An alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary is making news in New Hampshire. Archpriest Andrew Tregubov’s iconography is the subject of ABC affiliate WMUR-TV’s recent feature story, Creating Iconographic Masterworks: Inside Fr. Andrew Tregubov's passion for Christian Art.

In the story, Fr. Andrew discusses techniques and the importance of iconography for Orthodox Christians.

The Very Rev. Andrew Tregubov graduated from St. Vladimir’s Seminary in 1995. He is currently the rector of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, an OCA parish in Claremont, New Hampshire.

Photo and video credit: WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH

The feast of our Lord’s Nativity in the flesh celebrates the great gift of new life and rebirth from God. Mary gives birth to the Son of God, and Joseph gives him the name Jesus, a name that communicates the Child’s divine vocation: to save God’s people from their sins (Matt 1:21). In taking our flesh, He is called Emmanuel (Matt 1:23). His holiness is with us. All things are filled with His glory and His righteousness. God becomes man to offer eternal salvation to all—to those already seeking the righteousness of God and to those lost in darkness.

St. Matthew’s Gospel is read in the Matins service as well as in the Divine Liturgy of the Feast. At the Matins service, the Gospel (1:18-25) tells of the miraculous birth of the child Jesus and his adoption by Mary’s husband, Joseph. In that passage, Joseph is described not only as Mary’s husband, but as a just man. St. Matthew also explains how Joseph resolves to divorce Mary to save her from shame.

…and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. (Matt 1:19)

But an angel of the Lord intervenes, appearing to Joseph in a dream, and guides him on a different path. The angel of the Lord refers to Joseph not merely as the “husband of Mary,” but as a “son of David”:

But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit… (Matt 1:20)

This change in Joseph invites our reflection as we near the celebration of this great feast day.

Joseph is a just man who is led to understand Mary’s pregnancy as shameful. Her pregnancy will bring hardship and disgrace, and he prepares to divorce Mary in order to spare her public accusation and trial. Joseph shows kindness and care toward Mary—the kindness and care of a righteous and just man. This righteousness of Joseph is grounded in compassion and mercy.

As long as Joseph understands his vocation as being narrowly limited by earthly obligations, matters of marriage, and public shame, his sense of righteousness leads him to believe that dissolution of the social, legal, and practical arrangement of the marriage—a quiet divorce—is the best possible solution. With this narrowly conceived vocation, one that is rooted in what the evangelist Matthew identifies as “husband,” Joseph’s choices and behavior make sense to us. Even in the most difficult of family and social circumstances, all of us can find the resolve to follow through with hard choices in a way that is respectful and compassionate to others, even to those with whom we are locked in strong disagreement and conflict. In the midst of turmoil of our lives, we are able to demonstrate love and charity toward others when we are guided by our sense of righteousness.

But when Joseph’s vocation is clarified by the angel in his dream, his calling is elevated beyond earthly limits and gives way to a heavenly nature. He is “Joseph, son of David.” He is a servant of the Lord. He is strengthened to turn away from his fear, to abandon his narrow righteousness, and to do the unexpected: Joseph takes Mary as his wife. He is no longer merely a man navigating the arrangements of a marriage and a divorce. We now know him as one belonging to the genealogy that opens St. Matthew’s Gospel, the genealogy that reveals God’s hand at work in human affairs. And it is important for us to understand that one belongs to this genealogy, the lineage of Abraham, not through legal and biological links or through personal righteousness, but because God is with us. And we respond to God’s presence with faith, humility, and obedience.

The angel of the Lord reveals to Joseph that Mary’s being with child is not a source of shame and that taking her as his wife is not something to be feared. What Joseph understood to be bad is, in fact, good. That which is conceived in Mary is of the Holy Spirit and is from God. That which was thought to be shameful, is holy.

How often we forget that we belong to God. So often we allow ourselves to be guided by fear and shame. Time and time again we allow fear to take hold of our heart in the face of tragedy and injustice. In times of trouble, we depend on our own righteous resources to lead us through. But God shows His presence and glory to us in the worrisome realities of our lives. He offers us a righteousness far beyond our own when we accept that we are “sons of David.” We are part of the divine genealogy. The truth behind the troubled realities of our lives is that we belong to God and God is with us.

