On Saturday, December 29, 2012, The Very Rev. Paul Shafran (SVOTS ’1945) celebrated his 65th anniversary of ordination to the Holy Priesthood by presiding at the Divine Liturgy in Three Hierarchs Chapel at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary, his alma mater, surrounded by family, friends, and fellow clergy. Father Paul, who briefly served parishes in the Byesville, Ohio area during his days as a young pastor, most recently is Pastor Emeritus of St. Vladimir Church in Trenton, NJ. His actual date of ordination is December 28, 1947; he was elevated to the Holy Priesthood by the hand of Archbishop Nikon (de Greve of Brooklyn) at the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection, New York City.

The Right Reverend Michael (Dahulich), bishop of New York, and the New York and New Jersey Diocese, Orthodox Church in America, prayed on the solea during the service, thus giving Fr. Paul the honor of being the main celebrant at the altar for the occasion. Concelebrating were fellow clergy The Very Rev. Joseph Lickwar, chancellor of the New York and New Jersey Diocese; The Very Rev. Daniel Skvir, rector of Holy Transfiguration Chapel, Princeton, NJ; The Very Rev. Sergius Kuharsky, currently attached to Annunciation Church, Brick, NJ; and The Very Rev. Steven J. Belonick, rector of Holy Ghost Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church, Bridgeport, CT.

At the end of Divine Liturgy, His Grace Michael praised Fr. Paul’s ministry and likened his service to the Church to that of the Apostles John and Paul, who labored with “energy, commitment, and faith.” “In the seventh decade of his priesthood,” noted Bishop Michael, “Father Paul continues to go from place to place to serve tirelessly, fearlessly, and selflessly as a priest of God. In him, we get a glimpse of an imitation of the holy apostles.”

Bishop Michael mentioned the many faceted ministries that Fr. Paul exercised over the years, including his faithfulness as a concerned pastor; his ability to “think out of the box” and especially his forward thinking in building up an endowment for his former parish in New Jersey; his commitment to theological education, both as an instructor at St. Vladimir’s Seminary and as a long-time member of its Board of Trustees; his dedication to the care of the elderly as a Board of Trustees member at Ss. Cosmos and Damian Adult Home on Staten Island; and his more humble and less known ministry as a confidant to many clergy and hierarchs.

Acknowledging Fr. Paul’s long and broad church service, Bishop Michael presented him with a new vestment, a palitza, with an icon of the Incarnation depicted on one side and an icon of the Resurrection depicted on the other. “The icons are in recognition of the beginning and height of our salvation in Christ Jesus,” noted Bishop Michael.

His Grace also observed that people attending the celebratory Liturgy represented nearly every aspect of Fr. Paul’s ministry. In conclusion, Bishop Michael praised Fr. Paul’s wife, Matushka Mary (née Obletiloff) as an example of “full support” of her husband’s priestly ministry, and wished them both “many more years of health, in order to show forth the love of God in Christ Jesus.”

Recognizing Fr. Paul’s loyalty and dedication to St. Vladimir’s Seminary were The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean, and The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, chancellor, who presented him with a gramata that paid homage to his accomplishments and exemplary service on behalf of the Seminary. During the deanship of The Very Rev. Dr. Georges Florovsky [1949–1955], Fr. Paul had served as Instructor of Liturgics at St. Vladimir’s, beginning in 1951. Now a Trustee Emeritus of the Seminary, Fr. Paul also accomplished much in his capacity as a Board of Trustees member over the decades. He was instrumental, for example in acquiring two important collections for the seminary library: part of Fr. Florovsky’s private collection and the personal library of Archimandrite Anthony Repella. Fellow seminary Trustees Thomas Zedlovich, Anthony Kasmer, and Tatiana Hoff were on hand to honor Fr. Paul on the occasion.

