Joining His Beatitude in celebrating the liturgy was The Rt. Rev. Dr. Alexander [Golitzin], newly ordained Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese (OCA). Bishop Alexander also delivered the Commencement Address to the Class of 2012 at the afternoon graduation ceremony (read that story, here).
The newly ordained Fr. Timothy had been ordained to the Holy Diaconate in May 2011. During this past year at St. Vladimir's, as he completed his Master of Divinity degree, he also was a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) intern at St. John's Hospital in Yonkers, New York. Now that Fr. Timothy has graduated from the seminary, he will be moving to Columbia, South Carolina, along with his wife, Matushka Tamara, and their four children. There, he will pursue a 12-month CPE residency at Palmetto Health, a regional health care facility. He also will be attached to Holy Apostles Orthodox Church, where The Very Rev. Thomas Moore is rector.
At the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, The Very Rev. Dr. Alexander Rentel, assistant professor of Canon Law and Byzantine Studies and a member of the Commission on Canons and Statutes for the OCA, was awarded the palitza, a priestly vestment, in recognition of his special contributions to the seminary as a faculty member and to the Orthodox Church as an expert in canon law.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, The Very Rev. Steven Belonick, past Alumni Director and most recently Campus Chaplain at the seminary, and now rector of Holy Ghost Russian Orthodox Church in Bridgeport, was presented with a carved wooden cross by the Chair of the Alumni Board Gregory Abdalah, in recognition of his service to the alumni of St. Vladimir's over the years.
View a gallery of photos of the Divine Liturgy and ordination, here.
[Photos: D. Belonick and G. Hatrak]
Check back: gallery of photos by Leanne Parrott coming soon!
Check back: a video clip of the ordination coming soon!
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary is pleased to announce it has received a $40,000 special planning grant from the Henry Luce Foundation that will assist the seminary in laying the groundwork for a collaborative project with the famed Orthodox Christian Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt. The seminary envisions the “Arvo Pärt Project” as including a unique concert and lecture venture as well as publications about the composer’s life and works. The Program Director for Theology at Luce Foundation, Lynn Szwaja, recommended the funding of the project and informed the seminary of the Luce Foundation’s support in a letter dated May 1, 2012.
Chancellor/CEO of the seminary, Archpriest Chad Hatfield, acknowledged the Luce grant with gratitude, saying, “Our seminary has been shifting and rebuilding our musical program, including special events, over the last few years. We have achieved amazing things and learned much in the process. Now, with this generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation we are well on our way to fulfilling our dream of special ventures centered around the life and work of Arvo Pärt.”
Pärt is one of the world’s most celebrated and performed living composers, and his uniquely developed musical genre, known as tintinnabulation, has proved itself universally compelling; it has extended beyond the circles of classical music and has included admirers in the pop and rock music worlds. Moreover, there exists an inextricable connection between Pärt’s musical methodology and his inner creative impulse—with Orthodox Christian spirituality at its core—and it is this connection that St. Vladimir’s Seminary will explore and promulgate as it develops the project.
The project was initiated by two faculty members of St. Vladimir’s: Dr. Peter C. Bouteneff, associate professor of Systematic Theology, and Dr. Nicholas Reeves, assistant professor of Liturgical Music. Both have been meeting personally with Pärt and his wife and manager, Nora, to develop the project.
Remarking on the inspiration for the project, Dr. Bouteneff said, “On the one hand, this collaboration makes such perfect sense. Yet the fact that it is actually happening, that Arvo Pärt has welcomed us with enthusiasm, feels like a miracle, and it is a profound honor to the seminary.”
Dr. Reeves spoke further about the development of the project, noting, “Many concert goers know Arvo Pärt‘s music, and some realize a connection between his works and the spiritual life while others sense instinctively an otherworldly character inherent in his compositions.
“This project with Arvo Pärt seeks to make clearer for all admirers of these pieces their religious and, many times, Orthodox underpinnings, which remain virtually unknown to the general public,” he concluded.
