Our Story
A Brief History
NOUS grew out of the lived experience of founding an Orthodox school in the US. Many churches and communities are "re-inventing the wheel" over the years. Many feel alone. And yet we have so many resources in the pan-Orthodox community already.
Dr. Buhler (Reader Dionysius) saw the beauty and difficulty of building a school from scratch. Drawing on connections with St. Constantine, SCL, ACCS, and his 15 years of classroom experience, he began building a "school in a box" resource library while building St Andrew Academy.
He has consulted with five start-up schools and homeschool co-ops, helping them to get off the ground and define the path toward a sustainable future.
In 2025, Subdeacon Callum and Reader Dionysius began planning a new conference to support Orthodox educators.
NOUS exists to connect the scattered world of Orthodox education — from parish schools to private schools or homeschool co-ops. We provide free resources and paid consulting. Each resource is designed to supplement Archdiocesan efforts and the individual blood, sweat, and tears of fellow founders.
Our aim is to build 35 thriving schools by 2035. Five down, thirty to go!
Our Name & Philosophy
"Wisdom through repentance."
The nous (Gr. νοῦς) is the heart, mind, or center of man. In the Orthodox Christian tradition, the νοῦς was united to God in the Garden, darkened in the Fall, and is cleansed again through prayer, fasting, almsgiving, liturgical worship, and participation in the sacraments.
Saint Paul urges us to be transformed by the renewing of the νοῦς, so as to reject conformity to a world which is passing away.
This pursuit of noesis or the highest understanding echoes throughout the classical tradition. Plato urged his followers to practice noesis—the contemplation of the divine forms—rather than merely seeking education through arithmetic, music, or the practical arts alone.
At the NOUS network, we believe true education must address the center of the human person. We must not only enrich the mind but restore the νοῦς to its proper orientation toward God and the created logoi of creation.