St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) hosted an alumni reception, sponsored by the Orthodox Vision Foundation, at the 56th Biennial Antiochian Archdiocese Convention in Phoenix, AZ. Over 60 alumni attended the event, reconnecting with former classmates and learning about recent developments in Seminary life from SVOTS President, the Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield, Academic Dean, Dr Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie, Alumni Association Board Chair, Richard Mitry Ajalat (M.Div. ‘13), and Class of 2023 Valedictorian, the Rev. Dr Anthony Gilbert.
Fr Chad Hatfield emphasized the importance of upholding the residential model for seminary education, particularly for priests in training, saying, “Without the formation experienced in community with others, without the experience of coming together daily for worship, study, and community service, there can be no preparation for service to the Church as a parish priest.”
Following Fr Chad’s address, the audience viewed a compilation of recent graduates’ reflections on their time at St Vladimir’s Seminary. Fr Anthony Gilbert followed the video presentation with a brief address, sharing his recent experiences as a student with the alumni audience. Fr Anthony spoke highly of the current faculty, echoing the sentiments Fr Chad had expressed in his remarks, describing SVOTS professors as a collegial, highly capable team of scholars who are deeply committed to teaching and collaborating with their students.
Richard Ajalat shared his reflections on the community life at St Vladimir’s Seminary, noting the importance of the daily services in forming seminarians as servants of Christ. He also spoke of the recent addition of audiobooks to the SVS Press catalog, sponsored by the Orthodox Vision Foundation, which is rapidly adding titles and expanding the outreach of the Press to an ever wider audience.
The alumni reception was MC’ed by Dr Greg Abdalah, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology for the D.Min. program at St Vladimir’s Seminary (M.Div. ‘08; D.Min. ‘18). Dr Abdalah shared touching reminiscences of his lifelong connections with SVOTS, beginning with listening to St Vladimir’s Seminary Choir recordings regularly at home, visiting the Seminary for events, and finally joining the Seminary community as a student.
The reception wrapped up with a Q&A session where Fr Chad and Dr Tudorie fielded a variety of questions from the alumni present. Several new initiatives taking place at SVOTS were discussed, including the St Vladimir’s Online School of Theology and the upcoming introduction of a Ph.D. program. In response to a question from Fr Gabriel Tannous (M.Div. ‘15) about the need for resources for priests who wish to further deepen their knowledge and ability to minister to their faithful, Dr Tudorie spoke about a new continuing education program for clergy that is now in the development phase at St Vladimir’s Seminary.
Aside from the alumni reception, St Vladimir’s Seminary was represented at the convention with an information table sharing Seminary reports, degree program brochures, and video content with Convention attendees. St Vladimir’s Seminary Press was also present, offering a large portion of the Press inventory for sale each day of the Convention.