Both professors expressed their gratitude to the Luce Foundation, with Dr. Bouteneff saying, “The Luce Foundation’s support of theological education is some of the most creative and finely-tuned in the landscape of philanthropy. With this grant they have helped put us squarely on the road to a project of far-reaching significance and of great beauty.”
Note: In the past, the Henry Luce Foundation has generously supported St. Vladimir's Seminary in the area of sacred music, including a $225,000 grant in 2000; that grant allowed the seminary to hire faculty, catalog a music collection, present seminars and workshops, and publish both liturgical and historical music books and also CDs. As well, the Luce Foundation was instrumental in funding the seminary's Library Developmental Project in 1999, with an award of $115,000, which allowed the seminary to purchase a UNIX server to handle its database, and to make significant progress in cataloging its collection and developing an on-line search program for the library's holdings..
Further details about the Arvo Pärt project will be posted regularly on the seminary’s Website: www.svots.edu.
The seminarian scholarship program of the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania began when His Eminence The Most Rev. Tikhon was installed as the diocesan bishop in 2005. The diocese gives $2,000 annually to students enrolled in accredited Orthodox Christian theological schools. Seminarian Russin accepted the generous offering, acknowledging with gratitude the meaningful support from fellow Orthodox Christians of his home diocese.
NOTE: Scholarship monies from parishes, parish organizations, and diocese are eligible for matching funds in accordance with St. Vladimir's Seminary's "Fully Paid Tuition Plan." Read more about it here, and please consider granting a scholarship to a seminarian in your parish or diocese!
At a dinner following the service of Vespers on Thursday, May 3rd, the seminary community bid farewell to Archpriest Steven J. Belonick, who served most recently as Campus Chaplain at St. Vladimir’s. Father Steven, who was employed at the seminary from 2000–2011, was assigned as rector of Holy Ghost Russian Orthodox Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut on March 3, 2012.
During his tenure at the seminary, Fr. Steven held several positions besides his most recent one, including: Director of Recruitment, Public Relations Officer, Alumni Director, and Dean of Students. He is a 1977 graduate of St. Vladimir’s and holds a Master of Divinity degree from the school.
Reflecting upon his several years at St. Vladimir’s, Fr. Steven said, “I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from the students, their families, the seminary administration, and the chapel community on my departure from the seminary.
“These twelve years have been some of the most challenging and yet rewarding years of my life as a priest,” he continued, “and I wouldn’t change them for anything.
“The friendships and working relationships that have developed over the years with students, faculty, members of the Board of Trustees, and alumni alike have enriched me and my family in ways that are beyond measure,” he concluded, “and I will remember all of them regularly in my prayers. I am so grateful to God for all of His gifts to me.”
The dinner was spearheaded by the seminarians and their families, and Fr. Steven especially thanked Matushki Katie Bozeman, Tamara Yates, and Samantha Paezand Trish Horstman—wives of current seminarians—for organizing the get-together. Well-wishers also included members of Three Hierarchs Chapel, to which Fr. Steven was attached during his time at the seminary.
The student and chapel communities presented Fr. Steven with a going away monetary gift as well as a “Memory Book” that expressed their gratitude for his work as Campus Chaplain. The seminary Dean Archpriest John Behr and seminary Chancellor/CEO Archpriest Chad Hatfield also expressed their gratitude to Fr. Steven for his work in many capacities at the seminary throughout his years there.
View a gallery of photos of the dinner, taken by seminarian spouse Leanne Parrott, here.
His Grace The Rt. Rev. Alexander [Golitzin], bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America and an alumnus of St. Vladimir's Seminary, will deliver the commencement address to the Class of 2012. Commencement exercises will start at 2 p.m., beginning with a Prayer of Supplication in Three Hierarchs Chapel, and then the graduating class, with faculty, will process to the John G. Rangos Family Building at 2:30 p.m., for the commencement address and distribution of diplomas.
We welcome families and guests of seminarians to Commencement 2012 on Saturday, May 19th. Find us on Google Maps!
