Six people in a support group for people with dementia recently gave a poignant performance at Quinnipiac University’s Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Services, in Connecticut. Taking the stage before an audience of about 100 students majoring in health care, they shared their stories of living with dementia: what it was like to lose their memory; what it was like to undergo testing and to receive a painful diagnosis; and how they are carrying on day-to-day.

Our alumnus, Daniel Belonick, director of counseling services for LiveWell (formerly the Alzheimer’s Resource Center) in Plantsville, Connecticut, played an integral part in their performance. Under his facilitation, the six people—all part of a group that he supports—wrote a 38-page script describing their experience of living with dementia and how they wish to remain connected and engaged with their communities. Their first show was at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Connecticut last August, followed by the Quinnipiac performance in November.

The New Haven Register published an article about the Quinnipiac performance, describing some of the heartrending, yet heartwarming, personal monologues:

Bob Savage sat alongside his five friends in a support group for people with dementia and, reading from a script, told the audience: “My memory isn’t so good. I’ve become self-conscious about it. I wonder if people understand what’s been happening to me.”

He added, “If I could just get across to them—my family, my friends, the people I live with, the people who try to help me—if I could just let them know what it’s like to be me these days.”

“I trained to facilitate the group under Maureen Matthews, who originally conceived it and who has worked with people living with dementia for more than 30 years,” said Belonick, “The show, with different performers and personalized scripts, is always titled, ‘To Whom I May Concern’—the ‘I’ not being a typo!—and the powerful words of the people in this group are making a difference in addressing audience perceptions about what it’s like to live with dementia.”

Belonick can say that with confidence, because before each performance, the audience is asked to write down five other words that come to their minds when they hear the word “dementia.” Audience members typically have written down words like, “elderly,” “incurable,” “darkness,” “void,” and “fear.”

Then, after each performance, the same request is made, but this time audience members have written down words like, “courage,” “hope,” “thinking,” “love,” and “together.” This provides the platform for the “talk back,” where group members and the audience dialogue.

“As a seminary graduate, I haven’t taken the usual path to ordination and priestly service,” Belonick noted. “But my seminary training, through class, community, and worship, has magnified my training as a professional counselor in this field; it is a ministry of a different kind.

“Seminary prepared me to be fully present in the midst of questions to which there are no easy answers, pain that is felt deeply, and circumstances that offer seemingly overwhelming challenges, and yet to remain ever hopeful in God’s mercy, love, and desire for us to be fully present with Him, and He with us,” Belonick concluded.

Read the feature story in The New Haven Register here.
Daniel Belonick is a member of the Parish Council at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, New Britain, CT.

Our alumnus, Deacon Nicholas E. Denysenko, Ph.D., will join the faculty of Valparaiso University as the Jochum Professor and Chair, effective January 3, 2018. Deacon Nicholas, who holds a Master of Divinity degree from St. Vladimir’s Seminary, was Valedictorian of the Class of 2000, Salutatorian of the Class of 1999, and Ecclesiarch in Three Hierarchs Chapel 1998–2000. His Master’s thesis was titled, “The Dawn of a New Era in Orthodox Church Music: A Historical Analysis of the Formation of Part-Singing and Kievan Chant in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.”

The Emil and Elfriede Jochum Chair, a University professorship established through a gift from Emil Jochum, supports the study of Christian values in public and professional life. The Chair will work to bring scholarship or other forms of creative work to bear on the many dimensions of the Christian calling in a complex society and to engage students in such exploration whenever possible.

“We are so pleased that Dr. Denysenko will be joining us next year as the Jochum Chair,” said Mark L. Biermann, Ph.D., provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “His background as a theologian and liturgical scholar are a perfect fit for the Jochum Chair.

“His scholarly work has placed him as a nationally and internationally known scholar,” Dr. Biermann noted, “and he effectively brings that scholarly work to bear in his excellent work as a teacher and mentor of students. We greatly look forward to the unique and powerful voice that Nick will bring to our discussions about Lutheranism, the broader Christian Church, inter-religious dialogue, and our world.”

“I am deeply honored and privileged to be appointed to the Jochum Chair at Valparaiso University. The Jochum Chair presents a special opportunity to engage the common pursuit of truth—wherever it leads us,” Dn. Nicholas said. “A beloved teacher once told me that working in Christian higher education is a unique opportunity to ‘give blood’—my hope is to create relationships with students, faculty, and people in the Valparaiso community to ‘give blood’—for the life of the world.”

Prior to assuming the Jochum Chair, Dn. Nicholas had served on the faculty at Loyola Marymount University, and on the faculty of The Catholic University of America in the School of Theology and Religious Studies. Besides his Master of Divinity degree, he holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and a doctorate in liturgical studies/sacramental theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

He is currently a member of the Society of Oriental Liturgy, the North American Academy of Liturgy, the American Academy of Religion and the Orthodox Theological Society of America. Additionally, he has authored many publications, including: Theology and Form: Contemporary Orthodox Architecture in America, “A Proposal for Renewing Liturgy in the Twenty-First Century,” and “Liturgy in the Contemporary Local Community and Belonging: Thanksgiving and Petition.”

