St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) hosted its first intramural Academic Symposium Friday to highlight outstanding papers written by seminarians.

Seminary faculty, led by Academic Dean Dr. Alexandru Tudorie, nominated seven papers to be featured during the Symposium—some of which will be selected later for publication in an upcoming edition of the Seminary’s periodical, the St. Vladimir’s Theological Journal (previously the "Quarterly").

“What really encouraged [us] to prepare this event was the opportunity to reinvigorate academic exchange among the student body and between students and faculty….” said Dr. Tudorie. “The goal is not to create an environment of competitiveness and jealousy but to offer a platform for mutual learning, support, and recognition.”

During his welcome address, Dr. Tudorie thanked second-year Seminarian Asha Mathai, one of the Symposium’s student organizers, for providing the initial inspiration for the event. Mathai had emailed him several months prior to ask if a conference featuring seminarians would be possible.

“I wanted to see our classmates be able to present their papers, and one of our co-organizers proposed they could then be published in the Theological Journal,” said Mathai. “Sometimes you write an assignment, and it just goes into your computer and you never look at it again. But with this Symposium, your paper could be repurposed for something greater that others could benefit from.”

Five of Mathai’s fellow seminarians presented papers at the first Academic Symposium (two seminarians were asked to deliver two papers each). Faculty member Dr. Tracy Gustilo delivered the keynote address, “Becoming Human, Becoming God: From Slavery to Freedom to Divine Captivation.”

"For me, it was a moment of great accomplishment, for which, first of all, l wish to thank God,” said second-year Seminarian Tiberiu Opriş, who delivered his paper, “Richard Hays’ ‘Reading backwards’ and the Orthodox reflection on Scripture,” at the Symposium. “It was also an experience from which I learned a lot, seeing that after the Symposium ended, I got a lot of feedback that I am sure will help me in my future presentations. I also enjoyed hearing the presentations of my other colleagues, from whom I was able to pick up many new things.”

The Seminary plans to host the Academic Symposium twice every academic year. Although the Symposium is currently an intramural event, the school plans to invite other Orthodox seminaries to participate in the future.

Saint Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) Press has released the second volume of Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev’s monumental series on the life and message of Jesus.

Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching, Vol. 2  focuses on the Sermon on the Mount, examining the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, and other teachings of the Lord in light of both current scholarship and the Church’s perennial tradition.

• Buy Jesus Christ, His Life and Teaching, Vol. 2 now from SVS Press

Like the first volume in the series—endorsed by well-known scholars including Pope Benedict XVI and Metropolitan Kallistos Ware—Metropolitan Hilarion’s new work is garnering high praise.

“Metropolitan Hilarion…explains the Sermon on the Mount in language that will be both appreciated by students of sacred Scriptures and understood by more casual readers,” said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “This book continually points to the person of Jesus Christ as the one who not only delivered the Sermon, but also personally lived out every facet of it, something we are all encouraged to emulate.

“I wholeheartedly recommend this volume as an important addition to the scholarship of Jesus.”

Craig S. Keener, Ph.D., of Asbury Theological Seminary said the new work “offers fresh intertextual, canonical, and exegetical perspectives” on the Sermon.

“Unlike works that engage exclusively modern opinions,” added Keener, “this volume helpfully draws on the range of interpreters through history, engaging the Church’s longer tradition.”

SVS Press plans to release the remaining four volumes of Metropolitan Hilarion’s series on the life and message of Jesus as they are translated into English. The production and publication of the first and second volumes of Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching were sponsored in part by donors.

Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev is the chairman of the Department of External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. He has authored numerous works on theology and church history, and is an internationally recognized composer of liturgical music. Several of his works are available through SVS Press, including his landmark Orthodox Christianity series and Christ the Conqueror of Hell.

Faculty, staff, and seminarians gathered Monday to say goodbye to Archpriest David Mezynski, who is stepping down as St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s director of formation. Father David has accepted a counseling position in Rochester, NY, where he will be closer to family.

