians.

In its efforts to provide this accuracy and the right Christian teaching, the Southern Diocese established the St. Athanasius Theological Seminary with the mission of providing the Sound Doctrine Theology about God and strengthening our “one faith” (Ephesians 4:5) that was once entrusted to us by the saints (Jude 1-3).

Although the basic source of sound doctrine is the Holy Bible, additional sources such as the sayings of the Fathers, the authenticated creeds of the holy councils, traditions recorded in the Church books, especially the ritual books, etc. will be used in delivering the true teachings. The Seminary will cover these sources in depth through the teachings of a number of courses in a four-year program. The program details and in-depth coverage is described within this Web site.