As an alumnus, Fr. Paul encouraged and energized his fellow graduates. In 1959, he organized and co-chaired the first “Liturgical Conference”—the precursor of the Seminary’s long-running annual “Liturgical Institute of Music and Pastoral Practice"—in order to provide ongoing education for seminary graduates. Father Paul’s charming correspondence to his fellow alumni about a similar subsequent conference that he organized—with his brother-in-law and fellow alumnus, The Rev. Alexander Warnecke—is captured in the Seminary’s archives, in a letter dated 1962:

The beautiful but complex Liturgical Tradition of the Orthodox Catholic Church requires the priest to have a thorough knowledge of not only the external rubrics of the divine offices, but also a full understanding of their history and theology as well. The theme of this year’s Liturgical Conference will be the Lenten Triodion and Lenten Worship, with four lectures: “Origin of Lenten and Paschal cycles”; “General structure of Lent”; “The Presanctified Liturgy”; and “Holy Week”. The Very Rev. Father Alexander Schmemann will be the lecturer. At the conference, expenses will be kept at a minimum—somewhere in the vicinity of $9. This will include all meals (good and plenty) and lodging (ditto). To cut travelling expenses, we suggest that priests organize car pools in their cities or localities, and travel together. We are also reminding every priest to bring his rasa, cuffs, epitrahilion, service book, and pectoral cross. Let’s have a large turnout. If you come, you won’t forget it; but, if you stay home, you’ll regret it.—The Very Rev. Paul Shafran, to all St. Vladimir’s Alumni

After the presentations, Fr. Paul thanked both Bishop Michael and Frs. John and Chad for their “eloquent and kind words.” He also expressed his gratitude to God for being able to serve, for the very first time, at the seminary chapel’s altar, which was a gift from the Shafran family, in honor of their parents, Stephan and Rosalia Shafran. In so doing, he quoted the Psalm: “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy continues forever.”

Following the Divine Liturgy and presentations, the congregation and clergy enjoyed a brunch in the chapel undercroft, where Fr. Daniel Skvir acted as Master of Ceremonies. “Father Paul will serve as a model for generations of priests,” he said, noting Fr. Paul’s ready defense of the Orthodox Christian faith, pastoral care, knowledge of liturgics, and respect for concelebrants at the altar. “It is good for us to be here, in the words of the Apostles,” concluded Fr. Daniel, as he invited past parishioners and friends to fete Fr. Paul with further reminiscences and fond memories of his pastorate.

Browse the photo gallery by Leanne Parrott

The ordination took place at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in New Britain, CT, the Parnell family's home parish and Fr. James' place of assignment for parish service during his final year of studies.

Clergy celebrating with Archbishop Nikon included the parish rector, The Very Rev. David Koles; The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean of St. Vladimir's; The Very Rev. Steven Voytovich, also attached to Holy Trinity; and Pdn. Paul Nimcheck of Saints Cyril and Methodius Church in Terryville, CT.

The newly ordained Fr. James was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on January 29, 2012 in Three Hierarchs Chapel. He is a Chaplain Candidate in the New York Army National Guard, and has served as SVOTS Student Council President.

Father James joined the U.S. Army in 2002 and served as an Arabic linguist. He deployed twice to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; first from 2005–2006 and again from 2007–2008 before being commissioned as a Chaplain Candidate in 2009. While in the military, Fr. James received an A.A. in Arabic from the Defense Language Institute – Foreign Language Center and a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from the American Military University. He is currently a First Lieutenant assigned to the 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion in Yonkers, NY and hopes to continue serving his Church and his country as an Army Chaplain. He and his wife Holly, also an Army veteran and former Arabic linguist, have two children, Samuel and Ariane. 

View Holy Trinity's photo gallery of the liturgy, ordination, and reception for Fr. James.

Read more about Fr. James and Student Council, HERE and HERE.

After wrapping up a busy semester of teaching and travel, The Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology Dr. Paul Meyendorff traveled to Helsinki, Finland, to represent St. Vladimir's Seminary and the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) at the fifth meeting of the organization, Quality in Orthodox Theological Education, or QuOTE. The workshop was attended by official representatives from the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Orthodox Churches of Russia, Greece, Romania, and Finland.

At the beginning of the conference, His Beatitude the Most Rev. Metropolitan Ambrose of Helsinki greeted the participants. Over the course of several days of meetings, Dr. Meyendorff presented SVOTS' innovative program, "The Good Pastor," incorporated in the SVS 2010 Strategic Plan.

