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During this Year of Schmemann, St. Vladimir’s Seminary also celebrates 100 years since the birth of another giant in the Seminary’s history: Dr. Veselin Kesich (March 12, 1921–June 26, 2012).

Kesich, professor of New Testament at St. Vladimir’s from 1953 until his retirement in 1991, was beloved by generations of St. Vladimir's alumni, not only for his academic expertise but also for the hospitality and love he demonstrated to students, along with his wife, Dr. Lydia (+2006), over the several decades they lived on the seminary campus. Students still fondly recall the annual traditional Serbian “Slava” celebrated in their home, honoring the professor’s family patron saint.

One of those students, Very Rev. Stavrofor Stevan (Stevo) Rocknage (Class of ’88)—now a longtime priest of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in McKeesport, PA—remembers a man whose “heart was so full of love” and who could make a three-hour talk feel like ten minutes!

“The wonderful thing about Professor Kesich, God rest his soul, were his lectures. They were never really lectures—they were like stories and narratives….

“He taught awareness of the New Testament and the intricacies of reading the Scriptures and how to read appropriately—it was phenomenal,” said Fr. Stevo.  “I remember sitting in class thinking to myself, ‘my goodness!’ He made it so enjoyable. You really wanted to go deeper and even more profoundly into Scripture.”

The Annual Report of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary is now available in print and online.

This year’s edition highlights Fiscal Year 2020 and Academic Year 2020-2021 at St. Vladimir’s. The Annual Report is titled, “The Year of Schmemann: Honoring a Legacy by Forging a New Era," as the Seminary honors 100 years since the birth of its former dean, Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann.

“The ‘Year of Schmemann’ is more than a celebration of a profound legacy,” Seminary President Archpriest Chad Hatfield writes in his introduction to the Annual Report. “It also gives us occasion to assess how we have held to the standards and achievements of the past, and how we incorporate them to address the immense challenges which face Christianity today.”

The Report also honors the memory of beloved Professor of New Testament Dr. Veselin Kesich, who was also born 100 years ago this year. Additionally, Annual Report readers will find insights and reflections from Academic Dean Dr. Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie, Assistant Professor of Liturgical Theology Dr. Vitaly Permiakov, Alumnus Bishop John Abdalah, recent graduate Priest Peter Runyon, and longtime Seminary supporter and donor Dr. Asimoula Julia Alissandratos. Readers can also see St. Vladimir’s “at a glance,” review SVS Press’s “Year in Books,” learn about the financial health of the Seminary, read about the latest ordinations of seminarians and alumni to holy orders, and more.

Screens are everywhere. Christian parents used to worry about movie screens. Then it was TV screens hooked to 100-plus cable TV channels. Then there were computers and computer games. Then came the Internet and everything changed. Then smartphones arrived and everything changed again. There's evidence that this omnipresent screen culture is connected—especially among the young—to rising statistics for loneliness, anxiety, gender confusion and other issues. Then came the pandemic and church leaders struggled to make peace with digital screens in parish life.

Journalist and mass communications professor Terry Mattingly has been wrestling with these kinds of questions for more than thirty years, including in a seminary context. There are no easy answers. But there are questions Orthodox parents and clergy need to ask, right now.

Join us for an online presentation with Terry Mattingly, professor, journalist, and author of the nationally syndicated “On Religion” column for the Universal syndicate, followed by a discussion and Q&A hosted by Fr. Chad Hatfield, President of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, and St. Vladimir's Professor Dr. John Mark Reynolds, President of The Saint Constantine School and board chair of the Orthodox Christian Leadership Initiative (OCLI).

Hosted by St. Vladimir’s Seminary and the Orthodox Christian Leadership Initiative.

Archbishop Nathaniel (Popp) at Divine Liturgy November 15, 2020, the fortieth anniversary of his  episcopal consecration (Photo: OCA.org)

Scholarships are one of the ways St. Vladimir’s Seminary supports seminarians who are preparing to serve the Church through a variety of callings—whether ordained ministry, chaplaincy, scholarship, teaching, sacred arts, or a variety of other vocations. Last year alone, the Seminary awarded $400,000 in scholarships from its endowments to aid seminarians. Additionally, the Seminary’s Tuition-Free Initiative allows future Church leaders to attend St. Vladimir’s free of tuition expenses. Saint Vladimir’s strongly believes servants of the Church should not be saddled with tuition debt from their theological education as they go forth to serve Christ.