Deacons and diaconal candidates gathered from states like Colorado and Kentucky for four concentrated days of training during the 7th Annual Diaconal Practicum at St. Vladimir's Seminary. Led by Archdeacon Kirill Sokolov, director of the Diaconal Vocations Program for the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), the workshop offered instruction on a broad range of liturgical celebrations, and dealt with matters both sublime (how to serve with a bishop) and practical (how to speak and vocalize).
Throughout the year, Archdeacon Kirill works with other mentors at the parish and diocesan level to encourage and train diaconal and late vocations students. In his workshops, he is able to draw from his own experience as an assistant to the metropolitan in hierarchical liturgies at church–wide celebrations and as an archdeacon serving regularly at the Diocese of the West's Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco. A former SVOTS employee and lecturer in Liturgics, the Archdeacon now works as Director of Technology at San Domenico School in San Anselmo, CA.
effective vocal production so that the deacons could serve beautifully, intelligibly and with conviction." Regarding his session on public speaking, Fr. Sergius noted that "as an ordained minister of the Church, there will be occasions when deacons will be called upon to speak about our Christian faith, and to preach the Gospel. Possessing basic rhetorical skills will help them to engage these opportunities with confidence and with effectiveness."
On the final day of the practicum, His Grace The Rt. Rev. Michael, bishop of the Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA), presided at Wednesday's liturgy, and afterwards addressed attendees. He told the workshop participants that deacons through the history of the Church have been known for exercising a variety of spiritual gifts: St. Stephen was called to witness with his martyrdom, St. Philip was a great evangelist. "Bring your talents to bear—you will feel drained and
strained but our Lord did too," emphasized His Grace. "Take the gifts God has given you and give them back to Him. When you serve, serve piously; learn the services and love them. But it's not all about liturgical pomp and circumstance; deacons have pioneered hospitals and schools and prison ministry too."
On June 14, the Rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary, Metropolitan Antony (Borispolsky), and the Chancellor/CEO of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Archpriest Chad Hatfield, reached a cooperative agreement between their two theological schools. The agreement offers opportunities for student and teacher exchanges; sharing educational models; development and execution of joint research projects; co-sponsored symposia, conferences, and seminars; and co-publication of educational and scholarly materials.
Signing the agreement on behalf of the Ukrainian seminary were Pro-rector Archpriest Sergy Jushchik, Pro-rector Vladimir Burega, and Secretary Archpriest Rostislav Snigirev; Fr. Chad was the signatory on behalf of St. Vladimir’s. Accompanying Fr. Chad was the Secretary of the Archdiocese of Canada of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), Protodeacon Nazari Polataiko.
The following day, Fr. Chad was received by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine, at his residence at the Kyiv-Caves Lavra of the Holy Dormition. During the meeting, Fr. Chad informed Metropolitan Volodymyr of the agreement between St. Vladimir’s Seminary and the Kyiv Academy and shared his hope that it will prove beneficial to both schools. In response, Metropolitan Volodymyr emphasized the importance of such cooperative initiatives which, until recent times, would have been impossible. Also in attendance were His Eminence, Archbishop Alexander of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Protodeacon Nazari.—from the Website of the Orthodox Church in America
Pastoral Theology, and seminary alumnus The Rev. Dr. Nicholas J. Solak ('02), rector of Holy Trinity Church, Stroudsburg, PA. Featuring interactive conversation, the workshop focused on interpersonal (rather than group) conflict resolution skills.
"We had a lively discussion about a variety of issues our attendees are dealing with at work and in their personal lives, such as negotiating day to day expectations of the workplace and home and discerning the presence of God even amidst the conflicts of life," noted Fr. Nicholas.
Reflecting upon the workshop, Dr. Rossi said, "Workshop participants especially resonated with the focus on Christ as the 'resolver' of our conflicts. Christ does for us what we cannot do by ourselves."