Read an essay by Dn. Nicholas, “A Meeting of Domestic and Liturgical Rites: Joy and Light in Orthodox Christmas,” published in The Yale ISM Review, vol. 3.1, Fall 2016.

View a YouTube video of Dn. Nicholas, wherein he lectures on “Forming Faithful Orthodox Christians: Mystagogy in the Parish,” presented at the University of Toronto.

Alumnus Bradley Nassif (Master of Divinity, 1985) has a distinctive calling: he’s peacemaker, educator, and liaison between Orthodox Christians and Evangelical Christians. He also has a distinctive position: he’s the only Orthodox professor of Bible and theology working full time at an Evangelical institution of higher education, that is, North Park University in Chicago. Additionally, he has a distinctive background: born and raised in the Orthodox Church, Lebanese ethnically but a native U.S. citizen, he experienced an enlivening of his ancestral faith within the context of the Evangelical community.

The New Republic has described Dr. Nassif as “the leading academic expert on Eastern Orthodox and Evangelical dialogue.” He has been a keynote speaker for both the World Council of Church’s Orthodox-Evangelical dialogue and the international Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative. He has published numerous articles and served on the editorial board of the five-volume Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, which was edited by George Thomas Kurian and Mark Lamport, and contains a foreword written by Martin Marty (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016). Moreover, he serves as a consultant and writer on Orthodox subjects for Christianity Today (CT) magazine, and he has also served as an Orthodox consultant for The New York Times, with his comments being published in that newspaper. As well, annually, he administers a grant from the John C. Kulis Foundation, titled, “Engaging Orthodoxy,” which is designed to strengthen Orthodox witness in America.

Most recently Dr. Nassif published an article in the December 2017 issue of CT, in recognition of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation this year. Titled, “The Reformation Viewed from the East,” the article assesses Martin Luther’s famous doctrine of sola fide (=faith alone), and encourages a re-examination of the doctrine by both Orthodox and Evangelicals “with more informed negotiations free from awkward encounters and inhospitable historic conditions.” In the article, Dr. Nassif finds a possible touchstone of unity between the Orthodox and Evangelicals in the writings of Mark the Ascetic (c. 430–535), in particular in a treatise titled, “On Those Who Think They Are Made Righteous by Works.” (Read the full CT article here.)

Dr. Nassif's most recent book is a co-edited volume on The Philokalia: A Classic Text of Orthodox Spirituality, foreword by Kallistos Ware (Oxford University Press). He was also the editor of New Perspectives on Historical Theology: Essays in Memory of John Meyendorff, foreword by Henry Chadwick (Eerdmans); and the author of Bringing Jesus to the Desert, a popular introduction to the Desert Fathers (Zondervan).  

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Dr. Nassif and his wife, Barbara, are parents to their daughter, Melanie, who is studying theology at Union University (TN).  Brad and Melanie are chanters and, with Barb, sing in the choir at Holy Transfiguration Antiochian Orthodox Church in Warrenville, IL.

St. Vladimir’s Seminary thanks Christianity Today for its permission to post Dr. Nassif’s article, “The Reformation Viewed from the East,” on svots.edu.

On December 3, 2017, our alumnus, Archbishop Benjamin visited our campus. His Eminence is the archbishop of San Francisco and the West in the Orthodox Church in America and now presides at Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco. Currently four seminarians here at St. Vladimir’s hail from His Eminence’s Diocese.

His Eminence’s stay coincided with the 100th anniversary of the enthronement of Metropolitan Tikhon as Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus. Metropolitan Tikhon once presided in the same cathedral in which Archbishop Benjamin now presides.

Metropolitan Tikhon’s remarkable legacy included his extremely difficult labor as head of the Church of Russia from 1917, at the start of the Bolshevik Revolution, until his repose in 1925. It also included his earlier evangelical ministry as head of the Russian Orthodox Diocese in North America in the early twentieth century.

The Church of Russia glorified Metropolitan Tikhon as a saint in 1989, and Orthodox Christians of many jurisdictions in North America equally venerate him. During his tenure in North America, he envisioned a future Orthodox Church in the New World, that would include all the national Orthodox communities—Russian, Arabic, Greek, Serbian, Romanian, et cetera—united in one Archdiocese.

During his visit Archbishop Benjamin served the Divine Liturgy in Three Hierarchs Chapel and delivered a homily, reading the Salutatory Address offered by St. Tikhon on December 23, 1898, in San Francisco, upon his accession to the Episcopal See of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. (Read the entire text of St. Tikhon’s address, titled, “On Cooperation in the Church,” here.)

We thank our alumnus, Archbishop Benjamin, for his visit, and wish His Eminence “Many Years.”