An angel of the Lord, the messenger of God’s holy intervention, breaks into the human realm and reveals to Joseph the limits of his righteousness. This righteousness seeks to spare Mary shame, but on its own is not sufficient to discern what is true and good and holy. On its own, his righteousness, while allowing Joseph to yield to the will of God, is still rooted in shame and lacking in courage. His righteousness alone will neither fulfill the prophecies nor follow the will of God. The liturgical texts of the feast celebrate Joseph’s encounter with the angel and his persuasion by the angel to change his course of action:

Tell us, Joseph, how is it that thou bringest to Bethlehem, great with child, the Maiden whom thou hast received from the sanctuary? ‘I have searched the prophets,’ said he, ‘and have been warned by an angel; and I am persuaded that Mary shall give birth to God, in ways surpassing all interpretation. Magi from the east shall come to worship Him with precious gifts.’ O Lord, who for our sake hast taken flesh: glory to Thee. -Christmas Eve, the Third Hour

As St. Matthew’s Gospel continues, the angel of the Lord appears again to Joseph, instructing him to take the child and his mother to Egypt (Matt 2:14) and later instructs him to return them to the land of Israel (Matt 2:20). In these latter instances, Joseph does not rely on his own righteousness but rather is simply open and responsive to his divine vocation as “Son of David.” He is one who belongs to God, and he abandons his own ways in order to follow the Lord.

Mary, of course, is receptive to God’s intervention (Luke 1:38) and obedient to His word. She embraces completely the divine vocation given to her. The magi, too, are able to overcome their own earthly vocations in order to come to know the Christ Child. They are open to the presence of God and travel from afar, following a star, and they learn from those who read the Scriptures where the king of the Jews is to be born. In turn, they have the opportunity to fall before the Child, to worship Him and offer their gifts.

But in St. Matthew and St. Luke’s narratives we also discover that not everyone is able to recognize the holy presence of God and to fully embrace their own divine vocation. Herod and all of Jerusalem are troubled and continue in this unsettled state to the end of the gospel narrative. While the chief priests and scribes of the people can accurately search the Scriptures, they cannot see what the Magi see. Herod, rather than relying upon and following what little righteousness he might possess, turns instead to insanity, violence, and murder.

Our life in Christ involves our whole self; every thought and breath is commended to Christ our God. The remembrance of God is brought into every aspect of our life—into our sinful failing and our own righteous striving. Our faith in Christ offers us a righteousness that overcomes fear and leads us into our divine vocation: to be servants of the Lord.  A righteousness that comes from us alone, a righteousness that is not rooted in Christ and is not open to the divine intervention of God is a righteousness that will lead us, over and over, to wrong understanding and to wrong pursuits.

Celebrating the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity in the flesh is a time for us, like Joseph, to offer our fear to the Lord. It is a time for us to recognize that our true vocation is a divine vocation, a time for us to embrace this divine calling fully and to become “sons of David.” Let this Feast of our Lord’s Nativity be a time for us joyfully to actualize in our lives the festive shout, “God is with us!”

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The Rev. Dr. Nicholas Solak is a graduate of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (MDiv ’02, DMin ‘08). He has been the parish priest at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Stroudsburg, PA, since July 2002. His wife, Masha, directs the choir and teaches part-time in the Pan-Orthodox Preschool in Stroudsburg. Fr. Nicholas is the dean of the Wilkes-Barre Deanery of the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania and a Sessional Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology at St. Vladimir’s, where he oversees the seminary’s prison ministry field education.

On Soul Saturday, March 10, 2018, one seminary alumnus was ordained to the priesthood, and another became rector at the same parish,  St. Basil Mission in Wilmington, North Carolina.

ORDINATION OF DEACON ANDREW CANNON

Alumnus Deacon Andrew Cannon was ordained to the Holy Priesthood at St. Basil Mission by the hand of His Eminence, the Most Reverend Alexander, archbishop of Dallas, the South and the Bulgarian Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). His Eminence, himself an alumnus (’73), appointed Priest Andrew as the mission’s assistant pastor.

After the ordination, His Eminence also blessed Saint Basil Cemetery before a banquet held in honor of the newly ordained.

