"Life is pain, highness" the Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley tells Buttercup in the classic film The Princess Bride. "Anyone who says differently is selling something."

Like many, I grew up loving this movie. Our family returned often to Blockbuster to rent it, until my parents decided it would save us both time and money to just go ahead and buy the VHS. Our dinner conversations were peppered with movie lines, and my brothers and I could recite many scenes from memory. Perhaps this is why, 15 years later, the above quote comes back to me frequently. But now, my mind and experiences have tweaked the wording slightly, and this is what echoes in my heart:

"Life is change.  Anyone who says differently is selling something." 

Our year and a half at seminary so far, the first four years of marriage before we arrived here, the birth of our children, the anticipation of the future after my husband's graduation, and the day-by-day living out our vocation as children of God and discerning what that looks like from one season to the next—these have been packed with experiences of change. Change is the very nature of life experiences, period. And when I stop being open to change, I stop being open to growth. I stop being open to God. 

How easy it is to get comfortable ("finally") and feel like I have arrived. "Finally" moving to St. Vladimir's, after a long season of searching our hearts, receiving counsel, and getting out of debt, not to mention packing up our home and saying goodbye to my home parish of 18 years...only to realize that, although I went through a wrenching change to get here, there was to be no sitting comfortably and congratulating myself on arriving. And how grateful I am for the last year and half of challenge, prayer, growth, and friendship! 

There are other, daily, invitations to change. From going with the flow of my husband's every-varying seminarian schedule, to adapting my expectations of my role in church as a mother of two young boys and with a husband who has other tasks during services (I am having a season away from the choir); from saying goodbye to graduating friends in June and meeting new friends and neighbors in the fall; to letting go one mental timeline of our lives after another as plans shift and we receive direction, I have near-constant choices to make about how I will respond to change. 

It is a struggle to continue to open up my hands, plans, family, and finances to God.  But there is no other path to Life, and "anyone who says differently is selling something."

Francois Fenelon writes in The Royal Way of the Cross, "If you persist in serving [God] in one place or one way rather than another, you are serving Him according to your will, not His. But if you are ready to go anywhere and do anything [and then go anywhere and do anything again, I think to myself], this is indeed taking up your cross and following Him." I read this passage this week, a timely reminder in the midst of an already-busy, and ever so blessed, semester. "Do not be afraid of anything on your way. God will lead you by the hand, if only you trust Him completely, and are filled with love for Him rather than fear for yourself."

Life is change! Thanks be to God, Who infuses every moment with the invitation to repent, to cling to Him, and to grow into His image, wherever the journey may lead. 

Lauren Pulley grew up as a missionary kid and later as a priest's kid, as her family's journey led them into the Orthodox Church. Her parents, Fr. David and Mat. Rozanne Rucker (now OCMC missionaries serving at St. Herman's Seminary), began a church in their living room in Kentucky when Lauren was nine years old. The parish was brought into the Orthodox Church in America (Diocese of the South) in 2002 as St. Athanasius Orthodox Church. Lauren served in the choir, children's and youth ministries, and later on the parish council, before moving to St. Vladimir's Seminary with her husband and son. She has a Masters in Education and has taught World History.

Lauren is married to Wesley (no relation to the Dread Pirate Roberts), a second-year M.A. student who is preparing for ordination, if God wills. He received his M.Div. from Asbury Seminary and served as a youth and associate pastor before joining the Orthodox Church. Lauren and Wes were married after his reception into the Church and now have two sons, James and Walter. They hope to serve God in the OCA's Diocese of the South after Wes's graduation in May.

Simon Menya

Greetings in the name of our Lord!

I thank the Almighty Father for the blessing and opportunity for me to attend St. Vladimir’s Seminary, and I thank the entire administration for supporting my education. Over the Christmas holiday, it was my privilege to go home and check in on my siblings, who are my responsibility.

While I was home reconnecting with my family and Orthodox parishes, the priests in Northern Uganda offered their greetings to everyone in the community of St. Vladimir’s. They were glad to have me back to help them, now that I am a seminarian. They appreciated the Seminary for sending along incense from the Holy Land and church calendars, plus the text for St. Basil’s feast day and a few loaves of Artos, a special bread that is blessed on the occasion of certain feast days.

