Our Mission

Chrysostom Classical Academy provides an ecumenical, classical, Christian education to shape students who are rich in wisdom, virtue, and joy.

CCA’s Four Pillars

Classical—We curate curriculum with an eye toward what we want students to be able to know and do when they graduate from eighth grade. The work in the lower grades is designed to support those learning goals. We seek to ignite the natural curiosity and capacity to memorize that distinguish our Grammar students. This is the time to hang pegs in their minds to prepare them for learning activities and thinking skills characteristic of students in the Logic stage—argumentation, abstract thought, reason, analysis, and application of formal logic.

Christian—Our mission is to disciple young men and women to love God with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their mind; and to love their neighbor as themselves (Mt. 22:37-39)

Ecumenical—We are an academy for all believers in Christ who follow and adhere to the Nicene Creed. Our families represent several Christian denominations, but we focus on what unites us. We model and teach consideration of doctrinal differences with love.

Excellent—We encourage students to wrestle with challenging work and strive for excellence by modeling a lifestyle of learning. Teachers are lead learners who work diligently and display humility in their studies and preparation. We foster a desire to learn and an understanding that learning is a challenging undertaking that requires perseverance and patience. In so doing, we address both the minds and the hearts of our students. (So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Cor 10:31).

Our goal is that students want to love one another and act in such a way showing love toward one another. This takes patience and training so it’s a process. If we get to the heart of our students, we can then begin to make a difference and the things they struggle with will eventually no longer be struggles.

“We are raising students to further the kingdom, we are here to become great thinkers and speakers so that we can cultivate our God given talents to serve Him in the way He intended for us.”

- Keith Nix

Who is John Chrysostom and why name a school after him?

  • “Chrysostom” means “golden mouth” in Greek (a classical language). The goal of a classical academy is to develop children into clear thinkers and skilled orators (“golden mouths”) who use their knowledge and rhetorical skill for the service of Christ and His Kingdom.

  • This title was given posthumously to a great figure in Church History who is beloved by Christians of all traditions and whose commentaries on scripture were especially esteemed by the reformers.

  • He had memorized the New Testament and much of the Old. Here is a fitting quote from him: “This is the cause of all evils, not knowing the Scriptures. We go into battle without arms, and how are we to come off safe?”

  • He was classically educated under the most famous orator of the time, the pagan sophist Libanius. When asked on his deathbed which student should succeed him, Libanius lamented, “John, if only the Christians had not stolen him from me.”

Our desire as a Classical Christian Academy based on the Nicene Creed is to pay homage in its name to a classically educated Christian who championed Nicene Orthodoxy and lived a life abundant in the fruits of the Spirit. It is our prayer that CCA students leave their classical education with "golden mouths,"

filled with words that bring truth, light, and the joy of the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Mt. 28:19-20).

CCA Statement of Faith

CCA finds its unity in the beliefs articulated in the Nicene Creed. This rule of faith, concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, is an ancient confession common to all historic Christian traditions. The creed is translated as follows:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is visible and invisible.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son],* who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

* The phrase “and the Son” (Latin filioque) is not in the original Greek text. As an ecumenical academy,

we include this phrase in parentheses to honor Christian traditions from both the east and west.