The beginning of an academic year is always exciting. We welcome new seminarians, we meet their families, and we begin new programs and new community assignments. Seniors consider what they will do once they graduate, while juniors learn how to manage their busy seminary lives.  

The Academic Year 2013–14 is certainly shaping up to be a unique one. We are celebrating our 75th anniversary, we have inaugurated the first Father John Meyendorff Lecture, and we are getting ready to host the Fall 2013 Orthodox Inter–Seminary Movement (OISM) event. And this is only the beginning! We can look forward to many more exciting events throughout the year.

This year, we welcomed one of the largest incoming classes that St Vladimir's has seen in many years. We have 39 new seminarians joining 29 returning on-campus students, and 15 part-time and continuing degree students. This incoming class is roughly three times the size of my class!

This new class is also diverse. The new students come from various jurisdictions and Churches, age groups, academic and working environments, and cultural backgrounds. The international component is also very significant; we have students from Egypt, India, Estonia, Russia, and Canada, among others. We can all benefit enormously from the different traditions present at St Vladimir's through a respectful and enriching conversation among the various expressions of faith in Jesus Christ.

Additionally, we are not only living as neighbors, but through our community assignments we are asked to serve each other. This requires patience and humility at times, but it is a priceless opportunity to learn from one another, support one another, and establish relationships which will last for the rest of our lives. I cannot think of a better or more practical way of forming people who are going to serve in pastoral ministry and church leadership.

We don't just look inward, however. As we often state, we take on the task to communicate Orthodox Christianity to the world, inviting all to partake of the fullness of the Faith. In accordance with this principle, the student body elects a Student Council which aims to strengthen student participation in campus life, but also encourages outreach beyond the seminary community through designated projects, charities, and causes.

As Student Council President, I work with five other seminarians who represent the students of the Th.M., M.Div. and M.A. programs. At our first general meeting, I emphasized the importance of the Council, since it's been an effective liaison between the Administration and the student body these last few years. I also noted that we will continue to encourage outreach ministry beyond the community. In the past year, great work has been accomplished thanks to the two student interest groups, the pro-life St. Ambrose Society and the St. Herman of Alaska Ecology Group. Several students are also in the process of forming an interest group to focus on cross–cultural missions.

The 2013-14 academic year will be busy and will require a lot of work from all of us.  However, we approach it with excitement and joy. Glory to God for all things! 

Read more seminarian reflections in Seminarians Speak, and learn about Student Council at SVOTS.

Sandro Margheritino is an M.Div. student at SVOTS from the Diocese of the Midwest (OCA). Born and raised in Palermo, Italy, he was raised in a Roman Catholic family and came to Orthodoxy at the age of 18, after which he majored in International Relations – Political Science at the University of Palermo. Sandro's wife Anna was born in Moscow, Russia, and she currently works as an iconographer. Sandro has served as short-term missionary in Albania and Kenya in the past two years. Deeply inspired by his Italian roots, he is passionate about food and cooking, art, traveling and, of course, espresso! 

During the past year, St. Vladimir's has partnered with Ancient Faith Radio to produce five podcasts celebrating the Seminary's 75th Anniversary Year. The Diamond Jubilee podcasts will culminate on Thursday, October 3, 2013, with a warm and informative program featuring Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko and titled "A Personal History."

The public debut of Fr. Thomas's interview will coincide with the day that St. Vladimir's first opened for classes in 1938. During it, Fr. Thomas—a seminary alumnus, faculty member, and Dean Emeritus—will describe the Seminary's early beginnings in New York City and its development throughout the decades.

The other Diamond Jubilee podcasts available from Ancient Faith Radio include:
· " 'Does Christian Tradition Have a Future?' Father John Meyendorff's Question Revisited" with The Very Rev. Dr. John H. Erickson, former seminary Dean, speaking at the first annual Father John Meyendorff Memorial Lecture (September 15th)
· "SVOTS Strategic Plan 2020," with The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor/CEO of the Seminary (September 17th)
· "Theological Education in the 21st Century," with The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, Dean of the Seminary (August 28th)
· "Treasures of The Father Georges Florovsky Library," with Eleana Silk, seminary Librarian (June 14th)

"We are especially grateful to Ancient Faith Radio for heightening interest in St. Vladimir's Seminary during its seventy-fifth year," said Fr. Chad. "Our school has been blessed from its foundation in 1938, and these podcasts will be enduring archives to which future generations can turn to understand our history and our ministry to the Church and the world."