Fr. Andrew Cannon graduated from St. Vladimir’s Seminary with a Master of Arts Degree (M.A.) in 2016. Before attending St. Vladimir’s, Fr. Andrew studied Classics at Furman University and worked as a consultant at the university’s Writing & Media Lab. Prior to ordination, Fr. Andrew had been serving as deacon and pastoral assistant at St. Basil.

Read a powerful reflection Fr. Andrew and his wife, Matushka Melissa, wrote during their time at seminary here.

PRIEST PETER ROBICHAU NAMED RECTOR

At the conclusion of Saturday’s Divine Liturgy, His Eminence presented the parishioners of St. Basil Mission with a plaque, elevating St. Basil from mission status to full parish status, and naming Alumnus Priest Peter Robichau as the parish's first rector.

Fr. Peter graduated from St. Vladimir’s Seminary in 2010, and was assigned as St. Basil’s first resident Priest-in-Charge in June of that year. In his diaconal ministry, from June 25, 2006 until his enrollment at St. Vladimir’s in the fall of 2007, Fr. Peter served as local charities coordinator at Holy Apostles Church, (OCA), West Columbia, South Carolina —heading up parish involvement in local interfaith outreach endeavors. He further represented Holy Apostles Church to the area's primary non-profit charity as a member of the Board of Directors. He holds an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies from Columbia International University in Columbia, SC.

Other St. Vladimir’s Seminary alumni participated in the Divine Liturgy and ordination Saturday, including Archpriest Marcus Burch (’97), chancellor of the Diocese of the South, Archpriest Thomas Moore ('98), Dean of the Carolinas Deanery, Priest John Parker (’04, ‘18), and Priest Patrick Pulley (’16). Approximately 150 faithful attended the service.

View photos of Saturday’s Divine Liturgy and ordination

The third edition of The Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church: Meaning, Preparation and Practice, written by Alumnus Archpriest Steven Kostoff, rector of Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, is now available for purchase online.

This slim but richly insightful guide to the pinnacle of Orthodox Christian worship expresses the renewal of “liturgical theology” as set forth by the late Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann (Dean of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, 1962–1983), who defined this field of interest as “the elucidation of the meaning of worship.” 

Uniting Scripture, theology, and doxology, while engaging in a practical discussion of liturgical actions within church services, Fr. Steven helps readers understand and enter into the heart of worship as “the revelation and expression of our Orthodox Faith.” This third edition also features a new epilogue by the author, titled, “Great Vespers and Christian Martyria,” and a new article titled “Eucharistic Beings.”

Father Steven Kostoff is a frequent contributor to the Seminary’s Synaxis Blog.

Sections of this article are reprinted from oca.org.

Norse contacts with Eastern Christendom, including the establishment of the Rurik dynasty of Russia, are historic. While the Christianity of the north leaned to the West following the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation, the Orthodox Church recently opened a new chapter in Norway’s history with the commissioning of the country’s first Orthodox Navy and Armed Forces Chaplain.

Our alumnus, Fr. Theodore [Thor] Svane returned to Norway in June 2017, after his five-year sojourn in America, which included internships with the Diocese of the West of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), both at St. Seraphim of Sarov Church, Santa Rosa, CA and at St. Katherine Mission, Carlsbad, CA. During his time in California, Fr. Theodore came in contact with former Orthodox chaplains, including the late Mitred Archpriest Michael Margitich, a retired U.S. Air Force Chaplain, and Archpriest Jerome Cwiklinski, who retired from active duty with the U.S. Navy in 2014.

Father Theodore, a former sailor and chaplain assistant in the Royal Norwegian Navy, was always intrigued by the ministry of the Lutheran chaplains he supported, in what was then a state-church enterprise. Increased diversity within Norway’s military ranks caused the Lutheran Church to relinquish its exclusive institutional role, thereby granting access to other faiths. Along with contracted Catholic priests, Fr. Theodore is now one of a very few non-Lutheran clergy serving among Norway’s 55 armed forces chaplains—and the only Orthodox Christian doing so.

