Source: St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
February 26, 2025, Yonkers, NY – St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie as President for a five-year term, effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030.
This decision follows a comprehensive international search process led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon (OCA) as chair of the President Search Committee, in collaboration with Committee members: the Right Reverend Archimandrite Jeremy Davis, Executive Chair of the SVOTS Board of Trustees; trustees Dr Carla Thomas, Dr Ana Iltis, and the V. Rev. Dr Philip LeMasters; and faculty members Dr Peter Bouteneff and the Rev. Hieromonk Dr Vasily Permiakov. The search was informed and guided by thoughtful and thorough input from various members of the SVOTS community through a range of evaluative measures.
“I am pleased that Dr Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie has accepted the call of the Board of Trustees to serve as President of St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary,” remarked His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon. “I am confident that he will bring his many talents to bear in fulfillment of the seminary’s mission of training priests, lay leaders, and scholars for the Church here in North America.”
Dr Tudorie has served the seminary with distinction as Academic Dean and Professor of Church History since 2018, making important contributions to the seminary’s academic offerings, including recruiting world-class faculty and staff colleagues: the Very Rev. Dr Bogdan Bucur, the Rev. Hieromonk Dr Vasily (Vitaly) Permiakov, Dr Michael Legaspi, Arpina Nakashian, and Zachariah Mandell; launching an Annual Academic Symposium in 2022, drawing scores of high-caliber scholars from across the world; and developing pan-Orthodox relationships, both on campus and abroad, in places like Greece, Romania, and India.
As Professor of Church history, Dr Tudorie was recognized by St Vladimir’s seminarians on behalf of the student body during the 2024 Commencement exercises with the 2024 St Macrina Award for Excellence in Teaching, an honor bestowed each year by student vote.
Most recently, Dr Tudorie stepped into greater leadership at St Vladimir’s Seminary following the retirement of former President the Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield in June 2024. As Interim President, Dr Tudorie guided the seminary through a transition period. Under his leadership, the seminary reversed the previous year’s budgetary deficit approaching $2 million, ending the first six months of the current fiscal year with a $100,000 surplus. This turnaround was noted by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) through its Focused Visitation Team (January 2025), whose report commended the Seminary for this impressive performance. The fruit of prudent control of expenses combined with renewal of donor relationships, this firm financial footing places St Vladimir’s Seminary on a new path for enhancing its mission. Dr Tudorie led this renewal while retaining his faculty and teaching duties.
Chair of the Transition Committee, former Treasurer, and longtime trustee Jeffrey Hoff spoke to the quality of Dr Tudorie’s service as the Academic Dean and Interim President, saying, “Since first joining SVOTS in 2018, Dr Tudorie has brought renewal and strength to the academic department. Throughout his leadership during the transition period, he has extended the same across the institution – modeling servant-leadership, improving financial and operational stability, and collaboratively working with faculty, staff, and the board.”
The totality of these achievements during his interim presidency has garnered widespread support and appreciation from faculty, staff, students, hierarchs, and trustees. Their responses to the Board’s request for input, as well as the insights from the President Search Committee’s process, and the observations of the ad-hoc Transition Committee of the Board of Trustees, attested to Dr Tudorie’s dedication, alignment to the seminary’s historic mission, and healing leadership, guided by his own deep commitment to the Orthodox Christian faith.
The Right Reverend Archimandrite Jeremy Davis, Board Executive Chair, noted this last quality: “Dr Tudorie is a servant leader, a peaceful presence, a peacemaker, and a man of prayer and devotion. Although he is not an ordained priest, several trustees, faculty members, and students have all noted his pastoral ministry on campus—as a listener, counselor, and advisor.
The Board of Trustees expressed full confidence in Dr Tudorie’s ability to lead the seminary, noting his caring and assiduous leadership, characterized by a spirit of conciliarity and collaboration.
Working in close collaboration with Dr Tudorie will be his faculty colleagues, as well as a recently-established leadership team: the Very Rev. Dr Alexander Rentel (Rector of the Three Hierarchs Chapel and Chief Operations Officer), Peter Kopcha (Chief Financial Officer), Ginny Nieuwsma (Chief Advancement Officer), the Rev. Dn Dr Harrison Basil Russin (Associate Dean for Residential Life), and Theodore Bazil (former COO, 50+ year senior manager at SVOTS).
Says Dr Iltis, “With his dedication and talents, and in collaboration with excellent faculty, staff, and students, St Vladimir’s future as an institution that forms clergy, lay leaders, and scholars in the service of Christ and His Church is strong and bright.”
Dr Tudorie remarks that the path to enhance SVS mission and student experience is prepared for the seminary: “We have in front of us a freshly laid foundation, built on the bedrock of Christ’s Church and the traditions of our legacy in Crestwood. It is my honor to carry this forward into the future, by our collective prayers.”
As President-elect, Dr Tudorie will continue as Interim President and Academic Dean until July 1, 2025, when he will formally assume the presidency of St Vladimir’s Seminary.
For further information, please contact:
Ginny Nieuwsma
Chief Advancement Officer
ginnyn@svots.edu
About St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is a higher education institution that embraces the challenge of serving the Church and the needs of Orthodox Christians in the twenty-first century. SVOTS trains priests, lay leaders, and scholars to be active apologists of the Orthodox Christian Faith, focusing on academic rigor and spiritual formation within a residential Orthodox community. The Seminary is chartered by the University of the State of New York and accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) to offer the following program degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, Master of Theology, and Doctor of Ministry. www.svots.edu
About Dr Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie
Dr Tudorie was born and raised in Bucharest (Romania). He studied at the University of Bucharest where he earned a B.S., two M.A.s, and two Ph.D.s. (one in Orthodox Theology and one in Byzantine History). In addition to his duties as Professor of Church History, Interim President and Academic Dean at St Vladimir’s Seminary, he is also affiliated with the University of Bucharest, Romania, where he serves as Doctoral advisor in the field of Cultural Studies at the Interdisciplinary School of Doctoral Studies (ISDS). His areas of academic specialization include Church History, Byzantine and Post-Byzantine History, and the Theological Dialogue between Christian Confessions.
Dr Tudorie has been married since 2004 to Dr Denisa-Mihaela Tudorie (née Alexandru). They have two children, Sofia (b. 2011) and Theodora (b. 2016).
The Tudories have been integrally involved in seminary life since their arrival to the U.S. in 2018. The Drs Tudorie regularly extend gracious hospitality in their home to members of the seminary community as well as to visitors. Denisa has also taken an active role in the St Juliana Society (on-campus fellowship group for women), hosting gatherings, baby showers for expectant mothers, and festivities for children of the chapel community. Together, they support and assure students as they make their transition to seminary life, cultivating a warm and welcoming place for those who call the seminary their home.
Please view Dr Tudorie’s faculty page and CV to learn more about his scholarship and teaching interests.