In the first week of June, St. Vladimir's Seminary hosted the 84th North American Orthodox–Catholic Theological Consultation, the oldest official dialogue between the two Churches in the modern era. The bi-annual dialogue is jointly sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and South America.
Since its establishment in 1965, the Consultation has now issued more than 20 agreed statements on various topics. All these texts are now available on the USCCB Website.
The Very Rev. John Erickson, former dean of St. Vladimir's, and Dr. Paul Meyendorff, professor of Liturgical Theology at the Seminary, are members of the group and participated in the meeting. "During our discussions," said Professor Meyendorff, "we focused on the role of the laity in the life of the Church, as well as on the contentious question of priestly celibacy."
St. Vladimir's Chancellor/CEO The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield recently participated in an interfaith conference in Washington, D.C., which addressed common concerns related to religious freedom. "Many Faiths – One America" was the theme, and prior to his own presentation, Fr. Chad was asked to speak to several media outlets, including Religious News Service and Catholic News Service.
C–Span and EWTN covered the entire event. Go here to view the presentations of panelists representing Islam, the Sikh–American community, the African–American Pentecostal churches, and the Orthodox Jewish faith, along with SVOTS' Chancellor; Fr. Chad's segment begins at 44:45.
In keeping with its mission to serve Christ through theological research and its vision to be a premier center for Orthodox Christian scholarship, St. Vladimir’s Seminary brought together a diverse group of thoughtful and dynamic presenters at its Conference on Poverty last week. Speakers and panelists explored a variety of spiritual, socio-economic, legal, political, and cultural factors that can cause and cure impoverished conditions, and provided incisive discourse about wealth and scarcity, and money and morality.
“It is so very important to take a fresh look at the poverty questions: to challenge the status quo, to listen to diverse opinions, to gather and hear one another, and to strive to improve where we have failed,” noted seminary Chancellor/CEO The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, as he introduced the conference. “We are here to look at the human cost of poverty.” Father Chad organized the event, which was co-hosted with the Acton Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to “integrating Judeo-Christian truths with free market principles.”
The conference was offered as a tribute to Dn. John Zarras, seminary alumnus (M.Div. '06) and trustee, and president of St. Vladimir's Seminary Foundation, who fell asleep in the Lord in 2012. Dn. John himself had hoped to organize the conference on poverty, and in anticipation of it had selected Dr. Jay W. Richards as its keynote speaker.
Dr. Richards, a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute and author ofMoney, Greed, and God, indeed fulfilled Dn. John’s wish by opening the conference with a presentation titled “How to Alleviate Widespread Poverty.” In his talk, he outlined 10 necessary socio-economic conditions that he believes help create wealth and ameliorate poverty. He also emphasized, “Christians should take it as a non-negotiable tenet that we are supposed to be concerned about the poor: God cares and we should too. When we encounter those in need, we are encountering the Lord Himself.”
Other speakers included:
·Michael Matheson Miller, a Research Fellow at Acton Institute and Director of PovertyCure, who spoke about human trafficking and human rights violations, and about small-to-medium enterprises as a solution to poverty, in his talk “From Aid to Enterprise” ; and
·The Rev. Dr. Philip LeMasters, professor of Religion and Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Religion, McMurry University, and a St. Vladimir’s Seminary trustee, who presented a view from the church fathers about poverty in his lecture “Fasting and the Poor,” in which he encouraged Christians to embrace a more moderate lifestyle as a means of loving God and neighbor, and as a path to spiritual healing and purification.
A concluding presentation entitled “What Is Social Justice in the Orthodox Christian Context?” sparked lively discussion among participants, and was led by a panel of Orthodox Christians:
·Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, seminary alumnus, Three Hierarchs Chapel member, and coordinator of St. Vladimir's 2020 strategic plan, who also is Associate General Secretary for Faith and Order and Interfaith Relations of the National Council of Churches of Christ, USA;
Seminary Dean and Professor of Patristics The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr traveled to Castel Gandolfo, Italy to participate in a conference hosted by the John Templeton Foundation titled, "The Role of Life in Death." Father John, who had originally suggested the topic for the gathering, was invited to chair the three-day symposium, which had been organized for the purpose of "convening preeminent thinkers and ensuring the representation of all major viewpoints" on the theme.