On Sunday, October 22, 2017, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) awarded our Alumnus, Protopresbyter Leonid Kishkovsky, the miter, in recognition of his many years of service to the Church of Our Lady of Kazan, Sea Cliff, NY, and to the OCA. The honor was granted to Fr. Leonid during the Divine Liturgy, which was concelebrated by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), and His Eminence, the Most Reverend Michael, archbishop of New York, and of New York and New Jersey. Archbishop Michael placed the miter on Father Leonid during the service, on behalf of the Holy Synod. The day also marked the parish’s 75th Anniversary, so additionally, a Synodal Gramota was presented to Fr. Leonid, the Parish Council, and the faithful of Church of Our Lady of Kazan at the conclusion of the Liturgy.

Father Leonid was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1943. His parents fled from Warsaw with him in 1944, just before the Polish Warsaw uprising, and they became war refugees in Germany. They immigrated to the United States as Displaced Persons and settled in Los Angeles, California, becoming members of the Holy Virgin Mary parish.

After completing undergraduate studies in history and political science at the University of Southern California, Fr. Leonid studied at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. He and his wife, Alexandra (Mimi) Koulomzine, met at a student retreat at the seminary and married in 1969. Ordained as a priest in November 1969, Fr. Leonid was assigned to San Francisco’s Holy Trinity Cathedral to build an English-language community in the Cathedral’s St. Innocent Chapel. He and Mimi were actively engaged in Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) campus work with college students in the San Francisco area.

In 1974 Fr. Leonid was called to serve the Church of Our Lady of Kazan in Sea Cliff, and at the same time to work in the Chancery of the OCA in Syosset. During his long service at the Chancery Fr. Leonid has represented the OCA in Orthodox, ecumenical, and inter-religious settings. He has been President of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; Moderator of Religions for Peace (international) and Religions for Peace USA; Moderator of Christian Churches Together in the USA; a member of the World Council of Churches governing bodies; and a member of the Board of Directors of International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). He continues currently as Director of External Affairs and Interchurch Relations for the OCA.

Axios! And, Many Years!

On Sunday, October 8, 2017, in the Orthodox Church of Ss. Peter and Paul in the city of Siemiatycze, a historic event for the Orthodox regional community as well as the entire Orthodox Church in Poland occurred. Archimandrite Warsonofiusz (Doroszkiewicz), became Bishop of Siemiatycze. His was the first episcopal ordination in the 586-year-old history of the parish.

Archimandrite Warsonofiusz (then Fr. Basil Doroszkiewicz) graduated from St Vladimir's with a Master of Theology degree in May 1987. His thesis was "The Problem of Unification of the Easter Orthodox Chalcedonian and Oriental Orthodox Non-Chalcedonian Churches."

On the eve of October 7, the new bishop, who is under the omophorion of His Eminence Metropolitan Sava, met with the Holy Council of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in Poland. First, the decision made by the Holy Council of Bishops of Church on August 24, 2017, regarding the appointment of Archbishop of Warsonofiusz as the Bishop of Siemiatycze was read. A service of thanksgiving (Molieben) followed, and then Archimandrite Warsonofiusz addressed the worshippers:

Your Eminence Wladysko, and Fathers, Your Excellencies!

With great emotion and inner fear, I stand before your Eminence and wise archpriests who gathered in this temple. My anxiety is to you, a spiritually experienced bishop, who knows and understands.

In accordance with the decision of the Holy Council, I was chosen to accept, through the chancellery of the great, saintly, and awakening of the service of the Archbishopric. The merciful God calls me to a new, heavenly and very responsible ministry.

How can I answer this decision of our Orthodox Church? First and foremost, I confess to you with all my heart the extreme unworthiness and human impotence. As the Apostle Paul says, "I shall not glory for myself, except of my weakness" (2 Cor 12.5). Understanding my unworthiness and the depth of the episcopal service disturbs me and confuses my sinful soul.

At the beginning of my monastic life I promised obedience to the Holy Church. So today I can once again testify my readiness to follow this path. With full humility I accept the will of God, the decision of Your Eminence, the Council of Bishops of our Orthodox Church, and enter the new path of the Archbishop's ministry.

Looking back on my life’s path, I can continually thank God for everything I have experienced and received from life. For the multiple mercies I did not deserve. Thank you for the people who God has sent to me, who have solidified and taught me. After graduating from high school I decided to join the Warsaw Seminary. To this day, my venerable teachers, such as Fr. Mikołaj Lenczewski, Sr., Mikołaj Sendulski, Piotr Domańczuk, Ks. Vyacheslav Rafalski, and Fr. Athanasius Semeniuk. In 1976 our seminary was moved to the monastery of St. Onufrego in Jabłeczna. This was my first meeting with the Orthodox monastery, at which time the vicar and rector of the seminary was Archimandrite Sava, the present Metropolitan of our Orthodox Church.

In 1979 God again brought me to the monastery of St. Onufrego, but already in the role of a monk. The monastery became my spiritual haven, where under my Wladysko’s direction I began to learn the monk's life.