Though Fr. Theodore also wears a uniform, his cassock is more and more a familiar sight on Bergen’s Naval Base (Norwegian counterpart of Norfolk or San Diego), the homeport to Norway’s fleet. Like his Lutheran colleagues, Fr. Theodore provides prayer, spiritual counsel, and a ministry of presence while teaching ethics—a prescribed role for Norwegian Chaplains—to his assigned units. His unique liturgical and sacramental role will have a much broader application throughout the armed forces.

Unless at sea, Norwegian chaplains are not obliged to provide worship on their bases; instead they help foster support in the civilian community by assisting at neighboring parishes. Thus, Fr. Theodore is able to assist at Holy Transfiguration Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, but he hopes to establish an all-Norwegian language Orthodox mission. The Orthodox Church in Norway includes approximately 35 parishes of seven jurisdictions. Father Theodore belongs to the Russian Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarch.

Father Jerome and Matushka Wendy Cwiklinski recently were hosted in Bergen, Norway, by Fr. Theodore and his family. During their stay, Fr. Jerome met Navy chaplains and their assistants, including the Senior Navy Chaplain Commander Gudmund Waaler. Father Theodore had worked as Gudmund’s assistant in their respective early Navy careers. Even then, Chaplain Gudmund discerned Fr. Theodore’s vocation, and he is especially proud to see it come to fruition during their mutual active service.

Sections of this article are reprinted from oca.org.

On Sunday, January 21, 2018, His Eminence the Most Reverend Michael, archbishop of New York and the Diocese of New York and New Jersey, presented a Synodal Gramota to Archpriest Joseph Frawley, chaplain at the Chapel of St. Martin of Tours at West Point, NY. The presentation, which was made at the conclusion of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, recognized Fr. Joseph’s 40th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood, 20 years of service as Chaplain at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, and his work at the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), both in the Department of History and Archives and in the “Lives of the Saints” section of the OCA’s website. The presentation was made at the conclusion of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy.

Father Joseph, a Master of Divinity student in the mid-’70s at the Seminary, has faithfully ministered at St. Martin Chapel and to the cadets it serves since 1998. During his visit, Archbishop Michael also presented a new antimension to the Chapel, containing the relics of the Holy New Martyr Saint Hilarion [Troitsky], who fell asleep in the Lord in 1929.

Sections of this article are reprinted from oca.org.

“Unless the Lord comes to us, we are completely helpless.”
–St. Maximos, Greek ascetic, the 4th Century

It is November 16 as I write this. My mailbox is now brimming every day with glossy catalogs proclaiming the virtues of the triumphant, capitalistic existence of comfort and indulgence that we have all imbibed to one degree or another.

Yet on this second day of the Orthodox Advent season, I am acutely aware of my spiritual poverty. I have charged through my days heedless, as the mellowed northern California fall sun has illumined a fiery display of gold and magenta, flaming orange and russet red. Glory to God! the colors have shouted, but most of the time I have been too busy to stop and notice. My cell phone rings, my car needs gas, my errand list is a mile long, my work beckons, and my children need rides or tutoring or food. Squeezing in morning prayers here and there and attending church on Sunday, I nod to God before getting back to the “real” business at hand.

Sometimes I am running from Him, burying myself with my busyness because I don’t want to be alone with Him. I’m avoiding the silence of prayer and time spent before our icons, because it is there that I confront myself stripped away of any false pretense of piety. This confrontation with my sin and hard heartedness is painful; indeed, trying to practice the disciplines of the Church in the midst of Christmas season is definitely an uphill climb! I don’t want to think about fasting, or almsgiving, or being more consistent in prayer. When I first turned over my calendar this year and saw the November 15 date, my first thought was that I simply didn’t have the strength or the desire to enter into the fast this year.

Yet mercifully, the longing for God’s presence regularly surfaces despite the noise and distractions. Oftentimes I am acutely aware of the void within, as was the Psalmist when he plaintively penned, “As a deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God,” (Ps. 42).

It always seems that, just when I need it, the holy season of Advent arrives. Rather than being burdensome, the spiritual habits and proscriptions given to us in the Church are a lifeline. Certainly, there have been times when I have struggled to understand why we approach Christmas with such sobriety. This is a season for parties! For gifts! For happy celebrations! For family! What’s this fasting in the midst, this remembrance of His death, these extra services that mirror the somber services of Holy Week?

