Minor seminary

Minor seminary [Мала семінарія; Mala seminariia]. A secondary school that prepares students for further theological pursuits in the Catholic church, in addition to providing a basic course of studies. The first Ukrainian minor seminary, named after Saint Josaphat, was established in Lviv in 1919; in 1935 it had 172 students. A second, smaller minor seminary (42 students in 1935) was established in Rohatyn in 1931. These schools were closed after the Soviet occupation of Western Ukraine, although the Lviv seminary was briefly reopened under the subsequent German occupation.

Outside Ukraine the first Ukrainian minor seminary was Saint Basil's Academy in Philadelphia (est 1924), which was later moved to Stamford, Connecticut. In Canada, Saint Vladimir’s College was established in Roblin, Manitoba, under the direction of the Redemptorist Fathers. In South America, minor seminaries are run by the Basilian monastic order in Prudentópolis, Brazil (Saint Josaphat's), and Apóstoles, Argentina. The only minor seminary in Western Europe in which the language of instruction is Ukrainian is Saint Josaphat's Ukrainian Pontifical Minor Seminary associated with Saint Josaphat's Ukrainian Pontifical College in Rome (est 1951 in France, moved to Castel Gandolfo in 1956 and to Rome in 1959).

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]