Years spent in the seminary and the Christian Theological Academy gave me the opportunity to start exploring theology. With the blessing of our clergy authorities I continued to study theology abroad.

In those days, I had the opportunity to learn and gain spiritual wisdom, and knowledge and life experience, from the great fathers of the Orthodox Church. Protopresbyter John Meyendorff expounded the mysteries of patristic theology in front of me. Father Alexander Schmemann deepened my liturgical knowledge.

Divine Providence also directed me to Greece. God has allowed me many times to go to the Holy Mountain of Athos, where I had the opportunity to meet the great old Paisius the Hagrid and other wise monks. Their ascetic life has become for me a living and true testimony of the action of Divine Providence and the endless love of God to man. Their activities confirmed me on the belief that a true monk should reject his own will and stay in constant prayer.

I also recollect fond memories when I return to my time in the Warsaw seminary. Therefore, I cordially greet all of my colleagues and graduates who are currently engaged in pastoral work in our Orthodox Church.

With great pleasure and joy, I tried to fulfill the duties entrusted to me by your Eminence in the established monastic community in the Sakas. Under the protection and patronage of the great martyr and miracle worker Dmitri Solovinski, I devoted myself to the service of the local parish and the monastic fold. I was fortunate enough to pray, and to create a community in this sacred place for almost ten years. Thanks to these years, I gained invaluable pastoral experience in contact with our faithful.

With the blessing of your Eminence, I dedicate my humble work to the good of our Orthodox Church. Under the care of the Supra Icon of the Mother of God and with the active help of the governors of Lavra and the brothers there, I was able to deal with all this.

You too, Wladysko, sent me three times to the Holy Land, where I could experience the great miracle: the descent of the Holy Fire. It was a special blessing and happiness that will remain in my heart and soul for the rest of my life.

I think back to my childhood. I cannot but remember my dear parents today, Wlodzimierz and Helena. They are the seed of love for our Orthodox faith. They were the true heroes of the spirit and servants of the Church of Christ. I give them my low obeisance.

Greatly contributing to the process of my development and close to my heart is the late Archpriest Athenazy Semeniuk. His boundless love for the people serves me as an example of pastoral service. I will always remember his instruction and guidance as a humble and good shepherd.

All my life and all the events in it were filled with spiritual contact and saving me wisdom from each of today's bishops. Distinguished Archbishops and Fathers, all of you are dear to my heart, thank you for the help and support you have shown me in difficult times.

Your Eminence! I would especially like to thank you for the honor and the choice of me as Bishop of our highly knowledgeable Orthodox Church. You, as a wise and loving Father, have looked after me, directed me and raised me unworthy—and here I am—I am sinful standing before you, and I only dare hope for your archpastoral prayers so that I may carry the cross worthily and properly. Church of Christ, hope in me.

Divine Providence decided that my ordination fell on the day of the memory of the great St. Sergius of Radonezh. He is also a patron of the Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris, where I also studied.

Before his death St. Sergius instructed his disciples: "Brothers, take care of yourself. First of all, have the fear of God, the purity of the soul, and the undying love. " These words speak to me— as a newly elected bishop —with a loud echo and as a main motto.

We pray to you, the Blessed One, the Most Merciful Archbishops and Pastors of Christ, the Orthodox monks living on our earth and those carrying on their monastic work on Holy Mount Athos, and all of the monks in this temple today; the heavens and the Advocate, and especially to St. Sergius of Radonezh, for I am very sinful and weak.

Pray for the descent of the Holy Spirit on me, who am unworthy and sinful. I ask for intercession and support so that I can serve God and our Orthodox people in a dignified and impeccable manner.

It is good to ask, at certain stages of our life, who we are. It is an opportunity to take stock of oneself, what you are doing, and how you are measuring up to the vision or vocation that you have. Each of us must do this as a person, and we must corporately do it as a body of persons – the Church. In this instance, we are doing it as that local body of the Church that is known as the OCA. Who are we?

I teach a class at St. Vladimir’s Seminary called “Orthodox Christian Identity,” and it is a good opportunity to explore some of the things we take for granted about ourselves. We look at how we define “Orthodox” – sometimes in opposition to “the West”, sometimes through external elements such as vestments, sometimes through intricate theological definitions, sometimes through liturgy. And we think about where we would most *want* to see Orthodoxy, in other words, what really matters most about Orthodox Christian identity. And that inevitably comes to: the right knowledge and praise of God, through his Son Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit – all expressed through a right and loving relationship with people and with the world. In short, it means being a true Christian!

If we want to come to the essence of our identity, we want to tease apart the essentials from the non-essentials. But this is not as easy as it sounds. I will take here just one example that has accompanied the entire history of the OCA, namely the “ethnic” question: the OCA has decisively Slavic roots. To what extent should these roots be part of our ongoing life and identity as Orthodox Christians in America?

