“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”    Proverbs 22:6

The possible closure of Saint John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy would mark a profound failure and a lasting shame for the Orthodox community. I can find no rational justification for the downfall of this exceptional institution, founded under the protection of a great 20th-century saint who devoted his life to the care and education of children and the preservation of Orthodox upbringing and moral formation. 

Despite rumors circulating among a few shortsighted voices in the community suggesting that the school has somehow outlived its purpose, all evidence points to the contrary. St. John Academy continues to demonstrate vitality, with stable enrollment, sound financial footing, and a committed team of educators ready to carry forward its mission. Teachers remain deeply devoted – not just to academic excellence, but to the spiritual and moral development of their students. Parents, too, have shown unwavering support, recognizing the Academy as a rare sanctuary where Orthodox faith and learning go hand in hand. Far from being obsolete, the Academy remains as necessary and relevant as ever in a world that grows increasingly detached from tradition and faith.

To support the closure of the first fully accredited English-language K-12 Orthodox academy is to abandon the very principles that St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco upheld throughout his earthly life. The threatened shutdown would stain the collective honor of every Orthodox Christian who calls North America home.

What authority could forbid children from praying before the relics of the Wonderworker, suppressing the heartfelt desire of both students and parents? Who, in clear conscience, would discard a noble mission that has flourished for more than three decades? I, Igor Polishchuik, among the first graduates of St. John’s Academy, have yet to find answers. I stand firmly against the closure of this institution, and I am convinced that many others stand with me.

Back in 1994, after St. John’s glorification and with Archbishop Anthony Medvedev’s blessing, Archpriest Serge Kotar and Matushka Maria Kotar (affectionately known as Matushka Masya) opened St. John Academy. Their goal was simple and bold: marry rigorous academics to vibrant Orthodox faith and Russian cultural heritage. Archbishop Anthony Medvedev commenced the effort with a personal gift of $5,000, an immense sacrifice for a monastic hierarch who owned little beyond his cassock and prayer rope, because he believed children needed a refuge from San Francisco’s increasingly secular environment.

Over time, despite numerous challenges, the Academy steadily grew, sustained by the prayers and intercessions of St. John. As part of the third graduating class, I had the honor of being the last student to receive a diploma directly from Archbishop Anthony. It remains my proudest achievement. The intellectual discipline and spiritual armor forged at St. John outweigh even my subsequent studies at the University of Oxford. 

I will always remain indebted to the Kotar family, who believed in my potential and guided me in becoming a dedicated steward of St. John’s legacy. The Academy’s small student-to-teacher ratio guaranteed that I received exceptional attention. Our teachers were remarkable – not merely skilled educators, but devoted mentors who profoundly influenced my spiritual, moral, and intellectual formation. The Academy’s philosophy, deeply rooted in Orthodox Christian traditions, strengthened my relationship with God, my community, and the broader world, laying a firm foundation for a life of purpose and virtue.

Studying at St. John was rigorous, yet infinitely rewarding. The critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative skills I developed there made university education effortless. By age twenty-four, I had completed three master’s degrees. At forty-three, I still marvel at how Saint John Academy equipped me for life.

St. John’s Academy was truly a School of Life. No matter where I traveled or how isolated I felt, I knew I belonged to something greater – a community formed by St. John’s vision.  Students, teachers, and alumni from the Academy are sources of hope in a world increasingly burdened by secular temptations. Yet now, troubling rumors persist about the possible closure of this beloved Alma Mater. Is that the kind of outcome St. John would have endorsed? Hardly. Any threat to close the school insults his spiritual legacy! Moreover, we risk teaching our youth a disastrous lesson: that convenience trumps commitment, that sacred trusts can be abandoned when budgets grow tight or priorities shift. Such a lesson is the opposite of what St. John preached.

“It is a disgrace to us that well-to-do Russian families often educate their children in public schools—institutions that, even at their best, can offer nothing toward an Orthodox worldview,” St. John once noted.

“…Children could only be well brought up through deliberate care and attention from parents and elders. Yet what we see is the opposite: very little attention is paid to children’s upbringing—not only by parents, who are often occupied with earning a livelihood, but also by the entire Russian émigré community.”

“Moreover, the present generation commits a grave sin before the entire future generation by paying far too little attention to its upbringing,” the wonderworker believed.

https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Ioann_Maksimovich/slova-i-propovedi/ 

St. John Academy was explicitly created to remedy precisely these failings. Who among us has the right to halt its mission? The school has sufficient enrollment, finances, and dedicated teachers eager to continue its mission.

Is not the Church’s fundamental mission to provide fertile ground for youth to flourish in the Orthodox faith? Indeed, the Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia explicitly instruct dioceses on this critical duty:

“The priest must devote particular care to the religious education of the youth… He must attract children to the school, persuading their parents to enroll them and explaining to them their parental duty in this respect,” Article 30 of the Guidelines for Clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia demands, complemented by Article 63 (g) of the Regulations, which “seeks ways for the necessary organization of educational, missionary and charitable activities in parishes for the religious and moral strengthening of the flock and to strengthen the religious education of children and youth.”

https://www.synod.com/synod/pdf/rocor_compendium_of_laws_2006_2011_amended.pdf 

Allowing Saint John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy to close would constitute a shameful abandonment of our sacred obligations, not only to St. John’s memory but to future generations of Orthodox youth. The Academy’s doors must remain open, not merely to preserve a legacy, but to ensure that our children grow into the devoted, spiritually enriched individuals St. John and the founders of the school always envisioned. To fail them now would be an unforgivable betrayal of our most cherished values.