Templeton's Humble Approach Initiative has hosted invitation–only workshops such as this one since 1998, annually sponsoring a small group of scholars and scientists to meet and focus on a particular theme within an interdisciplinary framework. This particular symposium assembled an eminent list of participants, including physician and philosopher Dr. Jeffrey Bishop, who spoke at St. Vladimir's Seminary in March and is widely recognized for his work in medical ethics in the field of death and dying.
"We expect to identify key research themes in the sciences, philosophy, and theology that will lead to new scholarly collaborations," wrote Chair and President John M. Templeton, Jr., M.D., during the planning stages of the symposium. "Our wider objective is to contribute both to professional and public understanding of the often unexpected ways in which the broad domains of science and religion can inform each other."
The John Templeton Foundation is a philanthropic trust which funds research across academic disciplines; its purpose is to examine a broad range of philosophical questions and examine various quests for the purpose and meaning of life. Father John serves on the Board of Advisors for the Foundation and participated in a "Humble Approach Initiative" conference held in Denmark in August of 2011.
The Arvo Pärt Project (APP) at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary is seeking a 20–40 hour per week fundraising professional to explore and secure donations for a high–profile, short-term project, developed by SVOTS faculty members Dr. Nicholas Reeves and Dr. Peter Bouteneff. Together with seminary Chancellor/CEO The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, they held an initial meeting with famed Estonian Orthodox composer Arvo Pärt in December 2011 at the International Arvo Pärt Centre near Tallinn, Estonia, which resulted in plans for a lasting collaboration between the center and St. Vladimir's, comprised of several components, including a concert and lecture series and a series of publications.
Arvo Pärt, whose works rank him as the 3rd-most performed living composer globally, is an Orthodox Christian of Estonian nationality - See more at: http://www.svots.edu/headlines/st-vladimir%E2%80%99s-offers-public-evening-course-arvo-p%C3%A4rt#sthash.aZJUkHuf.dpufSince 2011 faculty from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and Pärt have been collaborating on a project that seeks to define the nexus between the composer's spiritual ground and his creative artistry, particularly his use of Eastern Christian spirituality. Both Pärt and the seminary share a common faith and spiritual heritage in the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition.
The fundraising professional's responsibilities will include:
Finding new donors and follow up on existing prospects, while creating and implementing fundraising strategies with the assistance of the existing APP team and under the direction of the team leader;
Written, phone, and face–to–face contact with prospects to secure donations and pledges (ability to travel required); and
The ability to hit the ground running and work within the tight time–frame of the project.
In a weeklong program that started on Memorial Day, Iconographer Khouria Erin Kimmett of The Annunciation Press led the inaugural summer program at St. Vladimir's, a six–day iconography workshop for college students. Collegians started the week as both novice iconographers and experienced students who had studied under Erin previously. Each participant completed an 8" x 10" icon of their choosing, while closely following the guidelines and principles as explained by the instructor. The students walked through the time–tested steps of icon-painting—from layering paint on gessoed boards, to adding intense color to the saintly figures, to goldleafing halos. As the week progressed, brilliant images emerged from their formerly plain wooden boards.
"This group was a joy to work with," noted Erin. "Each one was a serious and committed Orthodox Christian. Their hearts were in the task, and they understood the meaning behind what they were doing. They were focused and prayerful, and it was a wonderful week."
In addition to working on icons for hours each day, the artistically–inclined group of collegians toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and visited the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral afterwards, and also gathered for evening presentations with The Rev. Dn. Evan Freeman (alumnus and Yale University doctoral student) and Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, St. Vladimir's director of Admissions and Alumni Relations. The class wrapped up the week by joining the community at St. Vladimir's for Sunday's Divine Liturgy in Three Hierarchs Chapel, in which Chancellor/CEO The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield blessed the completed icons.