What makes this a complicated question, apart from the crucial pastoral issues (the needs of the people, on the ground), is that the Orthodox Church, and more-so all the local Orthodox churches, are products of history. They are all embedded in cultures. This makes it more difficult to identify some of the “non-essentials.” Some would say that all ethnic trappings are in that category of expendables, but how realistic is that? All theology, and all right-living, is expressed in specific contexts, in specific times and places. Would you strip off the ethnic and cultural trappings of the Gospel narrative? Our Lord spoke in terms that could be understood by farmers and fishermen: sheep, seeds, and nets. He spoke in terms of first-century near-eastern social customs too, and we have to come to know some of those customs if we are to understand his parables.

The marks of history – the influence of Greek culture on our theology and our Creed, the influence of Jewish customs on our liturgy – are indelible. We simply do not have theology without them. Likewise, think of the inevitability of Syrian, Slavic, and other cultural vessels – earthen vessels – that carry the treasure of the gospel (see 2 Cor. 4:7).

All of this is a long way of saying that when we consider OCA identity and vision, we are right to ask questions of how long, how much, and in what ways our Slavic heritage is to remain a part of who we are. But the centuries of our life in America have shown that they do not have a simple or uniform answer.

Perhaps in our day, the question has changed, or is changing in ways that we ought to encourage.

It’s no longer a matter of whether we are Russian, or were Russian; it’s no longer about whether we hold on to the musical, iconographic, liturgical traditions that are particularly Slavic. They’re with us; they are beautiful and time-tested vessels of the Right Praise of God. Even the language issue is slowly dissolving, as more and more parishes rightly adopt the language of the community, which is in most cases English. The question now is about attitude and attachment. Just as the problem with money and riches isn’t the stuff itself – as Luke 18 shows us, it is our attachment to the stuff – so it is with Slavic forms. They can be cherished vehicles, but not idols.

In my current parish, where I help direct the choir, we are talking about reintroducing bits of Slavonic, for pastoral reasons. There were times when this would have been seen by some people as a sad retreat to the past; I see it as a healthy and unforced move forward, with the past. “Forward with the past” describe a lot of what Orthodoxy is about.

As we pursue a genuine Orthodoxy in our land, it helps to remember that, really, there is no other “American Orthodoxy” than the Orthodoxy that bears its ethnic roots. In fact, what can be more American than a Church with multinational roots?

My hope and prayer for the OCA in the 21st century is that it is well on the road to a healthy – detached, free, realistic – relationship with its roots. We had to go through strongly Slavic periods. Then, especially in the lead-up and aftermath of our autocephaly in 1970, we had to be in turmoil about casting off our Slavic identity. Here we are now, in post-modern America. Let’s deal with it as sanely as we can, and let’s always keep our eye on the prize: the right praise of God, stemming from and leading to a God-pleasing life in service to the world. That’s what it’s about. And as we keep our gaze fixed on Our Lord, let’s shun idols wherever we find them.

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Dr. Peter Bouteneff (SVOTS ’90) teaches courses in theology, patristics, and spirituality at the St. Vladimir’s Seminary, where he is Associate Professor in Systematic Theology and Director of Institutional Assessment. After taking a degree in music in 1983 he lived and worked in Japan, and traveled widely in Asia and Greece. Together with Prof. Nicholas Reeves, he is co-directing the Arvo Pärt Project, an exciting collaboration with the great Estonian Orthodox composer.

This piece first appeared as a publication on the OCA Wonder Blog. Our thanks goes to the Managing Editor, Mr. Andrew Boyd, for permission to republish this material.

This week, as our nation commemorates the terrorist attack of 9/11 and reels from the tremendous economic, ecological, and emotional destruction wreaked across the southern part of the U.S. from both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, one particular alumnus needs to be recognized: Father Raphael Barberg, who is Associate Pastor at St. Elijah Orthodox Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Why? Because he was a first responder both at Ground Zero sixteen years ago, and in Houston shortly after Hurricane Harvey hit on August 25 this summer, as a Team Member of the International Orthodox Christian Charities’ (IOCC) Emergency Response Network known as the “Orthodox Frontline.”

During the aftermath of 9/11, Father Raphael utilized his counseling expertise in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), both while at Ground Zero and in the family centers set up around New York City.

In Houston recently, Father Raphael showed up onsite in various locations to meet volunteers and to provide homeowners with emotional and spiritual care (ESC), while occasionally offering a helping hand with the continuous grunt work of repairing damage done to dwellings. He spent the majority of his time at the Red Cross shelter at George R. Brown Convention Center providing ESC, and both his pastoral training and experience as a former Police Training Instructor and a former Police Lieutenant in the City of Buffalo helped him to serve others in a unique way.

