In October 2010, our Dean, Archpriest John Behr, visited the Theological Faculty of the University of Belgrade, joining in the celebrations for their (and his) patronal feast of St. John the Theologian. He spoke with both faculty and students at the university, giving a series of theological lectures; he also visited the new Patriarch, His Holiness Irinej, as well as various monasteries throughout the country.
During his Serbian journey, Fr. John was interviewed by "Studio B," a TV station associated with the Serbian Orthodox Church, for its series on "Spiritual Leaders"; the interview recently has been posted on YouTube. In this highly engaging interview, Fr. John shares some fascinating personal history, as well as the account of theological education in North America, and in particular, of St. Vladimir’s Seminary. As well, he expresses succinctly his approach to teaching the mystery of salvation and life in Jesus Christ.
Watch the interview here, and learn a lot more about our Dean and his teaching, which is being appreciated by Orthodox Christians in theological schools and parishes throughout the globe.
Other scholars are noticing Fr. John's traditional approach, which demonstrates a strong and definite link between the theology that emanated from Scripture, continued with the church fathers and apologists, and was solidified by the ecumenical church councils; especially noteworthy is a mention of Fr. John's work in The Heresy of Orthodoxy, by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Michael J. Kruger; look inside that book on Amazon.com, pp. 53–54, here.
Under the guidance of alumnus and priest, Fr. Nicholas J. Solak, our first-year seminarians have begun their annual training for prison ministry. For the second year in a row, Fr. Nicholas is preparing our freshmen students for their Prison Ministry Field Experience, which will begin in earnest in January 2012.
In November and December, Fr. Nicholas will meet with students on our campus and will accompany them to an orientation at the Westchester County Department of Correction in Valhalla, New York, to acclimate them to the institutional climate. In January, our students will head up to that correctional facility each Friday morning to lead a small group Bible study among inmates.
“All together, throughout Spring semester,” noted Fr. Nicholas, “we will present seven Bible studies at the prison, each one of which will be followed by small ‘breakout’ groups between inmates and seminarians, and a debriefing session upon our return to campus.
“At the close of the semester,” he continued, “we will invite a representative from the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM) to our campus to speak with the freshmen students. In this way, we hope to build a bridge between the seminarians and OCPM, so that our graduates will have a resource to turn to once they leave St. Vladimir’s.
“I attended the board meeting of OCPM this past August,” he concluded, “and their board is excited about and supportive of our efforts here at St. Vladimir’s.”
No stranger to prison ministry, Fr. Nicholas worked for 10 years in correctional systems prior to his priestly ministry, both in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, and in the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Connecticut. He currently is the rector of Holy Trinity Church, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and he leads a local Bible study at Monroe County Correctional Facility. Not only did he earn his M.Div. (’02) at St. Vladimir’s, but he also earned his D.Min. (’08).
NOTE: The seminary’s Prison Ministry Field Experience, like its Hospital and Parish Placement Field Experiences, is required of all M.Div. students; the Director of Field Education here at SVOTS for these programs is newly appointed Fr. J. Sergius Halvorsen.
Read an expanded reflection by Seminarian Adam Horstman about his prison ministry experience in the “Seminarians Speak” section of our Website, here.
His Grace The Right Rev. Savas [Zembillas], a seminary Board of Trustee member, has been newly elected as Metropolitan of the Metropolis of Pittsburgh of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA). Bishop Savas served as the Chancellor of the GOA from 1999 until 2009, and then was named Director of the Archdiocesan Office of Church, Society, and Culture; in that position, he edits the popular blog, "Living in the LOGOSphere." In his new position, he will succeed Metropolitan Maximos, who retired on September 1, 2011.
His Grace was educated at Colby College, Holy Cross School of Theology, and Oxford University. Besides being a seminary trustee, Bishop Savas has taught a course on our campus, "Looking for God in Popular Culture." Known for his astute and artful commentary, as well as for his ease among all strata of society, he has garnered more than 4,000 fans on his Facebook page.
With his new assignment, His Grace will remain as an episcopal member of our Board of Trustees. The seminary community wishes His Grace God's blessings as he looks forward to his new assignment!