Erin Kimmett is a graduate of Wichita State University, where she earned a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. She has designed and produced curriculum materials for the Orthodox Christian Education Commission as well as the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. A trained Byzantine iconographer, Erin works from her home studio for 8–10 hours a day, creating icons for Orthodox churches across the country. She also owns and manages The Annunciation Press. Erin is married to The Very Rev. Joseph Kimmett, pastor of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Norwood, MA, and is the mother of Nicholas and Zachary.
The Rev. David Wooten is the pastor of the Mision de los Santos Apostoles (Holy Apostles Mission), Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Born in Amarillo, TX, Fr. David grew up in Tulsa, OK, where he felt a call early on to proclaim the Gospel in both English and Spanish. In his college years, he studied English and Spanish Education at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa and ministered in a Spanish–speaking Baptist congregation.
As a young adult, Fr. David began to wonder why historical Christianity was so different from the American evangelical context so familiar to him. Eventually, his questions propelled he and his wife Natalia to join the Orthodox Church, and in the eight years that followed, Fr. David served as a Spanish teacher while earnestly praying about the call to ministry that had been with him since his youth. In the summer of 2009, the Wootens moved to New York to study and live at St. Vladimir Seminary. Father David was ordained a deacon on May 14, 2011 and a priest on March 11, 2012, graduating a few months later. By the fall, he was immersed in the challenges of pioneering a Spanish–speaking Orthodox ministry in Miami.
Recently, the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) announced that its flagship program "Come Receive the Light" was launching a Spanish–language version, "Vengan a Recibir la Luz." Each monthly program will present talks on different theological topics offered by Fr. David and The Rev. Aristidis Arizi (St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Miami).
La Iglesia Ortodoxa de los Santos Apóstoles, or "Holy Apostles Orthodox Church" in Miami became an OCA parish on July 1, 2012. Can you tell us how this ministry came about?
We originally received a request to work with an immigration ministry in the Miami area which had said it wanted to bring its religious services into communion with the Orthodox Church, but needed a Spanish-language priest to do so. We chrismated over 50 people in the month of July 2012, and began the work of catechizing, baptizing, and chrismating others who expressed an interest in the Church. Sadly, the ministry suddenly decided to part ways with the Church about nine months later, but thankfully, a good group of those who had been chrismated have remained with us. We now are celebrating the Divine Liturgy on Sundays at noon at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Miami Lakes, thanks to the generosity of that parish and their vision to help support a Spanish-language Orthodox mission in the area.
What do you think will be the keys to bringing Orthodoxy to the Latino/Hispanic community? What has kept this community from embracing the Faith thus far?
You know, that's a good question! To be honest, I don't think there is a "key" or even "keys" to any one particular community. We no longer live in a day where just because someone is from Latin America, he or she is automatically Roman Catholic, for example; the person could be Protestant, or not religious at all, just like most other areas. The key to any mission effort is understanding what your community needs and what it responds to...and that changes with every community!
One of the main needs is language. I'm extremely fluent in Spanish and thus able to serve and minister in the heart language of so many of the people in South Florida. This has still been challenging, however, given that I'm coming from a different place, culturally speaking, than many of my parishioners (they've been very patient with me!). But really, there aren't many people in the Church that are well–equipped enough to do this kind of work. A first step would be to develop "liturgical proficiency," which in Spanish would be very easy, since it's very simple phonetically. Along with this, however, priests who would seek to minister must be able to understand native speakers of the language, and, at the very least, make themselves understood to the faithful, both in ministry settings and from the pulpit.
