Faculty

Faculty Directors

Dean Christopher Brittain

Dean of Divinity, Trinity College

BA (University of New Brunswick), MDiv (Trinity College), PhD (St Michael's College)

Christopher Brittain was appointed Dean of Divinity on 1 July 2017, replacing Dean David Neelands who had served in that post since 2002.

Dean Brittain is an Anglican priest and alumnus of Trinity College. After completing his PhD from the University of St. Michael’s College, he served as Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From 2007 to 2017, he was Professor of Social and Political Theology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and served as Academic Dean of three disciplines – Divinity, Religious Studies and Philosophy – overseeing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in each discipline.

Along with serving in a prominent leadership role in Trinity College as a whole, Dean Brittain is responsible for the formation of individuals for Christian ministry and supervision of doctoral students.

Prof Richard Schneider

Co-Director, Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College

BA (Dartmouth College 1959), MFA (Princeton University 1961), MPhil (Columbia University 1963)

Prof Richard Schneider provides overall coordination for the Orthodox School of Theology programmes at Trinity College as well as teaching courses. His chief teaching areas include church history in all periods and especially the Iconology — i.e., the liturgical theology — of the visual, including art and architecture, in Orthodoxy (and in the medieval West). In addition to being Adjunct Professor of Trinity he is also Professor at St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York.

Prof Schneider is the Emeritus President of the Canadian Council of Churches and he continues to be deeply concerned with ecumenism and Eastern-Western Christian relations and pan-Orthodox relations. He is keenly interested in the critical-thinking hermeneutic issues which challenge History-as-Theology.

Very Rev Fr Geoffrey Ready

Co-Director, Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College

BSocSci and BA (University of Ottawa), BEd (University of Western Ontario), BTh (Saint Paul University), ThM Studies (Holy Cross Orthodox School of Theology), DMin (University of Toronto)

The Very Reverend Archpriest Geoffrey Ready was born in Canada and grew up in the greater Toronto area. After theological studies in Ottawa and at Holy Cross Orthodox School of Theology in Boston, he served overseas for 12 years, first in Northern Ireland and then in France.

In addition to co-directing the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College, serving as Vice Chair of Trinity College Divinity Council, directing the Orthodox Christian Fellowship and serving as Orthodox campus chaplain at the University of Toronto, Fr Geoffrey is also priest-in-charge of Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Mission, an English language mission serving in the chapel of Trinity College. He represents the Archdiocese of Canada of the Orthodox Church in America on the Canadian Council of Churches' Commission on Faith and Witness as well as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity committee.

Fr Geoffrey is married and has three boys.

Other Faculty Teaching in 2018-2019

Dr Ramez Boutros

BA, DEA, Dip Arch, PhD

Dr Ramez Boutros holds a PhD in Sciences de l'Antiquité from the University of Marc Bloch, Strasbourg, France, and teaches courses in Egyptian and Near Eastern Christianity and monasticism for the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College. He has also lectured at Regis College, the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, and Huron College at the University of Western Ontario.

Dr Boutros's areas of special interest include Coptic architecture and archaeology, the history and archaeology of pilgrimage sites in the mediaeval period, pilgrimage sites and cult of the physician saints, cultural exchanges in the monastic and pilgrimage sites, and early women's monasticism in the Near and Middle East.

Rev Dr Georgi Despodov

BTh, ThM (Sofia University), PhD Musicology (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)

Holding a PhD in musicology from the Institute of Art Studies of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Fr Georgi Despodov teaches liturgical music for the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College.

His teaching and research interests include church music, historical musicology, music therapy and education, patrology, dogmatics, history and liturgics.

Fr Georgi serves at the Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas in Scarborough.

Dr Paul Ladouceur

BA (Université de Montréal), MA (Carleton University), DPhil (University of Sussex), Diplôme en théologie orthodoxe (Université de Sherbrooke)

Dr Paul Ladouceur is an Orthodox theologian and writer living in Québec. He teaches theology and spirituality in the Orthodox theology programmes at Trinity College, University of Toronto, and Université Laval (in Montreal).