Father David is a graduate of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (’04), and served as the dean of students there from 2005 to 2009. He has worked at St. Vladimir’s since 2009 as dean of students, assistant professor of Orthodox spirituality, and director of formation. He holds a Ph.D. and MSW from Fordham University in New York.

“Fr. David spent more than a decade at St. Vladimir’s, and we are incredibly thankful for his faithful service here,” said Archpriest Chad Hatfield, president of the Seminary. “His kindness and calming presence will be missed!”

The community of St. Vladimir’s Seminary wishes Archpriest David many years!

Registration is now open for the 2020 Pan-Orthodox Music Symposium, which will take place Wednesday, June 10 through Sunday, June 14, 2020 on the campus of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS).

• Register now for the 2020 Pan-Orthodox Music Symposium

The event, co-hosted by SVOTS and the International Society for Orthodox Church Music (ISOCM), will explore the theme of “Music as Liturgy,” with masterclasses, keynote presentations, and workshops. The event is designed for choir directors, singers, chanters, composers, musicologists, church school teachers, clergy, youth leaders, readers, and those interested in developing their liturgical music skill sets.

“This Symposium, hosted in collaboration with St. Vladimir’s, represents an exciting new development for both ISOCM and the Seminary in the promotion and understanding of Orthodox church music in the English-speaking world,” said Protopresbyter Ivan Moody, chair of the ISOCM board.

Masterclass topics include:

• Vocal Techniques
• Choral Leadership
• Introduction to Liturgical Conducting
• Advanced Liturgical Conducting
• Byzantine Chant for Beginners
• Advance Byzantine Chant
• Composing in the Orthodox Context
• Engaging Young People with Music

Each masterclass will provide participants with more than six hours of concentrated learning over three days, taught by experts in the field of liturgical music.

Workshop sessions will explore other themes for application in parish life:

• Introduction to liturgical theology
• Training for reading and chanting
• Arranging settings for voices
• Achieving a unified choral sound
• Para-liturgical activities
• Choosing the repertoire for your choir

Key Note Presentations include:

• Music as Liturgy
• Liturgy as Music
• Liturgy, Music, and the Cathedra

“What’s unique about this gathering, among the many other church-music events, is the range of offerings,” said Dr. Peter Bouteneff, professor of Systematic Theology at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. “I can hardly think of anyone involved in church music at any level or from any chant tradition who will not gain from our time together. That said, perhaps the people who will benefit the most are singers, choir directors, and composers seeking to ‘up their game.’”

Find the full schedule, presentation abstracts, speaker biographies, and information about registration fees and hotel reservations at orthodoxmusicsymposium.org.

Seating is limited for some of the masterclasses, so early registration is encouraged. Participants who complete their registration before March 15, 2020 will receive a discounted rate.

For more information about the symposium, visit the official event website.

About the International Society for Orthodox Church Music

Founded in 2005, the ISOCM seeks to provide an open platform for musicians, musicologists, singers, and composers that encourages dialogue, the exchange of information and ideas, and inspires cooperation. The Society sees the promotion of communication between East and West as one of its priorities and hosts biannual conferences at the University of Eastern Finland, on its Joensuu campus. The Society also hosts regional symposia and gatherings elsewhere throughout the world to help create opportunities for collaboration and the sharing of knowledge in the field of Orthodox liturgical music.

For more information about the ISOCM, visit www.isocm.com.

Update: 5/21/20 - Registration for the Pan-Orthodox Music Symposium is now closed.

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Discover “Music as Liturgy” this summer—from home! Plans for the 2020 Pan-Orthodox Music Symposium have been reconfigured to a global online format on Thursday, June 11 through Saturday, June 13, 2020. 

The event, cohosted by St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) and the International Society for Orthodox Church Music (ISOCM), will explore the theme of “Music as Liturgy” with masterclasses, keynote presentations, and workshops.

The Symposium, centered this year on the theme of “Music as Liturgy,” is designed for choir directors, singers, chanters, composers, musicologists, church school teachers, clergy, youth leaders, readers, and anyone interested in developing their liturgical music skill sets.

