During the current economic downturn, many faithful Christians may be wondering how to keep their contributions flowing to parishes, favorite charities, church agencies, monastic communities, and so on, as they watch the balance in their checkbooks drop steadily. They also may be wondering if they will be able to pass on any wealth to their children or grandchildren. Certainly, the words of Scripture, "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor 9:7) present a challenge to most believers nowadays, as they wrestle with the Scriptural admonitions "to give generously" (Ps 37:21, Rom 12:8), while facing job losses, pay cuts, and even home foreclosures.
To address this dilemma, on Thursday, November 4, from 2 p.m.–5 p.m., the seminary will host a free public seminar titled "How to Fulfill Your Financial and Philanthropic Interests to Your Greatest Benefit." James E. Gillespie, President and CEO of CommonWealth, and faculy member at The Fund Raising School, a unit of Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy, will lead the seminar. Mr. Gillespie has more than 25 years in the field of fund raising, with an expertise in design and implementation of planned giving, that is, leaving a legacy to one's favorite charities and descendants.
"Almost every time we think of making charitable gifts, we think in terms of giving away our cash," stated Mr. Gillespie, in anticipation of his trip to St. Vladimir's. "My seminar will engage people with ideas and applications for how to make philanthropic gifts while at the same time, in some cases, increasing cash flow and gaining the ability to transfer wealth to the next generation."
Mr. Gillespie also will be meeting with the seminary's Board of Trustees and administrative personnel during the board's annual meeting, scheduled for November 4–6.
If you would like to participate in this event, RSVP Fr. Jason Foster by Tuesday, November 2: 914-961-8313 EXT 317 or jfoster@svots.edu. The seminar will take place in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building. Find us on Google Maps.
St. Vladimir's Seminary is seeking to hire an Assistant Librarian for its campus library, located in the state-of-the-art John G. Rangos Family Building. The seminary library currently holds more than 142,000 volumes and receives over 350 periodicals and serves the needs of faculty, students, and visiting scholars.
The Assistant Librarian will report to the Head Librarian, Ms. Eleana Silk, and will be responsible for managing the seminary's inter-library loan program and teaching information literacy. Applicants will be considered for part-time or possibly full-time appointment, depending upon qualifications.
Duties of the Assistant Librarian include helping the Head Librarian with:
Managing the circulation desk
Answering reference questions
Cataloging materials as assigned
Other tasks as assigned
Qualifications for the position include:
MLIS or MLS degree
Experience in inter-library loan (+2 years)
Recent cataloging experience in an academic setting, with knowledge of OCLC (+2 years)
Knowledge of Koha software
Knowledge of European and Eastern Europe languages
Under brilliant blue skies Sunday, October 17, several members of our SVOTS community "Bridged the Gap" between rich and poor by participating in a walk-a-thon across the Brooklyn Bridge. The fundraiser will benefit the Youth Equipped to Serve (YES) Program, an Orthodox Christian ministry that trains youth as service leaders and promotes outreach to their communities. More than $2,500 was raised by the walk.
"Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge aimed to demonstrate the importance of 'Bridging the Gap' between the rich and the poor," said Katrina Bitar, SVOTS alumna ('09) and program director for YES. "The YES approach begins with breaking down stereotypes and poverty awareness, and ends with engaging our youth in situations where they see Christ in everyone and choose to be Christ for every person they encounter, ultimately creating a oneness with all people through serving each other. The ultimate goal of the YES Program is to equip a generation of youth to be service leaders who will lead others in meeting the needs of the neighbors in their communities."
Maggie Downham, 2nd-year student at SVOTS and YES leader, helped Ms. Bitar organize the walk, which included participants not only from St. Vladimir's Seminary but also YES students from local parishes in the Greek and Antiochian Archdioeses and the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Our Chancellor, Fr. Chad Hatfield, led the SVOTS contingent.
First-year seminarian Jesse Brandow explained why he wanted to participate, saying, "I wanted to walk in support of YES because the kind of work they do with teens has the power to transform them, to wake them up to the gospel. It was also just a beautiful day to walk with a bunch of friends!"
YES is a program under the umbrella of FOCUS North America, an Orthodox Christian agency that expresses Christ's love by following the dictates of the gospel to feed and clothe the hungry, to minister to the imprisoned and sick, and to create loving bonds among peoples in all strata of society. The Rev. Justin Mathews, also a SVOTS alumnus, is the Executive Director and CEO of FOCUS.
On Tuesday, October 19, 2010, His Grace Tikhon (Stepanov), bishop of Archangelsk and Kholmogory, reposed in the Lord, at age 47.
