Seminarians from St. Vladimir’s, St. Tikhon’s, and Holy Cross seminaries gathered on the campus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary March 8-11 for the Spring 2019 Conference of the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM).
Founded in the 1960s and revived in 2003, the OISM fosters fellowship and cooperation among Orthodox seminary and theology students. The group meets every year at one of North America’s Orthodox theological seminaries. St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) was selected as the host for 2019.
“I joined OISM because I wanted to actively foster a deep brotherhood between Seminarians of every jurisdiction. We also had in mind how isolated and lonely the clerical vocation can be,” said St. Vladimir’s Seminarian Evan LeDoux, who helped organize this year’s conference.
“God-willing, when we are all ordained priests or are serving Christ's Church in another capacity, we will have true friends to support us who understand our shared challenges and can work together with us.”
The weekend-long event began with a Western Rite Divine Liturgy celebrated by Archpriest Edward Hughes of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Lawrence, MA. Father Edward, the Vicar General of the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate, also spoke and led discussions at the conference regarding the Western Rite and Orthodox unity.
“For me, the Liturgy was an amazing event,” said Seminarian David McReady, who assisted Fr. Edward at the Liturgy. “The Western Rite is very small and not well-known in Orthodoxy, so it was wonderful to share this treasure with our brothers and sisters.”
McReady, a native of Belfast, was raised in the Church of Ireland and served as an Anglican priest before coming to SVOTS as a student of the Antiochian Archdiocese. He hopes to serve as a Western Rite priest.
Following Divine Liturgy, seminarians gathered for the talks led by Fr. Edward as well as SVOTS Professor Dr. John Barnet. Professor Barnet delivered a lecture on Christian unity in the New Testament. The conference concluded with Sunday’s Divine Liturgy at Three Hierarchs Chapel.