Masterclass topics include:

• Vocal Techniques
• Choral Leadership
• Introduction to Liturgical Conducting
• Advanced Liturgical Conducting
• Byzantine Chant for Beginners
• Advanced Byzantine Chant
• Composing in the Orthodox Context
• Engaging Young People with Music

Workshop sessions will explore other themes for application in parish life:

• Introduction to liturgical theology
• Training for reading and chanting
• Arranging settings for voices
• Achieving a unified choral sound
• Para-liturgical activities
• The spiritual dimensions of the Church musician

Keynote Presentations include:

• Music as Liturgy: Models from Ancient Syriac Christianity
• Liturgy as Music

Find the full schedule, presentation abstracts, speaker biographies, and more at https://www.orthodoxmusicsymposium.org/.

The organizers at St. Vladimir’s Seminary and ISOCM look forward to welcoming you to what promises to be an incredible Pan-Orthodox Music Symposium this summer!

The Nativity season was once again made a little brighter this year for families at St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) thanks to The Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America (FOCA). In the Spirit of St. Nicholas, FOCA helped fulfill wish lists for married seminarians and their children in the month of December.

FOCA has sponsored the St. Nicholas Wish List Project since 2000, matching chapters and parishes from all over the country with seminary families from both St. Vladimir's and St. Tikhon's Seminary. Items from wish lists range from gift cards to local grocery, gas stations, and other stores to clothing and household goods, school supplies for the seminarians, and gifts for the children.

FOCA is an official organization of the Orthodox Church in America. Fulfilling wish lists is one of many ways FOCA supports seminaries and a number of other causes around the country and abroad. Learn more about FOCA and how to get involved on the organization’s website, here.

With faith in Christ and in the hope of resurrection, we share the news of the repose of our alumnus and ardent supporter of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Dr. Frank Kulik. Kulik, of Phoenix, AZ, fell asleep in the Lord Tuesday, December 18, at the age of 81.

Doctor Frank and his wife, Dr. Alcides Kulik, who recently fell asleep in the Lord, have been faithful friends and supporters of St. Vladimir’s for many years. Recently, they served as founders and benefactors of the Seminary’s new Institute of Sacred Arts (ISA). Doctor Frank attended St. Vladimir’s Seminary as a student from 1957-1959, and was a classmate of Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko (+2015), who would later become professor and dean of the Seminary.

Father Thomas once wrote about the important role Dr. Frank played in his own enrollment as a seminarian at St. Vladimir’s:

I heard about St. Vladimir's in 1956 from a friend, Frank Kulik, now a psychiatrist in Jackson, Mississippi and a staunch Seminary supporter. Frank was a freshman at Drew University in New Jersey while I was enrolled at a small college in upstate New York. He phoned to tell me of a seminar he attended at Drew on the theme of Russian Orthodoxy. He was particularly impressed by one of the speakers, a young priest named Fr. Alexander Schmemann, a teacher at St. Vladimir's Seminary in New York City. He suggested that we travel to find out more about St. Vladimir's during our Easter vacation in 1957.

Doctor Frank graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1968, and practiced psychiatry for nearly 50 years in the southern United States.

Details regarding the funeral services and burial of Dr. Frank Kulik are forthcoming, and will be posted as soon as information is available.

For the second year running, the St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) Chorale teamed up with the choir from Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, East Meadow, NY. On Saturday the choirs performed “Lessons & Carols: Music of the Christmas Season from East & West” at Holy Trinity.

• Listen to the “Lessons & Carols” concert in its entirety via Ancient Faith Ministries

Under the direction of SVOTS Director of Music Robin Freeman and former faculty member Dr. Nicholas Reeves, Holy Trinity’s choir director, the combined choirs sang familiar carols and Orthodox liturgical hymns interspersed with readings from the Old and New Testaments. His Eminence, The Most Rev. Michael (Dahulich), archbishop of New York and the Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA), read one of the lessons and shared a homily at the event.

“This is a really unique collaboration and a beautiful model that other parishes could adopt as outreach during this time of the year," said Freeman.

