The ecumenical monastic community of Bose, founded in 1965 by Fr. Enzo Bianchi, has made a tradition of hosting annual conferences on Orthodox Christian spirituality. This year’s was the 27th such conference, taking place from September 4-6, 2019, and titled “Called to Life in Christ: In the Church, in the World, in the Present Time.” It brought together some 225 hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and laypeople from a wide diversity of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, together with Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant lay, clergy, and monastic participants.

Among the many eminent people present this year were Archbishop Job (Getcha) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, Christos Yannaras, and Sebastian Brock. Saint Vladimir’s Seminary was represented by two speakers—Fr. John Behr (who also sits on the conference’s organizing committee), and myself. Speakers also included faculty from St. Sergius Theological Institute (Paris) and the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology at the University of Balamand (Lebanon).

Apart from being a high-caliber event of profound inspiration, this conference is a yearly gift to the Orthodox churches. We need this encouragement, this “push” to gather together, without any ecclesiastical agenda. The Bose community provides this unique and beautiful space, allowing for creative spiritual and theological reflection amongst ourselves and with other Christian brothers and sisters. For a few days, interchurch tensions melt away as we find each other in this idyllic place, with the community’s gracious hospitality, at a conference organized with the greatest care and with spiritual and theological sensitivity.

The community was aware of my work in the sacred arts and with Arvo Pärt, as well as my recent book How to Be a Sinner. So they asked me to prepare my talk on the relationship between beauty and forgiveness. This provided me with the opportunity to invite the audience to reflect with me on what that relationship looks like. On the one hand, forgiveness is a thing of beauty. On the other hand, the experience of profound beauty humbles us, and leads us to forgiveness. Both beauty and forgiveness begin with God and are received and acted on by human beings. The discussion after my talk was warm, thoughtful, and deeply receptive.

More information and photos from the wonderful gathering can be found on the website of the Monastery of Bose.

For the sake of worldwide cooperation and conversation about pressing environmental issues, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew hosted the third Halki Summit in Istanbul, Turkey from May 31 to June 4, 2019. Halki III brought together distinguished representatives of Orthodox theological schools and seminaries from all over the world—some fifty delegates from over forty institutions, including St. Vladimir’s Seminary—to focus on the theme of “Theological Formation and Ecological Awareness.” Prominent environmental theologians from Roman Catholic and Protestant churches also participated.

Presentations and discussions were focused on the importance of curriculum and theological education for addressing present-day ecological concerns. His All-Holiness Bartholomew addressed the summit to encourage its work, and Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon set the tone with an opening meditation on eucharistic liturgy. High-level presentations that followed included discussion about the role of wisdom in creation theology, the importance of understanding humans to be part of creation (and not just individual agents surrounded by an “environment”), liturgy, and the role of scripture study, the natural sciences, and whole-institution involvement. The second day of the summit brought a lively set of presentations on everything from an important World Council of Churches (WCC) initiative for greening parishes to raising awareness of food culture, to the influence monasteries can have through farming as outreach, hospitality, and spiritual care.

There was much interest from all participants to bridge from theology into practice, and to work across the curriculum of theological schools, rather than just add a single course or elective. Orthodox liturgical and spiritual traditions are uniquely positioned to address the deep (and spiritual) roots of climate change, threats to the ecological health of the planet, its ecosystems, and species, and the resulting injustice to the poor, refugees, and indigenous peoples.

The challenge now is to bring our theology to bear by collaborating with other Christian churches and religious traditions, and with non-religious organizations and scientific experts, to prepare clergy, church leaders, and the laity in parishes to play a much greater part in addressing complex problems. These problems will find no solution without spiritual and religious motivation and guidance. The world has long been watching — and waiting — for the Church to take an active role and visible leadership in addressing global concerns.

His-All Holiness, “The Green Patriarch,” has led the way for thirty years, but he expressed grief that so much remains to be done. He is looking to seminaries and theological schools to step up their attention and focus.

To that end, I chaired the session on eco-theological curriculum. I also shared about the Seminary’s Vision 2020 initiative and the student-led (and very active) St. Herman Society for Orthodox Ecology on campus. Significantly, I wasn’t the only person representing St. Vladimir’s at the summit. My fellow faculty member Dr. Gayle Woloschak also took part, as did current Doctor of Ministry student Nathan Hoppe and Alumni Fr. Mardiros Chevian, Dn. Alexander Calikyan, and Bogdan Neacsiu.

Following Halki III, a working group is being formed to continue the conversation specifically in terms of seminary education.

Lecturer in Music Harrison Russin is the latest scholar to be featured in the Seminary’s Monthly Seminar series. On Tuesday, April 9, 2019, Russin presented his findings on "Monophonic Credos and their Cultural Background in the Late Medieval Period (1300–1500)."