While in Houston, he posted several bits on his Facebook page, which provide a brief but fascinating, touching, and sometimes humorous log of his days and nights there:

• August 29: Left Oklahoma City this afternoon and currently in Dallas rendezvousing with other IOCC Frontline clergy. We are planning our entrance into Houston tomorrow. Prayers requested.
• Sept 2: People are asking how I am doing in the work we are doing. Thank God it is a blessing to serve others. Don't have time to reply to all the nice notes. My apologies for not being able to give you more at this time. But the situation is improving here.
• Sept 4: Flood victim Mustafa Herby: “The worst day in Texas,” he said, practicing his drawl, “is a better day than anywhere else in the world.” God bless these folks!
• Sept 4: I missed being at St. Elijah's yesterday, but what a blessing to be with the good people at St. George, in Houston, as they lick their wounds and minister to their community.
• Sept 4: The parishes here, which are victims themselves, are not letting anything stop them from serving their neighbors.
• Sept 5: Nathanael turns 7 today. I'm sad to be away from you buddy, but Poppa loves you and will be home soon....
• Sept 6: Can't say enough about cleanup buckets. Received joyfully and gratefully from residents who need every little bit of hope we can muster to give them.
• Sept 6: Our team's gutting homes. Hard dirty work, but what a blessing to the victims.
• Sept 7: [Eve of the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos] "Thy nativity, O Virgin, has proclaimed joy to the whole universe! The Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, has shone on thee, O Theotokos! By annulling the curse, He bestowed a blessing. By destroying death, He has granted us Eternal Life!"
• Sept 8: Hygiene kits are still desperately needed. And deodorant. LOTS of deodorant.
• Sept 8: Missing Liturgy for the Feast due to “logisticizing.” If you can go to Church, please do so and pray for me. Heading home later today.
• Sept 9: Back home after a 10-day deployment with IOCC. I cannot be prouder of the work being done down there, and trust that the Bravo team will continue that foundation. Folks, I've seen first hand how the money donated to IOCC makes a difference. I've seen the hygiene kits and muck-buckets received eagerly and put to good use. The good work you do, does make a difference in your neighbor's lives!
• Sept 9: Our partner Church World Service has informed us there is a tremendous need for hygiene kits and clean-up buckets to replenish the supply at the warehouse. Instructions on creating and shipping kits can be found here: iocc.org/kits.
• Sept 11: The following list of Orthodox Christians who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks may not be complete, but it is the list that has been most widely circulated during the past decade. “With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of your departed servants, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, but life everlasting!”

Our seminary community thanks Father Raphael for his inspiring example, and we wish him Godspeed and Many Years!

P.S. Father Raphael also offered counseling following the traumatic mass shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, and in the wake of the destruction of Hurricane Sandy.

P.P.S. Our seminary community is still collecting for IOCC’s work in Texas, following Harvey’s harsh landing, and we’ll announce the final figure representing donations soon. If you would like to donate to IOCC, which is doing its part to assist all those adversely affected, please visit www.iocc.org.

Alumna Nancy Holloway is a retired chaplain and adjunct professor from Berea College. She has a Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School, and she is the first woman to earn a Doctor of Ministry degree from St. Vladimir’s Seminary (Class of ’91). She attends St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Lexington, KY.
Dr. Holloway recently published a book, The Maternity of Mary, the Mother of God, which she wrote for use in small group study, and an excerpt from that book is currently featured on our seminary’s Synaxis Blog. She has also published articles in several journals.
In the below article, we’re offering a glimpse into her current ministry to women at a local jail—and how she’s discovered God’s presence in that space.

“Women in Prison: On the Glory Road”,
“Do the time, don’t let the time do you.” 

These are the words I hear from the women I visit each week at the local jail. The ones who come out for Bible study are the ones who have chosen to believe that our time together can be the beginning of an experience that can offer profound meaning to their lives. They are open to the possibility that God is trying to reach them, and they are willing to let go and be found. Some are more serious, committed, and further along in their journey than others, but all would share in the perspective that a jail cell can be a “womb of transformation.”

When I open the Bible study session every Monday, I suggest to the women that they see their cup half full rather than half empty: even in jail, there surely are some good things in their lives. They share their statements of gratitude with the group. More often than not, a number of them will say, “I’m grateful for being here,” or, “I thank God that he put me here,” or, “I’m thankful I’m away from the drug dealer” (or the abusive husband, the battles with family members, addictions, prostitution, and so forth). For them, prison offers a “time out” to enable them to begin to go in a different direction.

Lessons I offer address several major themes, presented in various ways and using many different scriptural references. These themes include: prayer, God’s infinite love, forgiveness, deification, and suffering. As I relate the themes to their lives, I place a strong emphasis on getting into a church (preferably Orthodox) when they finish their prison terms. I bring in icons of the feast days, when appropriate, and give every woman I encounter an icon of Christ, with a scriptural verse on the back: ”Be not afraid, for I am with you” (Is 41.10).

We commence each study session with a Psalm. (I encourage them to read a Psalm daily.) Then I include about 6–7 Scriptures related to the lesson’s theme, as well as several other readings, either from contemporary sources or from the church or desert fathers. Each lesson also includes a beginning prayer and an ending corporate prayer, with each woman voicing her special request to God, while praying in shared concern for others.