Save the date of Saturday, October 6, 2012, for our annual Open House, Orthodox Education Day (OED). This year's theme will be "Inklings of Glory: Godward Journeys with Lewis and Tolkien," and features of the day will include:
Lecture by Priest Andrew Cuneo (SVOTS alumnus '10), the first Oxford University scholar ever to receive a doctoral degree on C.S. Lewis, and currently the founding priest of St. Katherine of Alexandria Orthodox Mission in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California. Father Andrew will be speaking about "Christian Themes in C.S. Lewis."
Book Study for your parish book clubs or personal interest! Father Andrew Cuneo, an expert on the writings and thought of C.S. Lewis will lead a discussion on the book The Abolition of Man; please bring your book and thinking caps!
Lecture by Dr. Christopher Mitchell, director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College, which houses a major research collection by and about seven British authors, including J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. View a lecture by Dr. Mitchell, "Lewis and Tolkien: Scholars and Friends," here.
Young People's Workshop by Dr. Kate Behr, professor of English at Concordia College, on the book and movie sensation: "The Hunger Games."
Weeping Icon of St. Anna from St. Tikhon's Monastery displayed for public veneration
Early morning Divine Liturgy, mid-day Akathist service, Panikhida and Vespers, with His Eminence, The Most Rev. Tikhon, archbishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, presiding at the liturgical services; also serving will be His Grace The Rt. Rev. Michael, bishop of New York, and New York and New Jersey, and administrator of the Orthodox Church in America..
Seminary library display of icons from the British Isles
Sacred music choral performance
Traditional national dance—including a champion Irish step dancer from the Inishfree School of Irish Dance!
Variety of ethnic foods
Spread the word about "Inklings of Glory" with your friends, family, and parish family!
Stunning, exquisite, arresting, brilliant...there are not enough superlative adjectives to describe the performance of sacred music delivered by St. Vladimir's Seminary Chorale in the heart of Manhattan this past Monday evening. With artistic execution and prayerful potency, the singers filled the warm and inviting space of St. Malachy's Chapel with a sound fitting for heaven—and needfulon earth.
Through a multi-media presentation titled "ORIENT: Sacred Song and Image" the chorale combined word and image to create an evangelical message that proved to be both spiritually powerful and aesthetically absorbing. The performance employed a variety of iconographic projections and liturgical compositions from the Orthodox Christian tradition, seamlessly matched to create a joyous yet profound experience for concert goers, who listened in rapt attention to the 22-voice chorus and expressed their appreciation to the chorale with a long lasting and standing ovation. Included in the audience was a special guest, His Grace, The Rt. Rev. Nicholas, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn and Resident Assistant to Metropolitan Philip of the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese.
Matushka Robin Freeman, a staff member in the Advancement Office at the seminary who holds a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, created the concert format and conducted in its premiere at IU's Jacobs School of Music in 2010. She served as one of the concert conductors for the New York City premiere, along with Hierodeacon Herman, lecturer in Liturgical Music and Chapel Choir Director at the seminary.
Seminary Chancellor and CEO, Archpriest Chad Hatfield, served as Master of Ceremonies for the evening, and in keeping with concert's theme, he delivered a homily about the Resurrection of Christ, near the conclusion of the program. Following Fr. Chad's homily, the producer of the concert, Dr. Nicholas Reeves, assistant professor of Liturgical Music at the seminary, expressed his profound gratitude to Father Richard Baker, rector of St. Malachy's Chapel (The Actors' Chapel), and to his parishioners, for their generous "gift of space" for the concert venue. The evening concluded with the entire crowd joyously singing the traditional Paschal hymn to the Mother of God, "The Angel Cried."
Watch a video clip of ORIENT, including the selections "Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos," by Sergei Rachmaninov, with Matushka Robin Freeman directing, and "In the Flesh Thou Didst Fall Asleep," by Alexander Glazunov, with Hdn. Herman directing, here.
View a PDF of the full concert program from ORIENT here.
See more photos by Vadim Arslanov (visiting photographer from the Orthodox Church in America's Representation Church of the Great Martyr Catherine in Moscow) here.
Are you interested in joining our e-mail list to hear about future events? If so, please click here.
