About the School of Christian Herbalism
About the Founder
Welcome! I am Vas Avramidis, and I founded the School of Christian Herbalism to restore the Christian tradition of seeing healing plants as gifts from our loving God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
For most of Christian history, believers were known for their care of the sick. The earliest hospitals were founded by Christians. Monasteries preserved medical knowledge and cultivated healing plants. Saints known as the Holy Unmercenary Healers treated the suffering at no cost, seeing every person as an icon of Christ. Freely they had received, freely they gave.
Healing was seen as an act of mercy, imitating Jesus Christ to ease suffering for God’s glory and love of neighbor.
Yet today, many Christians who feel called to learn herbal medicine quickly discover something discouraging: most modern herbal education is deeply intertwined with pagan spirituality, New Age philosophy, or religious syncretism. For believers who wish to remain faithful to Christ, this can make the path to learning herbal medicine feel uncomfortable or even impossible.
I experienced this tension firsthand.
Rather than abandon my interest in herbal medicine or compromise my faith, I began studying herbs through the lens of Scripture, the Christian theological tradition, and the historical practices of the Church. Over time, it became clear that herbal medicine is not inherently tied to any new-age or pagan spiritual system. Plants are part of God’s creation, given for the nourishment and healing of humanity.
As the Psalmist reminds us, God has caused the plants to grow “for the service of man” (Psalm 104).
The problem was not herbal medicine itself, but the framework in which it was being taught.
This realization eventually led to the creation of the School of Christian Herbalism. While many herbal education programs teach herbal medicine alongside pagan and new age beliefs, this school focuses exclusively on a Christian approach. Here, students find an environment where every part of the curriculum aligns with the Christian faith. The School stands apart by restoring herbal learning within the Christian tradition, helping students not only gain herbal knowledge but also recover a uniquely Christian perspective on health, healing, and caring for others.
In this tradition:
- Healing is an expression of Christian love and mercy.
- Illness is understood within the reality of the fallen world, not as a punishment for personal sin.
- The health of the soul is more important than the health of the body. Spiritual illness often manifests as physical illness.
- The natural world is received as a gift from God, not as an object of spiritual veneration.
Our work is inspired by the witness of the Holy Unmercenary saints who cared for the sick without seeking payment or recognition. Their example reminds us that healing is not merely a profession; it is a form of service and love for our neighbor.
Through the School of Christian Herbalism, I teach students how to:
- understand herbal medicine deeply and responsibly
- care for their families and communities
- practice herbalism without compromising their Christian faith
The goal is both knowledge and Christian formation rooted in this mission.
We are seeking to cultivate a new generation of Christians who can once again embody the ancient healing tradition of the Church—people who understand that tending to the suffering body can be an expression of Christ’s command to love our neighbor.
In a world that often treats health as a commodity, we seek to remember something much older: Healing is a work of love and mercy.
May our work point every heart back to Christ, the true Physician of Souls and Bodies, so that, in caring for others, we bear witness to the healing love that has first healed us, both now and in the age to come.
More than a School … a Mission!
Bio Vas Avramidis, CHGe
I have been studying the holistic healing arts for over twenty years. In addition to studying herbalism and holistic health, I hold degrees in Fine Arts, Visual Studies, and Christian Theology. I spent six months living in an Eastern Orthodox Monastery and studied ancient spirituality, world religions, and philosophy. I am an ordained Eastern Orthodox Priest and have a strong passion for shining the light of Christ into the dark places. By the Grace of Jesus Christ, I long to become a healing presence in a broken world.
Credentials
- Christian Community Herbalist, CHGe
- Acute Austere Emergency Herbal Medicine – Herbal Medics Academy
- Clinical Herbalism in Action – Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine
- Men’s and Women’s Health – Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism
- Holistic Pharmacology for Herbalists – Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism
- Family Herbalism – Lise Wolf
- Clinical Herbalism – Herbal Academy of New England
- Vitalist Herbal Practitioner – School of Evolutionary Herbalism
- Materia Medica – School of Evolutionary Herbalism
- Nature’s Pharmacy Intensive – Practical Primitive
- Wildcrafting & Foraging Intensive – Practical Primitive
- Psychological Herbal Assessment – Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism
- Introduction to TCM – Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Introduction to Herbalism – Herbal Medics Academy
- Basic Nutrition – Stanford University
- Plant Based Nutrition Certificate – Cornell University
- Field Botany – Duke Farms
- Ongoing Herbal Education through the Christian Herbalist Guild and Steven Horne
- Diploma in Theology – St. Elias School of Orthodox Theology
- BA Visual Studies – SUNY – State University of New York
- AFA Studio Arts – Raritan Valley College