Listen to His Grace Savas, speaking on a variety of contemporary topics, on Orthodox Christian Network (OCN), here.
On the Feast of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the Bodiless Powers, our campus community had the privilege of hearing one of the foremost chamber ensembles in the world, Cappella Romana, under the direction of Dr. Alexander Lingas, an alumnus of our seminary. The group, which is dedicated to exploration of the musical traditions of the Christian East and West, sang the services for the feast using music from the Byzantine tradition, and included seminarians from our Byzantine chapel choir in their ensemble.
Cappella Romana is visiting our campus for five days while in rehearsal for two East Coast concerts, one at Yale University and one at Brown University. During their rehearsals, our seminarians are welcome to join them in studying Medieval Byzantine Chant, gleaned from music used for the Vigil of St. Catherine at the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and from chants used for the Feast of Theophany, originating from the Holy Land and Constantinople.
"We will be studying the difference between the written notation on a page [of Byzantine music] and what one sings in terms of timing and vocal inflection—whether it appears on the paper or not!" said Dr. Lingas. "In other words, the relationship between the written score and realization and sound."
In 1990 Dr. Lingas studied Patristics and Liturgical Theology at St. Vladimir's under Protopresbyter John Meyendorff, former Dean, (+1992) and under Dr. Paul Meyendorff, current faculty member, respectively. "It it always a joy to come back to the seminary chapel where I spent so many hours as a student, alumnus, and friend of the seminary," Dr. Lingas said.
Listen to Cappella Romana and the students of St. Vladimir's Seminary sing the Troparion for the Synaxis of the Archangels here.
Visit our Facebook Page to hear more Cappella Romana in Three Hierarchs Chapel.
The delegation from St. Vladimir's Seminary to the recent 16th All-American Council (AAC) of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) displayed a strong and active presence at its proceedings and venues. Eighteen faculty and staff members, including our Dean and Chancellor, as well as two official seminarian representatives attended the national church gathering, which convenes every three years and which met this year for five days in Bellevue, Washington.
Archpriest Chad Hatfield, chancellor/CEO of the seminary, made two impressive marks on the council: first, he was elected as an at-large member of the Metropolitan Council; and second, the resolution he put forth encouraging parishes to support OCA seminaries financially passed with unanimous assent (read the resolution here). The Metropolitan Council is a permanent body of the central Church, which exists for the purpose of implementing the decisions of the AAC and continuing its work between national gatherings.
Also highly visible and hard at work was Melanie Ringa, chief financial officer at the seminary, who concurrently holds the position of Treasurer of the OCA. Ms. Ringa presented the official Treasurer's Report, which included a review of the Church's finances for the three years since the last AAC. Included in her presentation was a report from Rob Taylor, audit partner at Lambrides, Lamos & Taylor, LLP, who indicated that with the 2010 Audit Report the OCA had received its first "unqualified" audit opinion since 1998. Following Mr. Taylor's report, the OCA Finance Committee, chaired by Priest Gleb McFatter, presented the 2012 budget and alternatives at three assessment levels. The Treasurer's presentation concluded with a question and answer period during which many delegates asked questions covering all aspects of the Church's financial activities.
Additionally, one of our recent alumni, Priest John Vitko, coordinated the Strategic Planning workshops for nearly 400 of the delegates, and presented the draft Strategic Plan to the full council at a plenary session. Now, Fr. John will transition to an implementation phase, using volunteers from the AAC workshops as his core teams and recruiting other volunteers from the wider Church, as the 10 goals of the Strategic Plan are defined, refined, and developed.
St. Vladimir's alumni enjoyed socializing at an evening gathering organized by Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, director of Alumni Relations and Recruitment. As a special gift to alumni, Fr. Benedict Churchill, Director of St. Vladimir's Press, and Dn. Gregory Hatrak, Marketing Manager of St. Vladimir's Press and Bookstore, presented each alumnus/a with a volume of The Epistle of St. James, authored by the recently departed Archbishop Dmitri (Royster); the volume also was distributed to alumni of our sister school, St. Tikhon's Seminary.
Listen to all the plenary sessions of the 16th All-American Council on Ancient Faith Radio, here.
