Seven St. Vladimir's seminarians were ordained to Holy Orders during the second semester of the 2014–2015 Academic Year. Our newly ordained priests and deacons belong to three different church jurisdictions, and have rich cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds.
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Father Theodor Svane, Bergen, Norway
Student status and church affiliation Third-year, Master of Divinity; Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe, Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarch
Ordination, Holy Priesthood January 14, 2015, St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Paris, France, by the hand of His Eminence Job (Getcha), archbishop of Telmessos and exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the Archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe; concelebrant: the Very Reverend Chad Hatfield, CEO/Chancellor, St. Vladimir's Seminary
Educational and professional background Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Bergen University College, Norway; Bachelor of Christian Studies and Master of Christian Studies, NLA University College, Norway; Civil Engineer consultant, Bergen, Norway
Biographical note Father Theodor has been married to Hanne Louise for 12 years. They have one son, Simon Johan, and are expecting their second child. He will be serving a year-long internship at St. Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Christian Church, Santa Rosa, CA (Orthodox Church in America), under the mentorship of the Very Reverend Lawrence Margitich, rector, prior to returning to Norway to do missionary work.
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Deacon Stephen Osburn, Jr., Las Vegas, NV
Student status and church affiliation Third-year, Master of Divinity; Orthodox Church in America (OCA)
Ordination, Holy Diaconate March 15, 2015, St. Paul the Apostle Orthodox Church, Las Vegas, NV, by the hand of His Eminence Benjamin, archbishop of San Francisco and the West (OCA); concelebrants: the Very Reverend John Dresko, rector of St. Paul's, and Archdeacon Kirill Sokolov, of Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco
Educational and professional background Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition, Instrumental, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; CEO of Taffer Computers: web design, consultation, and internet marketing
Seminarian parish placement Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church, Paramus, NJ (OCA), under the mentorship of the Very Reverend David Vernak
Biographical note At St. Vladimir's, Deacon Stephen served as the St. Herman Society Secretary and Student Council Class Liaison. After graduation the Osburns will return to Las Vegas to serve in their home parish, St. Paul the Apostle, but they hope to start a mission in St. George, UT in the near future. They have a very loving dog (Bently), which, during the family's years at the seminary, was "adopted" by all kids on campus (and will be sorely missed)!
Aside from his tech expertise, Dn. Stephen is an accomplished musician and composer of notable works, such as: Maeva Suite for Full Orchestra, 42 for String Quartet, and Twist of Fate 2.0 for Solo Horn in F. As well, he has co-written tunes for radio broadcast and has arranged movie scores for high school orchestras.
For his home parish's twentieth anniversary, Dn. Stephen performed his composition Orthodoxy for String Quartet, with himself on violin, his diocesan hierarch, Archbishop Benjamin, on second violin, and two friends on viola and cello.
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Deacon Michael Rozdilski, Bellevue, WA
Student status and church affiliation Second-year, Master of Divinity; Orthodox Church in America (OCA)
Ordination, Holy Diaconate March 2, 2015, Three Hierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir's Seminary, by the hand of His Eminence Benjamin, archbishop of San Francisco and the West (OCA), on behalf of His Beatitude Tikhon, archbishop of Washington, metropolitan of All-America and Canada
Educational and professional background Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Indiana University of Pennsylvania;, employed in information technology sector, most recently, Software Development Manager for Amazon
Biographical note Born in Pennsylvania, Dn. Michael grew up as the son of an Orthodox Christian priest. Shortly after beginning the OCA's Diaconal Vocations Program in 2012, he, with his wife, Xenia (Tzila), decided to come to the seminary. After Dn. Michael finishes his studies, they will either return to their home in the Pacific Northwest or minister wherever God may call them.
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Father Joshua Trant, Dallas, TX
Student status and church affiliation Third-year, Master of Divinity; Orthodox Church in America (OCA)
Ordination, Holy Priesthood Feast of the Annunciation, March 25 2015, Three Hierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir's Seminary, by the hand of His Beatitude Tikhon, archbishop of Washington, metropolitan of All-America and Canada (OCA)
Educational and professional background Bachelor of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Houghton College, Houghton, NY; Language Surveyor for Wycliffe Bible Translators, (South Asia); 8th-grade English teacher, Dallas, TX
Biographical note While living and working in Dallas, Fr. Joshua, with his wife, Heather, attended St. Seraphim Cathedral. In 2013, the Trants welcomed the newest member of their family, Tabitha.
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Father Joshua Burnett, Pittsburgh, PA
Student status and church affiliation Third-year, Master of Divinity; Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA)
Ordination, Holy Priesthood May 3, 2015, St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Little Falls, NJ, by the hand of His Grace Nicholas, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn, on behalf of His Eminence Joseph, archbishop of New York and metropolitan of All North America (AOCANA); concelebrants: the Very Reverend Dimitri Darwich, rector of St. George; the Reverend Michael Ibrahim; and fellow Antiochian St. Vladimir's seminarians, the Reverend Gabriel Tannous, the Reverend Mark Vair, and Deacon Scott Miller
Educational and professional background Bachelor of Arts in English, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; high school English teacher with "Teach for America," St. Louis Public Schools; and director of nonprofit school garden program, Pittsburgh, PA
Seminarian parish placement St. Stephen Orthodox Church, South Plainfield, NJ (AOCANA), under the mentorship of the Very Reverend Stephen Tewfik
Biographical note Father Joshua and Kh. Meredith have four children: Katherine, Naomi, Isaiah, and Gideon.
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Deacon Paul Girgis, Richland, WA
Student status and church affiliation First-year, Master of Divinity; Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA)
Ordination, Holy Diaconate May 3, 2015, St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Little Falls, NJ, by the hand of His Grace Nicholas, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn, on behalf of His Eminence Joseph, archbishop of New York and metropolitan of All North America (AOCANA); concelebrants: the Very Reverend Dimitri Darwich, rector of St. George; the Reverend Michael Ibrahim; and fellow Antiochian St. Vladimir's seminarians, the Reverend Gabriel Tannous, the Reverend Mark Vair, and Deacon Scott Miller
Educational and professional background Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Washington State University; Project Controls Professional at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Seminarian parish placement St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Little Falls, NJ (AOCANA), under the mentorship of the Very Reverend Dimitri Darwich
Biographical note Born in Jounieh, Lebanon, during a 15-year civil war, Dn. Paul left his home country (at about age 2) when his family fled to the island of Cyprus; eventually his parents made their way to the United States, where they raised three children. In 2011 Dn. Paul married his wife Dana (Thekla) at Holy Cross Antiochian Orthodox Church, Yakima, WA, and they were blessed with two children, a son and daughter: Elijah Michael and Ana Grace.
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Deacon John Edward, New York, NY
Student status Senior-year, Master of Arts; Orthodox Church In America (OCA)
Ordination, Holy Diaconate May 10, 2015, Three Hierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir's Seminary, by the hand of His Eminence Irénée, archbishop of Ottawa and the Archdiocese of Canada, Orthodox Church in America (OCA)
Educational background Master of Divinity, Union Biblical Seminary, Pune India; Master of Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ; Anglican priest, serving in Malaysia, and in the Episcopal Church in the United States; later employed by Catholic Charities
Seminarian parish placement Ss. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, Jersey City, NJ (OCA), under the mentorship of the Very Reverend Joseph Lickwar
Biographical note Deacon John converted to the Orthodox faith in 2014. He and his wife, Suja, have three children.