"The Good Pastor" project grew out of an intensive four–year period of study and development aimed at enhancing the formation of seminarians for service to the Church. The project was a precursor to the "New Curriculum" implemented in 2006, which ultimately served to increase St. Vladimir's scope and effectiveness and further develop the resources needed for sustaining the seminary's work.

Future meetings of the group are planned to further discuss theological curricula, with the aim of articulating common standards for Orthodox theological institutions everywhere. "It's important that SVOTS be a voice in the discussion of the development of Orthodox graduate education around the world," noted Dr. Meyendorff.

View the Agenda for the Fifth QuOTE workshop in Helsinki

St. Vladimir's Seminary Press got its start in the 1960s with the release of just a few faculty titles, and has grown enormously over the years to become the largest English–language publisher of Orthodox Christian books, with approximately five hundred titles. We are wrapping up a busy year in which we launched a new website, expanded our offerings of digital and printed titles, hosted book signings with our authors, and traveled extensively with our mobile bookstore.

Did you know:

Our authors and translators include not only St. Vladimir's Seminary faculty, but many noted Orthodox writers from around the world. In addition to the majority of books originally published in English, those translated from Greek, Latin, German, French, Russian, Armenian, Romanian and several other languages find a place in our catalog. And our books in turn have been translated into other languages, including Russian, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Greek, French, German, Romanian, Italian, Armenian. As a result of this linguistic activity, on a recent trip to exhibit at a book fair in Paris last February, Marketing Manager Dn. Gregory Hatrak and I found that many people know about St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, even if they do not know much else about Orthodox Christianity in the Americas.

Our typical reader is probably an educated person who is not a specialist in theology or philosophy or history, though many scholars also buy our books. Perhaps most of our readers are Orthodox Christians, but we reach a much wider audience. Many of our books deal with the early centuries of Christianity, and so talk about a common heritage among Christians. A good number of our titles are used as course books in both religious and secular universities and colleges. We have heard from many people over the years that books published by St Vladimir's Seminary Press paved the way for their entry into the Orthodox Church.

Our current rate of book production is approximately ten new books a year. Our policy has been not to let our books go out of print; consequently we do a large number of reprints each year. We take advantage of current technology for some of these titles to do short runs.

The Press has entered the digital books marketplace, and we now have forty-six titles available in at least two formats. Over the next few years we will digitize our backlist. Many of these titles were produced back in the days of hand-written manuscripts, typewriters, and hot lead type, and as a result the printed works need to be scanned and the resulting files reworked to produce a viable digital book.

The Press was represented at the International Congress of Patristics Studies in Oxford in 2011, and at the First International Orthodox Book Fair in Paris in 2012. In just the last few months, through the efforts of Dn. Gregory Hatrak, our marketing manager, SVS Press books and materials have been displayed at the following events:

May 23-26, 2012: North American Patristics Conference, Chicago, IL

May 27, 2012:  Christ the Saviour Church, Chicago, IL

May-29-June 2, 2012:  Religious Book Trade Exhibit, St. Charles, IL

June 21-24, 2012:  Parish Life Conference, Diocese of Worcester (AOC)

July 4-8, 2012:  Parish Life Conference, Diocese of New York and Charleston (AOC)

July 18-19, 2012:  Clergy Symposium, Antiochian Village – Book release Antony Bashir

August 24-26, 2012:  Anniversary of Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery Book sales with Mother Raphaela

September 8-10, 2012:  St. Elijah Church, Oklahoma City, OK – Book Signing with Fr. Constantine Nasr

September 17, 2012:  Christian Product Expo, Murfreesboro, TN – Meeting with SPCK

September 20-22, 2012:  Orthodox Theological Society of America Meeting, SVS

October 14, 2012:  St. Mary's Church (AOC), Brooklyn, NY Octet Trip

October 26, 2012:  Nashotah House, Book Release with Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev

October 26, 2012:  Villanova University, opening of the exhibit – "Icon: The Way to the Kingdom"

November 2-4, 2012:  Byzantine Studies Conference, Hellenic College, Brookline, MA