He has written or edited several books on Orthodoxy, including a general introduction to Orthodoxy under the title Living Orthodoxy (also in French, Rencontre avec l’Orthodoxie), and a book on Saint Maria of Paris (Mother Maria Skobtsova) (Sainte Marie de Paris, Une sainte des temps modernes). He has edited a book of writings of Father Lev Gillet (A Monk of the Eastern Church), published in France (2008), and a book of translations of writings of Saint Maria of Paris (Mother Maria Skobtsova), published in France (2011), and has published articles on Orthodox spirituality and theology in France, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

He is responsible for the French-language web site Pages Orthodoxes La Transfiguration and an electronic bulletin, Lumière du Thabor. He is a member of the Faith and Witness Commission of the Canadian Council of Churches.

Dr Ladouceur’s teaching interests include Christian spirituality, especially spirituality of the Eastern Church; Orthodox spirituality in the twentieth century; modern Orthodox theology; Orthodox dogmatic theology; Christianity in Russia; and the theology and history of ecumenism. His principal specialized research interests are Saint Maria of Paris and modern Orthodox spirituality and theology.

View Dr Ladouceur's profile on academia.edu >

Dr Daniel G. Opperwall

BA (Hope College), MA (Wayne State University), PhD (McMaster University)

Dr Daniel G. Opperwall is an Orthodox scholar and writer. At the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College, he teaches courses in Theology, Patristics and History.

A student of classics and patristics by training, his wide-ranging interests tend to centre on how ancient theological, philosophical and spiritual insights should best inform life in the modern church. His first book, titled A Layman in the Desert: Monastic Wisdom for a Life in the World, is now available from St Vladimir's Seminary Press.

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Dr Opperwall now lives in Hamilton, Ontario with his wife and two young children. They attend Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church in Waterloo.

View Dr Opperwall's author website >

Rev Fr Theodore Paraskevopoulos

BTh (Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy, under University of Sherbrooke), MA Theology (St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary), DMin - ABD (St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary)

Fr Theodore was born in Toronto and grew up in Ajax, and after high school attended the Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy (Under University of Sherbrooke) where he received his Bachelor degree in Theology. He then continued his education at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, in Crestwood, New York, where he received his Masters of Arts in Theology with a specialization in Liturgical Theology. His SVS thesis was, “Cabasilas and Communion: The Effect of Nicholas Cabasilas’ Liturgical Commentary On the Decline of Frequent Communion."

Fr Theodore is currently working on his Doctorate of Ministry at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary focusing on Adult Religious Education and Liturgy. He is priest-in-charge of Sts Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Toronto, and currently serves in the following capacities:

Professor of Pastoral Theology - Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy
Lecturer - Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College
Doctoral Student - Doctorate of Ministry Program, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
Orthodox Representative - Commission on Faith and Witness, Canadian Council of Churches
Co-Founder and Assistant Spiritual Director - Camp Metamorphosis Orthodox Summer Camps (19 years experience)
Founder of the “Re-Catechism” Adult Religious Education Movement
Host of “iSermon” Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio
Host of “Fr.TEDTalks” Video Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio

Fr Theodore has been married to his loving wife Joanna since 2006 and has three beautiful children George, Katherine and Angelo.

Dr Maria-Fotini Polidoulis Kapsalis

BA (Victoria College), MTS (Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology), BEd (University of Toronto), PhD in Theology (St Michael’s College, Toronto)

Dr Maria-Fotini Polidoulis Kapsalis is the first female theologian in the Greek Orthodox Church of Canada. She joined Trinity in 2006 as an adjunct instructor. Her area of interest is early church history, dogmatics, early Christian Fathers and ethics, with a focus on Christian anthropology. Her thesis dissertation explored the meaning of authority in the writings of St. John Chrysostom.

Her most recent publication is “St. John Chrysostom’s Interpretation of Κεφαλή in 1 Corinthians 11:3-16,” Greek Orthodox Theological Review, Vol. 49, Nos. 3-4, (2004). She was one of the co-founders of the original Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) at U of T in 1990 and has been involved with youth ministry in Toronto for many years, especially at her home parish of St Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. She has lectured at various venues in Ontario including Inter-Faith Symposiums, and Clergy/Laity Conferences for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis.