Above all, Metropolitan Bishop Jonah Lwanga sent his greetings and gratitude for the OCA 2016 Desk Calendars and the Annual Reports of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, given to me by SVOTS Chancellor/CEO, the Very Reverend Dr. Chad Hatfield, to share with Uganda’s clergy.

From the time I landed in Uganda on Christmas Eve until I returned to New York on the eve of Blizzard Jonas, my trip was blessed in every way. Before traveling to my home in Gulu, Northern Uganda, I paid a visit to Metropolitan Bishop Jonah Lwanga, greeting him using my newly learnt Greek vocabulary, for which he rejoiced. Then when I reached my home that evening, about 20 children from the neighborhood came around and warmly welcomed me, and our houseful of children all received sweets from America brought with me from Fr. Alexander Rentel!

The following day was Christmas, so I went to pray in the parish of St. Nectarios Orthodox Church, where I took one loaf of Artos, which had been bought by my seminary friend, Dimitrios, so that the faithful in Uganda could taste it for the first time! Everyone in the church said the taste of the bread was “the best of the best.”

I dedicated that week to teaching the choir to sing the liturgical songs with western notation, given to me by St. Vladimir’s chapel choir director, Hierodeacon Herman. With the full text in hand for the Feast of St. Basil the Great, we were able to follow the whole service, and my parish priest Fr. George Lakony was so pleased.  Additionally, I had supplied Rev. Fr. George with the names of all the people I knew from St. Vladimir’s community, and he prayed for each one as he was blessing the Artos on the feast.

Many people from surrounding villages also came to visit me, and they all wanted to hear about the America: What does it look like?  How do the churches worship? Children from the neighborhood continued to come so that I could teach them and draw pictures with them. I thought about what St. George said, that we must “teach them when they are young.”

Currently, the priests in Uganda are struggling with the challenges in extending God’s Word in their parishes. Regrettably, the financial crisis in Greece has caused the Church in Uganda to lose necessary support from the Orthodox Church in that country. Therefore, it was all the more important that I was able to share a lot of knowledge I had acquired in my seminary classes.

I also described for them the hospitality and the love shown to our Ugandan people, within churches on the other side of the world!. For example, Deacon Evan Freeman, lecturer in Liturgical Art at St. Vladimir’s, had sent along with me, the layout of an Orthodox Church's interior, which I was able to share. This reminded the faithful of Uganda that they are loved and appreciated by fellow Orthodox Christians living in America and other Christian parts of the world.

I visited all the surrounding churches during my three-week visit: reading, serving, preaching and teaching in congregations, explaining to them a deeper understanding of church unity, and sharing the love of Christ for all humanity. To my surprise, my speaking had improved due to my time at the Seminary, which confirmed for me the value of my challenging first-semester classes!

For example, in Church History class at the Seminary, I had learned that priests must be active, both to initiate and also to keep alive churches, by correcting the heresies that may exist—exactly as the early church fathers had done. In Spirituality class, I had realized that theology can enable us to examine the thoughts of people in today’s world, and encourage them to share experiences, with the possibility of transferring people’s materially or politically based visions into spiritual understanding. In Liturgical Arts class I had learned that at all times and everywhere, knowledge of correct liturgical practice is a must. In Prison Ministry class, I had learned how ministry is like getting into a boat for an adventure, and that truly there are both beautifully light and also woefully dark sides in humanity. In Old Testament class, I had learned how everything we do is impressed upon our hearts, and that God works differently with each human being, according to His wisdom—there is, moreover a “devouring fire” in God, a purifying, burning love in which the righteous dwell (Is 33: 14, 15; I Jn 4:16). In New Testament class, I had learned a lot from St. Paul’s teaching, especially about how Jesus’ disciples were sent to teach all nations of the world.

Before my return to New York, I again went and received a blessing from my Metropolitan. Then, upon boarding my plane, I was seated next to a four-year-old boy named Charles. He was travelling to the United States for an operation, and was alone except for the care of the plane’s crew. When they told me about him I knew God made me to be Charles's healing presence there and so I said I would take care of him, as I remembered the verse of the Gospel of Mark 12:31: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

I looked after him on the flight: feeding him, giving him water to drink, covering him with blanket, and comforting him. It was so good that I happened to speak his dialect—I knew he’d miss that familiar comfort when he cried as I was getting out to change flights in Brussels.

