House of Studies Counseling Program in Full-Swing

Recently, Zach Simons sat down with Dr. Ron Moslener to talk about the Antiochian House of Studies "Pastoral and Marriage and Family Counseling Program, which takes place at Antiochian Village. -


“It’s a crazy story,” remembers Dr. Ron Moslener with a smile, “It came to me in the middle of the night.”

We are sitting in an office on a brilliantly sunny May afternoon at Antiochian Village.  I’ve caught Ron in a brief window he has between teaching and getting to the dining hall for lunch.  He is here for two weeks, conducting classes in his “Pastoral Marriage and Family Counseling Certificate Program,” part of our Antiochian Orthodox house of Studies.

A few years ago, while talking with a priest, Ron was lamenting the fact that Pastoral Counseling  was not addressed sufficiently by many seminaries.

“They listed [Pastoral Marriage and Family Counseling] as one their top three issues in my surveys,” he recalls, referring to research he conducted exploring those issues pastors and other church workers see the most.  His realization of this issue lead him to propose the certificate program to the Orthodox house of Studies.  And he is certainly the man to do it.  Ron’s full-time job is teaching, what else, a Masters Program in Counseling at Geneva College.

“We realized there was no way for clergy to commit to a 60 credit-hour, $40,000 degree in the field,” he says, but that didn’t eliminate the need for formal, guided training.

The program runs two years, and meets in two-week sessions at Antiochian Village Conference and Retreat Center.  The five students in the inaugural class have classes that are not simply lecture-based, but will have hands-on approach as well.  They will apply what they have learned and review counseling sessions (confidentially, and with permission) as a group.  Programs like this one are important to help equip clergy to better serve in their parishes.

The program is open to clergy of all denominations, and people who deal with these issues in their professional work at churches. For more information on getting involved in the Orthodox House of Studies, you can contact Antiochian Village at 724-238-3677.   AV

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