She is also currently a teacher with the Toronto District School Board. She resides in Toronto with her husband and two children.

Dr Nicole Roccas

BA (University of Wisconsin), MA (University of Cincinnati), PhD European History (University of Cincinnati)

In addition to lecturing at the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College, Dr Nicole Roccas is an editor and writer. She is the author and producer of Time Eternal, an Ancient Faith podcast and blog that sojourns time, eternity, and the faith in between. Her book, Time and Despondency: Regaining the Present in Faith and Life (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2017), explores the relationship between human perceptions of time and the spiritual sickness of acedia. She has her PhD in History from the University of Cincinnati.

When not plumbing the depths of temporal existence, she enjoys knitting, hiking, reading, teaching, and talking to people. For more information about her editorial services, visit her website The Writer's Loom.

Other Faculty

Miriam DeCock

BA (Briercrest College), MA (McMaster University), PhD (McMaster University – ABD expected 2018)

Miriam DeCock is an Orthodox scholar of early Christianity. At the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College, she teaches Patristics and Church history.

At present, her research focuses on early Christian scriptural interpretation in the Greek tradition, but her research and teaching interests, broadly described include the following: patristic studies; history of the early church; reception history of the Bible; Christian adaptation of Greco-Roman grammar and rhetoric; early Christian identity formation; early Christian doctrinal formulation; canon formation; and New Testament studies. In her doctoral thesis, “The Gospel of John in Greek Patristic Interpretation,” she examines comparatively the treatment of five passages from John’s Gospel in the commentaries and homilies of four Greek authors, Origen and Cyril of Alexandria, and John Chrysostom and Theodore of Mopsuestia of the so-called Antiochene school.

Miriam lives in Toronto with her husband, Caleb De Jong.

Rev Fr Mebratu Kiros Gebru

BTh, MA Theology, PhD Theology (St Michael's College, U of T)

Fr Mebratu K. Gebru currently serves at St Mary’s Ethiopian Orthodox Täwahedo Church (EOTC), Toronto both as a priest and youth educator. Having completed basic theological studies at the Holy Trinity Theological College of the EOTC’s patriarchate in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia he earned his first degree from the college. Upon completion of his undergraduate studies, he served at the college as a graduate assistant instructor for about two years.

In 2003 Fr Gebru came to Canada to pursue theological studies at master’s level. His master’s thesis on the Christology of his own ecclesial tradition was revised and published by Gorgias Press, entitled: Miaphysite Christology: An Ethiopian Perspective. While working towards his PhD in theology, he was ordained a priest in 2008 at the same church where is currently serving. As he had developed a particular interest in the Ethiopian liturgy since he was pursuing his undergraduate studies, such interest was ultimately demonstrated in his doctoral thesis which he wrote on the theological and sacramental dimensions of the Ethiopian liturgical rite.

In 2013 Fr Gebru taught an online introductory course on the Ethiopian liturgy at St Mary Theological College and Ethio-American Cultural Institute. Fr Gebru lives in Toronto with his wife Helen and their two children, Yohanna and Samuel.

Rev Dr Joshua Genig

BA (Concordia University), MDiv (Concordia Theological Seminary), PhD (University of St Andrews, Scotland)

Fr Joshua Genig currently serves as Associate Professor of Church History and Benedicta Leadership Institute Studies at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, CT, while residing in Michigan. He also serves as an instructor at the Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America (ROCOR), as well as Adjunct Professor at Purdue University and Schoolcraft College, and a Chaplain for the Detroit Fire Department.

Fr Joshua's doctoral work was in systematic theology, with a focus on the sacramentality of the Word of God and preaching. His dissertation was published by Fortress Academic Press, in their Emerging Scholars’ Series, under the title: Viva Vox: Rediscovering the Sacramentality of the Word through the Annunciation (2015). He is also under contract with Cascade Books (the academic imprint of Wipf & Stock) to produce a three volume revision and expansion of The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers.

