On Friday, September 25th, a new portrait of Archbishop Nikon was unveiled to join the portraits of Metropolitan Theofan and Bishop Stefan. The Student Fund was near and dear to his heart. He generously donated to the Fund throughout his ministry and always encouraged others to support it financially. Archbishop Nikon was very interested in supporting students, raising awareness and supporting the mission of the Student Fund that was started by his father, Evans Liolin, as a means of guaranteeing that the Archdiocese would have educated members able to serve the Church.

Please join us in continuing His Eminence's vision of preparing people to serve God's Faithful by donating using the button above.

Originally, the Theological Student Fund of the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America was founded to financially support men and their families as they attend in-residence Masters of Divinity programs with the ulitimate goal of serving as priests and deacons in our parishes. Recently, the Student Fund has broaden its scope to include a variety of educational programs in theology and the liturgical arts. They provided a partial scholarship to one seminary graduate to continue for one additional year of theological studies in preparation for his assignment as a pastoral assistant at our largest parish.  They granted funds to a laywoman from Philadelphia to learn the traditional techniques of preparing icons for use in our parishes; several of her works are already installed and venerated in our parishes. Several laymen have attended workshops in singing and teaching Byzantine liturgical music, reviving the practice of the ancient Albanian Orthodox Church, while another choir director participated in a nine-month online program. While of course, the Student Fund's primary focus is to continue to support men and their families to become pastors and deacons in our churches, they understand the role of the laity in our communitys and now invest also in all who seek to serve God in their parishes, the entire Archdiocese and to all of His Faithful.

If you are considering attending seminary or any other theological or liturgical arts educational program to improve and enhance your service to your parish and to God, reach out to the board of the Theological Student Fund (studentfund@albanianarchdiocese.org) to see how they can partner with you in your endeavor.