The Board of Trustees at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) accomplished several key objectives in November 2023: the reelection of the Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield as Seminary President for a new 5-year term; the election of Dr Nick Pandelidis to Executive Chair, and the appointment of three new trustees, the Very Rev. Dr Philip LeMasters, Jennifer Lyday, and Dr Craig George. The board ratified the new elections in an in-person session chaired by His Beatitude, The Most Blessed Tikhon. In addition to the elections, former Executive Chair, the Rev. Dn Michael Hyatt, was made Trustee Emeritus, and two Board members, David Hicks and Wesley Smith, ended their terms. In addition to finalizing changes in membership during this latest board meeting, trustees were introduced to Andrew Schachtner, who began his tenure as Chief Financial Officer at St Vladimir’s Seminary in August 2023.

“We extend our deepest thanks to departing board members, David Hicks and Wesley Smith for their years of dedicated service to the Seminary,” said Fr Chad Hatfield. “We also welcome the official election of Dr Nick Pandelidis to Executive Chair, and our three incoming board members. The new trustees represent a range of Orthodox jurisdictions and professional backgrounds, adding their experience to the already distinguished group of leaders who guide the work of St Vladimir’s Seminary.

“I also humbly thank the entire board for their trust and partnership in electing me for another chapter as Seminary President. In addition to completing the most recent round of elections, I am pleased to highlight the recent confirmation of yet another clean financial audit at St Vladimir’s Seminary; thanks to the efforts of our financial staff and the Board of Trustees, this year marks sixty years of clean financial audits at the Seminary.”

About the Newly Elected Trustees:

Dr Nicholas Pandelidis returned to serve as a SVOTS Trustee in November 2022, after previously serving for 15 years (2005-2020). He has been serving as interim Board Chair since May 2023, and was unanimously elected as Executive Board Chair in the most recent meeting in November 2023. He is a founding member of OSS Health, and a member of St John Chrysostom Orthodox Church and Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in York, PA.

Father Philip LeMasters is the pastor of St Luke Orthodox Christian Church in Abilene, TX. Having grown up Baptist and then explored various Protestant denominations, he became Orthodox in 2000 along with his wife and two daughters. Fr. Philip received a Ph.D. in Christian Theology and Ethics from Duke University and is also a graduate of Rice and Baylor. Through the Antiochian House of Studies, he earned an M.A. in Applied Orthodox Theology from the St John of Damascus School of Theology of the University of Balamand. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2006. His day job is Professor of Religion and Director of the Honors Program at McMurry University. Fr Philip previously served as a member of the SVOTS Board of Trustees from 2008-2020 and has taught hybrid courses as Professor of Christian Ethics at the Seminary.

Closer to home, Fr Philip regularly introduces visiting groups of students from local universities to the Orthodox Faith. He has also spoken about Eastern Christianity at Methodist, Episcopal, and Church of Christ congregations in Abilene. He has spoken at international Orthodox conferences in Greece, Romania, the Netherlands, the Republic of Georgia, and Syria, and has also led retreats in Orthodox churches in Beaumont, TX, and Toronto, Canada.

Jennifer Lyday is a partner at Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC, a law firm in Winston-Salem, NC which typically represents distressed businesses, creditors, unsecured creditors’ committees, trustees, and buyers of assets in bankruptcy sales. She is currently on the panel of Subchapter 5 Chapter 11 Trustees for the Middle District of North Carolina. Jennifer has also counseled clients in complex civil litigation. Her civil litigation experience includes officers' and directors' liability, personal injury, premises liability, wrongful death, and professional negligence defense.  In addition, Jennifer has significant pro bono experience, particularly in helping domestic violence victims obtain 50-B protection orders, working with Legal Aid of North Carolina. She also regularly represents parents of children abducted and taken into the United States in Hague Convention cases. Jennifer is also a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars.  Jennifer is an active member of her parish, Holy Cross Orthodox Church (OCA) in Kernersville, North Carolina, and serves on her parish council.

Dr Craig George is a semi-retired diagnostic radiologist who formerly served as chairman of the radiology departments at the Veterans Affairs Medical System of Northeast Ohio and Kaiser-Permanente of Ohio.  His master’s degree in organizational development has supplemented his work professionally and also as a trustee at the Cuyahoga County Health System.  He has served as chair of the parish council of his local parish, St Matthew Antiochian Orthodox Church.  Serving as a trustee at SVOTS is an opportunity to give back to the Church which has provided so much to him.  He is married with three children and five grandchildren.

Access the SVOTS Board of Trustees Directory

With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share the news of the repose of the Very Reverend Dr Ivan Moody, a world-renowned composer and conductor, an affiliated faculty member of the Institute of Sacred Arts (ISA) at St Vladimir’s Seminary, and the founding Chairman of the International Society for Orthodox Church Music (ISOCM). 