November 9-10, 2012:  Moonbeam Children's Book award and Traverse City Children's Book Festival, Traverse City, MI

November 12-13, 2012:  All American Council, Parma, OH

November 15-20, 2012:  American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature, Chicago

November 24, 2012:  ONE Conference, Orthodox Youth Conference, St Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ

December 2, 2012:  Parish visit of SVS Octet and Bookstore, Holy Resurrection Church, Wayne, NJ

December 6, 2012:  Villanova University, Lecture and Book signing, Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware)

December 7, 2012:  Sophia Conference, Union Theological Seminary, NYC

December 16, 2012:  Parish Visit, Holy Trinity Church, Stroudsburg, PA

LINKS

• St. George and the Dragon Earns Moonbeam Award
• SVS Press and Bookstore Launch New Website
• Book-signing Weekend in Oklahoma
• Book-signing Event with Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) at Nashotah House
• Digital Popular Patristic Series Linked to Bible Study Resources
• SVS Press at Florovsky Symposium

On Wednesday, December 12, several SVOTS students traveled to the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) to participate in the discussion "Dialoguing Beyond Our Dialogue." The group Interseminary Dialogue (ISD), an informal organization composed of eight different Jewish and Christian seminaries in the New York area, sponsored the event. It was one of eight such meetings held during the course of a given academic year, in which a host seminary sets an agenda and offers participants a tour of the campus worship space. SVOTS students have been participating in the dialogues since the 1950s.

Historically, the Interseminary Dialogue has provided a venue for discussion of both theological and pastoral issues we face in our respective communions, whether we be Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, or Jewish in faith. The schools besides St. Vladimir's that participate in the dialogue are: Hebrew Union College's Jewish Institute of Religion, the Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, the Yeshivat Maharat , the Academy for Jewish Religion, St. Joseph's Seminary, General Theological Seminary and Union Theological Seminary.

Of course, there are profound differences between us in how we approach matters of faith, but by speaking with each other and putting a face on "the other," we are able to see that we ask many of the same questions and deal with many of the same needs and concerns. Indeed, we have much we can learn from each other, and this event fosters respect and concern for people who are different from ourselves. Through dialogue, we also come to a greater understanding of our own particular religious traditions.

On this particular December evening, we discussed different types of interfaith engagement, primarily through the experience of a JTS student who spoke about his experience in taking a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). The speaker shared ways in which CPE helped him to understand and help people who come from  religious faiths very different from his Jewish one. We then broke up into small groups and talked about the different types of dialogue we can have in the arenas of life, action, and theology.

View the Gala photo gallery (Photos: G. Hatrak)

A recent gala hosted at the Estonian House on 34th Street in New York launched a project that promises to bring one of the most famed living Estonians in the world—composer Arvo Pärt— to Manhattan for an unprecedented concert–lecture series. The series will specifically explore the spiritual roots of Pärt’s music and will center on a concert at Carnegie Hall on May 31, 2014, with the composer and his wife, Nora, in attendance. The landmark performance will feature the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Tõnu Kaljuste.

The gala, held on December 13th, glittered with personalities who hold Pärt as a National Treasure, including host Sten Schwede, Estonian consul general, and chair H.E. Marina Kaljurand, Estonian ambassador to the U.S. They were there to support The Arvo Pärt Project at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, a unique collaboration between the composer and a small theological graduate school nestled in the Crestwood suburb of Yonkers, NY.it creates a space for self-reflection…Pärt’s compositions gather a reverent public who, in all the diversity of their backgrounds, share a common desire to fill their hurried lives with stillness instead of distraction.” As if to illustrate his point, Reeves introduced the musicians chosen for the festivities: pianist Lembit Beecher and cellist Karen Ouzounian, who performed two exquisite Pärt works, Fratres and Spiegel im Spiegel, to a rapt audience.

Representatives of the seminary’s board of trustees, faculty, staff, and student body joined music professionals and members of the Estonian American community in the celebratory night, including members of the Estonian diplomatic corps and board members of the Estonian American National Council. Three executive staff from the Henry Luce Foundation, including President Michael Gilligan, attended as well; the foundation had awarded the project an important planning grant in May 2012.

