The life of Fr. Matthew Baker is a triumph of Orthodoxy.

It is easy to doubt God’s Providence in taking away a young priest, newly installed in his first parish, a husband, and a father of seven (his youngest, Alexis, so recently taken from his mother and father in stillbirth).

It is tempting to question God’s Providence in taking from the Church one of the most brilliant theological minds of the twenty-first century at a time when the Church is very much in need of sound and sober, yet penetrating, teaching, in both the academic and the pastoral spheres.

It is, for me personally, difficult to see the hand of God’s Providence in taking from me my best and most intimate friend, the man who taught me what true friendship means by pouring himself out year after year after year in boundless dedication to every aspect of my spiritual well-being and human flourishing.

Yes, in all of this we are reminded – harshly – that God’s Providence is a mystery that cannot be grasped by the minds of men.

And yet: Fr. Matthew was taken from this life on the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. And because of this seemingly small detail, there can be no doubt, no question, no difficulty in perceiving that God is at work here, that His Church will triumph still, that His Truth will prevail over all falsehood, darkness, distortion and exaggeration – all those evils against which Fr. Matthew fought, exhaustively, ruthlessly, and bluntly. And when Truth is triumphant, love is victorious. For Fr. Matthew love and truth were inseparable, distinguishable only in thought. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” When truth triumphs over falsehood, there love triumphs over coldness, mercy over suffering, and light over shadow. There life triumphs over death. Orthodoxy has triumphed! And this means, as Father Matthew would teach us, that Christ – the whole Christ, the totus Christus, Head and Body, the Savior and his Bride, holy Church – Christ has triumphed. He is triumphant over death, since He is the firstborn of the dead and the author of life. And in Him, the presbyter Matthew also is triumphant.

On each of the last two days of his earthly life, Christ’s faithful presbyter Matthew offered the Holy Liturgy, preached the Word of God and communed of the precious and and all-holy Body and Blood of Christ. He spent the last week of his life – the first week of Lent – in fasting and prayer, in the reading of Scripture, and in ministry and care to his new parishioners. Fr. Matthew grew an immense amount in the last year, but also in the last month, since becoming a parish priest, and even just in the last week, in which he entered into new depths of his priestly ministry. The Lord was truly preparing his servant for this moment of exodus on yesterday’s feast of triumph.

I am honored to say that Fr. Matthew spent the last evening of his life on the telephone with me, and while now I wish that some aspects of that conversation had been different, I am heartened to think that, among other things, we spoke of how the dead in Christ, while awaiting the resurrection and the final consummation of all things, are granted even now to partake of the light of Paradise.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me: “Write: Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.” (Rev. 14:13)

Now Fr. Matthew rests from his many intense labors, and we who have been his friends and colleagues, who have known his vision, must continue in his labor, trusting that his works have indeed followed him into Paradise, but that they remain here with us as well, here in this vale of sorrow, and so here, we must work as ardently as he did for the Triumph of Truth over its many modern day enemies, for the Triumph of Christ. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

Fr. Matthew, in Christ, is now seeing the triumph of Orthodoxy much sooner than he expected, this triumph for which he labored single-mindedly. He beholds the triumph of Christ and the triumph of His holy and spotless Bride, the Catholic and Apostolic Church whom he loved and served so ardently. Christ is risen! Let us be of good cheer, for Christ has overcome the world!

Forgive me if these words are uncouth. Let us also mourn – for death is real, and Fr. Matthew’s death is a horrific tragedy – but let us not mourn “as those who have no hope.” In our friend and brother, the presbyter Matthew, our dear and merciful Savior has given us much cause for hope.

He lived most of his life near the city of Providence, Rhode Island, and throughout their thirteen years of marriage, Fr. Matthew and Presbytera Katherine trusted fully that God would provide as they opened their hearts to the abundant gift of life, raising six children without ever having a steady income during Fr. Matthew’s many years of study. Now we have no doubt that God will indeed continue to provide for Fr. Matthew’s widow and children, as indeed God has provided so much for all of us through friendship with Fr. Matthew and Presbytera Katherine.

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This reflection was written by Fr. Herman (Majkrzak).