I strongly emphasize that our time of prayer presents a great opportunity to grow in conversation with God. And, I urge those with separate cells (being “high risk” prisoners) to do as the desert fathers say: “Stay in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.” I urge them to pray for each other, their families, the guards, the judges, their victims, and their enemies.

At the close of each session, I ask them to tell me one thing they would want me to pray for, to be included in the time of my private prayer, when I pray for my own children. Their requests have included: “Pray that my little children will remember me when I get out”; “I want to be given wisdom to see my role in life and what God wants me to do when I leave here”—this came from a woman whose child was murdered; “Protect me from those negative influences in my life”; “Ask God to protect and nourish me”; “More than anything, I want to do God’s will’’; and finally, “Pray that I won’t give birth to my baby in jail.”

Sometimes I sense, in the prison, that I'm entering the “real world,” full of real people who have hit bottom, who admit they have done wrong: facing it, owning it, and now willing and eager to grow, and hungry and thirsty for righteousness. When I leave the jail and head home—encountering the chimera surrounding me: myriad addictions, denial, false selves, rampant materialism, and an unholy drive for sensual satiety, I sometimes wonder: Who are the real prisoners?

Workers in prison ministry whom I know always stress that they receive far more than they give. I certainly have experienced that in my decade of ministry to the women at the Fayette County Jail.

The National Boy Scout Jamboree, held July 19–July 28, 2017, drew more than 35,000 scouts from across the country (and globe) to West Virginia, for training, service, and loads of fun—and our Alumnus, Archpriest Eric Tosi (M.Div., 1996), played a major role in that hugely rewarding effort. Father Eric acted as Assistant Chief Chaplain at the gathering, which means he organized and assigned 87 other chaplains, dealt with the procedures, and interacted with the leadership of scout activities during that week.

In this interview, he describes his involvement with the scouts throughout his childhood up to the present, and gives us a window into this year’s national jamboree: witnessing youth grow in confidence, faith, and strength as they tackle everything from archeological restoration projects, to building houses, to cleaning schools—over 100,000 volunteer hours in 10 days!

And, at the next national jamboree in 2021, Fr. Eric will be even more heavily involved. He has been asked to be the Chief Chaplain for the boy scouts. And, he’s calling for helpers for that event! (Chaplains and/or priests may contact him: egtosi@oca.org.)

Enjoy Father Eric’s interview, as he provides a bird’s-eye view of scouting both in words and images—literally, since he was also able to survey the event from the vantage point of a helicopter!

INTERVIEW

1. When did you begin your involvement with the Boy Scouts of America, and for how many years did you participate as a scout? Did your involvement go back as far as being a Cub Scout?

I started as a cub scout when I was 7 years old and was involved in scouting until I was a senior in High School. I received the Arrow of Light award (which means I completed all of the Cub Scout/Weblo requirements).

I made Eagle Scout in my junior year of High School (the highest award in the Boy Scouts), and I also earned the Alpha Omega medal. I was also a senior patrol leader, Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow (the Scouting Honor Society).

Actually my son became the 8th Eagle Scout in the family when he finished the award requirements in his junior year. So scouting is a big part of my family.

2. Is your highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America "Eagle Scout"?

Yes...cant go any higher!

3. I see you served as Chaplain at the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Summit, WV, in 2013, and at the World Scout Jamboree in Yamaguchi, Japan in 2015; now you've just attended the National Boy Scout Jamboree July 19–July 28, 2017, at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virginia. How are the National and World Jamborees related?

The National Jamboree happens every four years and is now in the new home at the Reserve. It is a remarkable place in that it was a converted strip mine and now has become a nature reserve with every activity you can imagine. The World Jamboree happens every four years, but like the Olympics it occurs during off years, so every two years you either have the national jamboree or the world jamboree. The next world jamboree will be 2019 at the Summit, and I will be heavily involved with that as well. At the next national jamboree in 2021 I will be the chief chaplain for the Boy Scouts.

4. What's been your role at these jamborees? Has it been the same each year, i.e., as Chaplain? And, what do chaplains do at these Jamborees?

A chaplain serves in an important role for scouting, as a scout is "reverent," in accordance with the Boy Scout Law.  Part of a Scout’s duty is his duty to God. So we help connect the youth to their faith traditions.

But we also serve as a counselor, advisor, and worship leader. Most of our work is pastoral, in that there are always a host of issues and concerns regarding the scouts. You get 35,000 and 5,000 staff together in one place: well you can imagine the pastoral challenges! I was constantly on the move throughout the camp dealing with issues ranging from getting a scout to a local hospital, because a relative had suffered a serious heart attack, to bullying, to working with Orthodox scouts on earning their “Duty to God” badges. On top of that we had Vespers one evening and Liturgy on Sunday morning.

As well, all the chaplains took turns serving in the hospitals and medical centers that had been set up. Those were often intense, as kids came in with all sorts of medical matters, ranging from broken bones to medication issues. We also interacted with the mental health personal and dealt with issues such as homesickness as well as more serious issues. Plus we worked with staff and dealt with their concerns, which ranged from delivering news about a loved one reposing, to overwork and stress. Personally, I dealt with just about every problem you can think of, while meeting and working with a whole number of amazing scouts and adults.

