Holy Trinity is here for you.

For 3 decades Holy Trinity has had a positive relationship with St. John’s College and its students. As neighbors go, we could do a lot worse. The school adds an element of conversation in Santa Fe I’ve not found anywhere else, and they’re generally a well liked local institution. That being said, I am in a unique position where students relay intimate details to me about their life at St. John’s. In short, speaking as a pastor and Orthodox Christian priest, St. John’s College frustrates me.

First, something I appreciate. St. John’s prides itself on teaching students how to “…grapple with fundamental questions that confront us as human beings.” I’m all for this. I see value in everyone asking these questions. Let’s investigate deeply what is truly essential.

Another: “St. John’s students learn to speak articulately, read attentively, reason effectively, and think creatively.” This has proven true every year. The St. John’s students bring a quality of conversation I find invigorating and challenging.

However, as I said, there are things that frustrate me. “Faculty at St. John’s College share the college’s dedication to an education that privileges intellectual engagement over rigid expertise.” I believe there is a value in quietly sitting at the feet of an expert and humbly gleaning from them whatever I can. And I question privileging the individual intellect over that of the experts. Because I’ve found that not everyone is equally as intelligent or worth my attention. I also question the value of exalting truth (intellect, knowledge, etc.) over Beauty.

One other aspect I find frustrating is the lack of professors; not the professional role, but the skepticism of those who would profess. “Tutors,” as they are called, “regard themselves as guides and mentors whose task is not to transmit information, but to pose questions that further students’ ability to develop as thinkers in their own right.”

I have no problem with learning how to think better. However, I wonder - and I once asked a former staff member of the college this question - “What if a student, in good faith and after thorough and careful questioning, decides they have arrived at The Truth and the natural progression is for them to profess Him? What does the school say about that student?” The former staff member admitted this was an often asked and difficult to answer question. “It really depends on who you ask,” was more or less the answer I received.

As an Orthodox Christian priest, I hope for my college students to be both competent thinkers, and bold proclaimers of the Truth. I am reminded of this one of my favorite quotes from a surprisingly honest heterodox leader, J. Reuben Clark, apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He said, “If we have truth, it cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not truth, it ought to be harmed.”

I agree with Mr. Clark. I am not afraid of investigation. But I am suspicious when investigation becomes the idol that supplants the Truth. And I believe investigation is the god at whose altar the college worships. This presents a challenge to a young adult Orthodox Christian whose faith may still be forming.

In my experience, Orthodox students’ results may vary. There have been Orthodox students who have entered St. John’s of both weak and strong faith. Upon their departure both have left with their faith strengthened and others their faith destroyed. But there are two factors common to all. Students who opt for isolation and those with no prayer life, always end up having the hardest time. This is why Holy Trinity is committed to providing a peaceful place of worship, a physical space of retreat, and a community who are committed to supporting our students in every way we can.

So if you’re a current student, or a prospective student, please know this… You are always welcome here.

May God help and protect you!