The day I returned to New York, I was welcomed by my first snowfall: Blizzard Jonas!

Thank God for my safe trip! May St. Vladimir’s Seminary continue to be a life-changing place for me, with the help of all the professors, teachers, friends and community members! As it touches my life, it also touches the lives of hundreds a people, thousands of miles away, in my home country.

Love in Christ,
Simon

Simon Menya is a first year Master of Divinity student from St. Basil Orthodox Church in Gulu, Northern Uganda. His brothers were killed by the rebel group Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) during Ugandan civil strife; Simon, his older brother, and his elderly parents survived. He is the first person from the nine churches in Northern Uganda to study abroad, which he says is his challenge and opportunity.

Before beginning as a seminarian in August of 2015, Simon served as Headmaster of the Archangel Michael Orthodox Secondary School. Funded by the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) in 2010 for its first three years, the school grew from 105 to 558 students, attracting children from across the country in South Sudan. It is the only Orthodox church school in the northern region of 30 districts. Simon's hope is to do more ecclesiastical work after he completes his studies, and ordination could be in his future "if it is God's will. I hope to restore the lost faith and hopes of the people due to the 24 years of war, and to encourage self supportive life skills in them through our churches," he says.

On Monday, May 4, the St. Vladimir's Women's Group sorted donated clothes and cleaned the facilities at Emmaus House in New York City, a hospitality home in Harlem with a mission of serving the poor in a disadvantaged neighborhood. We learned about the history and mission of the house from several of its earliest and long time volunteers: Annie, Omar, and Tom.  

Annie explained that the house is in leadership transition at this time and many of its ministries are not currently operational. The house is in need of volunteers, resources, and prayers to restart many of their outreach programs. They have recently reinstated their Sunday Food Pantry, and are also focusing on repairing many areas of the house so that it can act as a shelter again in the future.

We were impressed by the dedication of the volunteers, and by the Harlem community's great need for the ministry of Emmaus House. The potential for growth in the ministry is great. Annie always appreciates it when the women of St. Vladimir's visit, and the blessing is mutual.

Thomas Totonchy

It was Easter morning during my first year at St. Vladimir's Seminary, and I stood at the altar of St. Mark's Cathedral in Teaneck, New Jersey, wearing subdeacon vestments, listening to our bishop read the gospel of St. Mark. In the traditional Syriac Orthodox melody, he chanted:

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him." (Mark 16.5-6).

I was overwhelmed by these words. He is risen, he is not here! Silently, I began to weep. The sense of awe that accompanied this moment was soon replaced with embarrassment, as I saw our bishop looking right at me as tears dripped off my chin. I shuffled off to find a tissue.

Why did tears come to me at such a moment? Certainly, the feast of our Lord's resurrection holds great power. But thinking back on all that had occurred over my first year at St. Vladimir's Seminary, I realized that what I experienced on that day was the result of accumulation. The Seminary prescribes for its students a life focused on seeking the Lord, and such a life is a struggle against the outside world. This Christ-centered focus is supported by chapel services, classes, community service, fasts, confession, and for a married student such as myself, family life. Yet on any given day, I would often wonder if such a routine was bearing any fruit. On this Easter day, I received an answer. Each day lived trying to fix our gaze on our Lord has a great benefit. It is a benefit that is usually unseen from day to day, but which accumulates slowly over time.

St. John Climacus addresses the unseen character of the spiritual life. He writes:

“After a long spell of prayer, do not say that nothing has been gained, for you have already achieved something. For after all, what higher good is there than to cling to the Lord, to persevere in unceasing union with him?” (Ladder of Divine Ascent, 28.32)

Life at seminary, and the life of every Orthodox Christian, is an effort to cling to the Lord each day. My time at St. Vladimir's, particularly on that Easter morning, has taught me that, though we may not perceive any immediate changes as we try to live according to Church teaching, each day of effort matters. The Lord sees our labor and our constant yearning for Him, and slowly changes us by His grace. 