Ancient Faith Radio will also be podcasting the 75th Anniversary Gala Benefit Banquet event in honor of the Seminary's Diamond Jubilee, which will be held Thursday, November 7, 2013, at the Glen Island Harbour Club, New Rochelle, NY. Guest speakers will include His Grace Bishop Basil (Essey) of Wichita and Mid-America, of the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, and The Very Rev. Dr. John McGuckin, professor at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University. Tickets for the event are available online.

All 75th Anniversary podcasts are searchable on Ancient Faith Radio's Website. 

The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean and professor of Patristics of St. Vladimir's Seminary, journeyed to the Monastero di Bose in the province of Biella, Italy, to participate in the XXI International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox Spirituality. The monastery at Bose, founded in the mid–1960s, is composed of men and women from all major Christian traditions; it has hosted the Orthodox Spirituality conferences for about twenty years. The gatherings are open to the public, and are characterized by intense dialogue between senior Orthodox theologians and monastics, and Protestant and Catholic scholars from around the world.

Themed "The Ages of the Spiritual Life," this year's conference addressed the question: What is the relation between youth and spiritual fervor, between middle age and service to one's neighbor, between old age and Christian hope in sickness and in death? As such, Fr. John returned to a theme he has emphasized in recent years in his talk, "The Christian Art of Dying." (Read more about this in his new SVS Press book, Becoming Human: Meditations on Christian Anthropology in Word and Image.)

Speaking about "living the Christian death," reported the Monastery's Website, Fr. John "showed
how, for the Christian, life is born from the decision to die to oneself, as a result of baptism, living no longer for oneself, but for others. This donation of oneself transforms one's own concrete dying into a manifestation of the paschal mystery."

The packed daily schedule was supplemented by roundtable discussions and conversations lasting late into the evening. "Our informal discussions that went on alongside the formal sessions were just as important," noted Fr. John.

The prior of the Monastero di Bose, Enzo Bianchi, concluded the conference by thanking the participants and issuing a call to prayer and fasting for peace in the Middle East. The theme of peace has been suggested as a possible topic for the 22nd International Ecumenical Conference, scheduled to be held during the same week of September in 2014.

On Saturday, September 7, 2013, fifteen members of the St. Vladimir's Seminary community participated in the third annual “One Conference,” a gathering of Eastern Christians, this year held in Jersey City, NJ. Faculty, staff, students, and alumni from the Seminary comprised presenters and conference-goers.

The “One Conference” was created when a core group of young adults brainstormed around a kitchen and came up with an idea that they hoped would inspire and connect youth in their faith communities. Included in this core group were three St. Vladimir’s graduates, John Malek ('00), Fr. Vijay Thomas ('09), and Dn. Ryan Tellalian ('09).

At first, the conference was open to young people from Oriental Orthodox churches. By 2012 the conference was welcoming youth from all Eastern Christian traditions: Oriental, Byzantine Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox backgrounds.

Members of the St. Vladimir’s community who attended this year's conference included: Episcopal Trustee Member, His Grace Zachariah Mar Nicholovos;  Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, director of Admissions; Dr. Albert Rossi, director of Field Education; Dn. Ryan Tellalian, Systems support specialist; and seminarians that led group discussions during the conference. Protodeacon Joseph gave a presentation on St. Vladimir's Seminary and theological education to the entire gathering.

“It is always inspiring to see so many young adults gathering to discuss, worship, and participate in fellowship," said Pdn Joseph. "And it is awesome to watch those young men and woman who have been formed here at St. Vladimir's go out and create something as special as this ‘One Conference.’ "

For more information on the “One Conference” click here, or for information on SVOTS’s own upcoming “For the Life of the World Conference” for young people click here.

Everlasting King, Thy will for our salvation is full of power.
Thy right arm controls the whole course of human life. 
We give Thee thanks for all Thy mercies seen and unseen,
For eternal life and for the heavenly joys of the kingdom which is to be.
Grant mercy to us who sing Thy praise both now and in the time to come:
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age!