Born in London in 1964, Fr Ivan studied music at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the University of York (where he took his Ph.D.), and Orthodox Theology at the University of Eastern Finland (formerly known as the University of Joensuu); he also studied composition privately with Sir John Tavener. Influenced by several mentors, including Father Michael Fortunatto, Fr Ivan developed an early and powerful interest in the music, spirituality, and liturgy of the Orthodox Church–whose music and faith were to play a foundational part in his own compositions and life.

Fr Ivan worked extensively as a Church musician and conductor. A one-time member of the choir of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in London, he subsequently served as cantor in both Greek and Bulgarian parishes in Lisbon. He worked around the world with choirs and vocal groups as a conductor and clinician, sharing his expertise in the early and contemporary music of the Christian East and West. In North America, he forged a particularly close relationship as a conductor with Cappella Romana, first leading the ensemble in 2002 and directing them for the recording Arctic Light: Finnish Orthodox Music. 

Fr Ivan’s music has been performed and broadcast all over the world, and recorded on labels such as Hyperion, ECM, Telarc, Warner Classics, Sony, Linn, Orange Mountain, and Challenge. His largest works to date are Passion and Resurrection (1992), the Akathistos Hymn (1998), and Qohelet (2013). Other significant works include The Dormition of the Virgin (2003), the double-bass concerto The Morning Star (2003), the piano concerto Linnunlaulu (2003), Passione Popolare (2005), Simeron (2013) for vocal trio and string trio, and the Dante Trilogy (2014) for choir and ensemble. 

In 2007, Fr Ivan was ordained to the priesthood by the hand of Metropolitan Polykarpos of the Metropolis of Spain and Portugal (Ecumenical Patriarchate), becoming rector of the Orthodox Parish of the Transfiguration and St John the Russian, in Estoril, Portugal.

Fr Ivan held several academic positions, beginning with his appointment as Professor of Church Music at the University of Eastern Finland from 2012 to 2014, after which he accepted a position as a research fellow at CESEM – Universidade Nova in Lisbon, Portugal and Coordinator of the Contemporary Music Group. As a researcher at CESEM, Fr Ivan proved to be a prolific author of essays and books, including Modernism and Orthodox Spirituality in Contemporary Music. In 2019, he also became an Affiliated Artist/Scholar at the Institute of Sacred Arts at St Vladimir’s Seminary.

His fruitful collaboration with the Institute of Sacred Arts at St Vladimir’s Seminary included two Summer Music Institutes co-hosted by ISOCM and St Vladimir’s Seminary, in 2020 and 2022; his essay contribution to Arvo Pärt: Sounding the Sacred, edited by ISA founding Director Dr Peter Bouteneff, titled “The Materiality of Sound and the Theology of the Incarnation in the Music of Arvo Pärt;” and an essay in a forthcoming book from SVS Press called Rethinking Sacred Arts, entitled “Orthodox Perspectives on the Sacred in the Musical Arts.” Dr Bouteneff also conducted a special video interview with Fr Ivan in Three Hierarchs Chapel in 2018 and interviewed him again on the Luminous podcast in 2021.

Father Ivan Moody’s legacy is even further augmented by his work with the ISOCM, an organization he founded and nurtured with steadfast dedication. His vision and commitment to the preservation and promotion of Orthodox Church music transcended geographical boundaries, bringing together musicians, scholars, and enthusiasts from diverse backgrounds in a shared celebration of sacred musical traditions. His scholarly contributions, musical compositions, and unwavering advocacy for the spiritual and cultural significance of sacred music enriched the global Orthodox community and left an indelible mark on the broader world of choral and liturgical music. Beyond his professional contributions, Father Ivan Moody was a beloved figure and a guiding light to those who had the privilege of knowing him. His kindness, humility, and profound spirituality endeared him to colleagues, friends, and students alike.

May the memory of Protopresbyter Ivan Moody be eternal!

Article adapted from gramophone.co.uk, remembrance-pressobit.com, instituteofsacredarts.com.
 

Join us for the fourth webinar in the Light of the World Webinar Series. This monthly webinar series features speakers from among St Vladimir’s Seminary faculty, alumni, and friends, presenting on a variety of topics while answering a core question:

How are we Christians to be the light of the world?

Drawing inspiration from feedback received through a recent survey we conducted, these webinars aim to address a diverse range of themes related to real and pressing issues facing Orthodox faithful in modern society. 

The fourth webinar in the Light of the World Webinar Series is titled “Light is Sown for the Righteous, and Gladness for the Upright in Heart: How Do We Practice Self-Care as Orthodox Christians? (Psalm 97.11).” It will be co-hosted by Dr Albert Rossi, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services and seniormost faculty member at St Vladimir’s Seminary, and Laura Ionescu (M.A. ‘24), second-year student in the M.A. concentration in Sacred Arts at St Vladimir’s Seminary. This webinar will be held on Thursday, January 18, 2024, from 7:00—8:30 p.m. Eastern, via Zoom livestream.

The online webinar is open to the public and free of cost. It will be recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel afterward for easy access. Click the button below to register and to receive the Zoom webinar link.

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