As Assistant Chief Chaplain, I had a more managerial role. I helped manage 87 chaplains from all denominations at this jamboree, organizing and assigning them. I also dealt with procedures and interacted with the leadership of other scout activities. Moreover, I worked with the many other denominations (about 50 or so represented), checking on activities and assigning resources as needed. Additionally, I acted as the emergency contact person and had a team ready to deal with emergencies.

I have been asked to be the Chief Chaplain at the next National Jamboree, and I will deal with recruitment, organization, and the operations of the entire jamboree as regards chaplain services. This usually takes over a year of work prior the Jamboree. So any one who is interested in being a chaplain, let me know, as I can use the help!

5. What's your most memorable moment from this year's Jamboree?

My best memory was serving the Liturgy and having over 100 Orthodox scouts gather from around the country (and the world, as we had Orthodox Christians from Ethiopia, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Poland), and being able to bring them together. Since we comprise a small number among all scouts, many of us Orthodox never get to meet one another, so it wonderful to gather. And they were all shocked that in many cases I knew personally either their priest or their parents! Those relationships form a strong connection between scouting and Orthodoxy.

My other most memorable moment occurred when the scout leadership invited me to survey the site by helicopter. It was amazing to see the size of the Summit and the entire nature reserve!

6. What positive growth have you noted over time in the organization of the Boy Scouts, as witnessed at the jamborees? Does anything strike you in particular?

The amazing thing is to watch these young men become self-reliant and confidant. They look so young (and they are) but as the days go by, I watched them tackle everything from zip lines, to climbing a wall, to kayaking, to STEM projects. They are not the same when they leave the jamboree.

Another amazing aspect is that every scout does a day of service. So think about this: 35,000 scouts spread throughout West Virginia and working for a full day, on everything from archeological restoration projects, to building houses, to cleaning schools. Over 100,000 volunteer hours in 10 days! That is astounding. When they get off the bus and they are hot and sweaty and tired...they have the biggest smiles on their faces and can't wait to tell everyone what they got to do that day. That is extraordinary, and something we can all emulate in our lives.

7. Over the course of the years, you've continued your involvement with the Boy Scouts. Can you tell me why your involvement is important personally for you? And, how do you continue to contribute to the Boy Scouts of America by your presence at the jamborees? Are you involved in any other Boy Scout activities on a regular basis, besides the jamborees?

Scouting gave me so much personally and contributed to the person I am today. I am giving back to them. Granted, sleeping in a tent after a hot, sweltering day is not for everyone, but to me, it is great fun. I love being around the youth and helping them to develop into the next generation of leaders. I am energized by being with them and by seeing some amazing young men being developed. So if I can contribute back, then I am doing my duty. There is a common phrase you see everywhere (It was on a big sign in the Eagle Scout area.): once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout. That is how we are trained and wired; we give back to our community. Just read the statistics on the accomplishment of Eagle Scouts, and you will be amazed at what they have done. I am proud that this part of my family and my own tradition.

I am involved on a local level to a degree. Once my son graduated high school, I stepped back to allow the other parents to have the same experience with their own son. But I still advise and assist as I can. Clergy have a hard time, because when the scouts are out on the weekends, we are in church doing the services, so we have to find that balance.

Currently, I am working with the Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting (EOCS), which is under the Assembly of Canonical Bishops and going through some changes. I also have begun work with DESMOS, which is the International Orthodox Scouting movement. So my work is now on a national and international level.

I would encourage all former scouts out there to get involved with your local troops. I especially would like to recruit some younger clergy who have scouting experience to start working with me, so the next generation of Orthodox scouts can continued to be served.

8. Tell me how your involvement with the Boy Scouts, from the days of your youth up to the present, is entwined with your spiritual life as an Orthodox Christian. How do the influences of each overlap and/or enhance each other?

A Scout is reverent (part of the 12 points of the Scout Law), and so my faith was always intertwined within scouting. I had the opportunity to earn the different religious medals and learn about my faith.

As an adult leader and priest, I’m required to give in a different way, and the spiritual aspect takes a new turn: I become part of the scouts lives, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox scouts. (Scouting is a great complement to any youth program. The Methodist Church, for example, has made it their official teen program.) All scouts look to me as an example, and I pray I can live up to that ideal.

Also, I have chaplain friends in every denomination, and we look forward to getting together and working with the youth. (You should witness the routine I have with my roommate and friend for the past 2 jamborees, Rabbi Joseph!) We chaplains all support one another, and we remember: this not about us but about the scouts, the youth. We are raising the next generation of leaders and are humbled and motivated by that thought.

View a video of Fr. Eric serving Divine Liturgy with the Orthodox Scouts.

Father Eric is also the Secretary at the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America, as well as Assistant Professor of Liturgics here at St. Vladimir’s Seminary.