“The paper drew from my dissertation research, which is on the Credo in music in late medieval and early renaissance Italy and France,” said Russin, who is a Ph.D. candidate at Duke University. “For about 500 years there was only one chant setting of the Credo for the mass; between 1300 and 1500, over 60 new melodies were composed, and most scholars still admit they do not know why.”

“I presented numerous examples from literature, theology, canon law, and artwork showing that the status of the Credo changed from a cultural and religious perspective, beginning with theological ideas in the 12th century. I then demonstrated how one of the most popular of those new melodies works on a musical level.”

A lively, stimulating, and engaging discussion followed Russin’s presentation.

The Seminary’s Monthly Seminar series is meant to operate as a kind of academic laboratory for scholars, allowing each month’s presenter to share their latest findings to their peers, engage in discussion, and receive feedback.

Russin is an alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, graduating with an M.Div. in 2013. He also holds a B.A. in Music from Swarthmore College and an M.A. in Musicology from Duke University.

Last week I had the joy of attending the inaugural meeting of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA), a meeting that exceeded the expectations of the organizers.  This effort was conceived by several scholars who were present at the Holy and Great Council on Crete, and after much discussion felt that there would be a benefit to having a range of Orthodox scholars from different disciplines meeting to talk about different aspects of Church life.  It is hard to imagine that such a discussion could lead to a reality only two years later, but the intense effort of a few individuals (Paul Gavryliuk, President; Carrie Frederick-Frost, Secretary; Catalin Jeckel, local organizer; and myself) a chair’s conference occurred in Jerusalem in 2018.  This Chair’s conference set the stage for the IOTA meeting.  The co-chairs of each section selected speakers and topics and organized the sessions with the only constraint being that the best leaders in each field should be chosen.  The hope was that the caliber of speakers would attract a large group, and indeed this was the case.

I was extremely honored to be a part of St. Vladimir’s team. Throughout the entire process, Seminary President Fr. Chad Hatfield and Board member Frank Cerra have been supportive providing advice and discussion liberally throughout the planning process.  Our faculty were also involved (Peter Bouteneff, for example, serves as chair of one of the theology sections).  Romanian hospitality was more than could have been expected with Metropolitan Teofan hosting the entire group at his residence several times for receptions and dinners. 

For me what made the conference exceptional was the program of scholars who presented.  We often had five or six simultaneous sessions, and everyone felt that choosing among them was difficult.  The topics were of broad interest, the speakers were incredible, and most importantly the discussion was civil and academic.  I remember well at the session on Ukrainian autocephaly that speakers on both sides of the discussion participated and that there was broad disagreement among the scholars, yet the discussion was civil, academic and agreeable and at the end the scholars remained friendly and pleasant to each other and to the audience.   This is the type of discourse our Church needs today.  I believe that meetings of this type are sorely needed by the Church.  The next chairs’ conference is scheduled for 2021 and the next IOTA full meeting will take place in 2023.  I hope that the interim will involve publication of proceedings, planning for the future, and working at enhancing participation even further!

On November 18, 2018, Detroit's Own Orthodox Radio (DOOR) featured St. Vladimir’s Seminary Professor Archpriest Sergius Halvorsen. DOOR’s interview with Fr. Sergius covered topics related to faith and science, with a particular focus on Orthodox Christianity and cosmology.

Fr. Sergius, the Seminary’s director of its Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program and assistant professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric, teaches an elective on faith and science at St. Vladimir’s.

“The calling of mankind is to give glory to God and to give thanks to God, and that’s something that sets mankind, men and women, apart from all the other creatures that we know of, because we are uniquely able to give thanks to God for this remarkable creation,” said Fr. Sergius during the interview. “So, if I’m an Orthodox Christian astronomer or physicist or cosmologist, all of the things that I’m discovering I can understand, ‘well, this is a gift. God has given this to me; God has given me both the wisdom and the intelligence to discern this, but also God has given me the life and this amazing universe to live in….’”

• Listen to the full interview here.

Fr. Sergius Halvorsen received his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from St. Vladimir’s Seminary in 1996, and completed his doctoral dissertation at Drew University in 2002. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1999 and to the priesthood in February 2004. From 2000 to 2011 he taught at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell Connecticut, where he also served as director of Distance Learning. 

The book Becoming a Healing Presence by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Professor Dr. Albert S. Rossi is now available as an Audiobook, narrated by Dr. Rossi himself.

The Audiobook, released August 21, 2018, can be purchased through Amazon’s Audible.com.

"When I give parish retreats some parishioners say they would like to have Becoming a Healing Presence on audio,” said Dr. Rossi, the Seminary’s director of Counseling and Psychological Services. “Now the book is available to a different group of seekers. For me, this is a dream come true."

In the book, first published by Ancient Faith Publishing in 2014, Dr. Rossi draws on the teachings of the Fathers and saints of the Church and gently points the way toward deepening our love for God and for each other, so that others may experience Christ through us.

