Amid the signage at the March for Life rally this year in Washington, D.C.— “Choose Life: Your Mother Did,” “Everyone Deserves a Birthday,” and “I Regret My Abortion”— waved a banner embossed with the “St. Vladimir’s Seminary” name and logo. Thirty members of our campus community braved the January chill to gather with thousands of pro-lifers on the National Mall to mark the 38th year since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion.
Our seminary Chancellor, Archpriest Chad Hatfield, accompanied seminarians and their families to the annual March, where they joined other Orthodox Christians, including His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), who opened the pre-March rally, and Archpriest John Kowalczyk of Jermyn, PA, who delivered the benediction.
“Life is a gift from God and we were in Washington, D.C. to make that witness,” noted Fr. Chad. “This year, I was struck especially by the youthfulness of the participants. Most were young women, and the crowd was around 350,000 people.
“I am also so thankful for the warm hospitality given by St. Nicholas Cathedral to the seminarians and their families, who traveled from both St. Vladimir’s and St. Tikhon’s Seminaries to 'March for Life',” Fr. Chad continued.
Prior to the March, Metropolitan Jonah presided at the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the OCA’s St. Nicholas Cathedral in the nation’s capital. His sermon, which set the tone for the Orthodox Christian marchers, may be viewed on the OCA web site at www.oca.org.
On March 26, 2011 Metropolitan Jonah will monitor a forum with our campus community, which will examine "beginning of life" issues.