See more photos of the 16th All-American Council on the Website of the Orthodox Church in America, here.
Successful non-profit institutions depend upon a profit-making sector in their budgets: consider the Girl Scouts of the USA’s mouth-watering cookies, or The Salvation Army’s bell-ringing Santas, or Goodwill Industries International, Inc.’s local thrift stores. For St. Vladimir’s Seminary, that sector is St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, often known simply as “SVS Press.” Revenues from SVS Press, the seminary’s publishing arm, and SVS Bookstore, the seminary’s distribution arm, together provided net profits that comprised 12% of the seminary’s operating budget in fiscal year 2011.
Without contributions from SVS Press and SVS Bookstore, the Seminary would simply not be able to maintain a day-to-day positive cash flow. Therefore, during the past year, in order to maintain a competitive edge in the publishing industry and book market, SVS Press has moved into the Digital Age by publishing E-Books (electronic books). During this past year, generous donors funded these important digital initiatives:
An anonymous donor gave $12,000, which allowed SVS Press to place 23 titles on Amazon Kindle; now, readers may shop for and browse, and download and read, books like those in the press’s Popular Patristics Series, or Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann’s For the Life of the World.
A $7,500 donation by Mark and Hresula Hudoff funded a Short Run Digital Printing project that brought 14 SVS Press titles back into print, with 11 additional titles slated for reprinting in FY12.
Another anonymous donor gave $5,000 to re-format the press’s best-selling title Father Arseny 1893–1973: Priest, Prisoner, and Spiritual Father into a compact disk audio book.
St. Vladimir’s Seminary thanks these donors for helping its press remain viable and profitable within the rapidly changing publishing industry!
See a complete list of SVS Press digital titles and reprints on page 23 of our newly published FY11 Annual Report here.
View all of our SVS Press titles and Bookstore stock here; order titles online, or call 914-961-2203 or 1-800-204-BOOK (2665).
Priest John E. Parker III, an alumnus of St. Vladimir's, has been appointed Chair of Department of Evangelization of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), by His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah, primate of the OCA. Father John holds a Master of Theology degree from the seminary, and currently is rector of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Prior to his reception into the Orthodox Church in 2002, Fr. John served as a youth pastor in the Episcopal Church, USA. His experience in missionary work spans everything from inner-city evangelization to foreign mission teams. Notably, he has helped grow what began as "Holy Ascension Orthodox Mission" into a vibrant and large church, housed in an exceptionally stunning Byzantine-style building.
Referring to the Department of Evangelization as the "Good News Department," Fr. John has set three main goals: 1) evangelization to non-Christians 2) missions, which includes planting new Orthodox churches and taking part in short-term missions trips and 3) revitalization of existing Orthodox parishes. His full interview with the the OCA Website editor may be read here.
Complementing his work in missions and evanglization are Fr. John's extensive writings. He has written dozens of columns relating Orthodox Christian teaching to local culture and life, which have appeared in local newspapers. He also has been a frequent speaker at various Orthodox gatherings, especially at Orthodox Christian Fellowship conferences, which strengthen college students in their faith.
Click here to listen Fr. John Parker's presentation titled "The Filioque," delivered at the Ss. Alban & Sergius Fellowship meeting held on our campus in September.
“The society was newly formed in 2010, with the intention of bringing in speakers to address the challenges of clergy life, especially from the wife’s perspective,” notes Matushka Thekla, who has experienced ministry both in the parish and mission field, and both inside and outside of an Orthodox Christian setting. “St. Juliana's Society is named after St. Juliana Lazarevo, a 16th-century woman known for her mercy and motherly kindness, and her continual ascetic efforts. We here at the seminary want to offer our future clergy wives, in an intentional way, the tools they will need to face the demanding situations they will encounter as they share in the ministry of their husbands.”