What appears to happen in the Passion of Christ and what actually happens are not at all the same. What appears to happen is not that extraordinary. The Romans crucified a Jewish man in order to keep public order. During their long rule over Judea, the Romans had killed many Jews, making the death of Jesus one among these many. But, only in appearance. The reality was very different. The Paschal homily attributed to St. John Chrysostom emphasizes this difference between appearance and reality. Chrysostom describes Christ’s encounter with Hades as follows:

Hades…was embittered when it encountered thee in the lower regions… It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen. Fooled by what appeared to be just another corpse, Hades was overthrown by an encounter with the Almighty God, as the Passion and Resurrection of Christ shook the foundations of the universe in the final acts of a cosmic drama. As we enter the Lenten season, we are reminded that we have a role in this universal, cosmic drama. Let’s reflect on the proper nature of our role by using the language of appearance and reality. For, it is easy to confuse our role, or to play the wrong role by focusing on our appearance rather than our reality. When Jesus chastises his opponents, he often calls them hypocrites for practicing their piety in public, and for drawing attention to themselves as they pray.

The word hypocrite, of course, is the Greek word for “actor.” They are trying to “act” pious and “act” charitable. Their focus is on their appearance in public. Jesus urges them instead “to go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt 6:6). Now, these things are not included in the Gospels so that we can ridicule the Pharisees whom Jesus criticizes. Indeed, they are written, not because we are unlike the Pharisees, but because we have the unfortunate potential to be just like them. The very things that are designed to make us more humble, the very acts of repentance and self-denial that are supposed to make us more open to God and more loving to one another can be used to make us more self-satisfied and more self-centered. But this is to focus on the appearance of holiness, and not its reality.

A wonderful little book called the Way of the Ascetics provides an important image for reflecting on real holiness. For, we may be inclined to think that, if we want to be humble, we must try to appear humble. We might, for instance, wear especially humble clothes or constantly adopt humble postures. But, this, too, can be a way of drawing attention to ourselves. The Way of the Ascetics has a lovely passage about real humility, however, emphasizing that the truly humble person doesn’t stand out as being more humble than others, and, indeed, doesn’t stand out at all. You may not even notice him because the goal of humility is precisely not to stand out. Real holiness has a way of making a person appear relatively normal, just like everyone else. As with the Passion of Christ, of course, this appearance of being usual and everyday is only on the surface.

A very helpful step in focusing on the inner drama of holiness is to avoid comparing ourselves with others, and the Church reminds us of this fact in various ways. On the 5th Sunday of Lent, for instance, we commemorate St. Mary of Egypt. She lived alone in the desert until she met St. Zosimas, who tells her story.

We wouldn’t know anything about St. Mary, however, if St. Zosimas had not encountered her in the desert. And St. Zosimas would not have been in the desert if his monastery had not observed the Lenten fast in a particular way. To keep the monks of his monastery from competing with one another, the monks retreated individually into the desert, in order to observe the fast separately. Their drama was internal and their only audience was God. This is a helpful model to imitate. A certain silence should accompany our fasting. While it will be helpful to encourage one another and support one another over the next forty days, it is also easy for this need for support to become something else. It’s easy to find ways to drop hints of our fasting regimen into casual conversations. We might even rationalize a good reason for doing so. But this is to risk making the fast into one more opportunity to put ourselves in the limelight and at center stage, and to undermine the real work of fasting, prayer and repentance that lie within the inner heart of Lent.

His scroll reads: “I have seen all the snares of the devil spread out on… [earth and I said with a sigh: ‘Who can pass these by?’ and I heard a voice saying to me: ‘Humble-mindedness.'”] Alphabetical Sayings (PPS trans.), Saying 7

The great ascetics of the early Church always navigated between the appearance and the reality of holiness. We are regularly told in the stories of the Desert Fathers that the monks of the Egyptian desert would hide their ascetical practices from visitors. They don’t make their guests fast with them, but prefer to show hospitality to whomever comes to see them. They feed them well and make them comfortable. The visitors, of course, are always surprised and suppose that these renowned monks are not really all that strenuous in their spiritual exercises. We are always told in the stories, however, what really happens, and how the ascetic only allows himself to appear unimpressive, because his greater concern is the care and comfort of his guests. Here we see the opposite of the hypocrites whom Christ admonishes. The appearance is allowed to be unspectacular, while the reality of generosity and holiness is profound. Let us, then, observe the fast in reality and not only in appearance, following these models of piety and especially the model of our Lord, whose strength was shown in weakness and whose apparent defeat in death led in reality to the victory of the Resurrection. “For, if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rom 6:5).