Akathist “Glory to God for All Things” Kontakion One (Tone 8)

On September 1, the St. Vladimir’s Seminary community marked the ecclesiastical new year by gathering to offer praise and thanksgiving to God the Creator and to contemplate the many gifts He has bestowed. The "St. Herman’s Society for Orthodox Ecology," the student-led group that sponsored and organized the event, hopes that such a gathering will become an annual tradition.

The evening began with seminary Chancellor/CEO The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield blessing a newly planted paper birch tree on the front lawn. The assembled gathering then proceeded to Three Hierarchs Chapel to sing the Akathist “Glory to God for All Things.” The Akathist, which derives its name from the last earthly words of St. John Chrysostom, invites the worshipper to meditate upon the beauty, variety, and power that God displays in creation. A power outage in the chapel actually enhanced the worship, since the congregation had to depend upon natural light from the windows and candles. 

A lecture by Dr. Bruce (Seraphim) Foltz, a professor of Environmental Philosophy at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL, concluded the evening. Professor Foltz, who entitled his talk “The Truth of Nature,” questioned a prevalent belief that the natural world can be described, limited, and ultimately manipulated by human understanding. This “technological truth of nature,” puts humanity in the place of God and presents the natural world as a malleable thing with no real identity beyond that which human beings ascribe to it. It is far better, Dr. Foltz argued, to see nature as a means by which God reveals himself: “ 'The heavens are telling the glory of God,' as the Psalmist says," quoted Dr. Foltz from Psalm 19, “ 'and the firmament proclaims his handiwork'.”

A question-and-answer session followed, in which listeners sought Dr. Foltz’s opinion on topics ranging from the proper attitude towards animals to the theory of nature as proof of God to the paper vs. plastic debate.  

By Martha Carlisle, President of the St. Herman's Society and second–year Master of Arts student from Kirkland, WA.

“We have a full complement of students in all our programs this year,” said Pdn. Joseph Matusiak, director of Admissions at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, “with 20 new seminarians enrolled in our core Master of Divinity program, 15 new students in our Master of Arts program, and 4 new students in our Master of Theology program.

 “The campus is already buzzing with activity as new students begin Orientation,” noted Pdn. Joseph.

 The 39 new seminarians are joining 28 returning students, twenty of which are continuing their studies in the Master of Divinity program; additionally, 5 part-time students and 10 more students who are finishing their degree program requirements are enrolled. The total student body for Academic Year 2013–2014 equals 83.

New students are following an Orientation schedule Friday, August 23 through Sunday, August 25. Classes for all students will begin on Monday, August 26.

The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean, served the opening Molieben for the new students and preached from the Gospel of John, chapter 17, on Jesus’ words, “The hour has now come.”

“The hour has now come,” repeated Fr. John, “Reflect upon these words: Jesus Christ had come to teach the Truth about the Father and the Christ, and the Gospel tells us that knowledge of Christ is eternal life and not just abstract knowledge.

“Also reflect upon the fact that we have just read the same Gospel that is read on Holy Thursday, the time of Christ’s Passion,” he continued. “We also, in this place, are being made ‘one’ through the Passion that we all are about to undergo here, for we are not here just to gain information but to undergo a transfiguration and transformation.”

The Seminary’s Chancellor (CEO), The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, in his opening address quoted Metropolitan Theophilus, who was President of the Seminary when it began in 1938, saying, “ ‘We need educated servants from different cultural backgrounds. Polemic work necessitates preparation.’”

The new class of seminarians represents a range of ecclesial bodies: 9 from the Orthodox Church in America, 6 from the Antiochian Archdiocese, and students from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, Moscow Patriarchate, and Serbian Orthodox Church, among others, as well as Oriental Orthodox students from the Coptic, Malankara, and Armenian churches. The class also includes other interesting demographics: 8 of the 39 students are women; 11 of them are married; and 25 are under the age of thirty.

“This Class, as our 75th anniversary class, is unique,” observed Fr. Chad. “Now is the time not only to look back at our history but also to creatively engage in today's new challenges. We never want to lose sight of the fact that we are a missionary school, and we want our graduates to have a zeal for spreading the Orthodox faith. We need your energy, and your willingness to sacrifice.”

