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Scholarship of St. Basil the Great

The Scholarship of St. Basil the Great was established by the late Bishop Henry Gordon Hill, a former Bishop of Ontario, through the encouragement of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to "facilitate a student exchange between members of the Anglican Church of Canada and members of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East."

The following churches are included in the exchange:

• The Armenian Apostolic Church (in Armenia and Lebanon)
• The Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt
• The Ethiopian Orthodox Church
• The Eritrean Orthodox Church
• The Syriac Orthodox Church of Syria and India
• The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (in India)
• The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East
• The Anglican Church of Canada

The late Bishop Henry Hill had the privilege of visiting with the ancient Oriental churches to encourage a renewal of Christian friendships. On one occasion, Bishop Hill travelled during the World Council of Churches Assembly of 1983, when the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican delegates met with the representatives of the Eastern Churches. A second visit came in 1985 when a joint theological forum was held at St. Alban’s in the United Kingdom. A third notable visit took place during the Lambeth Conference in 1988. The three visits were historic occasions as there had not been a meeting of these churches for 1,600 years.

Following years of careful planning, the Scholarship of St. Basil the Great seeks to bring the renewed friendships between these churches to practical expression, so that Christians may nurture one another and learn together.

In 1994, the scholarship's advisory committee successfully raised money to launch the scholarship. The first award was given in 1995 to a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the amount of $20,000. A bursary of $2,500 was awarded to a member of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East toward theological studies.

The second recipient of a scholarship award, in the amount of $20,000, Rev. Sargis Boyajyan of the Armenian Apostolic Church, arrived in September 1997. He studied theology and English, and attended services at St. Mary Magdalene, St. Martin-in-the-Fields and other Anglican parishes. He also assisted in the liturgy of the Armenian Church in Toronto, ON.

The third recipient of a scholarship, in the amount of $10,000, the Rev. Canon Philip Hobson, travelled to Armenia and Jerusalem where he spent four months sharing in the life of the Armenian Apostolic Church and lecturing on the Anglican Church.

The advisory committee of the Scholarship is actively seeking the next candidate.

The St. Basil Scholarship needs financial support in order to offer sufficient funding. Please visit the membership page to find out how to support this work.