With deep sorrow, the community of St. Vladimir’s Seminary bids farewell to an illustrious and beloved alumnus, His Eminence Metropolitan Constantine, 76, who was Ruling Hierarch of the Central Eparchy and Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. His Eminence fell asleep in the Lord this morning, May 21, 2012—one day after celebrating the 40th anniversary of his Archpastoral ministry in the Pittsburgh area.

Metropolitan Constantine (baptismal name “Theodore”) was born to the late Stanley and Catherine Sydor Buggan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1936.  From his youth, he was raised in an environment of deep faith and was encouraged by his family and parish priests to pursue a priestly vocation.

In September 1954, he entered St. Andrew’s College in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, at that time the only Ukrainian Orthodox Seminary in North America. His four years there provided an opportunity to learn from the greatest Ukrainian Orthodox theologian in recent centuries, Metropolitan Ilarion (Ohienko). Completing his studies at St. Andrew’s in 1959 with a Licentiate in Theology, young Theodore entered St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary to further his academic and spiritual formation through the inspiration of its renowned professors, Nicholas Arseniev, Sergius Verhovskoy, and Fr. Alexander Schmemann.

Metropolitan Constantine warmly reminisced about his time as a seminarian at St. Vladimir’s (then located in Manhattan), in a published interview in The SVS Vine, Annual Report FY 2010, saying:

"Back then, we seminarians were divided in a large apartment building, on separate floors—2, 4, and 6; I shared apartment 66, owned by 'Mama Oakie' as we nicknamed her, with 'Tom Hopko' and 'Paul Ziatyk'. We had to cook our own meals. All the seminarians would gather together for chapel, which was a converted apartment on the third floor, and then we’d walk across the street to our classes at Union Theological Seminary. It was surely a very different environment than what the seminarians of today know, but it was a wonderful experience and I have many warm memories."

Returning to Pittsburgh after his studies at St. Vladimir's, he then pursued undergraduate and graduate studies in Philosophy at Duquesne University, completing his doctorate in 1967. On April 23, 1967 he was ordained into the Holy Diaconate by His Eminence, Archbishop Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) in St. Andrew’s Memorial Church in South Bound Brook, New Jersey. Deacon Theodore was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in his home parish of St. Vladimir on the South Side of Pittsburgh on July 23, 1967, by His Beatitude, Metropolitan John (Theodorovich) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA.  He was assigned to serve as assistant pastor at St. Vladimir Cathedral in Chicago on September 1, 1967. His pastoral assignment was to St. Nicholas Parish in Troy, New York, from 1968–1972. During this time he immersed himself in all aspects of parish life, inspiring his flock with the profound richness of genuine Orthodox theology and liturgics. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, he served as Spiritual Advisor to the Ukrainian Orthodox League.

Father Theodore was tonsured into the monastic schema on December 18, 1971, being given the name Constantine, and was elevated to the dignity of Archimandrite on December 19. He was consecrated Bishop at the hands of His Beatitude Metropolitan Mstyslav and His Grace Bishop Mark (Hundiak) in St. Vladimir Cathedral in Philadelphia on May 7, 1972 and assigned to the Episcopal See of Chicago, becoming the first hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church since St. Petro Mohyla to be born outside the borders of Ukraine. He was elevated to the rank of Archbishop in 1976. He was elevated to the dignity of Metropolitan on 1992, and upon the repose of His Beatitude Metropolitan Mstyslav on June 11, 1993, he became Prime Hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and the Diaspora.

The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, during its meeting on March 12, 1995, under the presidency of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, unanimously accepted His Beatitude Metropolitan Constantine and his fellow Ukrainian Orthodox bishops of the USA and Diaspora under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Thereafter the Holy and Sacred Synod proceeded to elect His Beatitude Metropolitan Constantine titular hierarch with the title of Metropolitan of Irinoupolis, to serve the pastoral needs of the Ukrainian Orthodox living in the USA, thus leading the faithful sons and daughter of the Church into the fullness of canonical world Orthodoxy. In July 2000, Metropolitan Constantine was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from St. Andrew’s College of the University of Manitoba.

Memory Eternal! +

Read an Official Press Release about Metropolitan Constantine of Blessed Memory (1936–2012), from the Consistory Office of Public Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, and look in the future for details about memorial services for His Eminence, here.

Send condolences to the clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, and to Metropolitan Constantine’s family:

Regular Mail: Consistory Administrative Offices • Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA •
P. O. Box 495
• South Bound Brook, NJ 08880

E-mail: ConsistoryOPR@aol.com

Fax: 732-356-9437

Currier Delivery: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA • 135 Davidson Avenue
• Somerset, NJ 08873

 The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean, and The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, chancellor and CEO of St. Vladimir’s, congratulated and encouraged the graduates as well. Father John reminded seniors that they not only had "worked hard" during their tenure at St. Vladimir's, but also had been "worked over" by the curriculum and long hours in chapel and field assignments, and that by those means, they had been made into "fertile soil" for the gospel message to grow. Father Chad reminded the students of the generations of alumni that had preceded them. The Chair of the Alumni Board, Gregory Abdalah, presented each graduate with a beautiful solid cherry wood frame to display their diplomas, and welcomed them to the St. Vladimir's Alumni Association.

Also present at the Commencement Exercises were visiting hierarchs The Most Rev. Tikhon, archbishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania; The Rt. Rev. Michael, bishop of New York and New York and New Jersey; and His Eminence Mor Titus Yeldho, archbishop and patriarchal vicar of the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America. The hierarchs were present to honor graduates and seminarians from their respective dioceses.

[Photos in this article are by Leanne Parrott]

The entire campus community wishes the Class of 2012 many years!

View the Commencement Program, here.

View a photo gallery of Commencement Week, here.

Listen to Trustee Brian Gerich explain how St. Vladimir's graduates have touched his life, here.

View a photo gallery of Commencement Exercises by Leanne Parrott, here.

Listen to all of the Commencement speakers, here:

• Welcome by Dean Archpriest John Behr, with a recap of the academic year
• His Grace The Rt. Rev. Alexander, bishop of Toledo and Bulgarian Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America, 2012 Commencement Address
• Introductions by Chancellor and CEO Archpriest Chad Hatfield
• Valedictorian graduating senior Igumen Father Gerasim [Eliel]
• Salutatorian 2nd-year M.Div. student Harrison Basil Russin
• Metropolitan Jonah's closing remarks about joyful Christian witness

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!

Download the full schedule.

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!

Find us on Google Maps!

Download a PDF of the OED 2012 flier, here.

Download a JPG of the OED 2012 flier, here.

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 needful on 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.

(Video by Dn. Gregory Hatrak, marketing manager SVS Press & Bookstore)

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!