Our seminary was very well represented at the 2017 Annual Conference of the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology and Religion (OCAMPR), held November 2–4 at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Cultural Center, Somerset, NJ. Among the several faculty members in attendance was the Very Reverend John Behr, D.Phil., holder of The Father Georges Florovsky Distinguished Professorship of Patristics at St. Vladimir’s, who had been invited to offer a theological perspective on the conference theme: “Resiliency: Body, Mind, and Spirit.”
Other faculty members present included the Reverend Adrian Budica, supervisor of Clinical Pastoral Education; Gayle Woloschak, Ph.D., professor of Bioethics; and Albert Rossi, Ph.D., director of Counseling and Psychological Services. Father Adrian led a workshop titled, “Burning Bush: Can a Caregiver Be both ‘on Fire’ and ‘not Consumed?’,” and he co-led another workshop titled, “Healing and Transformation in Jungian Psychology and Orthodox Christianity,” with seminary alumnus the Reverend Sean Levine, Chaplain (Major) U.S. Army. Father Adrian also co-led a meeting of Orthodox Chaplains with Sarah Byrne Martelli, currently a Doctor of Ministry student at the seminary and a Board Certified Chaplain at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Woloschak participated in a workshop titled, “Orthodox Medical Missions around the World,” and Dr. Rossi led a workshop titled, “Becoming a Healing Presence.” (Read the full Conference Program here.)
Other alumni represented were Chaplains Clio Pavlantos, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; and Beryl Knudsen, Danbury Hospital. Additionally, several current seminarians and their wives observed the conference proceedings.
All the presentations will be available soon on Ancient Faith Podcasts.
