St. Vladimir’s Seminary Chorale Presents ‘Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi’ from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, directed the majority of the pieces, with assistance from Dr. Nicholas Reeves, assistant professor of Liturgical Music, who led the Chorale in a presentation of his Kievan chant arrangement of Psalm 103 ("Bless the Lord, O My Soul").
Warmly introduced by The Very Rev. Nicholas Anctil, rector of Holy Trinity, the Chorale performed selections appropriate to the Paschal season. The beloved hymns "In the Flesh Thou didst Fall Asleep" (Exapostilarion of Pascha) and "The Angel Cried" were interspersed with other liturgical pieces such as Richard Toensing's "O Gladsome Light." A rich silence was maintained between the hymns to facilitate reflection, and Chancellor/CEO The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield enriched the evening's content with a thoughtful reflection on the Christian's need for continued Paschal proclamation as the answer to the world's—and our own—spiritual need.
While most members of Monday evening's ensemble were St. Vladimir's students, musician Elizabeth A. Ledkovsky also joined the group for the performance, providing a fitting and living link to the past in the Seminary 75th anniversary year. The Ledkovsky family is well known to the St. Vladimir's community; Professor Boris Ledkovsky joined the Seminary faculty in 1953 and served as its choir director in the early years when the Seminary was still located on 121st Street in New York City. Subsequently his son Alexander Ledkovsky, Elizabeth's father, served as a church musician for many years, conducting the choir for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign" (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) located on Park Avenue.
During the spring alumni festivities at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, WI, St. Vladimir's Seminary Chancellor/CEO The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield was honored, along with two other Nashotah alumni, with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Founded in 1842 as a seminary and a mission to native Americans, Nashotah House is an Association of Theological Schools (ATS) peer school with St. Vladimir's Seminary, and the two institutions share a warm, reciprocal relationship that was formalized in 2009 with the signing of a Concordat.
This Concordat, which graces the Gerich Boardroom in the John G. Rangos Building on the SVOTS campus, was signed at the end of a conference titled "In the Footsteps of Tikhon and Grafton," in which the friendship between St. Tikhon of Moscow and North America and the Right Rev. Charles Chapman Grafton, bishop of Fond du Lac, provided the historical foundation for the pledge of "mutual fellowship of prayer and learning in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit." The agreement commits the two schools to pray for each other, to further ecumenical relationships between members of the Orthodox and Anglican traditions, and to continue to work for the reunion of all faithful Christians.
"This year's alumni emphasis was particularly unique," noted Fr. Chad, "in that the spotlight was put on the number of Nashotah House graduates who are now Orthodox or Roman Catholic—clearly communicating the message that Nashotah grads are now functioning in a much wider ecumenical context.
"Indeed," continued Fr. Chad, "due to our concordat relationship with them, we are prayed for every day in their chapel. In a very real sense, I accepted the award not only on a personal basis, but also in recognition of the longstanding relationship between Nashotah House and the Orthodox world."
Most recently in October of 2012, Nashotah House hosted Fr. Chad and His Eminence The Most Rev. Hilarion (Alfeyev), metropolitan of Volokolamsk and chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, for a weekend of meetings that witnessed to the relationship between the Anglican and Orthodox communions—past and present, and nationally and internationally. The weekend especially highlighted the emerging friendship between Metropolitan Hilarion and the Anglican Communion in North America (ACNA).
Father Chad holds three degrees from Nashotah House: a Masters of Divinity ('78), a Masters of Sacred Theology ('88), and a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa ('08). The Distinguished Alumnus Award honors outstanding alumni "who have demonstrated particular faithfulness and service to Our Lord and their communities, and whose accomplishments, affiliations, and careers have honored the legacy of excellence at Nashotah House." Nominees for the award are evaluated with three key categories in mind: loyalty to the alma mater, level of achievement in his or her professional life, and effectiveness within the arenas of community service and ministry. Recipients are expected to exhibit "integrity and a demonstrated commitment to service through an interest in bettering the lives of others through missionary efforts."
