On Tuesday St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) featured one of its own, faculty member and alumnus Dn. Evan Freeman, in a special seminar. Dn. Evan’s talk, “Art and Liturgical Reform: Byzantine Eucharistic objects and the development of the Prothesis rite," was the first in a series of monthly seminars to be hosted on campus featuring members of the SVOTS academic community and guest speakers.
A full house, including both faculty and students, gathered to hear the presentation in the Seminary’s Gerich Boardroom.
“I argued for the importance of liturgical arts for understanding the history and experience of liturgy,” said Dn. Evan. “Eucharistic objects such as the chalice and diskos, for example, were active participants in the development, interpretation, and performance of the Prothesis rite. Corresponding with the words and ritual actions of the Prothesis, Eucharistic objects enabled the clergy to visualize and commemorate Christ’s incarnation and Passion in the preparation of the bread and wine through their forms, materiality, inscriptions, and iconography.”
Dn. Evan is lecturer in Liturgical Art and assistant director of the Sacred Arts Initiative at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. He holds a Th.M. and M.Div. from the Seminary and is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of the History of Art at Yale University. He is currently writing his dissertation on portable objects of the Middle Byzantine liturgy. His dissertation is titled, “Ritual Object, Ritual Space: Art, Agency, and Performance in the Middle Byzantine Liturgy.” Dn. Evan’s research has been supported by an Andrew W. Mellon Mediterranean Regional Research Fellowship from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers and by a Dissertation Grant from the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture.
St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) celebrated an eventful Feast of the Three Hierarchs on its campus Wednesday. The day began with Divine Liturgy and concluded with the 36th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Lecture and Mid-Year Commencement. The day’s conclusion also marked the end of three-days of the Orthodox Church in America [OCA] and Anglican Church in North America [ACNA] dialogue, which was also hosted on campus.
Divine Liturgy for the feast of the patrons of the Seminary’s campus chapel—Ss. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom—was presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West (OCA) along with His Eminence Archbishop Melchisedek of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania (OCA), both of whom are SVOTS alumni. Joining clergy from among the Seminary faculty and student body were several other alumni, including Archimandrite Gerasim, administrator of the Diocese of the South (OCA) and dean of St. Seraphim of Sarov Cathedral, Dallas, TX; and Dean of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary Archpriest John Parker.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Seminary President Archpriest Chad Hatfield presented a palitza (epigonation) embroidered with an icon of the Three Hierarchs to each of the archbishops as a gift from the Seminary.
OCA-ACNA DIALOGUE
The Divine Liturgy was also attended by Anglican clergy who were preparing for the final day of meetings with a delegation from the OCA. The OCA-ACNA Dialogue began on Monday, January 28. The OCA delegation included Archbishop Melchisedek, dialogue co-chair Archpriest Chad Hatfield, and Archpriest John Parker; Anglican representatives included co-chair Bishop Kevin Bond Allen and Bishop Ray R. Sutton.
The ACNA entered into informal dialogues with the OCA in 2009, and has met regularly with the OCA since then to explore the history of the Orthodox and Anglican ecumenical dialogue and to encourage cooperation.
On Wednesday evening, University of Notre Dame Professor Dr. David Fagerberg delivered the 36th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Lecture, titled “The Anchor of Schmemann’s Liturgical Theology.”
“The man who was famed as a liturgical theologian says his main interest is not liturgical embellishment. The first floor [of the ‘house of Schmemann’] is not his total occupation,” said Fagerberg. “I therefore propose we do him an injustice if we fail to excavate down to the anchor of his thought.”
“I know it’s customary for a speaker to say that he is glad to be wherever he’s speaking, but I really, really mean it. It’s not just customary for me. The material that has come out of this place has affected me in my own work, and it’s a privilege for me to be back and make a public statement of ‘repayment of debt.’”
Listen to Dr. Fagerberg’s lecture in its entirety below.
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY MID-YEAR COMMENCEMENT
The Seminary’s Mid-Year Commencement Ceremony followed the lecture, as two Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) candidates received their degrees in absentia: Priest Alcuin Kellerhouse, assistant priest at Dormition of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Church, Carnegie, PA (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia) and St. Gregory's Orthodox Church, Homestead, PA (OCA); and Priest David Subu, rector of St. Mary Orthodox Church in Falls Church, VA.