The tears granted to me on Easter were a gift, showing me that, to some small and humble measure, the truth of the resurrection had established some root in my heart. Even so, the reality is that I am still a spiritual beginner, returning often to ego and self-will instead of casting myself completely upon the Lord. Yet, as my time here at seminary draws to an end, I will leave as a spiritual beginner, yet one who knows what I must do with the remainder of the earthly life that God gives me. I must work, seeking Him every day, and I pray that by His grace the following words will continue to descend into my heart, filling it through and through:

He is risen, he is not here!

Thomas Totonchy is a third-year Master of Divinity student from the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. He is from Portland, Oregon, where his father helped to establish the St. Ignatius of Antioch parish. There he served as a subdeacon and was involved in youth ministry before coming to New York for seminary with his wife Jennifer, who works at the Weill Cornell Medical College. In the summer of 2015, they welcomed their daughter Josephine into the world. After seminary, Thomas hopes to continue to serve the Church as a youth minister, and if it be God’s will, as a priest.

lan Pell Crawford

The O'Keefe familyAn extensive profile of first-year St. Vladimir's seminarian Seraphim O'Keefe was published in Richmondmag.com on December 22, 2015. In the article, reporter Alan Pell Crawford tells the story of Seraphim's conversion to Orthodox Christianity, his subsequent journeys and studies in Alaska, the Republic of Georgia, and Russia, and his miraculous recovery after a brush with death in Georgia.

As Seraphim developed his skills in iconography, he was given commissions in parishes, which eventually led him to painting the icons for the St. Cyprian of Carthage Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church in America) in Midlothian, VA in the summer of 2015. Immediately following the work on the icons at St. Cyprian, Seraphim and his family packed their belongings and drove to St. Vladimir's Seminary, where he began his three-year course of study in the Master of Divinity degree program.

In the article, "The Miraculous Life of Seraphim O'Keefe," author Crawford explains that "becoming a competent iconographer doesn’t happen overnight, but Seraphim’s reputation is growing, and commissions are coming in, almost always by word of mouth."

Read the full story
Articles about the iconography project have also been published in the Chesterfield Observer and the Richmond Times-Dispatch

On September 21, the Women's Group at St. Vladimir's began the 2015–2016 year with a casual wine and cheese gathering in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium. The event started at 7 pm, and included introductions to both the St. Juliana Society—a support group for future clergy wives—and the all-inclusive Women's Group, which is specifically aimed at facilitating events that encourage fun and fellowship for all the women on campus, whether they be staff, faculty wives, or students.

Alex Mackoul

“Alex, lets skip Dr. Al Rossi’s session and go to the library so we can go on the computers.” It was Orthodox Education Day, 2005, and I was about 15 years old, and trying to decide whether or not to follow my friend to the library instead of going to Dr. Al’s session for teenagers. I ended up going to the library with my friend, who insisted that I take this time to create my Facebook profile in order to stay connected to the world.

The joke is that my formation at St. Vladimir’s began at age 15, but the truth is that 10 years later (2015), it was St. Vladimir’s that connected me to the world…
          Not the world that I had come from where sports, music, and money
          dominated the culture and determined whether or not you were successful
          Not the world where independence, popularity, and style 
          determined whether or not you were living a good life.

St. Vladimir’s connected me to the reality of this world…
          A world where “…the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”(Jn. 1:14)     
          A world where Christ himself walked, preached, and taught, leaving footprints for us to follow
          A world where saints and holy men and women throughout the centuries have kept those footprints fresh
          A world where we as humanity follow those footprints, which lead to the kingdom
          A world where we await the Bridegroom in every moment and offer the moment to Him
          A world where the Bridegroom often redirects us, placing us back in His footprints, which lead to the wedding banquet.

Every now and then the world can seem scary to the seminarian that has given up financial security, a life near family, and a secure job. My third year of seminary is coming to a close soon and the reality of ordained ministry is starting to hit home… 
          A reality that can seem daunting and overwhelming
          A reality that can seem filled with trials, tribulations, and crisis
          A reality that is filled with unknowns
          A reality that is filled with crosses.

