About
Theophany Academy is an
Orthodox classical school
that provides students aged six to eighteen with an education ordered to Christ the Logos, the One through whom all things were made and in whom all things are known.
Theophany Academy cultivates wisdom and virtue in students by nourishing their souls on truth, goodness, and beauty by means of the seven liberal arts: grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy so that the student, in Christ, is enabled to know, glorify, and enjoy God.
Why Theophany?
For Orthodox Christians, the word THEOPHANY has a special connotation. Theophany is the name of the annual feast that commemorates the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan River at the hands of St. John the Baptist. On that day 2,000 years ago, two things became manifest to the world at large. The first is that the Son of God had come to redeem His people and all of creation, and in fact bring us into a right relationship with God by uniting in his own person our human nature with his divine nature. Secondly, the Holy Trinity was manifested by the sound of the Father speaking from heaven and the sight of the Holy Spirit descending upon the Son as He came up out of the water. Furthermore the Feast of Theophany celebrates Christ's lordship over creation. Instead of becoming clean by being washed in the water, Christ, who is pure and sinless, cleansed the waters themselves. In doing so he sanctified the whole of creation and transformed water, an ancient symbol of chaos and death, into a means of grace for us. The festal icon of Theophany often shows creatures under the water: fish, sea serpents, even river gods (demonic spirits commonly worshiped in antiquity). They are there to show that Christ has subjected all things to himself and that even the principalities and powers are under his dominion. This idea is foundational to the life of our school. As we study the world we live in, we do so freely, joyfully, and without fear, knowing that all things belong to God and that we are made inheritors of all things because of our adoption through Christ Jesus. All goodness, truth, and beauty belong to God and are worthy of contemplation. We do not fear to read pagan myths since those things also have been taken captive by Christ. Not even death itself need frighten us. May we live up to these truths that we proclaim, and may the light of Christ illumine our hearts every moment of every day!
"When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, worship of the Trinity was made manifest; for the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of His word. O Christ our God, Who hath appeared and enlightened the world, glory to Thee!"
Troparion for the Feast of Theophany
Portrait of a Graduate
A graduate of the Theophany Academy will be marked by rare academic achievement and also by Orthodox Christian formation. We expect our graduates to demonstrate the following: virtuous conduct within a community, the wisdom and skills needed to teach and lead others, proficiency in the seven liberal arts, fluency in Latin, and a disposition of gratitude and wonder toward the world around them. Above all, they will leave prepared to glorify and enjoy God, to serve their neighbors, and to live wisely and courageously in the world.
"Look for the ancient paths; ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."
Jeremiah 6:16
Theophany Academy
Distinctives
Orthodox Christian
Classical Tradition
Joyfully Human
Theophany Academy strives not just to inform students of the riches of the Orthodox tradition, nor simply to shelter them from the politically motivated secularism and immorality of the age, but to participate with the Church in seeking to embody and cultivate the phronema of the Orthodox Tradition that seeks theosis.
Rather than teaching conventional subjects, Theophany Academy teaches the seven liberal arts of grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, harmonia, and astronomy. Children's taste and style is cultivated through study of the great classics of Christian civilization and learning Latin to fluency.
Theophany Academy integrates all students in one dynamic, adaptable classroom. Students are taught, not according to grade level, but by readiness, and are not measured against one another, but by their own progress toward mastery. Theophany Academy recognizes the need for both rigor and leisure and operates on a year-round schedule with frequent breaks.