At the evening’s conclusion, Archbishop Benjamin offered a final word of thanks and encouragement to the seminarians present.
"One of the things that Fr. Schmemann spoke about was the beauty of the Liturgy and its ability to transform lives," His Eminence remarked. "...And if I had a word for the students, I would say, when you graduate, if you are ordained, make the Liturgy beautiful. The world needs the beauty of the Liturgy."
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) raised over $250,000 to support seminarians during its fundraising campaigns over the fall and winter of 2018/2019.
On November 1 and 2, 2018, SVOTS held its Fall Benefit and Theological Convocation to support the Seminary’s Tuition-Free Initiative, which offers fully-paid tuition to seminarians. Through the Fall Benefit Gala and related campaign in the weeks that followed to boost funding for scholarships, SVOTS raised approximately $284 thousand.
The Seminary also raised nearly $60,000 through its annual Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign on November 27, 2018. Donations toward the effort came in before Giving Tuesday, on the day of, and in the weeks following.
“It is remarkable to see how people stepped up to support the work that St. Vladimir’s does,” said Archpriest Chad Hatfield, SVOTS president. “Offering seminarians fully-paid tuition, in particular, has been a massive financial commitment on the part of the Seminary, but we believe strongly that the Church’s future leaders should not go forth burdened with debt from their time here—or worse, be too deterred by the prospect of student loan debt to answer their call to come to Seminary in the first place.”
Since 2012, SVOTS has offered fully-paid tuition to seminarians through its matching grants program. The Seminary shoulders 75% of the cost to make this happen, if a seminarian can obtain 25% of the cost of tuition through their home parish, diocese, or other church source.
Members of St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) joined thousands of pro-life marchers in Washington, D.C. Friday, January 18, for the 46th annual March for Life, marking the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973 that legalized abortion in the United States.
His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) led the Orthodox Christian hierarchs, clergy, seminarians, and faithful on the march to the Supreme Court building. SVOTS President Archpriest Chad Hatfield led eleven seminarians from St. Vladimir’s and was joined by St. Tikhon’s Seminary Dean Archpriest John Parker and many students from St. Tikhon’s.
The delegation from St. Vladimir’s was organized by the school’s St. Ambrose Society, a pro-life student interest group at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, which is led this year by second-year Seminarian Deacon Symeon Halsell.
’With several hundred scholars from over 40 countries and all six continents, IOTA has called its Inaugural Conference the largest and most representative gathering of Orthodox church leaders, scholars, and professionals in modern history.
“It is a source of great encouragement that no institution had a greater presence at the conference than St. Vladimir’s Seminary,” remarked Seminary President Archpriest Chad Hatfield.
Along with Fr. Chad and others, members of the SVOTS community in attendance also included Seminary Dean Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie; Dr. Peter Bouteneff, professor of Systematic Theology and co-chair of IOTA’s Dogmatic Theology section; Dr. Gayle Woloschak, professor of Bioethics and IOTA’s vice president; Assistant Professor of Theology Dr. Tracy Gustilo; Seminary Trustees Frank Cerra and Archpriest Philip LeMasters; Alumni Archpriest John Parker, the dean of St. Tikhon’s Seminary, Archpriest Michael Oleksa, Deacon Brandon Gallaher, Dr. Tamar Goguadze, Dr. Will Cohen, Dr. Vera Shevzov, and Dr. Scott Kenworthy; Seminarians Archimandrite Chrysostomos Onyekakeyah, Sophia Theodoratos, and Alexandru Popovici; and SVS Press authors Dr. Rico Vitz and Archpriest Andrew Louth.
The overarching theme of the conference was Pan-Orthodox Unity and Conciliarity. The Keynote Address was given by His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware).
“We have to confess, with humility and realism, that while we affirm synodality in theory, all too often we have neglected it in practice,” Metropolitan Kallistos noted.