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George Parsenios, M.A. Duke University, M.Div. Holy Cross School of Theology, M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. Yale University, Associate Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary and Professor of New Testament at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Used with the kind permission of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Outreach and Evangelism.

A homily delivered in the Three Hierarchs Chapel at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary on January 12th, 2015.

We all know the story of Saul of Tarsus.

When he set out on the road to Damascus, Saul knew exactly what he was doing. He was well trained, he was respected by his elders and he was extremely good at what he did. He was so zealous about his cause that he had gone to the high priest, and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any people there who were in error, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem on trial.

But somewhere on that road, Saul heard a word.

A word that called him to repentance. A word that pierced his heart and brought him to his knees. The problem was that Saul’s faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not agree with his works.

And how easy is it for us to fall into the same trap?

As St. James says, faith without works is dead.

We might confess the Niceo-Constantinopolitan Creed, we may even sing it in a lovely melody, and we might confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior following every nuanced contour of the Chalcedonian definition. But if God brings someone into our lives that is poor, or angry, or struggling with addiction, and if we ask “Are you Orthodox?” but fail to offer mercy and compassion, or even a decent meal, then what does it profit us?

St. James says, “O foolish man…faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). To believe in God is not enough, for even the demons believe. The test of our faith, is what our faith inspires us to do. How do we treat our neighbor? This is how we are judged. Christ says that if I cause one of the least of our brothers or sisters to stumble, then it would be better for me to have a millstone hung around my neck  and be thrown into the sea.

If my hand causes me to sin, if it does the works of unrighteousness, or if my neighbor is in need, and my hand does nothing then cut it off.

If my foot causes me to sin, if it carries me to do the work of my own selfish ego, or if my neighbor is suffering and my foot is heavy with sloth, then cut it off.

If my eye causes me to sin, if I look upon my neighbor with lust, or greed, or condemnation, or if I look upon a person who is difficult to love, and my eye does not see the image of God, then I should pluck it out.

For, as Christ says, it is better to enter the Kingdom of God, maimed, lame and blind, than to burn in the unquenchable fire.

This is how we are judged.

Because whatever we do to the least of these our brethren we do to Christ himself. “Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4) This was the blinding word of Christ to Saul that zealous man of faith on the road to Damascus, and it is Christ’s word to us.

Now, there are a number of ways that Saul could have responded, he could have made excuses, “No, that’s not me, I don’t do that, you’ve got the wrong guy.” Or he could have blamed someone else, “No Lord, the woman you gave me, she made me do it.” Or he could have tried to run away, like Jonah who fled to Tarshish.

But Saul did none of these things. He made no excuse, he did not blame someone else, and he didn’t run away. Instead he heard the Word of the Lord, and that changed everything. And today, we who are called to teach and minister and serve in Christ’s Holy Church, we do the same thing.

Like Saul we fall to the ground in the dust of our sin, and weakness and mortality, and God lifts us up, refashions us and strengthens us to do His will. You see, when Christ talks about cutting off hands and feet or plucking out eyes, he’s not talking about self-mutilation, but rather our Lord is talking about putting off the old nature, and putting on the new man created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. For if Christ can cure a man of a withered hand, he can refashion hands that are withered by works of unrighteousness. If Christ can heal a lame man, and make him walk, he can renew and strengthen feet that are crippled by evil. If Christ can grant sight to a man born blind, he can renew the sight of one whose eyes cause him to sin.

In hearing the Word of God, on the road to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus allowed God to perform radical surgery upon him.

The hands that once held the garments of those who killed St. Stephen, were renewed as hands that healed the downcast and forgotten with the power of the Holy Spirit.