In his toast to the project, seminary Chancellor and CEO The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield recalled for those gathered that the seminary’s former and beloved dean, The Very Rev. Dr. Alexander Schmemann, had been born in Estonia. He further noted that the seminary would be awarding Pärt an honorary doctoral degree when he visits New York in 2014.

LINKS

• Arvo Pärt website
• Henry Luce Foundation Award for project
• CDs and DVDs Donated to St. Vladimir's Seminary Library
• Public evening course on Arvo Pärt

View Oca.org's photo gallery of the service (Photos: Roman Ostash)

Memory Eternal! On Sunday at St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral of Brooklyn, New York, a Trisagion Service was offered for His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Antioch and All the East. His Beatitude reposed in the Lord on December 5, 2012, after suffering a stroke. His Eminence, Metropolitan Philip, Seminary Vice-President presided over the memorial at which he hosted numerous hierarchs and dignitaries for the service, including clergy from Oriental and Catholic communions. 

In addition to Metropolitan Philip, others from SVOTS served the Trisagion: the Seminary's President, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean, and The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, chancellor and CEO. Alumni and faculty members also served the Liturgy preceding the memorial service, including The Very Rev. Thomas Zain, Cathedral Dean and former lecturer in Liturgical Music,  Fr. Adrian Budica (SVOTS '10), and Fr. Charles Baz (SVOTS '00), lecturer in Liturgical Music.

Reflecting upon the service, Fr. Chad noted, "The visual image as the Trisagion prayers were offered clearly reflected the close bond between the Seminary and the Antiochian Archdiocese." In addition to clergy serving at the Trisagion, others associated with SVOTS also attended the historic memorial, including Board of Trustees member and former Executive Chair Mrs. Anne Glynn Mackoul, Director of Admissions and Alumni Relations Pdn. Joseph Matusiak, and five current seminarians: Scott Miller, Joshua Burnett, Jabra Tannous, George Katrib and Alejandro Rodea.

Several diplomatic dignitaries attended: Ambassador of Lebanon Mr. Antoine Chedid, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations H.E. Bashar Ja'afari, Ph.D., and Majdi Ramadan, the Counsel General of Lebanon in New York.

"On the heels of this occasion," noted Fr. Chad Hatfield, "the Lebanon Daily Star reported that during a meeting of eighteen bishops at the Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand, Patriarch John Yaziji had been elected as successor to Patriarch Ignatius IV. Axios, and many years, to the newly elected Patriarch John!"

LINKS

• St. Vladimir's Seminary tribute to Patriarch Ignatius
• Antiochian Archdiocese tribute page
• Oca.org photo gallery of Trisagion Service

In October of this year, nearly thirty seminarians from an evangelism class at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York), visited SVOTS for Vespers, a refectory dinner, and a lecture by The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, chancellor/CEO. In a reciprocal goodwill gesture, the new rector of St. Joseph's, The Rev.Msgr. Peter Vaccari, invited the SVOTS faculty to a dinner with the St. Joseph's faculty on December 10.

"Our divisions are a luxury we can no longer afford," stressed Fr. Chad at his October lecture to the gathered assembly of Orthodox and Catholic seminarians. "East and West alike are called to obey the Gospel mandate to evangelize," he emphasized, even as the culture shifts from a post–Christian mode to (in some cases) an aggressively anti–Christian mode.

St. Joseph's Seminary was founded in 1891 to serve the needs of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York for clergy. Its forty–acre campus is just minutes from St. Vladimir's; in recent months, the two institutions have enjoyed a warm and cordial relationship. Recently, several greater New York Catholic seminaries merged to create one larger seminary, and St. Joseph's is currently educating over 100 candidates for Roman Catholic orders.

"There's an attitude of openness, a improving relationship we're enjoying with the Archdiocese of New York," noted Fr. Chad. "Starting with the encouragement and cooperation of Fr. Richard Baker, pastor of St. Malachy's Chapel where we staged our spring Orient concert, a renewed vision of cooperative ventures has taken shape." Fr. Chad also referenced the February 7, 2011 SVOTS presentation of the U.S. English-language premiere of St. Matthew's Passion. Composed by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department of External Church Relations and an episcopal member of SVOTS' Board of Trustees, the performance was hosted by The Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City. Most recently,  His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, visited the SVOTS campus on November 29 and attended Vespers during the first visit of His Beatitude The Most Blessed Tikhon as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).