Following the example of Nashotah House, St. Vladimir's Seminary will be designating a distinguished alumnus at the first annual SVOTS Alumni Days event, scheduled for Sept. 15–16, 2013. The event will coincide with the first Father John Meyendorff Annual Memorial Lecture, to be presented by The Very Rev. John H. Erickson, former dean of St. Vladimir's.
During Bright Week, the New York Area Theological Library Association (NYATLA) convened at St. Vladimir's Seminary for their annual meeting. The Seminary is a founding member of the NYATLA, an interfaith consortium of academic and special libraries in the New York area focusing on religious studies. A welcome and arrival time was followed by the business meeting, in which the NYATLA Board was authorized to pursue a plan for a scholarship and grants program, a new board was elected, and plans were made for the fall meeting's location and agenda. A summer excursion for librarians to the Buddhist Monastery in northern Westchester County was also discussed.
The meeting was followed by lunch and a tour of the SVOTS Library. Everyone remarked on the beauty of the library setting, and on the many services available to the students. Several attendees asked questions about the Koha software system that the library uses. After the library tour, the librarians proceeded to Kunett Auditorium for a presentation on iconography offered by Richard Schneider, visiting professor of Hermeneutics and Liturgical Art at St. Vladimir's. Richard continued the iconographic tour by introducing the guests to the interior of the Three Hierarchs Chapel. Despite the heavy rains, the guests expressed appreciation for the parklike spring setting of the Yonkers campus.
For the entire month of May, the foyer of the Rangos Building at St. Vladimir's Seminary is hosting a traveling exhibit, "A Hudson River Journey: 1609-2109." Featuring a series of panels with stunning river photography and original artwork, explanatory text, historic artifacts, maps, and digital media, the exhibit is sponsored by Riverkeeper, a member–supported watchdog organization dedicated to defending the Hudson River and the corresponding tributaries that serve the Hudson Valley's population of nine million people.
Riverkeeper Community Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator Dana Gulley and Riverkeeper Intern Cara Goldfarbarranged for the exhibit, with assistance from SVOTS Chancellor/CEO The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield and third–year seminarian Jesse Brandow, president of the student–run St. Herman's Society for Orthodox Ecology.
"This exhibit has been to a number of schools in the greater NYC area, and we are pleased that we've been able to host it at St. Vladmir's," said Brandow. "Through the exhibit, Riverkeeper has enabled us to educate both visitors and our campus community about our local waterways." Riverkeeper developed the "Hudson River Journey" exhibit in 2009 in honor of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage up the Hudson River. Display panels depict the history of the Hudson from six distinct regions of the river and for three time periods. The advocacy group has been New York's clean water advocate for 44 years, and has helped to establish globally recognized standards for waterway and watershed protection by serving as the model for a growing Waterkeeper movement that includes nearly 200 Keeper programs in the U.S. and abroad.
"We're hoping to work with Riverkeeper more in the future, and are exploring concrete ways of collaborating," noted Brandow. He also explained that in September, the St. Herman's Society will host a lecture with The Rev. Dn. Seraphim Foltz, Ph.D., professor of Philosophy at Eckerd College in Florida. The talk will commemorate the beginning of the ecclesiastical year on September 1st, which His All–Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew has designated as a day of prayer for the protection of the environment.
St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary's Board of Trustees will award three honorary doctorates during the school's 74 th Commencement Exercises, Saturday, May 18, 2013. Doctorates of Humane Letters honoris causa will be bestowed upon Trustees Brian Gerich and Anne Glynn Mackoul, and upon Mother Inés Ayau García, abbess of Hogar Rafael Ayau, an Orthodox Christian orphanage in Guatemala.
This year, St. Vladimir's will bestow 8 Master of Divinity, 8 Master of Arts, and 1 Master of Theology degrees; four priests and one deacon will be among the graduates.The Rev. Dr. Sarah Fogg, director of pastoral care at St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, NY, will be the main commencement speaker. For many years Dr. Fogg has supervised seminary students in their hospital visitation and chaplaincy training at St. John's.