The Rev. Dr. David Mezynski, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, added, "St. Vladimir’s is truly blessed to have so many students living in community with a common goal: to live a life well pleasing to God, a life of acquiring virtue, a life in pursuit of theology—the experience and knowledge of Him.

"They remind me of a statement by St. Niketas Stethatos (paraphrasing Acts 4:32), who wrote, 'And among the disciples of our Lord there was but a single soul and a single heart…'," continued Fr. David. "Through our own ascetic labors we as a community strive to realize this unity by laying down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ, so that at the end of their studies our students might go forth across the world to bear witness to our Savior and to guide those entrusted to them in this life of love."

View an Orientation Schedule 2013 

 Photos by John Patrick Nieuwsma

Oxford University Press (OUP) has just released Irenaeus of Lyons: Identifying Christianity, by The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean and professor of Patristics at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. This complete study of St. Irenaeus, the first great theologian of the Christian tradition, is set within the milieu of the second century but also references the contemporary world, and is part of OUP's Christian Theology in Context series.

“The issues addressed by St. Irenaeus are very much alive again,” notes Fr. John. In Irenaeus of Lyons, Fr. John outlines how the towering early Christian figure successfully refuted and triumphed over his opponents, thereby establishing a framework for orthodox Christian belief at a critical juncture in the Church’s history.

The new title follows on the heels of Fr. John’s 2011 release, The Case Against Diodore and Theodore—a "ground-breaking" work according to the Oxford publisher—which was a part of its Oxford Early Christian Texts series. Father John is the only author to have published books in three different series with OUP: his title Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement was published in 2000 as part of the Oxford Early Christian Studies series.

Additionally, the Seminary’s own academic publication house, SVS Press, will soon release Fr. John’s book Becoming Human, which deals with issues of Christian anthropology. In this work, Fr. John asks readers to reflect on questions such as, "Who am I? What am I to become? What is the meaning of my life, and of my death?" The rich, colorful book sets historical and artistic images side by side with meditations about what it means to be human.

RELATED LINKS:

• Order Irenaeus of Lyons
• Read about Becoming Human and other new SVS Press releases
• Read about Fr. John's last OUP release, The Case Against Diodore and Theodore
• Listen to Fr. John's former student Dr. Tracy Gustilo discuss St. Irenaeus on Ancient Faith Radio

At the beginning of the 2014 ecclesiastical year, Professor of Philosophy Dr. Bruce Foltz, an Orthodox Christian and faculty member at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL, will offer a free and public lecture at St. Vladimir's Seminary on "The Truth of Nature." The talk will contrast today's post–modern assumptions regarding the environment with the patristic and historic Christian understanding of what it means to care for God's creation. The lecture, to be held in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium in the John G. Rangos Family Foundation Building on the Yonkers campus, will be followed by a question and answer session and a reception in the Rangos Building's atrium.  

His All-Holiness Bartholomew, archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, who received the degree of Doctor of Divinity honoris causa from St. Vladimir’s in 1997, has designated September 1st as a day dedicated to the protection of the environment. As such, the student–led St. Herman's Society for Orthodox Ecology is sponsoring the event, which will also include a tree-planting ceremony at 6 P.M. and the "Akathist in Praise of God's Creation" offered by campus clergy in Three Hierarchs Chapel.

The St. Herman's Society was founded in 2010 to address issues of ecological stewardship. In the 2012–2013 academic year, it organized a cleanup of Crestwood Lake and partnered with the local organization "RiverKeeper" to set up a display about Hudson River environmental concerns.

LINKS

• Download the flyer for "The Truth of Nature"
• "A Hudson River Journey" Exhibit at St. Vladimir's
• Ecology Group Sponsors Crestwood Lake Clean–Up
• Download a PDF flyer of all Fall 2013 events at SVOTS 

The Very Rev. Peter Baktis Ch (COL) USA, a military chaplain and member of St. Vladimir Seminary's Class of 1985 (M.Div.), recently earned the highest degree offered by The Army War College, the senior service school for that branch of the military. His graduation on Friday July 26 marks the first time an Orthodox chaplain has been selected to attend the Army War College and thus receive both a Masters in Strategic Studies plus the certification required for all senior assignments, the Joint Professional Military Education Level 1 (JPMEP1). Out of approximately 100 eligible chaplains, six per year are selected to attend the College.

