Following 12 years of outstanding service to our Board of Trustees and the seminary, Attorney Michael Bress was honored at a celebratory dinner with the bestowal of the title "Trustee Emeritus," a gramata acknowledging his board contributions, and a beautiful icon of the Holy and Great Prince Vladimir, patron of our school. Although Mr. Bress is stepping down from his role as Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee of the board, he will continue as an adviser to that committee.
In reflecting upon his tenure as a trustee, Mr. Bress remarked, "Through the years I developed a great admiration for St. Vladimir's, from my exposure to the publications of its press, contacts with priests who are alumni, contact with faculty at lectures and retreats, in my local parish, and especially from all I heard of its contributions to the development of Orthodoxy in America in the last 60 or 70 years. I accepted an invitation to join the board, hoping to make some contribution to the support of this fine institution. I have not been disappointed. Seeing the institution up close and the work that has to be done to keep it going has enhanced the general appreciation I had for St. Vladimir's."
Also honored for their service to the seminary and board were Archpriest Jaroslav Sudick, rector of Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers, New York; outgoing Alumni Association Board Chair, Archpriest David Barr; and outgoing Executive Chair, Anne Glynn-Mackoul (See full story on Anne Glynn-Mackoul's departure as Executive Chair here.)
Father Jaroslav not only served on the Academic Affairs Committee of the board, but also, in his position as President of the Yonkers Board of Education, helped seminarians and their families in navigating the city school system and acted as a liaison between the seminary and the city administration. For many years, he mentored seminarians at his parish, and he forged a relationship between the seminary and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York that enabled the seminary to produce a major sacred music concert in New York City, St. Matthew Passion, by Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) in 2011.
Father Jaroslav further noted that although he is moving from Yonkers in January, to take up new residence in Virginia, he is "not retiring" from life and duties. Upon his reception of the gramata and icon of St. Vladimir, he said, "It is not a 'job' for me to do the things I have done for the seminary; that's what I'm here for. We're here on earth to do good things, to do good to one another, and I will continue to help the seminary in the future."