During the conference, a broad variety of topics were discussed in over 70 separate sessions, from fundamental philosophical and theological issues to the urgent questions of our time. Classical issues included such topics as Orthodox approaches to scripture, the doctrine of the trinity, and spirituality of Philokalia. Contemporary issues included the controversial church situation in Ukraine, ecological challenges, and the role of women in church life. The IOTA event also included opportunities for communal worship, two sacred art exhibits, a pilgrimage to local monasteries, and a book exhibit to benefit emerging Orthodox scholars. The gathering was also enriched by the participation of presenters and observers from a variety of non-Orthodox faith traditions.
“I would say IOTA achieved its goal of being a place of exchange between what we would call ‘Old World Orthodoxy’ and ‘New World Orthodoxy,” said Fr. Chad. “The theme was very timely given the current tensions in global Orthodoxy.”
“The IOTA conference was truly an intense international pan-Orthodox experience,” said Seminarian Sophia Theodoratos. “The hospitality offered and the evident atmosphere of goodwill among those present was quite extraordinary. Hopefully dialogue will continue after the event to further strengthen exchanges between clergy, academics, laity and observers.”
IOTA plans to host worldwide conferences every four years in different locations worldwide, following the model of the Olympic Games.
The Testament of the Lord becomes the fifty-eighth entry into SVS Press’s widely popular (no pun intended) Popular Patristics Series. The Testament of the Lord is one of several ancient “Church Order” texts. Written in the first four centuries of the Church, they direct Christian conduct and morality, ecclesiastical organization and discipline, and the Church’s worship and liturgical life. Beginning with an apocalyptic section in which the risen Lord himself addresses the reader, The Testament then describes the building of a church, the mode of appointment for clergy and monastics, and the conduct of daily prayers and of other liturgical services.
The text is newly translated by Alistair Stewart from the extant Syriac (with an eye to Ethiopic manuscripts), and the introduction makes the case for a fourth century Cappadocian redactor who gave the work its present shape, though much of its material goes back at least to the third century.
Also new to SVS Press is Theology as a Surprise, written by His Grace Bishop Maxim (Vasiljević), bishop of the Diocese of Western America of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
“This is not a book of theology in the form we have become accustomed to expect: a systematic examination of the usual topics of theological reflection; it is much more than that,” writes Very Rev. John Behr, professor at St. Vladimir’s Seminary and editor of the Popular Patristics Series. “Bishop Maxim draws upon Scripture, the Fathers, and Liturgy to address perennial and yet very contemporary questions: our experience of time and history, our existence as human persons and the complexities of sexuality and gender, our life in the polis and the ekklēsia, and the relational presence of an icon in a world saturated with digital images.
And he does so in engagement with a diverse range of contemporary thinkers: philosophers, scientists, poets, artists, media figures, and film directors. The theological vision and call that emerges here is indeed a surprise, and one that brings the gospel to bear on all aspects of our life and existence."
Both new titles are available through SVSPress.com, or by calling 1-800-204-BOOK (2665).
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is poised to establish a permanent Institute of Sacred Arts (ISA) on its campus, with “creativity and holiness for the life of the world” as its mission, thanks to a $250,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.
“Many universities and divinity schools are concerned with the arts, but only rarely are they thoroughly integrated with the theology that might undergird them, or with the liturgy that brings them into a coherent, performative whole,” said Dr. Peter C. Bouteneff, SVOTS professor and director of the SAI. “We seek to integrate across the sacred arts—visual, aural, rhetorical, and tactile—as a means to study theology, especially through the liturgy, and to bring theological insights into the study of art, a field often dominated by historical, critical, and political perspectives.”
Over the course of three years, SVOTS will begin expanding its curriculum. Students drawn to the Seminary for its richness in the arts will be able to specialize by following a newly designed concentration or track. All seminarians, however, will experience the interweaving of the arts into their core courses, including church history and theology. Additionally, an artists-in-residence program will help the ISA offer the highest level of professional expertise in the practice of the arts. (This component of the ISA is not part of the Luce grant funding. Donations to help sponsor artists-in-residence may be made through the Seminary’s giving page.)
The fruits of the ISA will also be extended to the general public with the annual five-day Sacred Arts Summer Institute, beginning in 2020. SVOTS faculty, artists-in-residence, and visiting artists will lead master classes on such subjects as singing, conducting, and music composition; icon painting and carving; literature and poetry; and homiletics.