The feet that once traveled the roads of vengeance and anger, were transformed into those that carried an apostle on missionary journeys, preaching the good news of salvation and the love of Jesus Christ.

The eyes that once saw only the unclean, the outsider and the unworthy, were refashioned into the eyes of St. Paul who saw brothers and sisters, created in the image and likeness of God, in need of kindness, mercy and God’s love.

On this day, as we receive the Broken Body and Spilled Blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our faith is renewed and our hands, feet and eyes—our whole being is transformed. So that we may do God’s will and become like God, showing mercy to those who are unkind, bringing hope to those in darkness, and offering ourselves even to the point of death.

Today Christ lives within us, and strengthens us to repent, cast off the old man, and be renewed to love God and love our neighbor.

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The Rev. Dr. J. Sergius Halvorsen (SVOTS ’96) received his M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Seminary and completed his doctoral dissertation at Drew University in 2002. From 2000 to 2011 he taught at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell Connecticut, where he also served as Director of Distance Learning. He was ordained to the priesthood in February 2004, and currently serves on the faculty of SVOTS as Associate Professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric and Director of Field Education.

Some of the most famous members of this community are also perhaps some of its least remembered. Physically, they are silent and unmoving. Spiritually, they active here and throughout the world, and their written words resound like trumpets sounding from heaven, calling us to Jesus. Theirs are the loud voices in hearts, crying out and saying: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15.)

And yet they can be visited in the chapel: John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, and Gregory the Theologian; Basil Aleksandrovich Martysh; Ignatius of Antioch; the Great Martyr Panteleimon. Fragments of their relics, minute physical reminders of their spiritual presence, tiny conduits of Christ’s grace: every day the seminarian has the opportunity to venerate these small pieces of dead bodies and so encounter, and be confronted by, the life-giving presence of the saints.

Life-giving, indeed, for if Christ is the true Giver of Life, where else can we expect to find that life, apart from in his saints, those in whom he is wonderful, those with whom he shall abide always, even unto the end of the age (cf. Psalm 67:36 and Matthew 28:20)? Yes, as every Christian knows, we are an ecclesial organism, we expect to encounter Christ and serve him in our neighbor, in the community of the Church. But we shouldn’t lose sight of the Church beyond the chapel walls, and of our Christian brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, who have gone before us and who now intercede for us, those whose very blood cries out to God on behalf of the whole groaning creation.

For at least one seminarian, this time at St Vladimir’s has provided an opportunity to remember these forebears in the faith more than ever, both those who are physically present in their relics and those who are not. On the one hand, there are those I have venerated since before I came: Tikhon of Moscow, Seraphim of Vyritsa, Tikhon of Kaluga, Emperor Justinian, Tsar Nicholas, Alexander Nevsky, and of course my patron, John Chrysostom. But here at the seminary, not only have I deepened these relationships with God’s holy ones, but I also have formed new connections as well: some with popular saints like Luke of Simferopol, but others with more controversial saints like Peter Mogila, Cyril Loukaris, and Nicodemus the Hagiorite.

There are some of whom I had never heard before, such as Alexis of Zosima Hermitage, and then there are some to whom I had never paid sufficient attention, such as the Evangelists Matthew and Luke. And then there are the newly canonized saints: Elder Porphyrius is rightly known by all, but what of Bartholomew of Chichirin, canonized one week ago, and of the Righteous Dmitrii Gorskii and the Blessed Parasceva, glorified in October? May we each have their prayers.

Yes, the saints are there, in the chapel, in their reliquaries, ready to help and guide each of us, ready to be encountered. But they are also there whose relics we don’t have, whose bodies are long gone to dust. Indeed, a multitude of saints are present with us at every place and in every hour, if we open our spiritual eyes and turn to them in prayer. Sometimes they comfort us, and sometimes they confront us with our sins. But there is one constant, and that is he to whom they lead us, he whom they make present for us: none other than our Lord and God Jesus Christ, the Savior of us all. To him be glory forever. Amen.