Father Thomas Hopko explains in his book, The Winter Pascha:

“The Lord’s birth and baptism are directly connected to His dying and rising. He was born in order to die…the harmony between the events is overwhelming…Jesus lay as an infant in the cavern in the reign of Caesar Augustus that He might lay in the tomb under Pontius Pilate. He was hounded by Herod that He might be caught by Caiaphas…He was worshipped by wise men that the whole of creation might adore Him in His triumph over death.”

Christ comes to us, then, and we do rejoice, for we are indeed helpless and have no life apart from Him. But the shadow of a cross falls over the tender and peaceful scene at the stable. His suffering life, His sacrifice, the weight of the world’s sins; all are implicit in, and present at, His birth. So our Advent celebrations should be tempered by this reality; in a sense, the bright Lenten sadness is there at the manger, too.

Some years, I have had no trouble entering into sober Advent reflection during the 40 days of preparation prior to the Nativity Feast. The year my father died, for instance, the quiet, reflective spirit of Orthodox Advent was a comfort. Anyone who has suffered a deep loss or sorrow through illness or death knows about the “bright sadness” that accompanies Christmas, and the shadow of the cross is indeed long for those grieving hearts.

Yet even in my most sanguine years, I must prepare my heart if I hope to receive “the King of All,” and this inner struggle is my cross which is present at the manger. Somehow I must find ways to screen out the sentimental, saccharine messages daily delivered via TV, radio, Internet, social gatherings, the printed page, and the billboard. Just as the waning winter light bids me flee the cold and light a fire in the sanctuary of my home, Advent is a time to for me to enter into the sanctuary of my soul, stoking the fires of my heart through repentance, cleaning out the cobwebs in preparation for the birth of God in the center of my being.

How can we prepare for Christ’s arrival?

By increasing our prayer. Says Fr. Anthony Coniaris, “The two great movements of the soul have always been withdrawal and return…withdrawal into God’s presence through prayer for strength…without prayer, the quality of our service deteriorates. Without prayer we forget the world; with prayer we remember.” Advent is a time to remember that in God, we move and breathe and have our being, and we must be with Him and consciously in Him before we can have authentic love and relationship with others.

By giving alms. There is something almost poetic about giving money and perhaps even more important in these busy times, our

time, to others who are in need at Christmas time. We can battle our self indulgence with self sacrifice, by giving freely, with joy and gratitude to God for His good gifts to us. St. John Chrysostom writes, “It is not enough to help the poor. We must help them with generosity and without grumbling. And it is not enough to help them without grumbling. We must help them gladly and happily. When the poor are helped there ought to be these two conditions: generosity and joy.”

By going to Church more often. The Advent season provides extra opportunities to be in the atmosphere of worship. Isn’t it true that when we walk into the doors of our parishes, and those doors swing shut behind us, the flickering candles and the sights and smells of icons and incense before us, aid us in our seasonal preparations? Sometimes it is so hard to get there and so many things crowd our calendars but the rewards are always great. As Fr. Alexander Schmemann writes:

“There is no need to preach constantly on ‘sin,’ to judge and condemn. It is when a man is challenged with the real contents of the Gospel, with its Divine depth and wisdom, beauty and all embracing meaning, that he becomes ‘capable of repentance,’ for true repentance is precisely the discovery by the man of the abyss that separates him from God and from His real offer to man. It is when the man sees the bridal chamber adorned that he realizes that he has no garment for entering it.”

By remembering some of the unique and remarkable saints of the Advent season, reading about their lives and celebrating their days of remembrance. Of course, we remember St. Nicholas (December 6) as he is commonly honored at this time of year, but what about some of the others? St. Herman of Alaska (December 13) exemplified the spirit of this time of year to perfection, and he belongs to us here in America, so let’s not let the day go by without reading about him and recalling his sacrificial life with the people of Alaska. St. Stephen the protomartyr is remembered on December 26, immediately following the Nativity service, and he too can be venerated for his godly example. On New Year’s Day, we can speak of the brilliant St. Basil, who spoke with erudition and intelligence to the issues of his day in a manner which transformed the Church.

