In recent months, the St. Thomas Malankara Chapel at St Vladimir's Seminary has undergone a number of upgrades. Most recently, thanks to the generosity of several donors, new icons for the chapel were installed and blessed.
On Monday, January 24, Seminary President Fr. Chad Hatfield joined the Malankara seminarians for Vespers and led the blessing of the icons with Seminarian Fr. Geevarghese Mathew.
The new icons include Christ the Pantocrator; the Theotokos; St. John the Forerunner; St. George the Martyr; St. Ephrem the Syrian; Ss. Peter and Thomas; the Three Hierarchs (the patrons of the Seminary's primary chapel); and St. Gregorios of Parumala, India. Devotion to Ss. George, Ephrem, and Gregorios of Parumala is particularly strong among Orthodox Christians in Malankara*. The icon of Ss. Peter and Thomas is a unique one commissioned specifically for the St. Thomas Malankara Chapel—it represents the fellowship at St. Vladimir's of Malankara seminarians from the jurisdiction governed by the Syriac Patriarchate of Antioch (a See of Peter) and those seminarians under the Catholicate of the East in India (the See of Thomas).
The Seminary's Malankara community continues to raise funds in order to purchase new rugs, service books, and liturgical items for the chapel. To help, donate at svots.edu/give/donate and select "Malankara Chapel Renovation Fund", or send a check to St. Vladimir's Seminary (575 Scarsdale Road, Yonkers, NY 10707) with "Malankara Chapel Renovation Fund" in the memo.