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 John Max Mikitish is a second-year M.Div. student at St Vladimir’s Seminary and a member of Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church in New Haven, CT. Born in Alabama, he graduated from Yale with a B.A. in Russian and East European Studies. He will be married in January 2015, and his soon-to-be wife is also a Yale graduate and a member of the same parish.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon has awarded St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) Alumnus Very Rev. Michael Koblosh (’68) the miter in recognition of his decades of service to the Orthodox Church. Father Michael was elevated to the dignity of mitered archpriest during the Divine Liturgy Sunday, January 5, 2020 at the mission parish of All Saints of North America, Alexandria, VA.

Father Michael and his wife, Matushka Nadia, serve at All Saints and were integral to the beginning of the mission in 2008. They have also served in a number of other parishes including Holy Trinity in East Meadow, NY; Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church in Terryville, CT; Holy Ghost Church in Bridgeport, CT; Christ the Savior Mission in Southbury, CT; and St. Nicholas Church in Whitestone, NY. During his time in Connecticut, Fr. Michael was dean of the Connecticut Deanery.

“Together with your wife, Matushka Nadia, you have taken the talent that was nurtured in your heart, harnessed the wisdom that you and her, together with your children, have accumulated over your many years of service, and brought it to visible fruition in your work as missionary priest here in Alexandria,” said His Beatitude during the awarding of the miter. “Here, there have been many trials and difficulties as you strive to find a permanent place of worship for this community, and it is your wisdom as a pastor, your insight as a confessor, and your calm and peaceful demeanor that have, with God’s grace, brought this community to its present place of stability.”

Father Michael graduated from St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in 1964 before pursuing a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from St. Vladimir’s Seminary. He taught at St. Tikhon's in liturgical theology for many years during the 1970s.

• READ: “Orthodoxy is Not Here by Accident,” by Very Rev. Michael Koblosh

Also serving at the Divine Liturgy at All Saints January 5 was another SVOTS alumnus, Mitered Archpriest Michael Westerberg (’75), who was celebrating his 45th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood.

Axios, and may God grant many years to Archpriest Michael and Matushka Nadia Koblosh and Archpriest Michael and Matushka Lydia Westerberg!

(*Much of the information and the photos for this article were provided by the Office of the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America.)

A homily delivered in the Three Hierarchs Chapel at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary on the Sunday before Theophany, 2015.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Today is the fourth day of January. We’ve taken the first steps into 2015. This time of year is a season of beginnings. It is the beginning of a new year. Eleven days ago, we celebrated the Nativity of our Lord, the beginning of Christ’s sojourn on the earth, and on this Sunday the Church directs that we hear the first words of the Evangelist Mark: “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mk. 1:1).

And in beginning his Gospel, St. Mark starts us off with the fundamentals: Repentance and baptism. God’s messenger, John the Forerunner, appears before our faces, proclaiming “prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Mk. 1:3). It is the response that God desires of all people when confronted with the Good News: to repent, that is ‘to change one’s mind’, one’s perspective, one’s lifestyle, one’s habits, to change oneself from top to bottom. Repentance is a revolution of heart and a shocking rejection of the world not in a morbid way, but in a way that is centered on love of Christ, who has destroyed the old order of things.

We are able to do this by virtue of another fundamental: baptism. We are preparing for the celebration of Theophany in a couple days, the feast of Christ’s baptism at the hands of John. But the feast has another name, less well known now, and for centuries was called “The Feast of the Lights.” What better time for the Feast of the Lights then at a time of year when the sun sets early and the night is long?

The lights refer to a couple things, no doubt. We have lights in the church, candles and such, but more importantly for our consideration today, the lights are the newly-illumined: Christ shining in, and through, those who have just been baptized. It is a light of the soul and it is a light which must be tended as a fire is tended. These days, artificial light allows us to have light without heat but remember that at that time, there was no light without the burning sun or a burning flame.

And those of us whose baptism is old, who may not even remember our baptism, we are not exempt from the joy of the coming Feast of the Lights. Even if we have neglected our Christian calling, or are burnt out from church life, if our energy is spent from keeping faith in a culture that sees us as strange and irrelevant, if our love for our neighbor has been quenched by conflict with friend and family, or if our devotion to God has been smothered by the thousand problems in our lives, even with all this, we are unable to completely extinguish this light which Christ keeps smoldering in our souls, waiting for us to return again to the high calling of our baptism.

