Lord who can grasp all the wealth of just one of Your words

St. Paul exhorts Timothy in his second letter to him: “Strive to present yourself perfectly before God, as a worker who is not ashamed, but who preaches the word of truth correctly.” This is 2 Timothy 2:15, here from the Syriac-English New Testament, published by Gorgias Press. I like the expression in the King James Version of the Bible that states, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.“

Showing ourselves approved. Wow. That’s a deep subject. As I was pondering a conversation I had earlier today with the dean of our Syriac Orthodox St. John’s Theological Seminary, Rev. Fr. Dr. Jacob Joseph, I was reminded of this verse. As a former evangelical, I still remember certain phrases from certain Bible translations well. This is one of them. To show myself approved. To show ourselves approved. Unto God. Unto God. How can I even imagine showing myself approved unto God.

In words traditionally attributed to St. Ephrem the Syrian, he also exhorts his listeners with the reminder used as today’s title: “Lord who can grasp all the wealth of just one of your words.” And even more so, how can we put all those words into the context of our beautiful Holy Qurobo, the Divine Liturgy of our ancient Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch? This generation and the ones to follow need to be taught about the "Hidden Pearl” of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, and how since the time of the early Church (see Acts 11:26) she has faithfully transmitted the faith of our Lord and God Jesus Christ.

Just today, I finally finished a book by Dr. Jeannie Constantinou called Thinking Orthodox. Dr. Constantinou is an accomplished biblical scholar. In her work, she discussed the Orthodox phronema, or mindset, attitude, or worldview. It is a Greek word, used heavily in Eastern Orthodoxy, that describes an inner way of thinking and a deep personal stance that shapes how a person lives and acts. Much of what Orthodox Christians believe, whether Eastern Orthodox or Oriental Orthodox, ultimately relates to this particular mindset. Much of how we live our lives as Orthodox Christians is (or at least should be) based on this worldview.

Dr. Constantinou spends a good deal of time warning those wanting to theologize, or rather to offer any kind of opinion on matters of the Orthodox faith, that they should not do so unless sufficiently prepared and aware of the audience’s needs and ability to understand or “digest” at the moment of discussion. She draws on many Orthodox thinkers, both those read in both the Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox worlds and those from post-Chalcedonian times, as read primarily by the Eastern Orthodox Church.

All of this has me in deep thought about how we can shape the hearts and minds of those enrolling at St. John’s Theological Seminary, both today and in the future. I will be teaching a class there starting in the fall semester, and I am keenly aware that our teaching cannot simply be what is found in an evangelical seminary, which I attended. There, the focus is Sola Scriptura. Yet for us Syriac Orthodox, the teaching has to be in the framework of our Syriac Orthodox liturgy.

St. John’s Theological Seminary was only launched last year. St. John's Theological Seminary was officially inaugurated on September 16, 2025, by His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. The historic ceremony took place at the Mor Aphrem Center in Paramus, New Jersey, establishing the first Syriac Orthodox seminary in North America. Its vision is stated as such:

St. John’s Theological Seminary envisions becoming a leading theological institution with a special focus on Orthodoxy, particularly Syriac Orthodox theology within the Oriental Orthodox tradition. It is committed to addressing the challenges of the contemporary world through an Orthodox lens and to cultivating a spirituality grounded in a non-dual perspective.

The reality is, we have only just begun. The Opening Day Ceremony was held on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. Our first cohort is entering their second semester. Today, I heard that we have a solid number for our second cohort. The students are from around the globe. The teaching is conducted online, enabling everyone to participate. Our faculty includes truly exciting academics. The accreditations are happening one after another. A credit transfer program in the making will allow our students to continue their education at other universities. Our Patriarch is committed. He will (tentatively) attend the graduation ceremony for the first cohort.

This is truly exhilarating for all of us in the Syriac Orthodox academic realm. Other Orthodox traditions have old, well-established seminaries that produce clergy and trained laypeople who support the mission of the Church. This is what we want to see also for our Syriac Orthodox men and women. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited!

But here is the reality: These other well-established seminaries have generous donors who help establish critical funds that allow them to build strong and attractive programs. Now is the time for our Syriac Orthodox community around the globe to step up and show that sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ within the context of our beautiful Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch truly matters to their very hearts and souls.

Would you accept my invitation to serve as the ambassador for this new educational opportunity for our faithful within your own parish? Would you point others to the seminary website - https://sjtseminary.org? Would you pray for St. John’s Theological Seminary and all the students, faculty, and staff? And would you prayerfully consider giving? This truly inspiring vision of a seminary for our Church can grow if all the people of the Lord serve together, in whichever way possible, just like St. Peter’s mother-in-law served the Lord and His Apostles when He healed her.