By going to confession. If there is any act out of step with the vain and glib holiday atmosphere presented to us by the spirit of this age, it is act of the repentant Christian confessing his or her sins. Said Dorothy Day, “Going to confession is hard, hard when you have sins to confess, hard when you haven’t, and you wrack your brain for even the beginnings of sins against charity, chastity, sins of distraction, sloth or gluttony. You do not want to make too much of your constant imperfections and venial sins, but you want to drag them out to the light of day as the first step in getting rid of them….I have sinned. These are my sins. That is all you are supposed to tell; not the sins of others, or your own virtues, but only your ugly, gray, drab, monotonous sins.” Blessed are those who mourn, for it is precisely in this mourning that we receive comfort. These are the tidings of comfort and joy that the Christmas carol songwriter celebrates—redemption from guilt and the weight of sin!

By incorporating the Church’s traditions in ways that make sense for us here and now. Though we are not perfect fasters by any means, our family eats more simply in the season of Advent. We celebrate St. Nicholas’ Feast Day by putting out shoes on the night of December 5th so that “St. Nicholas” can fill them with gold coins while the children sleep. We read about his life, marveling at his overflowing love and goodness. We listening to Orthodox Christmas music and we keep an Advent wreath and calendar for six Sundays instead of four. We enjoy a traditional Christmas Eve dinner incorporating old world traditions. We have adapted, albeit imperfectly, our own cultural traditions to incorporate the spirit of Orthodox worship and emphasis at this time of year.

Author Matthew Gallatin has said that we in America have traditionally celebrated the Christmas season in backwards fashion. “Just as the guest of honor walks through the door, it’s all over,” he notes. This year, may we embrace the Orthodox vision of holy preparation, so that when December 25th dawns, we will be ready to receive Christ in the feast, the “Winter Pascha” of Nativity!

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Virgina Nieuwsma is Moves Manager at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.

When Alumnus Fr. Seth Earl graduated from our Seminary in May 2017, the Commencement Program noted his “commendation for service to community.”

No surprise there. During his student days, Fr. Seth had been actively involved in the Student Council, especially in creating and presiding over one of its associated Student Interest Groups: the “St. Moses Society,” an organization that endeavors to foster meaningful conversation on race in the Orthodox Church today. He also had represented St. Vladimir’s at the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Meeting (OISM) gathering in 2015.

Neither was it a surprise when Fr. Seth was named Assistant Priest of St. John the Wonderworker Church, a vibrant parish in the Diocese of the South, Orthodox Church in America, known for active outreach to its neighbors in Atlanta, Georgia.

However—even anticipating Fr. Seth’s community-centered mindset—it was a surprise to learn he recently collaborated with a parishioner of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Mission in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to send dozens of theological books to 3,000 seminarians in Ethiopia! (Father Seth is “on loan” to the Appalachian Deanery every other weekend, serving Divine Liturgy at the St. Tikhon’s Mission.)

The Ethiopian effort was conceived by Dean Arnold, choir director and chairman of the parish council at St. Tikhon’s Mission. Arnold had previously forged friendships with leaders of Holy Trinity Theological College, in Addis Ababa (HTTC), Ethiopia, the center of theological and ecclesiastical study for all Oriental Orthodox Churches, which provides religious and secular instruction to both clergy and lay members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. During Arnold’s time in Ethiopia, he noted the lack of theological books in the library of HTTC, where 3,000 students are enrolled.

“Because Amazon does not ship economically to Ethiopia—this country also bans Starbucks and other global corporations—the students literally cannot get the books they crave to read: Schmemann, Lossky, Meyendorff, and so forth,” explained Arnold. So, upon his return to the States, Arnold took it upon himself to sound the alarm and to call for book donations.

That’s when Fr. Seth stepped in to lend a hand. He helped to arrange, with St. Vladimir’s President, Fr. Chad Hatfield, to have SVS Bookstore bundle up brand new books written by in-demand Orthodox authors—John Meyendorff, John Zizioulas, Georges Florovsky, Vladimir Lossky, Nicholas Afanasiev, Alexander Schmemann, Kallistos Ware, John Behr, and Hilarion Alfeyev. Then, friends of Fr. Seth, who were traveling from New York to Atlanta, delivered them to Fr. Seth, and over Christmas break, he hauled them from Atlanta to Chattanooga and delivered them to Arnold.