Yet, St. Vladimir’s has not left us alone in this reality, but rather has taught us that a reality filled with crosses is a reality that is also fulfilled by the cross… 
          A reality that is filled by the love of Christ and his victory over death
          A reality that is filled with the presence of the kingdom here and now
          A reality that is shaped from liturgy to liturgy
          A reality where everyday is lived out as liturgy as we offer up all our work to God
          A reality where we are surrounded by a great a cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1) to turn to, for intercession and motivation
          A reality where the light of Christ illumines all and transfigures how we see the world.

Alex Mackoul is a third year seminarian in the Master of Divinity Program. He is a member of St. George’s Orthodox Cathedral in Worcester, MA and currently serves as an assistant to the Right Reverend Bishop Nicholas of the Antiochian Archdiocese. This past summer Alex married Amanda, a young woman he met during his time as a counselor at the Antiochian Village. They both adore Dr. Al Rossi and attend as many of his sessions as they can.   

“Keep a regular spiritual canon while in seminary. There’s value in studying theology, but without daily prayer and sitting with God, God will be less of a Father and more of a textbook.”

Someone shared this advice with me before I arrived at seminary, and I’ve tried to remember these invaluable words always, in my life here at St. Vladimir’s.

As I approach my final semester here at the seminary, I’ve begun to reflect on all that I have learned. I remember how I was so eager to finally arrive and begin my studies. I had almost always been interested in theology and was anxious to come to an Orthodox seminary where I could learn Orthodoxy and live Orthopraxy, rather than merely attend classes at a regular graduate school where students are primarily focused on academia.

My first few weeks felt almost surreal. Being immersed in the liturgical life of the Church, in the Scriptures, and in the writings of the Fathers, I instantly felt right at home. It was so edifying to be surrounded by a crowd of like-minded intentional people, all striving in their spiritual journeys, all determined to serve Christ and His Church. Although the daily schedule became difficult and the course load became challenging, all of my time in the chapel and in the library enriched my spiritual and personal growth. 

As the months unfolded, I learned a lot about myself; what qualities I value, the dynamics of my spiritual life, and how to better manage my time. Yet still, nothing has proven truer or has been more apparent to me than the wisdom of that simple advice I received before I arrived here. I have found, while at St. Vladimir’s, that the days when I have been able to bridge the gap between theology and my own spiritual life, have been the days that I excelled in my studies and truly felt “renewed in my mind.”

This renewal came as I practiced my own spiritual rule, but also through the great encouragement provided through the existence of the Coptic Chapel of St. Mark on campus. Being able to pray in my own tradition, rites, and liturgical music, has been a special treat, something I will always cherish and for which I am grateful. Here, in this familiar, sacred space, I have been able to quiet my thoughts, and stand in the presence of God.

The Story of St. Mark’s Chapel 

The Coptic Chapel was just a few months old when I started as a student at St. Vladimir’s. It had been offered as a generous gift  to our small community of Coptic seminarians, and was meant to give us the chance to pray in our liturgical tradition and to feel completely at home. Our humble prayer space was adorned by a Coptic icon of Christ, one that had been presented to Fr. John Behr, St. Vladimir’s Dean, by our patriarch, on Fr. John's trip to Egypt in 2013. The room held a few other Byzantine icons as well. While this simple arrangement certainly didn’t keep us from praying and using this as our sacred space, we all had big dreams for the room. We all hoped to make this small classroom a beautiful example of Coptic liturgy and art, so we started brainstorming.

As it turned out, God was even more eager than we were to get this work going! The weekend after our first unofficial meeting to make plans for the Coptic Chapel, I was attending Midnight Praises at St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church. As I was leaving at the end of the night, I noticed a giant pile of things stacked up in the church’s storage room. Curious, I went over to look and discovered that it was an old iconostasis! It had suffered some water damage, but nevertheless, it was an entire iconostasis! The cantor of the church, seeing my interest, told me that it was being replaced and jokingly offered for me to take them, if I so desired.  To his surprise, I jumped at the opportunity and loaded up my tiny sedan with huge slabs of woodwork and icons and headed back to seminary. As beat-up as these pieces were, we all felt really blessed, and were ready to start putting together our chapel!

Our first step was to restore the main icons of the Pantocrator and of the Theotokos. I approached a couple, Evelyn Avery Rophael and Wafik Rophael, from my home parish in Maryland. They create and restore Coptic icons and woodwork, and they did not disappoint! They stripped and redid the gold leaf, repainted the damaged pieces of painting, set the canvas on a new support frame to straighten it out, and added it to an entirely new façade-frame. They did marvelous work and really brought out the dormant beauty of these 30-year-old icons.