Archbishop Tikhon (Stepanov) was born March 2, 1963, in Kostroma. His Eminence studied at the Leningrad Theological Seminary from 1984–1986, at the Leningrad Theological Academy from 1986–1990, and at St. Vladimir's Seminary from 1990–1991. On August 28, 1991, Archbishop Tikhon took monastic vows and was ordained to the Holy Diaconate and Holy Priesthood on August 29 and September 1, respectively. On June 16, 1992, Archbishop Tikhon was elevated to the rank of igumen.
His Eminence was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite on January 1, 1996, and consecrated to the Holy Episcopacy as Bishop of Arkangelsk and Kholmogory on February 4, 1996, by the late Patriarch Alexy II in Moscow's Holy Epiphany Cathedral.
The entire seminary community is praying for the soul of Archbishop Tikhon.
In late September, Professor Paul Meyendorff, SVOTS faculty member, traveled to the Orthodox seminary in Joensuu, Finland, to discuss the future of Orthodox theological education in Europe in light of the Bologna Process. The Bologna Process is a recent initiative within the European Union to reform and standardize higher education. The meeting in Joensuu was called to discuss the implications of this process for Orthodox seminaries in Europe. The meeting concluded with a proposal to develop a pan-Orthodox agency to monitor the quality of Orthodox theological education.
At the meeting, Dr. Meyendorff described the accreditation process for North American seminaries through the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), as well as the SVS Strategic Plan and the New Curriculum. He also spoke to seminary students about the history and life of St. Vladimir’s.
Also attending the meeting were Fr. Rauno Pietarinen, a SVOTS alumnus and rector of the Orthodox Seminary in Finland; Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun, vice-chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church; Dr. Konstantinos Kenanidis, director of the Orthodox Academy of Crete; and several other representatives from the Orthodox Church of Finland.
A follow-up workshop is scheduled for April 2011 at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, with observers and representatives from the major theological schools and observers from the ATS, the EU Bologna Process, and Roman Catholic theological institutions. Participants in the Joensuu meeting agreed that this new initiative would make possible the mutual recognition of degrees and foster a closer partnership between theological institutions, as well as foster greater unity among all Orthodox.
Our November 2010 Open House for prospective students will provide those contemplating ministry or a deeper study of the Orthodox faith with first-hand experience of seminary life. Participants will attend classes, worship in the chapel, tour the campus and its resources, and meet faculty members and seminarians. Detailed information on the Seminary's various degree programs, financial aid, and admissions process also will be provided.
A special feature of this year's Open House will be the extraordinary opportunity for participants to venerate the relics of our patron saint, the Holy Great Prince Vladimir, on November 12th, with our seminary community, prior to public veneration the following two days. Additionally, prospective students will have the pleasure of sharing our Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Day meal.
There is no cost to participants, other than their transportation costs. Prospective students may explore their transportation options on our Website. Participants needing help in navigating their way from the New York Metropolitan Airports or Railway/Bus Stations, however, may contact Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, Director of Alumni and Recruitment, at the Seminary's Recruitment Office: 914-961-8313, EXT 342 or email jmatusiak@svots.edu. Please also contact PDn. Joseph to obtain more information, a schedule of activities, or an Open House registration form.
Saint Vladimir Seminary, a graduate school of theology, offers Master of Divinity, Master of Arts (Theological Studies), and Master of Theology degrees.
As a guest lecturer to our campus, Dr. Yelena Kolyada gave an absorbing public presentation about "Musical Instruments of the Bible" on October 5th. Using accompanying illustrations of the "harps, strings, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals" mentioned in the Psalms and other biblical books, she described the role these instruments played in the religious, social, public, and private life of ancient Israel. Further, she traced the historic path of musical instruments in worship, from their use in the synagogue to their demise in early Christian churches.
Dr. Kolyada is the author of A Compendium of Musical Instruments and Instrumental Terminology in the Bible (Equinox Publishing, 2009), a reference book that draws on biblical translations and works by rabbinic teachers, church fathers, medieval exegetes, and contemporary scholars. She graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and completed a doctoral thesis at the Vilnius Conservatory in 1987. In the early 1990s she was a Senior Research Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she gave lectures on early Russian hymnography.
Her public presentation may be found as a podcast in the "Voices from St. Vladimir's" section of Ancient Faith Radio.