Prior to entering the Holy Orthodox Church, Fr. Joshua served as a Lutheran minister for seven years. He was ordained to the subdiaconate in 2014, to the Diaconate in November 2016, and to the Holy Priesthood in June 2017. Fr Joshua serves at St Innocent Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) in Redford, MI. He and his wife, Abigail, are blessed with four daughters. Together, they reside in Southeast Michigan.

Rev Fr Fanourios Pappas

BA, MS, PhD - ABD Theology (University of Thessaloniki)

Fr Fanourios Pappas was born in Chania, Crete, and studied at the University of Thessaloniki School of Theology. He earned his BA (2007) and MA (2009) in liturgics and his doctoral studies PhD (2013) examining the liturgical movement in 20th-century Greece.

In 2008, Fr Fanourios was ordained to the Diaconate by His Eminence Metropolitan Damaskinos of Kydonia and Apokoronon. He was the Metropolitan’s Archdeacon Assistant for three years before being ordained to the Priesthood in 2011. Since September 2013, Fr Fanourios has been the Parish Priest of Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas in Scarborough.

Rev Dr Pishoy Salama

BA (York), MDiv (Tyndale) Youth & Family Ministry, DMin (Toronto School of Theology)

Fr Pishoy Salama was born in Giza, Egypt, and immigrated with his family to Toronto in 1984. He served at St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Toronto as a youth counsellor until he was ordained as a priest in the same church in 1999. In 2007, Fr. Pishoy was appointed by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III to establish St Maurice & St Verena Coptic Orthodox Church, which is the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America and has a growing congregation representing over 40 different ethnicities of Canadians.

Fr Pishoy is currently leading a major construction project to build a new home for SMSV in Markham, which will also serve as a community centre offering special programs for immigrants. In addition to his responsibilities as an adjunct professor of Theology at Trinity, Fr Pishoy teaches Pastoral Theology at St Athanasius Theological Seminary, which is affiliated with the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. He is also involved in a project through the Tyndale Intercultural Ministries (TIM) Centre which will develop a national research partnership to better equip church groups across Canada to help immigrants and refugees settle and integrate into Canadian society.

Fr Pishoy is married to Sandra and has three children: Mary, David, and Andrew.

Rev Protosingelos Basil (Gavrilovic)

Teaching Assistant

B.Th (Foča, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2009), Diploma in Orthodox Theology, (Trinity College 2013), MTS (Trinity College 2013)

Fr Basil was born in Foča, lived in Goražde Bosnia and Herzegovina, and immigrated to Canada in 1995. After concluding his elementary school in Kitchener, ON, he returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina where he studied theology in the seminary of “St. Peter of Dabrobosnia” and the College of “St. Basil of Ostrog” in the University of Eastern Sarajevo. During his studies he was tonsured a monastic, and ordained to the diaconate by his grace bishop Georgije of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Canada. After concluding his studies, in 2009, he returned to Canada and was ordained to the holy Priesthood.

Fr Basil furthered his studies in theology at the Orthodox Institute in Montreal, QC and Trinity College, Toronto, ON. He received his MTS, focusing on iconology and culture. He is now a PhD student in the Theology department at Trinity College (TST). His main focus is anthropology and patristics.

Fr Basil resides in the monastery of the Holy Transfiguration near Milton, ON.

Rev Fr Botrous Philopos

Teaching Assistant

MDiv (Tyndale)

Fr Botrous is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) in Ontario and a Pre-Clinical fellow with the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) who has been counselling individuals, couples, and families through Cornerstone Family Counselling Service (CFCS) since Jan 2011. He was ordained priest in November 2000 and his ministry focuses on young adults and couples in the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary and St Athanasius in Mississauga.

Fr Botrous graduated in 1991 from the American University in Cairo, Egypt with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science; in 1997 he got a Masters of Business Administration in Information Technology from Washington University. Fr Botrous received his Masters of Divinity in Marriage and Family Counselling from Tyndale University College and Seminary in 2010.