On the Feast of the Cross, the icons went up, and the room was transformed from a classroom to a sanctuary. It was a joyous day, indeed! Standing in our new chapel at Vespers, I couldn't but notice the difference in our worship experience. There, in that room, now arose the same strength that shines in the classroom, and the awe I take with me to the library. This feeling has stayed with me. Worship now both informs and transforms every aspect of my life here at St. Vladimir's.

 Peter Mansour is a second-year Coptic student in the Master of Arts Program. He is a member of St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church of Savage, MD, where he served in the middle school ministry, and as a coordinator of the Coptic Hymns ministry/choir before he arrived at seminary.

Peter attended the University of Maryland where he received his B.A. in History and served as the president of the Coptic Orthodox Christian Association chapter at College Park, MD. He is now earning his Masters for the advancement of the ministry of the Coptic Orthodox Church in America. He hopes to pursue further studies after graduation while continuing to serve the Church in any capacity, as he is able.

Fr. Theophan Whitfield

The Doctor of Ministry Program at St Vladimir’s Seminary: Four Things I’ve Learned (So Far)

The pastor and the triage nurse have much in common.  Both spend significant  time assigning priority among hard cases.  In the parish and in the emergency room, the need for urgent care is often pronounced and pressing.  And the basic fact of life is that time and resources are limited.  “The poor you will always have with you” (Matt 26:11) takes on special meaning in parish ministry.

Seminary is of course the place which prepares the Orthodox pastor for ministry in a world of profound suffering.  And this is true regardless of whether one labors in a declining heritage parish in the northeast or a booming mission parish along I-10.  The goal of ministry is neither to keep the doors open, nor is it to multiply the number of new parishes.  The basic goal is to connect the weary and the heavy laden to Christ, so that He might give them rest (Matt 11:28).

And this is what Orthodox pastors do.  Whether you are a priest, youth pastor, prison chaplain, retreat leader, iconographer or missionary, the calling is the same  —  to make the timeless gospel make sense for the person who stands in need before you, right here and right now.

But with so much to do, it is easy to lose sight of the truth that ministry is a blend of calling and skill, and that both of these need nurturing.  We nurture our calling to ministry by taking care of our own relationship with Christ through prayer, fasting, worship, confession, and works of mercy.  But we must pay attention to our pastoral skills as well.  For too many the world is a misery mill that tirelessly churns out creative forms of suffering and alienation.

For me, the Doctor of Ministry program at St Vladimir’s Seminary is proving to be an experience which nurtures both calling and skill.  On the one hand, the D.Min. program is providing an excellent opportunity to pause and learn more about the many and novel pastoral challenges we face in the parish, and a major fruit of coursework so far is that I now bring better skills to the whack-a-mole work of ministry.  But the value of the program for me is not limited to the activity of hands and head.  It has nurtured my heart as well.  The D.Min. experience is strengthening my identity and calling as an Orthodox pastor.

To focus a bit, here are four things I’ve learned so far as a D.Min. student at St. Vladimir’s.

(1)  Pastors have experience, and the Church needs it.  Ministry is not just about coping with the problems of today.  Ministry is also about processing and learning from our pastoral experiences to this point, so that we might be armed to the teeth as we help our people confront the uncertainties of an unfolding future.  Orthodox pastors have an obligation (I would say) to hold up what they have learned through the years, whether by failure or by success, and to offer that experience as a resource for others who are laboring in the vineyard.  The D.Min. program offers such an opportunity.  As a D.Min. student, I am asked to think about ministry in a critical way, both because it makes me a better parish priest, but also because the Church needs me to do it.  The coursework and doctoral projects required along the way will be used by the Holy Spirit to ensure that the gates of hell most certainly will not prevail against the rock of our confession (Matt 16:18).