To tend that light we are called to “prepare the way of the Lord” by preparing our hearts. The Apostle Paul gives us a few ways to do this in today’s epistle: “Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5).

Be watchful for all the things which you know will cause you to stumble. If you know that work pulls you away from your family, carve some time in your schedule which is theirs and theirs alone. Be watchful if Facebook tends to make you annoyed, angry, or worst of all, prideful. Put some distance between you and your computer screen and, better yet, pray. Take what is a passion and allow Christ to be victorious in you.

Endure afflictions with patience. When our lives are grim and dark and yet we still manage to let the words of the Righteous Job fall from our lips: “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21), then even evil is made good, by His goodness.

Do the work of an evangelist, declaring the news, the news that is truly ‘good,’ through your sacrificial love to family, friends, co-workers at the office, classmates at school, that homeless man you see everyday, love for the acquaintance who lobbies for the opposite political party, for the bully who won’t leave you alone, for the guy who annoys you on the train, love for all whom God puts in our path.

Fulfill your ministry to your husband, wife, children, parents, friends, to your church. Fulfill your ministry out of gratitude for the One who died for you.

Doing all these things, especially when we don’t feel like it, when wrestling with ourselves is the last thing we want to do, stirs up the coals of faith, so when the Holy Spirit gently breathes over those glowing embers, a flame of love erupts to life.

According to the Apostle today, doing these things shows that we are among those “who have loved his appearing,” (2 Tim. 4:8) that is his ‘epiphany’, yet another name used for the upcoming feast. Being a light in a dark world, the hands and feet of our Lord, is a great reward. But having beheld the resurrection of Christ, we know that there is more to our God’s goodness and St. Paul assures us that there is a greater reward still, a “crown of righteousness” (2 Tim. 4:8) laid up for us who run the race and keep the faith. Crowns laid up for those who are part of the royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9).

As we, the Church, now prepare to call down the Holy Spirit upon us and upon the gifts which we will soon offer, we can do so in full expectation that the flame of love will be stirred in us, so that we may fulfill our baptismal calling, and start the year of the Lord two-thousand fifteen, with another new beginning, greeting the upcoming Theophany committed to the gospel through loving repentance, and becoming lights in a world which is in desperate need. Amen.

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The Rev. Kyle Parrott (SVOTS ’13) received his M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Seminary and is currently completing a Masters of Theology at St. Vladimir’s. Father Kyle spent his early years in the Anglican church before becoming active in several Evangelical churches. His interest in missions led him to participate in short–term outreach in Grenada (in the Caribbean) and in Uruguay. The Parrotts’ daughter Sophia was born in 2011 at the beginning of Fr. Kyle’s studies. Matushka Leanne is a gifted photographer and has chronicled many events for the St. Vladimir’s Website.

Saint Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) Alumnus Hierodeacon Aetios (formerly Dimitrios Nikiforos) was ordained to the holy priesthood Sunday, November 3, in Istanbul, Turkey, and was made grand ecclesiarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Very Rev. Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios was ordained by the hand of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Venerable Patriarchal Church of St. George.

• WATCH: Video of Fr.  Aetios’ ordination in Istanbul, Turkey

Trained as an attorney, Fr. Aetios was initially drawn to SVOTS due to its strength in canon law and historical disciplines. He graduated from the Seminary summa cum laude with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 2018. He was also selected as the class valedictorian. Hailing from Greece, he called Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Brooklyn, NY, home during his time at St. Vladimir’s.

Father Aetios will now serve the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the official title of Grand Ecclesiarch of the Holy Great Church of Christ. He has also been working at the Chief Secretariat of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, 1st Patriarchal Office.

The community of St. Vladimir’s Seminary wishes the newly ordained Very Rev. Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios many years!

(Photos: Ecumenical Patriarchate)

…What am I supposed to do with this all?

St. Vladimir’s Seminary is a challenging environment, and yet as I step back and think about why I’m here, I am inspired and motivated to continue and finish strong. I grew up in a clergy household with parents who exemplified such genuine selflessness and love that it gave me a foretaste of God’s unconditional love. They illustrated to me that the word “serve” doesn’t have to be limited to a mission trip or the parish. Regardless of the time or place, they live a life ready to serve the Lord and His people.

