Every Wednesday morning at St. Vladimir's, New Testament Greek becomes a high tech enterprise, as Timothy Clark, our faculty member who lives in Portland, Oregon, connects via Skype to his students on our campus in Yonkers, New York. Clark holds the position of Lecturer in Old Testament at the seminary.
So, how does it feel to get up at 6:15 a.m. Pacific Time to teach a Biblical Language class at 9:15 a.m. Eastern Standard Time?
"I have to admit that from the perspective that the camera angle gives me—I'm posted a few feet above and away from the seminar table—I feel a bit like the floating green head from the Wizard of Oz, though I don't think that my students shake and tremble before me as much as they should!" Professor Clark joked.
"It's taken some time to get used to it," he continued, "but there's still plenty of room for interaction and engagement with the class. The Greek class has always had a lot of back-and-forth between me and the students, since the only way to really get into the nuts and bolts of a language is to dive with them into the nuances of grammar, syntax, and style, and Skype lets me continue to do that," he noted.
"We've been experimenting with camera angles and microphone placements, and we seem to have gotten to a place where the students and I can speak easily with each other and explore the text in ways that are beneficial in advancing both their language knowledge and their understanding of some of the special qualities of New Testament literature. It's enjoyable to be so far away but still be able to teach New Testament within the shared assumptions of SVOTS's Orthodox context," he concluded.
The seminary continues to explore the possibilities of distance-learning, via webinars, ITunes University, and Skype Classrooms, as well as a new D.Min. program, designed by our recently hired Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric, Fr. J. Sergius Halvorsen, to be a hybrid distance-residential learning program.
Read more about the seminary's courses in our 2011–2012 Academic Catalog, here.
On the Feast of the Veneration of the Holy Cross in Three Hierarchs Chapel, two seminarians were ordained. Metropolitan Jonah, primate of the Orthodox Church in America and president of the seminary, ordained Dn. David Wooten to the holy priesthood, and Seminarian Adam Horstman to the holy diaconate.
Father David is married with three children and hails from Fort Worth, Texas. Upon his graduation from high school in 1998, he enrolled at Oral Roberts University (ORU) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he majored in English Education and Spanish. There he met his wife, Audra, who also majored in English Education, and has since earned a Masters in Library Science from Texas Women's University. During their time at ORU, he and his wife both began inquiring into the history of the Christian Church and were eventually received into the Orthodox Church, Fr. David on Holy Saturday of 2001, and his wife on December 13 of the same year.
Currently enrolled in the M.Div. program, Fr. David has this past year had a parish placement internship under the mentorship of Archpriest Michael Westerberg, rector of Holy Transfiguration Church, New Haven, Connecticut. Upon graduation, the Wootens plan to return to the Diocese of the South and serve in a Spanish-language mission. "While we are excited to work with the community that awaits us as a family," says Fr. David, "we will also greatly miss the loving community here at St. Vladimir's that has been a constant support through these last three years."
Dn. Adam is currently finishing his second year in the M.Div. program, and his student "obedience" is to work in the seminary library. He holds a B.A. in Religion from Wright State University and an M.A. in Theological Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary. Upon graduating from high school in 1997, he joined the Air Force National Guard as a military policeman. He also enrolled at Wright State University, where he met his wife, Trish, who has her Masters in Social Work. The Horstmans have two children.
After the events of 9/11, Dn. Adam got called to active duty military service. During his deployment, extraordinary circumstances introduced him to the Orthodox Christian faith. "In a desert chapel," he recalls, "I found an Orthodox Prayer book and began acquiring a love for Orthodoxy. While studying church history and theology at Asbury Seminary, I found myself drawn still further to the Eastern Orthodox Church.
"In spring of 2005," continued Dn. Adam, "I attended an Orthodox service for the first time and never left. My wife and I were received on the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross in 2006 at St. Athanasius Orthodox Church in Nicholasville, Kentucky. I am now a Chaplain candidate in the U.S. Army Reserve. After seminary, if God wills, we hope to serve in both the parish and in the military."
View a photo gallery of the ordinations (taken by Tatiana Hoff) here.
Watch a video clip of Fr. David Wooten's ordination (taken by Maria Rentel) here.
Watch a video clip of Dn. Adam Horstman's ordination (taken by Maria Rentel) here.
Acknowledging its long-standing interaction with St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS), the Axion Estin Foundation (AEF) will present the seminary with 20 volumes of the “Great Theory of Music” by Chrysanthos of Madytos (1770–1846), during an evening reception Friday, March 23, 2012, on the seminary campus. The presentation will immediately follow the services of Little Compline and the Fourth Stasis of the Salutations of the Theotokos, served according to Byzantine liturgical tradition and including renowned chanter Christos Chalkias of Thessalonica, Greece. Services will be held in Three Hierarchs Chapel, beginning at 7 p.m., with a reception and presentation following in the John G. Rangos Family Building. The public is welcome.
The 20-volume gift set (AEF, 2010)—the first ever peer-reviewed English translation of this important source—was funded by The Rev. Peter N. Kyriakos Endowment Fund. Translator Dr. Katy Romanou of the Music Department of the University of Athens, Greece, and Senior Visiting Scholar of the Onassis Foundation USA, noted, in reference to the volumes, “Chrysanthos’ treatise is by far the most referenced source in Byzantine music education....”