“The Summer Institute will be able to go one step further than many weekend or one-day workshops, as SVOTS will integrate arts practice with the highest caliber of theory and theology,” said Bouteneff.
Through the new grant, the Seminary will also expand collaborative relationships with other institutions, theological schools, and universities, as well as with sacred arts creators, and create audio and video podcasts for the public.
“St. Vladimir’s is now well-positioned to offer something with the ISA that really isn’t available anywhere else,” said SVOTS President Archpriest Chad Hatfield. “We anticipate making a major impact on the fields of art and theology through the introduction and careful testing of a new and fully arts-integrated model of higher theological education.”
“We are so thankful to the Henry Luce Foundation for continuing to believe in what we have been working toward with the Sacred Arts Initiative,” he added.
In recent years, the partnership with the Luce Foundation has produced the landmark Arvo Pärt Project and its concerts, lectures, and publications, and the three-year Sacred Arts Initiative, both of which have grown out of the seminary’s historic commitment to the study of icons and sacred music.
“The work made possible by Luce Foundation support has already been instrumental in improving the education of our students, the collaboration of scholars in the field, and in engaging a broadly diverse public,” said Fr. Chad.
The Henry Luce Foundation was established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time Inc., to honor his parents, who were missionary educators in China. The grant award was given through the Luce Foundation’s Theology Program, which aims to “advance understanding of religion and theology,” through projects that "cross religious, disciplinary, and geographic borders," and through support for "scholarship that is theoretically sophisticated, historically informed, critically reflexive, and practically invested.” Read more on the Luce Foundation’s website.
St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) is journeying to Seattle this February! Join us to support SVOTS seminarians, the future leaders of the Church.
The Fête in the Northwest will be an evening of inspiration and entertainment. Enjoy live music by Seattle-based duo Mr & Mrs Something and their acoustic folk, bluegrass, and Americana sounds, drinks (cash bar), and eats by Takis Mad Greek Food. The event will also feature Seminary President Archpriest Chad Hatfield and Amazon’s Rebecca Pagani, chair of the Orthodox Christian Leadership Initiative.
This event is so important because, truthfully speaking, it is about you and the Church. We want you to hear about what St. Vladimir's Seminary is doing to raise up your next bishop, priest, deacon, choir conductor, youth minister, Sunday school teacher, or iconographer. We want you to hear about how your help sends missionaries to Africa, Guatemala, and other regions of the world still discovering the True Faith, and how authors and scholars go on from Seminary to write and teach the things that God uses to help change lives--maybe even yours. This is about your church and the Church. Purchasing a ticket allows us to cover the cost of putting on this great evening, but your presence and further donation is what gives seminarians the support they need to serve the Body of Christ--you, us, and all who have been baptized into our Lord's death and resurrection.
The evening kicks off at 7 p.m. at the hall of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. Tickets may be purchased below. Questions? Email events@svots.edu.
*UPDATE: The Concert is sold out. To reserve your seat for the Tenebrae concert in New York on April 5, 2019, click here.
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St. Nicholas Cathedral in Washington, DC is set to host a spectacular evening of music by the St Vladimir’s Seminary Chorale. Tenebrae: Music of Holy Week from East & West is Friday, February 22 at 7:30 p.m.
The concert takes its name from a candlelit Holy Week service from the Western Christian tradition (tenebrae means “darkness” in Latin). The evening promises to be an inspiring look ahead to the solemn Lenten journey, the cross, and the empty tomb.
A reception will follow with wine and light hors d’ouvres. Books and CDs will be available for purchase from SVS Press.
The concert will help raise funds for St. Vladimir’s seminarians. There is no admission fee to attend the event, but advanced tickets are required (see below). Donations made before the concert, by February 5, of over $100 will be listed in the event program.
We offer this evening of contemplative and powerful music to you, for whatever you may need it to be during this season of preparation. Walk with us; breathe with us; be with us.
St. Vladimir’s Seminary, including the Seminary bookstore, will be closed for business December 24 and 25 in observance of the Eve of Nativity and the Feast of the Nativity. Normal business hours will resume December 26.
A schedule of services at the Seminary’s Three Hierarch’s Chapel can be found here.