Arnold and fellow parishioner Levi Crawford then packed the books in boxes and made the two-legged plane journey to Addis Ababa.  “The Ethiopians were simply delighted to receive their books!” Arnold reported. Officials of HTTC even sent a formal letter of gratitude to him, expressing their thanks for the “spirit of Christian fraternity” exhibited by the donation.

As for Fr. Seth, he says he’s overjoyed to have been able to extend his “community service” to his African brothers and sisters. No surprise there.

Alumnus Father Steven McGuigan, who attended St. Vladimir’s Seminary as a special student in Academic Year 2016–2017, and was subsequently assigned as pastor of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Juneau, Alaska, recently was the subject of a feature article in his local newspaper, the Juneau Empire. The article, titled, "A Tiny Powerhouse of Prayer,” was written by Kevin Gullufsen.

Father Steven, formerly a Roman Catholic priest, was received as a priest in the Orthodox Christian Church by vesting in March of 2017. He holds an A.B. (magna cum laude), from Assumption College, Worcester, Massachusetts, as well as an M.A. in Theology and Psychology. He studied at Heythrop College, University of London, and received his M. Div. with honors from St. John's Seminary, in Brighton, Massachusetts. At Grand Seminaire de Montreal, Montreal, Canada, he served as a faculty member. Additionally, he is a Fellow, American Guild of Organists (F.A.G.O.), and the chaplain, recitalist and active member of the American Guild of Organists, Berkshire chapter.

Father Steven reports he enjoys exploring the city of Juneau, and has been warmly welcomed by parishioners—especially since the church has gone without a permanent pastor for the past 7 years. He now is working with his flock to build a vibrant parish, and he already has a “convert class” of 5 people!

"A Tiny Powerhouse of Prayer"

By Kevin Gullufsen, reprinted with permission from the Juneau Empire

Before coming to Alaska, Father Steven McGuigan had never been to the west coast. He was expecting igloos and sled dogs and “snow as far as the eye can see” when he touched down in Kodiak for his first Alaska posting.

But the reality of Alaska life was a little less extreme than the Massachusetts product expected.

“I’d call home and my dad would be like, ‘What’s the weather like? It’s a blizzard here.’ And I’d say, ‘Well, it’s green, you know, and 45 degrees,” McGuigan said with a chuckle. “But it’s Alaska!”

McGuigan, a priest, was installed in his position as the rector of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in August. He’s the first full-time priest the church has had in about seven years. The St. Nicholas parish had previously been served by a patchwork of deacons and priests with other duties. Most recently, Father David Alexander, a U.S. Coast Guard chaplain, served as the “attached priest” at St. Nicholas for about a year.

Though Alexander has been “invaluable” to serving the Juneau parish, McGuigan said he’s excited to establish a full-time presence at St. Nicholas. He hopes to provide a consistency in service and worship—the very thing that drew him to the Orthodox Church. He converted after more than 20 years service in the Roman Catholic Church.

“My overall pastoral game plan is simply, after so many years of not having a priest, or if they had a priest, not having a full-time one, will just try to be very stable and consistent. To let folks know that, if it’s Saturday night, yes, there’s Vespers. If it’s Sunday, yes, there’s liturgy. You don’t have to think about it,” McGuigan said.

About 30–40 people attend the church currently. A Saturday night Vespers (6 p.m.) and Sunday morning liturgy (10 a.m.) constitutes Orthodox Sabbath services. Many of his parishioners are converts to the Orthodox church and many are Alaska Native.

People flock to the church, he said, for its structure and permanence. Russian Orthodox practices largely haven’t changed for hundreds of years. McGuigan said that history reassures parishioners. He converted to the Russian Orthodox Church for the same reason.

McGuigan’s mother began her life as a Russian Orthodox before converting to Roman Catholicism when she married, so he’s been close to Orthodox culture since childhood.

“There was always that element in family life — Orthodox weddings and stuff like that,” McGuigan said. “My own spiritual life has always been sort of east-west.”

At some point, it became increasingly more difficult for McGuigan to remain a faithful traditional Catholic. The church felt like it was changing too fast. He wasn’t completely comfortable with the direction it was taking.