We're taking a survey regarding the possible production of a CD of ORIENT: please give us your feedback here.
St. Vladimir's Seminary would like to thank TD Bank and all our other donors who supported ORIENT! View a complete donor list here.
Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America and an alumnus of St. Vladimir's Seminary, will deliver the commencement address to the Class of 2012 on Saturday, May 19th. Commencement exercises will start at 2 p.m., beginning with a Prayer of Supplication in Three Hierarchs Chapel.
Bishop Alexander was just recently ordained to the episcopacy at St. George Cathedral in Rossford, Ohio, on May 5, 2012. He succeeds His Eminence Archbishop Kirill, who reposed in the Lord in 2007. The Bulgarian Diocese includes 19 parishes and missions and one monastery. Among those present at his ordination were Archpriest John Behr, dean of St. Vladimir's Seminary, and several SVOTS alumni.
Raised at St. Innocent Church in Tarzana, California, Bp. Alexander received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Divinity degree from St. Vladimir’s. He spent seven years pursuing doctoral studies at Oxford University in England under His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos [Ware]. During this time he also spent two years in Greece, including one year at Simonos Petras Monastery on Mount Athos. After receiving his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1980, Bp. Alexander returned to the United States. He was ordained to the diaconate in January 1982 and to the priesthood two years later; in 1986, he was tonsured to monastic orders.
We welcome families and guests of seminarians to Commencement 2012 on Saturday, May 19th. Find us on Google Maps!
For the third year in a row, a teaching team from St. Vladimir's Seminary flew north to Alaska to spend a week teaching at St. Herman Seminary in Kodiak. The team consisted of Chancellor/CEO Archpriest Chad Hatfield; Priest David Mezynski, associate dean for Student Affairs; and Ian Jones, a 2009 alumnus and Ph.D. candidate in Theology at Fordham University.
St. Vladimir’s has a long-standing history of supplying its northern sister school with faculty and library books. Since 2008, Fr. Chad Hatfield, who also acted as Dean of St Herman’s from 2003 to 2007, has conducted retreats and seminars within the Alaskan Diocese and at St. Herman’s.
This year, Fr. Chad conducted classes for St. Herman's seminarians on "Priestly Character," essential for the formation of students preparing to be pastors. Fr. David lectured on "Desert Spirituality," focusing on the role of asceticism in Christian life and using the letters of St. Barsanuphius as core material. Mr. Jones spoke about "Humans and Animals in Orthodox Theology," a topic of particular interest, given the Native Alaskan hunting ethos and historical interaction with the created world; Mr. Jones focused on texts by certain Fathers of the Church, discussing quotations from Ss. Basil the Great and Isaac the Syrian, as well as Ss. Ambrose of Milan and John Chrysostom, and also including thoughts from contemporary writer Fr. Dumitru Staniloae.
Besides speaking to the seminarians, Fr. Chad met with the seminary wives over "tundra tea" and led their retreat at the women's monastery on nearby St. Nilus Island. The St. Vladimir's team also joined in prayer for the service of the Akathist to St. Herman with the Kodiak community and venerated the saint's relics. Following the service, Fr. David providing a reflection.
This ministry organized by Fr. Chad is the result of an $80,000 endowment generously established by an anonymous supporter of St. Vladimir's Seminary, and it provides the continuing opportunity for an ongoing and growing relationship between the two seminaries, both of which are under the auspices of the Orthodox Church in America.
View a gallery of photos by alumnus and seminar presenter, Ian Jones, here.
View a slideshow of photos on the Website of St. Herman Seminary, here.
Professor Richard Schneider, visiting professor of Liturgical Arts at St. Vladimir's, will deliver a free and public lecture titled "Armenian Architecture: Local Culture or World Architecture?" on Tuesday, May 8th at 7:30 p.m. at nearby St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, 150 Stratton Road, New Rochelle, New York.
Professor Schneider will discuss whether Armenian church architecture typified the building style of a regional single culture or many cultures (e.g., Armenian, Byzantine, Syrian), all of which led to the development of the "Middle Byzantine" design that today is thought to characterize the "model" Orthodox church building.