Commencement Exercises will begin with a 2 p.m. Service of Supplication in the campus Chapel of the Three Hierarchs, presided by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and president of the seminary, with Commencement at 2:30 p.m. in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family building. A public reception will follow.
The Byzantine Choir of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) chanted the Presanctified Liturgy at St. Vladimir's Three Hierarchs Chapel, with His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Brooklyn in attendance.
SVOTS Chancellor/CEO The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, along with the newly–ordained Antiochian seminarian Dn. Scott Miller, celebrated the service, which employed the Byzantine style of chant and the rubrics of the Antiochian tradition. Much preparation went into the Liturgy. Second–year seminarian Ian Abodeely directed the choir and spent a good portion of his day preparing the music and various readings. In the afternoon the Antiochian seminarians met to practice the various hymns used during the service; third–year seminarian Richard Ajalat noted that "it's so nice when we get to hear and sing our familiar Antiochian music." Ajalat and his brother seminarians gathered around Abodeely, accompanied by St. Vladimir's lecturer in Liturgical Music Hierodeacon Herman on piano, as they practiced the liturgical pieces prior to the Liturgy.
The Antiochian Archdiocese and St. Vladimir's have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship for six decades, beginning with the enrollment of three Syrian Orthodox students in 1951. Since then numerous Antiochian clergy, academics, and laity have been a part of St. Vladimir's history: faculty and staff, authors, board members, and choirs.
Today this relationship has continued under the direction of Bishop Nicholas, who is the liaison between the Archdiocese and the Seminary. Father Chad noted, "I have personally been very pleased with the working relationship that SVOTS has formed with Bishop Nicholas, and to see his relationship with the Antiochian seminarians here on campus. We have a historic and strong connection with the Antiochian Archdiocese which is continuing under His Grace's oversight."
Alumnus The Rev. John Parker, chairperson of the Department of Evangelization for the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), recently interviewed The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, St. Vladimir's Seminary chancellor/CEO, on the podcast "Lord, Send Me!" For the past few years, Fr. Chad has taught a missiology class in which he and his students have discussed the challenges of, and opportunities for, Orthodox evangelization in North America and abroad. His knowledge of missions and outreach are firsthand; he and his wife Thekla previously lived and ministered in cross cultural settings in Alaska and South Africa, and have been involved in planting churches in the U.S. as well.
A member of the Missions Institute Board of Trustees, Fr. Chad also served for sixteen years on the Orthodox Christian Missions Center (OCMC) board and has accompanied St. Vladimir's students on several short term mission and teaching trips to Albania and Guatemala. Knowing that many seminarians will serve in small missions and fledgling parishes, while others will eventually serve overseas, Fr. Chad has encouraged the development of a strong missiology component as a part of the new SVOTS 2020 Strategic Plan, and is coordinating the May 31–June 1 Conference on Poverty at the Seminary.
The full text and audio of the interview are available on Ancient Faith Radio. Below are some excerpts:
˜Christos Yannaris (theologian and author)...once said that to lead an Orthodox Christian life is to engage oneself in a series of risk–takings, and I have always appreciated that phrase. I found that the Lord blesses those who are willing to take those risks."
˜There was a point where I think that Thekla and I were somewhat serious about returning to Africa...but we wanted to go back in a seminary setting. I believed it then, and I believe it today—that's where the action is, and that's where you make the greatest impact on the future of the Church.
˜All of us have to be involved in it (missions). That should be as natural to us as walking. It's the great quote of Archbishop Anastasios of Albania that "a church not engaged in mission is simply not the Church." I'd take that a step further and say that a Christian not engaged in mission is simply not a Christian.
˜People who think that America is an overly secularized country are just dead wrong. We're a very religious country. Go into any Barnes & Noble into the section labeled "Spirituality," and you'll see it's a very long aisle, and every kind of imaginable religious expression is found there...
