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The midpoint of Great Lent marked a life–changing milepost for two of our seminarians, Scott Miller and Steven Bruns. Both were ordained to the Holy Diaconate during the season's distinctive Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
Seminarian Miller was ordained April 10th by His Grace The Rt. Rev. Nicholas, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn and resident assistant to the Metropolitan for the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA), at St. Stephen the Protomartyr Antiochian Orthodox Church in South Plainfield, NJ. On April 12th His Beatitude The Most Blessed Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), ordained Seminarian Bruns in Three Hierarchs Chapel on our campus.
Deacon Scott, who earned a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Social Science from Kansas State University, is a former broadcaster who worked primarily in talk radio. His broadcasting career eventually brought him to Boston, where he was baptized at St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2007, taking St. Tikhon, patriarch of Moscow and Enlightener of North America, as his patron.
During his seminary training, Dn. Scott, with his wife Danielle, and daughters, Stella and Sofia, have served at St. Stephen's in Plainfield, where The Very Rev. Fr. Stephen Tewfik is rector but was not able to serve due to illness. In his stead, The Very Rev. Romanos Malouf, rector of St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church, Bridgeport, CT (former parish of the Miller family); The Rev. David Mezynski, assistant dean of Student Affairs at the Seminary; and The Rev. Adrian Budica (alumnus '10), attached priest at St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral, Brooklyn, NY, served alongside Bishop Nicholas.
Deacon Steven earned a B.A. in Religion from University of Florida in 1993, and an M.Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY. In 2011 he completed a Doctorate in Historical Theology through Middlesex University's London School of Theology. As an ordained United Methodist minister for twelve years, he served parishes in Florida and Kentucky in both suburban and rural settings, while teaching Church History, Theology, and Church Polity courses at Asbury Theological Seminary's Dunnam Campus in Orlando, FL.
Through his friendship with another former Protestant minister, Dn. Steven was introduced to Orthodoxy, and he and his family—his wife Pamela and children, Anna, Leah, Sarah, and Silas—joined the Church after a seven–year journey of study and discernment. During his tenure at St. Vladimir's, Dn. Steven has served at the Orthodox Christian Church of Christ the Savior, Paramus, NJ. After Commencement in May 2013, he will be attached to St. Justin Martyr Orthodox Church (OCA) in Jacksonville, FL, under the leadership of The Very Rev. Theodore Pisarchuk (alumnus '94).
At Dn. Steven's ordination, His Beatitude noted: "Among the clergy, a deacon is one who serves and leads a life of repentance, prayer, and service. May you find great joy in this moment, in the middle of Lent, in the week of the Cross, with hope in the resurrection and with courage like that of your patron, St. Stephen the Protomartyr."
In addition to His Beatitude, those serving at Dn. Steven's ordination included: The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, The Very Rev. Dr. Alexander Rentel, The Rev. Dr. David Mezynski, The Rev. Dr. Benedict Churchill, The Rev. James Parnell, The Rev. Pdn. Joseph Matusiak, The Rev. Dn. Gregory Hatrak, and newly ordained The Rev. Dn. Scott Miller.
