St. Vladimir’s Seminary faculty member and alumnus Fr. Adrian Budica was elevated to the dignity of archpriest Sunday, October 20, 2019, during a historic weekend of celebrations at St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY. Father Adrian was elevated by the hands of His Eminence, Metropolitan Joseph, primate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA), on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Syro-Arabian Mission by St. Raphael of Brooklyn; the weekend also marked the start of centennial celebrations of the cathedral on State Street.
Joining Metropolitan Joseph were Their Graces, Bishop Basil of Wichita, Bishop Thomas of Charleston, Bishop John of Worcester, Bishop Anthony of Toledo, and Bishop Nicholas of Miami. Their special guest was His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, who represented His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia (the Russian Church provided St. Raphael as a priest in 1895 and consecrated him as a bishop for the founding of the Syro-Arabian Mission, the precursor of the Antiochian Archdiocese). Also present Sunday were St. Vladimir’s Seminary President Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield and Seminary alumni and students.
The Very Rev. Adrian Budica is attached to St. Nicholas Cathedral and is director of Field Education and supervisor of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. He graduated with a Master of Theology (Th.M.) degree from St. Vladimir’s in 2010 and also holds theology degrees from his native country of Romania, including a degree in Orthodox pastoral theology from Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca.
The St. Vladimir’s Seminary community wishes Archpriest Adrian, Khouria Viktoria, and their children, Elias and Solomia, many years!