In spite of the fact that I can minister in Spanish, my wife and I have had to translate and/or compile many of the services into Spanish that we have needed for this year. Much has already been done in the 70s and 80s, thanks to the efforts of Archbishop Dmitri of blessed memory, as well as the Orthodox Book Center at the Miami Cathedral, and much is being done in the Archdiocese of Mexico, but some services in the Menaion, the Triodion, and the Festal Menaion weren't readily available in formats we could use. We need to have hard copies of liturgical services; one of the things I'd like to help with in the coming year, God willing, are Spanish-language versions of all the little OCA service books that serve us so well in English.
One of the challenges I have seen in my time here is that many people in the Latino/Hispanic communities here are not concerned very much, if at all, with the Orthodox Church's being "the one, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church established by Christ." Many in Latin America will church hop, even to the point of Baptist couples taking their baby to be baptized in a Roman Catholic church, only to be back in their Baptist church on Sunday. The pastor probably doesn't like it, but there's not a whole lot of concern among many Latinos/Hispanics about denominations. One priest told me of a conversation he had with a Latino minister who told him, "No prediques la Iglesia," or "Don't preach the Church," by which he meant, "Preach Christ/the gospel," presumably apart from any kind of Church presence. There's a big challenge ahead of us when the Church is big on ecclesiology (as it should be!), but the community around us sees little to no need for it.
So I think we need to present ourselves, yes, as the original Church, as a worshiping community with the worship and praise of heaven, but also a place which provides fellowship, retreats, community events, means for families to be strengthened, Bible studies, and service projects. Basically, we need to be about the business of "giving the faith hands and feet" by serving others, then connecting that service with our life of faith that springs from the liturgy and the Eucharist.
Tell us about your podcast, "Vengan a Recibir la Luz," which is the Spanish version of OCN's "Come Receive the Light." What is its content and purpose, and how people have responded since it was launched?
Well, we've really only just begun to post podcasts. We don't have a streaming station yet—mostly due to the fact that we don't have enough music yet to fill such a station!—so our podcasts begin with a talk between myself and Fr. Aristidis Arizi about a given topic. We've already had one guest on with us—Fr. Antonio Perdomo of St. George Church (OCA) in Pharr, TX talked about fasting—and we hope to have some phone interviews in the future. After that segment, we play one or two hymns of the church that are sung in Spanish. After that, Fr. Michael Marcantoni of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Clearwater, FL, reads an epistle and gospel from the lectionary, then preaches a short sermon about the gospel. We've already gotten some positive feedback on it, and have just launched a Facebook page, so we're hoping to continue to reach out to more people who are interested in hearing about Christ's Gospel and His Church.
How did your years at St. Vladimir's help equip you for the ministry you are engaged in now?
A priest back home in Texas asked me a great question when I came home after my first semester at St. Vlad's: "So...you overwhelmed yet?" He said that, in seminary, they give you more than any person could possibly do in any 24 hour period, and that they do that on purpose, by design. Seminary does that to you because it's teaching you how to learn what you need to cut. There's always something you could be doing; you need to learn how to manage your time, evaluate what needs to be done and what doesn't. On top of that, the invaluable conversations with classmates and teachers come back to you when you encounter pastoral issues in a parish.
Related to that, what has been the biggest challenge you've faced since leaving seminary? The greatest blessing?
The biggest challenge has been our unexpected move; we went from a fulltime position in a church building that we used exclusively, to having to be bi–vocational, Sunday only (for now), and use another parish's facilities. The greatest blessing is that that parish, Christ the Savior Cathedral, along with many other parishes in the area (most notably Ss. Peter and Paul in Miami, who hosted us in the interim period of Lent and Pascha) and other individuals in the Church (most notably Abp. Nikon, Fr. Marcus Burch, Fr. Ted Pisarchuk and Fr. Antonio Perdomo), have all been a wonderful example of how the Church is a support network for brethren who are having to face challenges in ministry. People have offered sympathy, and I appreciate it, but really, thanks to all of the support I just mentioned, we've never felt abandoned or alone. Truly, God is wonderful in His saints.