“That’s what I was struggling against as a priest in the Catholic Church. Everything was far more dependent on the priest’s personality and it felt like God was getting lost in the shuffle. This just felt so much more right,” McGuigan said.

So McGuigan converted six years ago. A colleague suggested he take a position as a second priest to get his feet wet, working under another Orthodox priest. But postings as a second priest in Massachusetts were few and far between. McGuigan had colleagues in Alaska, though, whose ears perked up when he mentioned he was looking for a parish.

He was ordained as an Orthodox priest in March and flew to Kodiak shortly after.

“It seemed like every other door was shutting, and there was this stream of light pointing to Alaska, to the point that I finally had to go, ‘OK, for some reason you want me in Alaska. So I’ll give it a whirl’,” he said.

McGuigan is here to stay and to turn the small, eight-sided church into a “teeny powerhouse of prayer.” It’s going to be a lot of work, both mentally and physically. For one, the facility itself is old and requires careful maintenance. The darkened icons—of Christ, Mary, St. Innocent, St. Nicholas and St. Cyril—which were installed when the church was built in 1894, are in need of restoration. That would cost $2,000–$3,000 each.

McGuigan wants to start daily prayer services and to improve the parking situation for his parishioners at the downtown church. McGuigan and his parishioners are the only ones to do the work. Is it exciting to have the future of the church fall on his shoulders?

“That’s one adjective,” he joked. “What I would like to see is that, despite its size, that this becomes a powerhouse of prayer for all of Juneau—Orthodox or not.”

Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinGullufsen.

Over the summer I had the wonderful privilege of working on a farm every day. My fiancé Jeremy manages a beautiful little farm just outside of Eugene, Oregon, where he grows all kinds of organic produce. After one year of seminary, it was a welcome change to engage in physical labor, to say the least. Above all it was refreshing to be home, to work alongside my fiancé every day, and to be part of a different rhythm as the structure of seminary life made way for the demands of the growing season.

Since I have experience with farming, people often comment to me about how beautiful and peaceful it is, that farming must be God’s work, that I must have so many spiritual metaphors to draw from the experience of farming. In many respects, they are right. Farmers get to cultivate land and plants, watch things grow, and spend constant time out of doors. Very few experiences have given me the sense of wonder at creation as much as watching a miniscule seed grow into a vegetable, both beautiful and nourishing. It is satisfying to feed ourselves and others with the literal fruit of our labors. There is so much to learn from this kind of work!

Yet I find myself wary of “spiritual metaphors,” if only because it can be a great temptation to idealize farming. There certainly are metaphors to be had, and Christ Himself often employed images from agriculture in His teachings (and let me tell you, it is extremely hard to spend endless days pruning unruly tomatoes and not meditate upon John 15, where Christ says we must be pruned to be fruitful). It is, however, easy to underestimate the sheer amount of work involved in farming. Though beautiful, it is a very hard life, not just a pleasant day job (as someone quipped to me recently, “5 to 9 is not 9 to 5!”). Probably the one spiritual equivalent which has stood out to me is this: it is a heck of a lot of hard work. And you cannot stop. For a farm to work, you must tend it faithfully and constantly, and the fruit is rarely immediate. Sometimes a whole crop just fails. Disappointment and weariness can tempt you to throw in the spade, especially when you realize how little control you really have. I find prayer to be very similar. To pray and draw close to God is a constant, not a sometime, action; neither happens by itself, and “results” are not always apparent.

But it is rarely worth it to quit, in farming and certainly when it comes spiritual effort. Both farming and seminary have taught me this. The past year as a seminarian and a farmer, rich with blessings and struggles, has shown me the value of difficult work and persistence. Wherever I am or whatever I am doing—Oregon, New York, farm, or seminary—can be the means of deepening my trust in God and my courage to face life’s difficulties.

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Ashli Moore is in her second and final year of the Master of Arts program at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. She is currently working on a thesis project, which is a model for an Orthodox Christian School that she hopes to implement in her home parish in Eugene, Oregon (pronounced “Orygun”). In her other life, however, she works on Excelsior Farm with her fiancé Jeremy, to whom she is getting married in July. A native of Portland (you may get Portlandia references out of your system at this time), Ashli misses many elements about the Northwest, especially its many tea houses, excellent second–hand clothing stores, and of course, the rain.