In high school, God planted in me the desire to come to seminary to gain more knowledge. Even though it was a result of envying my dad because he knew all the answers to my questions, I believe this desire was sent by God. As the years passed by, I started seeing a need in our Church for lay leadership and guidance for many young Orthodox Christians, especially those in college. Thus, my reason for a theological education changed from how seminary can serve me, to how seminary can prepare me to serve the larger community.

People often don’t understand why I’m in seminary. “What’re you going to do with a theology degree?” “Are you trying to be a priest?” “You’re wasting your years. You need to get married soon!” “Are you going to be a nun?” I have learned to smile at these questions, and they provide me with motivation to keep moving forward.

One’s expectations of what seminary life is like are guaranteed to be debunked. I have struggled on a much deeper level than ever before, and have discovered that I must overcome difficulties through the power of God rather than through willpower. I have wrestled with managing time and balancing school, church, and my personal life. It sometimes seemed as if no matter how hard I worked, I never felt satisfied.

In the process, I came to learn it’s not about finding time to write the perfect paper, or obtain perfect grades.When I started focusing more on drawing closer to God, I began to achieve balance between my course load, friendships, and lay leadership responsibilities. I learned that the purpose of seminary is not to absorb all the knowledge the Church has to offer, but to learn the right approach for handling any situation that arises in life and ministry.

God has opened up more doors than I ever imagined. The Holy Synod gave me the opportunity to be one of the seven delegates of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church for the Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Korea in 2013. This was such an enlightening experience; I was able to both see the impact of Christianity on a global level and meet inspiring Christian dignitaries from around the world, including St. Vladimir’s alumni. It was even more incredible to see the delegates of both Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches sitting in one room as a unit for a session. My group sessions in Korea taught me it is not uniformity that glorifies God, rather unity in Christ.

Thanks to seminary, I have strengthened my foundation in theology and acquired skills to help me as I plan to get my Masters in Social Work. I hope to incorporate my degrees in psychology and theology into social work. God has painted a clearer picture for me as I continue on this journey in serving Him and His people.

As I near my last term at St. Vladimir’s, I am exceedingly thankful: thankful to God for knowledge, lifelong friendships, my professors and mentors, confidence to lead conferences and retreats, continuous support and prayers of others, the challenges, the all nighters for papers and finals, the pumpkin carving night, ladies’ nights, prison ministry, Chef Nat’s amazing food, and last but definitely not least, my formation. I thought seminary was breaking me down by physically, mentally, and spiritually challenging me. As time progressed, I saw that it was a source of healing for my soul. Father John Behr’s words from orientation have stayed with me. I have come to understand that, “[I] am not here to find [myself] but to find Christ.”

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Lijin Hannah Raju is in her second year of the Master of Arts program at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. She is a part of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and comes from Dallas, Texas. Lijin holds a B.S. in Psychology, and hopes to pursue a Masters in Social Work after seminary and pursue a career as a social worker. Combining theology and psychology, she also looks forward to working with the youth of the Malankara Church to help bring a better understanding of Orthodoxy and to encourage an Orthodox way of life in all aspects. When she is not stressing about classes, Lijin loves to spend time and laugh with family and friends. Three of her favorite activities are playing football, trying good food, and making room for dessert.

On Saturday, September 21, 2019, St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) Alumnus Dn. Dorde Tomic was ordained to the holy priesthood.

His Grace Bishop Irinej of the Eastern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, a fellow SVOTS alumnus (’82), presided over the Divine Liturgy and ordination at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Richmond, Virginia, where another alumnus, Fr. Nicholas G. Bacalis (’68), extended hospitality. Several current Serbian students from SVOTS were also in attendance to assist Bishop Irinej.

“I seek ordination to the holy rank of priest, Blessed Bishop,” Fr. Dorde responded during the service, after the Great Entrance. “…I seek to be a ‘light to the world’ and that from now on only Christ lives in my heart.”

He then spoke of his journey to the priesthood, beginning with the influence of his parents, who “were the first to create my path to Christ and the Church of God.”

