This spring, as we celebrate the first anniversary of the St Vladimir’s Society, we would like to honor a few of our dedicated members and faithful supporters. SVOTS Trustee and one of the Society’s inaugural members, Dn Philip (Carston “Rick”) Wagner, has made giving to St Vladimir’s Seminary a consistent priority in his personal almsgiving efforts for many years. In his honor, we are resharing an interview he gave Chief Advancement Officer, Ginny Nieuwsma, in 2018, including some recent updates and reflections.
Dn Philip and Jean Wagner hail from St Paul, Minnesota. Dn Philip completed his undergraduate education in chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill and then earned a Ph.D. at Duke University. Jean attended Duke University in Biomedical Engineering, obtaining both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. After Dn Philip finished a NIH post-doctoral Fellowship at Pennsylvania State University, the Wagners moved to Minneapolis, MN, where Dn Philip joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota and Jean went on to become an Information Technology project leader and manager for several companies. The Wagners attend St Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Dn Philip was ordained to the Diaconate in August 2019.
Dn Philip (Carston "Rick") Wagner has enjoyed a distinguished career as Professor and Endowed Chair in Medicinal Chemistry, and now Department Head, at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Minnesota. As director of the Wagner Research Lab at the University, Dn Philip (who also goes by his nickname Rick) enjoys his work with bright young graduate students.
In the field of medicinal chemistry, Dn Philip and his team of graduate students study drug design and development. Over the years, their work has evolved so that it now focuses on anti-cancer and anti-viral research, and they’ve been discovering new ways to treat pain and to use the immune system to target and kill cancer cells. He also teaches pharmacy and graduate student classes at the University.
As a mentor and an academic, Dn Philip respects the formation of lives that takes place at St Vladimir’s Seminary.
“The Seminary is the preeminent scholarly center for modern Orthodox theological scholarship, education and theology in the world,” Dn Philip says, “and recent years, they’ve expanded the boundaries of pastoral training by providing opportunities for seminarian education outside of the Yonkers campus in parishes and hospitals, through the CPE program.
“St Vladimir’s continues to strengthen their leadership, the faculty, and the financial and operational foundations of the school,” adds Dn Philip. “With these positive moves, it’s a critical time for those of us who love the Seminary to step up and push the fulfillment of the Seminary’s mission to new heights.”
Dn Philip and his wife Jean have been supporting St Vladimir’s Seminary for 20 years, most recently as members of our community of committed monthly donors, the St Vladimir’s Society. The Wagners converted to the Orthodox faith as students at Duke University, and are active members in their home parish of St Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis (OCA). Dn Philip has been a volunteer and founding member of the advisory board of FOCUS-MN since 2010, and an Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry of Minnesota volunteer since 2007 and Director since 2009. In 2024, Dn Philip was elected to the St Vladimir’s Seminary Board of Trustees.
As lifelong learners, Dn Philip and Jean appreciate the resources of the Seminary that benefit laypeople. Describing his first visit to St Vladimir’s Seminary in 1988, soon after converting to Orthodox Christianity, Dn Philip recalled, “I have a vivid memory of walking through the Germack building on campus and bumping into Fr John Meyendorff outside his office, arms full of papers. During that visit, I spent a long time perusing the SVS Press Bookstore. People nowadays tend to forget how difficult it used to be to find such a large assortment of Orthodox literature in one place that you could purchase. At that time, it was truly a rare blessing–under normal circumstances, you would have to place a mail order through a catalog, or rely on the resources your parish might have provided.”
“SVS Press publications have been such an invaluable source of Orthodox education for Christians in America, and around the world,” continued Dn Philip. “My faith has been formed by many of its authors, including Fr Alexander Schmemann, Fr John Meyendorff, Fr Thomas Hopko, Fr John Behr, and many more.”
In addition to reading SVS Press books, Dn Philip has attended several Summer Institutes at St Vladimir’s Seminary and has benefitted from the liturgical instruction in the OCA Diaconal Vocations Program that meets on the Seminary campus almost every summer.
“St Vladimir’s is a leader in the U.S. and internationally—other organizations look to the Seminary for theological and scholarly leadership,” notes Dn Philip. “A world without St Vladimir’s Seminary would be a world without the great writers and professors who have shaped the Church over the last 50 to 60 years.”
"And the impact of the Seminary reverberates far beyond the Yonkers, New York campus," adds Dn Philip. "Worldwide Orthodoxy has been greatly impacted by St Vladimir’s. The Seminary is continuously pointing the Church around the world towards the vision of a united, engaged communion. This is the reason I continue to support the Seminary. Its contribution to the growth and flourishing of the Orthodox Faith in our contemporary world is impossible to overstate.”
About the St Vladimir’s Society
When you give to St Vladimir’s Seminary each month through the St Vladimir’s Society program, you ensure the future of Orthodox theological education for generations to come.
St Vladimir’s Seminary focuses on rigorous education and deep spiritual formation within a residential community. Your monthly generosity supports the continual training of priests, lay leaders, missionaries, musicians, and teachers, and provides a stable foundation for our ministry.
With your partnership, we can continue to send priests and missionaries to shepherd and strengthen individuals, parishes, and communities across the country and around the world.