˜Orthodox Christians have been trying to model the education of our children on Protestant church school models....We need to find our own way to educate our people because...every single denomination will tell you they're failing in Christian education. And we can't afford that. When we're less than one percent of the population. We can't afford to lose a generation or two, and we've already lost too many of them, because we haven't followed the model that St. Innocent gave us. We don't teach and preach in the language of the people. We've become preservation centers.
˜in 2007, the Seminary...launched something called the "Good Pastor" program that put a deeper emphasis on the practical side of the formation of priests and others to serve the Church...we made missiology not just...an offering from time to time, but it became part of the core curriculum.
˜We have to make evangelism a priority. We have to really invest in church growth and giving our churches some vision and hope, and that's where we really need all of our bishops on board. I'm really anxious and ready for the day in which our bishops are singing with one chorus, like a symphony, that all of them are pushing and driving us to say, "Orthodox Christianity is such a precious gift that we possess, we can't hide it any longer and we, the bishops, will actually lead the Church in raising our profile."
˜But maybe the brightest light that I see is we're now beginning...to bear fruit with the various pan–Orthodox gatherings of young people that have been happening over the last several decades. They form friendships, alliances, and they're coming into maturity on their own. They're carrying with them that sense that "We're tired of the old divisions that kept us divided. We recognize that we can't bear that luxury any longer." So I'm seeing amongst the 35–and–under Orthodox some really top talent, and they're not hesitating to take their places of leadership. We need to encourage that and make room for them.
On Orthodox Education Day, 1993, a group of parishioners and friends of St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts gathered at St. Vladimir's Seminary to perform Byzantine Chant sung in English. It was the first of what was to be many such concerts by the newly formed Boston Byzantine Choir (BBC) who, over the past twenty years, have made Byzantine Chant accessible to the English speaking world. The choir, directed by Charles R. Marge, has sung at universities and parishes and music festivals throughout New England.
In 2007, The Boston Byzantine Choir was honored to participate in "The Ascending Voice," a symposium of sacred a cappella music held at Pepperdine University. The choir has also sung multiple times at the Sacred Music Institute of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, and is best known for its five recordings of Byzantine Chant in English: First Fruits, Mystical Supper, Thy Passion, Thy Resurrection, and the newly–released Lenten Journey. Seminarian Ian Abodeely, a Boston Byzantine Choir member, wrote this reflection.
Singing in the choir is something almost every student at St. Vladimir's does. Whether you're in the St. Damascene or St. Cassia choirs, the Octet, the Chorale, or the Byzantine Chant choir, you're bound to find yourself singing in the Three Hierarchs Chapel at some point of your seminary career. That being said, my first time singing at St. Vladimir's was actually before I was a student here. It was October of 2008 and I was on campus to sing as part of the Boston Byzantine Choir's concert "The Sound of Icons" on Orthodox Education Day. Five years later, I returned to St. Vladimir's, this time as a student.
This past weekend my classmate and fellow BBC member Dn. Scott Miller and I traveled from St. Vladimir's to St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Montreal, Canada to participate in a concert entitled "From Adam to Christ: A Story of Rebellion and Redemption." The concert was the culmination of months of planning and hard work by both the Boston Byzantine Choir and the choir of St. George Church, Montreal. For Dn. Scott and I there were a number of trips to Boston for rehearsals, lots of emails, and a lot of juggling of responsibilities to ensure we could participate.
On Friday we made the long drive up to Montreal after our morning class and ended up at our hotel later in the evening, already tired from our trip. We were just getting started. Saturday morning saw an extended final rehearsal to prepare for the concert that would take place that night. We had known that the parish would be videotaping the performance, and we knew that it would be taped and then broadcast internationally via Noursat, the popular Arab-Christian television station, but it still didn't prepare us for the pre–concert jitters.
God is good, and the concert was a rousing success, even though longer than expected. The BBC and the St. George Choir alternated singing hymns, which were interspersed with reflections by Presvytera Eugenia Constantinou, Ph.D., scholar and speaker. The concert on Saturday evening was also the "release party" of the Boston Byzantine Choir's newest CD, Lenten Journey. Both Dn. Scott and myself participated in the recording over the spring and summer of 2012, and this concert was the perfect opportunity to officially launch the recording. The new CD comprises hymns from Great Lent, as well as from the Feast of the Annunciation.