Father Ilie Toader, a member of the theological faculty of Buzau, Romania, is writing a doctoral thesis about St. Vladimir’s Seminary. He visited the Seminary during the course of a month, during September and October 2010, to perform his research. Dr. Peter Bouteneff, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at SVOTS, spoke with him about his project, about the Seminary, and about his expectations and findings.
Fr. Ilie, tell us about your project, your doctoral thesis.
In 2007, when I was admitted in the doctoral program at the Bucharest Faculty of Orthodox Theology, I decided, with the consent of my director, Rev. Prof. Dr. Viorel Ioniţă, to write my thesis about the contribution of St. Vladimir's to contemporary Orthodox thought. The provisional title of my thesis is “St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and its contribution to modern Orthodox thinking.” I was able to come and visit here, at the invitation of Fr. John Behr, for the purposes of completing my research, using your library and meeting with your faculty and students.
What provoked your interest in our seminary?
While a student, I was taught—and always imagined—that Dogmatics and Church History were completely distinct subjects. I was therefore very struck when I read Fr. John Meyendorff’s Byzantine Theology, because it is a dense analysis and synthesis that is at the same time dogmatic and historical. Soon after that I discovered Fr. Schmemann’s works. And I realized that both writers belong to a common and enriching tradition. Reading more about them I was able to locate the epicenter of this remarkable tradition at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary. Then I also read Fr. Florovsky and others. I saw more and more a common thread, one that had to do with understanding “Tradition.” Florovsky, through the “neo-patristic synthesis,” Schmemann through the revitalizing of the liturgical Tradition, Meyendorff, through his writing about “living” or “dynamic” Tradition. These approaches were each distinct but had a common perspective—this is one of the greatest contributions of St. Vladimir’s.
Does St. Vladimir’s have a particular reputation among your colleagues in Romania? Are there particular supporters and critics?
Myself, I knew that St. Vladimir's isrepresentative of North American Orthodoxy and one of the most prestigious and prolific centers of education and spirituality in contemporary Orthodoxy anywhere.
As for serious critics, in fact I found that it’s more here in America, than elsewhere, that St. Vladimir’s has detractors! In Romania almost no one has this spirit of criticism of this Seminary. Of course, some of the theology faculty in Romania haven’t heard of SVOTS. Among those who have, the ones I spoke with have this idea that SVOTS is very open in its outlook. For some, this quality of “open” is a very positive thing; for others, that same quality is not so positive.
What were your expectations of the life and ethos of the Seminary before you came? And what has your impression been now that you are here?
Before I came I had a “Romanian” image of the Seminary: I imagined it as a large and cold institution, where faculty and students meet together only in the classroom, in the morning, and then everyone leaves the building “lifeless.“ What I found here is both smaller than what I expected, but also much more communal, on the part of both faculty and students. I was also surprised at many of the activities that students do here as part of their training: hospital visitation, prison ministry, et cetera.
I was very surprised to find such a heterogeneous body of students, coming from very different ethnic and religious backgrounds—Indians, Serbians, Albanians, Armenians, Americans, et cetera, and born-Orthodox and converts—and yet proving to be a numerous and friendly family. But the place that had the biggest impression on me, the place which struck me as the heart that gives cohesion and strength to this family most of all, and where I could really feel the living memory and legacy of your predecessors, was the chapel. When I saw you—professors and students—serving together, taking Eucharist together, praying together, I felt myself connected to your past and present, to your Tradition.
Some who come here from Eastern Europe, like yourself, are surprised that in many places in North America, the people receive Holy Communion at nearly every Divine Liturgy, whether or not they have confessed the same day or the day before.
As a student of history, I look back to the writings of the Holy Fathers, like St. Justin Martyr in his first Apology, where the evidence is that everyone communed at every liturgy, and, even more, those who were absent for various reasons had Holy Communion brought to them by the deacons. And I read Fr. Schmemann’s writings on this subject, and agree with this. So I am completely supportive of this practice, and will try to be an ambassador for it in Romania. Yet, while I was here with you, I had to remain faithful to the actual position and practice of my Church.
Are there other things you feel you have learned here, not just about the Seminary?
By coming here, I learned a lot of things, concrete and abstract. The concrete ones will be reflected in my doctoral thesis, so let me tell you more about the others. First of all, this is my first major work in the field of Church History and I realized how difficult is the task of a historian. A “scientific” approach to history can easily obscure the facts. For example, If I go back to Romania and say simply that St. Vladimir’s is a Seminary founded in 1938, with a number of outstanding personalities and with its own Press; or if I reduce Fr. Schmemann only to his life and works—no matter how dense and precise the data of my thesis will be—I will fail to present the real place and contribution of St. Vladimir’s to American and worldwide Orthodoxy. So, the historian’s mission is more creative than simply gathering and collating information.
