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About Dean Carol E. Parrish

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Reverend Carol E. Parrish, Ph.D. President of Light of Christ Community Church Dean of Sancta Sophia Seminary Author - Teacher - Counselor - Minister

At the age of 23, a near-death experience awakened Carol's spiritual hunger. Her quest for enlightenment led her to seek spiritual education with many well-known and highly placed teachers in the field of self-realization. This was a life-changing endeavor.

In 1971 she left a promising career in the business world to become an ordained minister and began lecturing in human potential. Seeking to offer spiritual education to others on a similar path, in 1977 she founded the esoteric school Sancta Sophia Seminary.

Carol's continuing desire to work and live with others called to planetary service led to the founding of Sparrow Hawk Village in 1981. This intentional spiritual community - filled with spiritual mentors from a wide variety of disciplines - is now the home of Sancta Sophia Seminary and Light of Christ Community Church. Many of Sancta Sophia's spiritual school instructors also reside here.

Carol chose wisely when locating her interfaith community and spiritual school. Sparrow Hawk Village is nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks, where energy vortices accelerate personal and interpersonal evolution.

Her vision for the future of spiritual education is a vision of Oneness and inclusiveness. She sees the feminine face of divinity - Sophia - as the creative force urging us toward that unity.

Travel and Lectures

Carol does not limit her teachings to her own esoteric school. Instead she travels the world, brining a message of light, love, and the Wisdom of Sophia.

Lecturing, teaching and leading groups has taken her to Brazil, Canada, Peru, Tibet, China, Israel, Korea, Japan, India, Russia and the former USSR, Mongolia, the United Kingdom, the former Yugoslavia, and Turkey. Carol also lectures widely throughout the United States.

In 1995, Rev. Parrish was a major presenter at the Solar Initiation Ceremonies in Mexico as a guest of Hunbatz Men, wisdom keeper of the Maya. She addressed a Muslim audience of 1,400 individuals in Turkey at the 2000 Universal Project Symposium of the Mevlana Supreme Foundation.

Please visit our events page to see if Carol will be speaking near you.

Books

Carol's books share her personal awakening and life lessons, along with highlights of her experiences with noted teachers. All are available through the Sancta Sophia bookstore and can be found in our campus library.

• Sophia Sutras – Introducing Mother Wisdom: A weaving together of disparate glimpses of Sophia - the feminine spirit of wisdom, as She appears throughout culture and across historical time.
  
• The New Dictionary of Spiritual Thought: An indispensable reference for the esoteric traditions of psycho-spiritual development.
• The New Age Handbook on Death and Dying: Noting that death is life too, we learn how to be with those dying, their survivors, and even how we would want to be tended.
• Messengers of Hope – The Walk-in Phenomenon (autobiography): Carol was first introduced by Ruth Montgomery in Threshold to Tomorrow. She recounts her own inner journey of a walk-in.
• Adventure in Meditation – Spirituality for the 21st Century, Vol.'s I, II, & III: Twenty-seven specific lessons in meditation, discovering how to be taught from within and the building of your hidden anatomy.
• The Book of Rituals – Personal and Planetary Transformation: Explore the purpose and meaning behind full moon meditations and other spiritual festivals.
• The Aquarian Rosary – Reviving the Art of Mantra Yoga: With the emergence of the Seventh Ray energy, we are awakened to the deeper meanings of traditional prayers in a new and modern way.
• Reflections: Enjoy poems, meditations and contemplations from a world server.
• How to Use Sacred Space for Problem Solving and Inner Guidance: Geomancy has long been understood by native traditions and by dowsers. Enjoy learning about Sparrow Hawk Village’s energy centers.
• Numerous teaching tapes and CDs
  

Awards and Citations

• Athena Awards for Mentoring Excellence – recipient, 1996 – 1997 – 1998, for Adventures in Meditation – Spirituality for the 21st Century (Vol.'s I, II, and III)
• World Network of Religious Futurists – citation, 1996-97, for organizing its international conferences in India, the USA, and England
• Earl Award for Religious Futurist of the Year – recipient, 1997-98, for "exceptional achievement in the field of religious futures activities"
• International Nebolsin Medal – recipient, 2005, for "outstanding service in the field of education for the common good of humanity"

To learn more about Carol, her philosophies, and her visions for the future of spiritual education, visit her website www.caroleparrish.com where you can read her recent articles and comment on her blog.

Begin the Journey…

If you are ready to begin your spiritual education, our interfaith seminary and esoteric school offers the assistance and spiritual support you seek.
Explore our site, choose the esoteric studies best suited for you, become acquainted with our instructors, learn more about our tuition and fees, and then fill out our Seminary Application.