(2)  I have more time in my schedule than I feared.  One bar to entering the program was a concern about whether “one more thing” (and a big one at that) would dynamite the delicate constellation of work, family, and Netflix that already trembles each time the church phone rings.  Spoiler alert:  the work takes time  —  you cannot dash it off between coffee hour and the post-liturgical nap.  However, the distance-learning nature of the program delivers flexibility to your door  —  or at least to your web browser.  If you like to listen to lectures at a desk, wearing a cassock, with pencil and paper primed for taking notes … then you can certainly do that.  But if learning on the treadmill or train ride works for you, then let the world be your classroom!  Pajamas or pants  —  your wardrobe makes no difference.

(3)  I am not pursuing a doctorate in ministry, but WE are.   For students in the D.Min. program at St Vladimir’s, this statement makes sense.  We are blessed that St Vladimir’s takes the “cohort” vision quite seriously.  I entered the doctoral experience with ten others from eight different jurisdictions across the United States and Canada, and by design there is intimate overlap in our work.  We are proceeding through the program together.  We reflect on each other’s work weekly, and the “onsite intensive” each term is a jewel in the crown of the whole experience.  For a full week each semester we meet at St Vladimir’s and gather critical feedback from the cohort on our developing projects. 

Have you ever shouted your best idea with eloquence and power only to hear crickets in response?  (I’m looking at you, committee meeting.) Or do you from time to time take the Nestea plunge into Facebook and float on the waves stirred up by like-minded voices? In my cohort, there are no crickets, and there are no echo chambers.  Discussions are spirited and informed.  What I find in the cohort is a fellowship of disciples who want to make our common efforts alongside Christ as fruitful as possible.  It is a place where truly the goal is to speak the truth in love so that we may become the mature body of Christ (Eph 4:15).

(4)  There is a difference between being self-emptying and self-draining.  This is a quotation from Fr Nicholas Solak who taught the recent course Pastoral Counseling in the Parish.  If I had to pick a slogan for the D.Min. experience so far, this would be it.  One priceless benefit of my studies to this point is perspective, in a word.  It is easy to lose ourselves in ministry, to erase the good and needed boundaries that protect our authenticity as pastors and guides.  As we deepen our understanding of youth ministry, or advances in medicine and biology, or liturgical practice, we are reminded over and over that what we do, we do for the glory of God, through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is good to step back and see the wide scope of excellent ministry that is ongoing in the Body of Christ.  For me, this has been a source of encouragement and renewal. I know it has been for others as well.  I look forward to the challenging work that still lies ahead.

Rev. Theophan Whitfield is the rector of St Nicholas Orthodox Church in Salem, MA.  With degrees in philosophy from Princeton and Columbia, he was a teacher of mathematics and the history of science before entering St Vladimir’s Seminary, from which he graduated in 2010.  When he is not busy explaining to witches that Christians have been blessing water, homes, and graves for 2000 years, he enjoys exploring the North Shore of Boston with his wife, Matushka Manna, and three daughters.

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Two presentations hosted by the St. Juliana Society (SJS) in the fall 2015 term provided the future clergy wives at St. Vladimir's with much food for thought and discussion. On Monday evening, October 26, a large group of women turned out to join in a mini-workshop offered by Matushka Amy Bozeman. Matushka and her husband Fr. David Bozeman (SVOTS '12) lead the community of St. Nektarios Orthodox Mission in Waxahachie, TX.

As an experienced labor and delivery nurse, an educator, doula, writer, editor, and mother of teens, Mat. Amy wears many hats. Her workshop focused on how women can identify and intentionally work through the expectations that they bring to seminary life. She emphasized the need for women to establish healthy patterns of self care, including the setting of appropriate boundaries that will be important later in the nurture of clergy family life.

L to R: Mat. Amy, Mat. Thekla Hatfield, Mat. Robyn HatrakOn Monday, November 9, Matushka Dennise Kraus of Holy Trinity Church in East Meadow, New York spoke to the SJS women on the topic "Pregnancy, Loss and the Orthodox Church: Praying for and ministering to families who have experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth." Matushka and alumnus Fr. Martin Kraus are the parents of five children ages 1–19. The couple experienced two miscarriages before and during their years at St. Vladimir's; this motivated Mat. Dennise to assemble prayers for the loss of an infant, and to prepare guidelines to help those who seek to minister to bereaved couples.

View the Service after a Miscarriage or Stillbirth from the Orthodox Church in America