Speakers thus far have presented wide-ranging but practical topics, among them:
Hierodeacon Herman (Majkrzak), chapel music director at the seminary: “The Liturgical Texts and How to Set Up the Music for a Service” (in case a clergy wife suddenly becomes the ad hoc choir director);
Matushka Manna Whitfield and Khouria Erin Mary Kimmett, new and experienced clergy wives, respectively: “Caring for Your Personal and Parish Families”;
Tanya Penkrat, seminary alumnus and professional florist: “Flower Arranging and Decorating Icons for Church Feasts”;
Archpriest Chad Hatfield, chancellor/CEO of the seminary: “ A Lenten Meditation”;
Dr. Sarah Fogg, director of the Pastoral Care Department, St. John’s Riverside Hospital: “Active Listening and a Discussion on the Family Systems Theory”;
Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, Katrina Bitar, and Dr. Jason Hatfield: “Living in a Fishbowl: Real-life Perspectives from a Panel of PKs”; and
Dr. Albert C. Rossi, adjunct professor of Pastoral Theology at the seminary: “Becoming a Healing Presence.”
In November, Mother Cassiana from Holy Protection Monastery in Lake George, Colorado, will address the issue of "Children in Church: Teaching Children the Presence of God"; Archpriest Steven J. Belonick, campus chaplain at the seminary, will present “Praying in the Orthodox Tradition.”
“I’m privileged to be able to lead this group,” continues Matushka Thekla. “There have been other models of preparation for clergy wives on our campus in the past as well, and I keep trying to expand on those, opening up for our student wives opportunities for growth and laying the groundwork for their important future ministries. When graduation day rolls around for their husbands, I want to sense that they too have ‘graduated,’ and that they are ready to thrive in their new settings.”
Read more about the St. Juliana's Society in the "Our Community" section of our Website.
Our St. Vladimir's Men's Choir is on the road again this fall! They will begin parish visitations by singing at the Orthodox Christian Church of the Annunciation, in Brick, New Jersey, where Archpriest Gary Breton is rector. The choir will sing at the Divine Liturgy, which begins at 10 a.m., and then will offer a few musical selections at the coffee hour following the service.
Archpriest Chad Hatfield, chancellor/CEO at St. Vladimir's, will accompany the choir, and Dn. Gregory Hatrak, marketing manager for SVS Bookstore, will have books and other items for sale at the coffee hour.
The Men's Choir is comprised of the following:
Hierodeacon Herman, the Chapel Music Director at St. Vladimir's, is a graduate of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, and St. Tikhon's Seminary. He has taught music at St. Herman's Seminary in Alaska, St. Tikhon's, and St. Vladimir's.
Kevin (Basil) Fritts, a third-year M.Div. seminarian, hails from St. Athanasius parish in Lexington, the first OCA mission in Kentucky. He intends to continue attending graduate school until he cannot any longer and then to find employment using whatever is on his résumé at that point!
Harrison Russin is a second-year M.Div. seminarian from the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania. Before coming to St. Vladimir's, he majored in music at Swarthmore College and worked at Covenant House Atlantic City, a homeless shelter for youth ages 18–21.
James Wiegel, a first-year M.Div. seminarian, grew up in the Seattle area, where he taught high school for the last four years. He and his wife, Danielle, are expecting their first child this December.
Scott Miller is a first-year M.Div. seminarian and a 1996 graduate of Kansas State. Before attending SVOTS, Scott was a radio personality. He has been married 20 years as of this spring and is the father of two girls who are also musically inclined.
Joshua Schooping, a first-year M.Div. seminarian, is from Central Florida. His wife's name is Mariana, and they have two wonderful children, Isaiah and Emma.
Click here for driving directions to Annunciation Church.
From Sunday evening until Tuesday morning this week, we were privileged to have as a campus guest His Grace Alexios Mar Eusebius, metropolitan of the Diocese of South-West America of The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. His Grace spent many hours with our seminarians who are members of his church, and he celebrated daily services with them in their chapel, which is set up specially on our campus for students from Oriental Orthodox churches.
In addition to visiting St. Vladimir's Seminary, His Grace celebrated Divine Liturgy on Sunday at St. Gregorios Orthodox Church in Yonkers, and with his seminarians he made a visit to St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in the nearby city of New Rochelle.
Watch a video of His Grace Alexios Mar Eusebius celebrating at St. Gregorios Malankara Orthodox Church in Dallas, Texas: here.