A priest in the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), Fr. Peter has been assigned as the Command Chaplain for the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), the first Orthodox chaplain to receive this post. "This is a direct reporting unit to the Department of the Army," noted Fr. Peter. "My responsibilities are to supervise, mentor and coach 37 chaplains assigned to the Command all over the world. I will travel throughout the year to Asia, Europe, and Australia as well as various locations in the United States."

Father Peter will also be the advisor to the Commanding General of INSCOM on all religious matters. In addition to developing and implementing programs to help the soldiers and families throughout the Command, he'll also provide counseling and assistance to those assigned to INSCOM's headquarters in Ft. Belvoir, VA. 

Read about recent SVOTS seminarians and chaplains-in-training here and here.

 The Very Rev. Dr. Steven Voytovich, a licensed professional counselor who spent many years of his career in the field of pastoral care and education, has been named dean of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary, effective August 18.

He succeeds The Very Rev. Dr. Alexander Atty, who retired for health reasons after serving as dean for the past three years.

Father Steven brings to this position years of experience as a parish priest, an educator, a presenter at seminars and retreats, a contributing writer for various religious publications, and a frequent presenter at OCA events.

His Grace, Bishop Michael, Ph.D., Rector of St. Tikhon's Seminary and Bishop of the Diocese of New York and New Jersey, stated, "I am well pleased that Fr. Steven will be joining St. Tikhon's Seminary as our Dean. His pastoral, leadership, academic and work related credentials are superb and we look forward to Fr. Steven moving St. Tikhon's to new heights. On behalf of the board of trustees, faculty, staff and students we welcome him and offer our prayers for his new ministry."

In 2007, Father Steven represented the OCA and was plenary presenter at the Ninth International Congress for Pastoral care and Counseling held in Krzyzowa, Poland. He served as communications and public relations officer from 2004 to 2007. He also represented the OCA at International Congresses held in Accra Ghana in 1999 and Bangalore, India, in 2004.

Father Steven serves as Director of the OCA’s Department of Institutional Chaplaincies, for which he cocreated and coordinated the OCA Seminarian Internship Program.  The Department supports Orthodox Christian men and women serving in institutional chaplaincy roles. From April 2010 until joining Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, he worked as director of Clinical Pastoral Education at Episcopal Health Services, Long Island, NY. During that time, he was attached to Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in New Britain, CT, as a supply priest for the Connecticut Deanery, but continued serving in multiple capacities within the OCA.

Father Steven was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by His Beatitude Metropolitan Theodosius in 1991 and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by His Grace, Bishop Job, then of the Diocese of New England.

Over the years, he has served as pastor of Three Saints Orthodox Church in Ansonia, CT; Holy Virgin Mary Orthodox Church in Waterbury, CT; St. Alexis Orthodox Church in Clinton, CT.

Father Steven has earned three advanced degrees from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY, including a Doctor of Ministry degree in 1999. His thesis was "Orthodoxy and CPE: Education for Ministry Beyond the Liturgical Setting." He holds two masters degrees from St. Vladimir's, including a Master of Divinity Degree, with Commendation for Thesis, in 1990. His thesis topic: "The Ministry of Those Who Suffer." In 1991, he earned a Master of Arts Degree in Liturgical Music and served as choir director of the St. Vladimir's Seminary octet.

He also earned a Master of Arts Degree in Community Counseling from Fairfield University, in Fairfield, CT, in 2005, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota in 1986.

Father Steven, 50, and his wife, Matushka Cindy, live in Guilford, CT. Matushka Cindy is choir director at Three Saints Church in Ansonia, CT, and is a marketing representative for Stony Creek Urgent Care facilities in Branford and Orange, CT.

Of his appointment as Dean of St. Tikhon's Seminary, Father Steven said: "In accepting this position I look forward to supporting St. Tikhon's mission of providing quality theological education including personal, spiritual, and pastoral formation to those whom God has called to serve His vineyard." 

The entire St. Vladimir's Seminary community congratulates Alumnus The Very Rev. Dr. Steven Voytovich on his new appointment as Dean of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary. May God grant him many years!