Notably, this first joint St. Vladimir's-St. Joseph's faculty dinner engendered discussion of other ways the two schools can support one another in the future, explained Chancellor Hatfield. "One of the most exciting future projects that came forth from the dinner," he noted, "is the proposal to co-sponsor an Advent concert in 2013 centered on the hymns to the Mother of God, East and West, as part of St. Vladimir's 75th anniversary celebrations." This would involve musicians from both schools, he added. 

Voices From St. Vladimir's Seminary podcast features a talk by Ian Jones titled "Gender, Economics, and Abortion in the Asian and American contexts." A graduate of St. Vladimir's Seminary and a doctoral candidate at Fordham University, Mr. Jones presented a free, public lecture on Friday, December 7th, in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building.

Sponsored by the pro–life, student–led group, the St. Ambrose Society, the evening began with a screening of the documentary "It's a Girl," a sobering film about the plight of female babies and children and the practice of sex–selection abortion. The address by Mr. Jones followed, and then those attending processed what they'd seen and heard via lively breakout discussion groups.

Symbolic bouquets of roses graced the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium; each rose represented two million missing girls aborted because of their gender. Rough estimates calculate that at least 200 million girls have died or gone missing due to being victims of sex-selective abortions. All who attended the lecture and screening were urged to take a few roses home as a reminder to pray for the many and numerous victims of abortion.

Listen to Ian Jones' podcast address and visit the St. Ambrose Society Facebook page.

St. Vladimir's Alumnus The Very Rev. Michael Mihalick ('75), fell asleep in the Lord peacefully at home on the morning of Monday, December 10, 2012, at the age of 63. For many years, Fr. Michael had fought a valiant battle against progressive multiple sclerosis.

Father Michael was born in Johnstown, PA, on December 1, 1949, the son of the late George and Ann (Hudak) Mihalick. After graduation from Duquesne University, he attended and graduated from St. Vladimir's Seminary in 1975. After a pilgrimage to the relics of St. Herman of Alaska, he remained in Alaska and was a beloved teacher at St. Herman's Theological Seminary, Kodiak, AK.

On September 10, 1978, he married the former Janet Maksimoff. He was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood respectively on September 29 and November 5 of the same year, after which he was assigned rector of St. Michael Church, Irvona, PA and Saint Mary Church, Madera, PA. In 1983 he was assigned to Holy Transfiguration Church, Pearl River, NY. In December 1984, he was reassigned to Saint Andrew's Church, Dix Hills, NY, which he faithfully served until his retirement on July 1, 2001.

Father Michael was a lover of prayer, solitude and contemplation. An avid reader, he enjoyed spending time in nature, and appreciated both secular art and church beautification. He also encouraged outreach to the poor and needy.

Father Michael was preceded in death by his parents and brother, G. Gregory Mihalick. A devoted husband and father, he is survived by his wife, Mtka. Janet, and daughter Alexandra (Benjamin) Gajewski. He is also survived by his sisters, Maryanne (Joseph) Manganello, and Tricia Euen and brother David (Kathleen) Mihalick. He is also survived by an aunt, two uncles, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Visitation will begin at 4:00 p.m. at the Harris Funeral Home, 500 Cherry Lane, Johnstown, PA on Thursday, December 13. A parastas will be sung at 6:00 p.m. Additional visitation will be held at Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 321 Monastery Lane, Ellwood City, PA on Friday, December 14, beginning at 4:00 p.m., with the singing of a parastas at 7:00 p.m. The Funeral Service for a Priest will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. at the monastery church on Saturday, December 15, followed by interment in the monastery cemetery.

Father Michael's family requests that donations in his memory be made to the Holy Transfiguration Monastery Building Fund or to help the needy in some way. Online condolences may be posted to the Harris Funeral Home's Condolence Book.

May Father Michael's memory be eternal!