Do you have any feelings or hopes for Orthodoxy in America, or for the Seminary, that you’d like to share with us?
One thing is that I think that Orthodoxy in the world today needs more communication between the spiritual, educational, and cultural centers of the Orthodox world. Another impression: as I come to know the Seminary and its context better, I understand better the importance of your contribution. You had to struggle here to survive here in America in a way that we, in the more homogenously Orthodox context of Romania, have not. We struggled as well, of course, under communism, but in my opinion we have lost more believers after the Revolution (in 1989), because we lack a clear sense of mission to our own people. We haven’t woken up to this new reality, this missionary imperative. It’s very different here in the U.S., where there are not so many Orthodox Christians.
I hope that you at the Seminary will continue to grow and develop yourselves in the same direction as you have done since 1938, following the goals of your founders: you have students from all over the world; you bring Orthodoxy all over the world through your books, alumni, and professors; you have always represented Orthodoxy in the ecumenical or inter-Orthodox dialogue. I think there are enough reasons for me to hope that in 2038, at your centenary, all of Orthodoxy will be speaking about St. Vladimir’s Pan-Orthodox Theological Seminary!
Read more about Faculty and visiting Faculty activities in the “Faculty Footnotes” section of the Voices page on our Website.
The Dean of St. Vladimir’s has a rather heady job description. According to the Statutes of the school, his duties are to “supervise of all spiritual and academic activities of the Seminary” and to “represent the Seminary before ecclesiastical, educational, and religious agencies.”
But how does that sizable black and white description translate into flesh and blood action? Moreover, what’s on our Dean’s mind, as well as on his daily planner?
Besides teaching a full course load in patristics, including a summer session, during the past year, SVOTS Dean Archpriest John Behr wrote one major book and published four articles, gave fourteen public presentations, and logged 44,449 in land and air miles. This year, he’s likely to surpass that travel mark, as he traverses the globe lecturing, teaching, presenting retreats, and representing the ethos of St. Vladimir’s in multifold settings.
Among his most important ministries is to cultivate friendships that strengthen the nexus between SVOTS and other Orthodox theological schools throughout world. To that end, in October 2010, Fr. John will be visiting the Theological Faculty of the University of Belgrade, joining in the celebrations for their (and his) patronal feast of St. John the Theologian. He will speak with both faculty and students; and he will continue the connection that began with the visitations of the Student Choir from School of Theology at the University of Belgrade, with their faculty advisor, Nenad Milosevic, during the past two years on our campus. Fr. John will also be visiting the new Patriarch, His Holiness Irinej, as well as various monasteries throughout the country. He will travel with one of the episcopal members of our Board of Trustees, His Grace The Right Rev. Maxim (Vasiljevic), bishop of the Western Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America (SOC).
“I look forward especially to this visit to Serbia,” said Fr. John, “amid my travel schedule for this semester. Being a ‘face’ for St. Vladimir’s is one of my greatest joys and privileges as Dean, and during this trip, I hope to build deep and lasting ties with their faculty.
“Another privilege as Dean is to share my experiences with our friends and alumni through my monthly reflection in the “On Our Minds” section of our new Website. I invite everyone to ‘travel’ with me—virtually!—and to find out what 'the Dean' is up to, and what I’m thinking about within the ever-changing landscape of world Orthodoxy.”
St. Vladimir’s Seminary alumnus The V. Rev. Dr. Alexander Atty (’79) will be installed as the seventh dean of our sister school, St. Tikhon’s Seminary, South Canaan, PA, on Saturday, October 30, 2010. The Installation Service will begin at 11 a.m. at St. Mary Antiochian Church, Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Fr. Alexander had been the rector of St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, Louisville, KY, a parish in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA), since 1980. He was born August 7, 1951 in Johnstown, PA, and holds a B.S.in engineering from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. After earning his M.Div. at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, he went on to study at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, earning his D.Min. in 2008. Ordained a priest on December 9, 1979 at St. Nicholas Cathedral, Brooklyn,NY, he was elevated to the rank of archpriest in 1988.
Last year, we were privileged to have Fr. Alexander present our annul public lenten retreat, focused on the theme “Good and Faithful Servants.” His three talks, “The Good and Faithful Pastor,” “The Good and Faithful Parishioner,” and “The Good and Faithful Parish,” are available as part of the “Voices from St. Vladimir's Seminary” podcast.