“Singing at Lessons and Carols with Church of the Holy Trinity, East Meadow, is a highlight of the Nativity season for me,” said Kh. Cayce-Marie Halsell, who also sang last year. Her husband, Fr. Symeon, is a third-year seminarian.  

“This concert is a beautifully poignant way of welcoming the Advent season and contemplating the awesome mystery of the incarnation,” she added. “With a wide variety of hymns and carols, from antique to contemporary, the program ushers us from the Old Testament prophesies of the Messiah and guides us towards the triumphant coming of our Lord as a humble infant. It truly inspires us to sing, ‘Joy to the World, the Lord has come!’”

Singers from St. Vladimir’s Seminary have one more outing before the end of the fall semester. On Thursday, December 12, members of the Seminary community will continue the tradition of Christmas caroling at Sunrise of Crestwood nursing home near campus. The gathering provides the SVOTS’ community a chance to share the joy of the Nativity in song with the residents there and to celebrate the end of the semester together.

Do you feel called to serve the Church, either in ordained ministry or another vocation? Explore the idea of enrolling at St. Vladimir’s Seminary! Come experience community and academic life on campus at the Winter Open House, January 16 and 17.

Plan to arrive Wednesday evening (January 15), join chapel services and classes on Thursday, and enjoy a seminary-wide academic symposium (not open to the public), meals, and fellowship on Friday.

Schedule

Wednesday, Jan 15, 2019
By 4:30 p.m. – Open House guests arrive on campus
5:00 p.m. – Vespers
5:45 p.m. – Dinner

Thursday, Jan 16, 2019
7:30 a.m. – Matins
8:15 a.m. – Breakfast and welcome from the Academic Advisor
9:15 a.m. – Campus and Bookstore Tour
10:30 a.m. – Morning Class
12:15 p.m. – Lunch & group discussion with current seminarians curated by the Academic Dean
1:15 p.m. – Admissions Q&A
2:00 p.m. – Afternoon Class
5:00 p.m. – Vespers
5:45 p.m. – Dinner
7:00 p.m. – Choir Rehearsal

Friday, Jan 17, 2019
7:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (Antiochian Rubrics)
10:00 a.m. – Academic Symposium
12:15 p.m. – Lunch with seminary President
5:00 p.m. – Reception
6:30 p.m. – Departure

RSVP below by January 11, or email admissions@svots.edu to reserve your spot at the Open House.

ADMISSIONS INFORMATION

• Welcome!
• Degrees offered
• Tuition & other expenses
• Application forms
• Financial aid
• Housing
• Health insurance
• International students

Several seminarians from St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) performed for the Pan-Orthodox Christmas Concert Sunday in Paramus, NJ.

The concert took place at St. Mark’s Syriac Orthodox Cathedral, and featured choirs from the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and Greek, Antiochian, Serbian, Coptic, Armenian, Syriac, and Ethiopian Orthodox churches. Representing the OCA were Seminarians Phillip Ritchey and Catherine Alexandres and SVOTS Director of Music Robin Freeman; Seminarians Theodore Werthmuller and Timothy Miller sang in the Antiochian choir; Seminarians Daniel Bein, Daniel Girgis, and Fr. Peter Dimyan represented the Coptic Church; and Seminarian Daniel Hanna sang with the Syriac Orthodox choir. The concert was also attended by His Eminence Mor Dionysius John Kawak (Syriac Orthodox Church), His Eminence The Most Rev. Elpidophoros (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America), His Grace the Right Reverend Irinej (Serbian Orthodox Church), His Grace Bishop David (Coptic Orthodox Church), and other clergy.

“Glory to God for the opportunity to come together with Eastern and Oriental brothers and sisters, continuing to take steps towards Orthodox unity,” said Seminarian Ted Werthmuller.

“It was a historic concert,” added Seminarian Daniel Girgis. “Hopefully, it will be the first of many more.”

• WATCH: Clip from the Antiochian choir performance
• WATCH: Clip from the Coptic choir performance