February 8, 2005

Rev. Frank Marangos, D.Min., Ed.D., Director of the Department of Religious Education for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Religious Education and Homiletics at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA recently received certification as a Distance Learning Leader from the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) in partnership with Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The Distance Learning Leader Certificate Program (DLLCP) is designed to create and build professional knowledge, skills, and leadership to assist in creating financially and educationally successful instructional programs within the distance learning industry, which requires educational leaders to be entrepreneurial while navigating the risks of new educational technology.

Subject to an annual maximum of only twenty-five students, Father Marangos successfully developed a strategic vision, and a business model called OASIS (Orthodox Academy for Self-directed Instructional Solutions) that may guide Orthodox education into the age of a rapidly changing arena of distance learning and training.

OASIS finds its roots in the 8th Chapter of the Book of Acts that describes a fascinating story concerning Philip, the disciple. At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the narrative details the encounter between Philip and an important Ethiopian official traveling in a caravan on the desert road that extends from Jerusalem to Gaza. Having observed the official reading of the book of Isaiah, Philip asks if he understands what he is reading. “How can I,” responds the Ethiopian, “unless someone explains it to me&qout (Acts 8:31). The official invites Philip to sit and teach him the meaning of the text. As a result of this desert encounter, the official’s vocation is assertively changed. He is baptized and becomes one of Ethiopia’s primary evangelists. The narrative concludes with the mysterious disappearance of Philip.

The Biblical story of Saint Philip may be utilized as a wonderful metaphor for distance learning. As a spiritual guide, Philip may be understood as an oasis – a wellspring – from which the Ethiopian traveler received the knowledge that he needed to quench the thirst of his cognitive uncertainty. Like Saint Philip, the OASIS project is a wellspring from which students - understood as pilgrims traveling in societal caravans – might receive the cognitive resources that will help them successfully cross the arid tundra between their current dreams and the reality of their vocational goals. As such, OASIS will provide specific springs of information, developed by expert instructional guides who are well trained in helping respective caravans of inquirers cross the educational divide.

Contact: Rev. Dr. Frank Marangos

Tel: (617) 850-1218; Fax: (617) 850-1489

E-mail: frfrank@goarch.org