Dr. Rossi also hosts a bi–weekly podcast on Ancient Faith Radio titled Becoming a Healing Presence. He has written numerous articles on psychology and religion and published a book through Paulist Press entitled, Can I Make a Difference: Christian Family Life Today. His audio CD The Jesus Prayer is available through SVS Press.

The International Society for Orthodox Church Music (ISOCM) held its second North American Pan-Orthodox Music Symposium from June 20 to 24, 2018. This biannual meeting complements the international meetings taking place regularly in Joensuu, Finland, and offers a diverse array of scholarly papers and practical workshops for active choir directors, chanters, and musicians in Orthodox parishes in North America and across the globe.

This year’s symposium, held at St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis, MN, addressed the theme “Ancient and Modern Creativity.” His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon delivered his own remarks on the symposium theme and officiated at Vigil and Divine Liturgy, both of which were sung splendidly in diverse chant traditions by a choir of symposium participants.

Past conferences of the ISOCM were attended by St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) faculty Dn. Evan Freeman (Lecturer in Liturgical Art) and Robin Freeman (Director of Music). This year, Dr. Peter Bouteneff (Professor of Systematic Theology, Director of the Sacred Arts Initiative) participated in a panel discussion together with a group that also included Harrison Russin (Lecturer in Liturgical Music). Mr. Russin also delivered a paper on “Organs in Orthodox Worship: Debate and Identity.” Other SVOTS alumni present at the meeting included Fr. Silouan Rolando, Michelle Jannakos, Kevin Fritts, Vera Proctor, Fr. Nick Ceko, Dn. Gregory Ealy, Fr. John Schroedel, and Adn. Joseph Matusiak.

St. Vladimir’s Seminary Professor Rev. Dr. Eugen J. Pentiuc has been appointed the first Archbishop Demetrios Professor of Biblical Studies and Christian Origins at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, effective July 1, 2018. The Jaharis Family Foundation has funded the position in honor of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Geron of America, providing resources for the teaching of biblical studies and the promotion of research and scholarship in this field.

Fr. Pentiuc joined the Holy Cross faculty in 1998 and became a tenured professor of Old Testament and Hebrew in 2009. Fr. Pentiuc has also been Professor of Scripture and Semitic languages at St. Vladimir’s Seminary since 2014. He is a prolific author currently under contract with Oxford University Press for a book titled Hearing and Seeing the Scriptures: Liturgical Exegesis of the Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition.

Dr. James C. Skedros, Dean of Holy Cross, describes Fr. Pentiuc as "an internationally recognized scholar known for his deep erudition and passionate love for the Word of God...He has brought great honor to Holy Cross and is well deserving of this appointment."

Sections of this article have been reprinted from HCHC.edu.

Two St. Vladimir’s Seminary professors are featured in the latest newsletter of the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion (OCAMPR). Priest Adrian Budica, the seminary’s director of Field Education and CPE supervisor, and Dr. Albert Rossi, director of Counseling and Psychological Services, authored a pair of articles about pain and suffering and visiting the sick.

The articles appear in the spring 2018 edition of the OCAMPR Newsletter. Both Dr Rossi and Fr Adrian have led workshops and paper presentations at OCAMPR's annual conferences in recent years."

Dr. Rossi’s article is entitled On Pain and Suffering.

“The psychological perspective regarding pain and suffering pivots on meaning. That is, what does the pain and suffering mean to the sufferer?” he writes. “….Pastorally, we try to have radical empathy, not sympathy toward the person suffering. Active listening provides the skill for radical empathy, trying to allow Christ to move through us.”

In Fr. Adrian’s article, Visiting the Sick, Visiting Christ, Visiting Myself: A Theology of Pastoral Care, he “reflects theologically on the pastoral ministry of a chaplain from an Orthodox perspective.”

“I first came in contact with chaplains during a hospital internship as a seminarian at St. Vladimir’s Seminary,” writes Fr. Adrian. “I was drawn to the idea of a chaplain’s role—mysterious, frightening, awe-some [sic]….

Christ was and is, paradoxically, the One suffering (the patient), the One healing (the physician), and the One connecting (the chaplain).”

Read the articles in their entirety here.

The seminary’s initiative to help revitalize music ministry at Orthodox parishes made a stop in Falls Church, Virginia this weekend. On Sunday, St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Director of Music Robin Freeman led a workshop at St. Mary Orthodox Church.

The Revitalizing Parish Music program  offers training for readers, choir conductors, and choir members in local parish settings.

“It was such a joy to have Robin with us,” said Subdeacon Nicholas Jones, the choir director at St. Mary Orthodox Church. “Her energy and enthusiasm for good music mixed with Orthodox spirituality was essential for helping us continually grow as a choir and in love for God. We learned about many topics that are key to good vocal health, especially in the midst of long services, and could tell an immediate improvement in our sound by the end of the group session.”

Freeman also conducted individual sessions with members of the choir.

Revitalizing Parish Music visits can include half-day, full-day, and weekend workshops for parish choirs. Read a full description of the program, including sample sessions and workshops, and pricing options, here.