On Sunday morning we chanted Orthros, the first ever sung in English at the parish, before Dn. Scott went to serve and most of us went up to the choir loft to join the parish choir for the Liturgy. The choir warmly welcomed us to sing with them and we experienced, truly, the glory of liturgy at this blessed parish. The parish is very large and the church was filled to capacity. The choir numbered around 40 people and the music was that interesting mix of Byzantine chant and Russian choral music that characterizes so many Antiochian parishes; a troparion in Byzantine chant here, a setting of a hymn by Archangelsky there. All of this combined to engender a reverent and beautiful celebration of
the Divine Liturgy.
Truly, it was a blessing to be able to participate in this weekend in Montreal.
"St. Vladimir's Seminary has stepped up to the challenge recently set by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) to provide our clergy with continuing education," said Dr. Paul Meyendorff, The Father Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology at the seminary.
"We are working vigorously to help clergy reach the goal established by the newly formed Department of Continuing Education of the OCA, requiring 20 hours of education and training each year for priests," he explained.
Dr. Meyendorff was referring to the mandate set by the OCA bishops at their January 2013 meeting, which requires clergy to receive further education in professional and ethical issues. The person heading the OCA's new department is The Very Rev. Ian G. Pac-Urar, while Dr. Meyendorff is Director of Continuing Education at St. Vladimir's.
"We're delighted to see St. Vladimir's step forward with the first institutional response to the Holy Synod's call," said Fr. Ian. "As a matter of course, clergy participating in the offerings from St. Vladimir's will receive full credit for the Continuing Clergy Development (CCD) program. We encourage all clergy to take advantage of this great opportunity."
Similarly, The Very Rev. Eric S. Tosi, secretary of the OCA, noted: "We are so pleased that this program is moving forward. The issue of continuing education has been discussed for many years in the Holy Synod and was brought to fruition with the mandate of the Strategic Plan of the 16th All-American Council held in Seattle in 2011.
"Father Ian Pac–Urar and the Strategic Planning Committee of the Metropolitan Council were dedicated to making this become a reality so that the OCA clergy can continue to improve their pastoral skills," he added. "St Vladimir's Seminary has taken the lead in offering such a program in a formal manner and it is hoped that many will take advantage of the expertise and resources in the program."
Salem, South Carolina
Inaugurating the seminary's efforts, Dr. Meyendorff noted, was a recent seminar given by The Rev. Dr. Sergius Halvorsen, assistant professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric at St. Vladimir's. From March 31 to April 2, Fr. Sergius led a continuing education seminar on "Liturgical Preaching" for eight priests from the Carolinas Deanery of the Diocese of the South, OCA. The seminar began with a webinar in the middle of March, during which Fr. Sergius presented some fundamental concepts for preaching and gave the participants assignments to prepare in advance of the in-person session. Then, gathered at a home on the shores of beautiful Lake Keowee in Salem SC, the participants worked together in sessions that began on Sunday night and concluded on Tuesday morning.
During these sessions Fr. Sergius presented basic guidelines for effective preaching and then each participant made two oral presentations: a short meaningful story about their life and a "work in progress" version of their sermon for the following Sunday. Following each presentation the other participants shared thoughts with the speaker, both about how their presentation was effective, and also about how the presentation could have been more effective.
Reflecting on the seminar, Fr. Sergius said, "The depth and honesty of the feedback from the participants was quite remarkable. Everyone left the seminar with a few really solid ideas to help them in their preaching ministry."
Regarding the entire experience, Fr. Sergius said, "I am extremely grateful to Fr. Thomas Moore, dean of the Carolinas Deanery, Fr. Marcus Burch, chancellor of the Diocese of the South, and Archbishop Nikon, locum tenens for the Diocese of the South, for the opportunity to spend time working with the clergy. Pastors are physicians of souls, and like doctors who treat the flesh, they benefit greatly from continuing education to help hone, refine, and strengthen pastoral skills. Furthermore, participants benefit greatly from strengthening ties with brother clergy who support and encourage each other in their ministry. This continuing education session was quite successful on both these levels." (Listen to Fr. Sergius' recent interview discussing preaching and evangelism, on Ancient Faith Radio.)