He also shared how his time at St. Vladimir’s Seminary helped shape him.

“By enrolling at St. Vladimir's Seminary in New York, after graduating from [St. Sava’s] Libertyville, I was given the opportunity to experience the various spheres of Orthodoxy brought in by students from other Orthodox churches. I want to emphasize that I had the honor of being part of a community like this, where both students and professors were breathing and living for Christ. As such, they have taught me many Christian virtues.”

Father Dorde, who was born and raised in Serbia, graduated with an M.A. from St. Vladimir’s in 2019.

The St. Vladimir’s Seminary community wishes Fr. Dorde and Popadija Gorica many years!

Some information for this article and photos have been reprinted from the website of the Eastern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox Church in Norway is a tiny community in a predominantly secular and Lutheran country. Most of our parishes are mission churches and there are only a very few established churches. By coming to the United States and St. Vladimir’s Seminary, I hoped that my family and I would get a broader experience of the Orthodox Church, in a culture similar to our own.

There is of course a lot one can learn through reading books and attending classes, but the proper forging of an Orthodox identity and worldview requires being in relationship  with others, and living in community, together with immersion in the services of the Church. One of the most important ways of learning to know our faith better has simply been just through living together with our Orthodox brothers and sisters in the St. Vladimir’s community.

After seminary we plan to go back home to Norway and serve the Church there. We came to the faith through a small mission and we are most likely going to return back home to one as well. We were therefore very fortunate this summer to expand our exposure to mission work in two very different and dynamic parishes with the Orthodox Church in America (OCA); one in the Diocese of the South, in Beaufort, South Carolina, and the other one in the Diocese of the West, in San Diego, California. Both missions were started less than four years ago and are already thriving and expanding.

 Beaufort, South Carolina, is a lovely town. We easily grew accustomed to the pace and way of life in the South. The community of St. James Orthodox Church was very welcoming to as and treated us as family members from our first day there. We were warmly invited to dinners and social events, and a very generous family opened up their home so we’d have a place to live our entire month there.

I also was able to spend a lot of time with Fr. James Bozeman (SVOTS ’12), rector of the parish, helping him out with parish affairs. Summertime is quiet and we had less pressing pastoral work than is normally the case, but that gave us all the more time to talk about mission life, and do more manual and administrative work. Thankfully we also got some welcome time to relax (St. Vladimir’s Seminary is very busy!), see the surroundings, and go to the beach.

Through the long talks Fr. James and I had together, discussing the life of a mission, priestly formation, and other issues related to ministry and life in the Church, we found that we shared some of the same experiences and background. We were also able to visit a few other churches and priests, and all this broadened my sense of ministry in the Church, offering me a unique perspective on the ways a mission can be grown.

In San Diego we spent three weeks with alumnus Fr. Andrew Cuneo (SVOTS ’10) and the community of St. Katherine of Alexandria Orthodox Mission. Father Andrew kept us busy. In addition to doing regular parish business, such as serving, preaching, visiting parishioners and so forth, he also wanted us to take us around to visit clergy, parishes, and monasteries in the area. One of the many highlights of our time in California was visiting the Holy Virgin Cathedral, Joy of all Who Sorrow in San Francisco, where the relics of St. John Maximovich are kept and venerated.

Both internships complemented each other in a great way. We saw the inside of a mission to a greater extent in Beaufort than in San Diego, but experienced a wider range of church life in California. I also utilized many of the skills that we’ve learned so far in seminary, as I was serving as well as preaching. Many services and feasts were celebrated, baptisms were held, reflections given and catechism classes taught, plus some administrative work.

We were very grateful for this opportunity to serve in the Diocese of the South and the Diocese of the West this summer, and want to extend our gratitude to all those who enabled us to go.

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Deacon Theodor (Tor) Svane, ordained in May of 2014, is the Student Council President and a third year seminarian from Bergen, Norway. The Svanes are under the The Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe, with Archbishop Job (Getcha). Before coming to seminary he worked as a civil engineer in a major consultant firm in Norway. His wife Hanne is a cultural anthropologist and taught intercultural communications at a college. Simon (4) is the center of the family, gives them great joy, and keeps them busy.