Fort Worth, TX
From April 7–9, Fr. Sergius Halvorsen was a guest of St. Barbara's Orthodox Church in Fort Worth TX. On Sunday morning he preached at the Divine Liturgy, and during coffee hour he delivered a talk on vocations and spoke about the work of St. Vladimir's Seminary in cultivating and nurturing ordained and lay vocations to serve Christ and His Holy Church. That evening, he delivered the sermon at a Pan–Orthodox Vespers service held at St. John the Baptist Church in Euless, TX. Fourteen priests from the Dallas-Fort Worth area con-celebrated in the beautiful new temple, and approximately two hundred and fifty area faithful were in attendance.
On Monday morning Fr. Sergius led a retreat for clergy of the Southcentral (Dallas) Deanery of the OCA. His topic, "Orthodox Ecclesiology from the Perspective of Preaching," addressed aspects of the "applied ecclesiology" found in the Baptismal Homilies of St. John Chrysostom. Father Marcus Burch and about fifteen priests and deacons were present at the retreat. On Monday evening, Fr. Sergius delivered a lecture in honor of Archbishop Dmitri, "The Vulnerability of the Incarnation: God Made Man," which reflected on the mystery of the Word of God humbling Himself and becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:8) Father Basil Zebrun, pastor of St. Barbara's Orthodox Church in Fort Worth and host of the event, is planning on making this an annual lecture series, with the hopes of eventually publishing some of these talks in a collection of articles in honor of Archbishop Dmitri.
Speaking of future goals for continuing education for clergy, Dr. Meyendorff said, "Our aim is to develop continuing education workshops on topics such as homiletics, end of life issues, dealing with mental health issues, confession, parish management, and so forth.
"Programs will be held both on the seminary's campus and at locations throughout the country," he continued. "We will be working with dioceses, deaneries, clergy associations, and alumni groups to develop and host one- or two-day sessions."
In keeping with St. Vladimir's Seminary's continuing emphasis on missions and outreach, SVOTS hosted this week's board meeting of the pan–Orthodox Missions Institute, which is housed on the campus of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, SVOTS chancellor/CEO and adjunct professor of missiology, has been an integral part of the Institute since it launched in 2010 with the stated goal of promoting an awareness of missions within Orthodox Christian schools of theology in the U.S.
Institute Director and former Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) missionary The Rev. Luke Veronis addressed the members of the board and led a discussion of several new initiatives, including the creation of a fund to underwrite short–term mission trips for seminary faculty members, and the creation of a new Mission Class Guatemala trip, commencing in the summer of 2014. For the past several years SVOTS seminarians have participated in a for–credit collaborative seminarian missions trip, joining Holy Cross seminarians and Fr. Luke for two weeks of study and ministry in Albania.
In another missions initiative, the Seminary hosted its first annual Missions Day in late November, 2011 with guest speaker The Rev. Themistocles Adamopoulo, a member of the Alexandrian Orthodox Patriarchate who ran a vibrant ministry and mission in Nairobi, Kenya for years and now serves in Sierra Leone. Hurricane Sandy forced the postponement of the next missions lecture, which had been scheduled for November 7 with guests The Very Rev. Archimandrite Dr. Andres Girón de Leon and The Very Rev. John Chakos, both missionaries among the indigenous people of Guatemala.
The Institute was founded in 2010 with support from the Virginia H. Farah Foundation and the Endowment Fund for Orthodox Missions (EFOM), a charity honoring Greek Orthodox missionary pioneers the Very Rev. Alexander and Presbytera Pearl Veronis. In addition to Fr. Chad Hatfield, Dr. John Barnet, associate dean for Academic Affairs and associate professor of New Testament,and Director of Admissions and Alumni Relations Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, attended the mid–week meeting.