AEF’s gift of the print publication will be accompanied by an electronic publication of the volumes (AEF, 2011), and by 20 copies of the music CD “Sacred Music of Byzantium” (AEF, 2008), featuring the Greek Byzantine Choir, directed by Lycourgos Angelopoulos. The latter gift, in enhanced-CD format, allows for electronic access to complete printable bi-musical music texts (i.e., Byzantine music texts juxtaposed with western music texts, accompanied by the original Greek text, transliterated to facilitate access).
Christos Chalkias is an alumnus and former teacher at the Athonias Ecclesiastical Academy (established 1749) of the monastic community of Mount Athos, Greece. He is visiting New York as the featured artist in a program titled “Christos Chalkias Chant and Oud Performance,” which will be co-presented by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and AEF on March 24, 2012, as part of the museum’s “Byzantine and Islam: A Festival for All Ages” exhibition.
Since its incorporation with the New York State Department of Education, AEF has engaged in strong collaborative efforts with regional centers of academic excellence. Of those centers, SVOTS is the closest in proximity, being less than five miles away from the foundation’s headquarters, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, in New Rochelle, NY.
In January 2006, The Very Rev. Dr. John Erickson, then dean of St. Vladimir’s, opened AEF’s inaugural conference, titled “Byzantine Music Teaching Methodologies.” Since then, the two institutions have interacted many times, including the recent participation of Hierodeacon Herman Majkrzak, lecturer in Liturgical Music at SVOTS, and Matushka Robin Freeman, the seminary’s Annual Gifts Officer and co-director for special musical programs, at AEF’s event at The Cloisters Museum in New York City (September 2011).
As part of AEF’s mission to identify opportunities to introduce Byzantine Music content into academic curricula in the United States, AEF’s Director, Dr. Angelo Lampousis, initiated dialogue in January 2010 with The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean of SVOTS; Dr. Christos P. Ioannides, director of the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at Queens College, City University of New York; and Dr. Peter Jeffery, The Michael P. Grace Chair in Music, University of Notre Dame.
"The Alumni Association of St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary is announcing the opening of elections to the Alumni Board," says our Director of Alumni Relations and Recruitment, Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak. "All SVOTS Alumni are encouraged to participate in the election of three new (at-large) board members."
"The Alumni Board," explains Pdn. Joseph, "is made up of nine members, and reserves seats for the Serbian Orthodox Church, Antiochian Orthodox Church, Oriental Churches, Orthodox Church in America, and Greek Orthodox Church, and for representation by women, with the remaining seats being 'at-large' members. This is an attempt to keep each group that makes up our alumni represented."
The list of candidates for office are:
Greg Abdalah (AOCANA)—SVOTS ’07 is the Director of Youth and Family Ministries at St. George Cathedral in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Nick Bellack (GOA)—SVOTS ’08 is a Third Grade Teacher at Jessup Elementary School in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Nick and his wife, Alexis, attend Ss. Constantine and Helen Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Archpriest Paul Hodge (AOCANA)—SVOTS ’93 is attached to St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in West St. Paul, Minnesota (since 2011). During his ministry as a priest, Fr. Paul has served as the Youth Adviser (Eastern Region), Lay Ministry Adviser (Fellowship of St. John the Divine, Diocese of Wichita), Secretary (Grammateus) of the Diocese of Wichita Council of Deans. Fr. Paul and his wife, Khouria Amy, have one son, Elias, and one daughter, Faith. Fr. Paul has served as St. Vladimir Seminary Alumni Board Vice Chair since 2010.
Popodeia Michelle Jannakos (OCA)—SVOTS ’83 is a music teacher at Grand Blan Community Schools in Fenton, Michigan. She holds a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and an Educational Specialist Degree in Leadership. An active member of St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church in Fenton, Michigan, Popideia Michelle is married to SVOTS alumnus Fr. Paul Jannakos ('83) and is the mother of four children and a proud grandmother of four grandchildren.
Dena Fokas Moses (GOA)—SVOTS '05 has worked for the Parliament of World Religions; The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation; and The Fund for Theological Education. She is married with one child, and currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee.
Archpriest Andrew Morbey (OCA)—SVOTS '83 is Dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in northeast Minneapolis. His degrees are in English (BA, MA, and PhD course work, from Carleton University and University of Ottawa) and Theology (MDiv, ThM, and PhD course work; St. Vladimirs Seminary and Union Theological Seminary in Virginia).
To vote please click here. Elections will close on Friday, March 30, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. E.S.T.
Alumni and friends of St. Vladimir's Seminary are invited to attend a fellowship dinner at St. Joseph Church, 412 Crescent Street, Wheaton, Illinois on Bright Friday, April 20, 2012 at 7 p.m. The alumni and friends gathering will be the first in a series hosted by the seminary's Alumni Office and Board of Trustees over the next year and a half, to mark the seminary's 75th anniversary, which begns in 2013.
Archpriest Alexander Rentel, assistant professor of Canon Law at St. Vladimir's, will be on hand to share recent news about the seminary and its plans for the future, and to field questions about seminary programs and life. Father Rentel will also lead a retreat for the Chicago area OCFs (Orthodox Christian Fellowships) on the topic, "1 Timothy 4:12" on Saturday, April 21 at noon. The retreat will take place at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 2701 North Sheffield Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, and it is open to all college and graduate students.
Questions and reservation requests may be directed to Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, SVOTS Director of Alumni Relations and Recruitment, at jmatusiak@svots.edu.
Little Compline and the Fourth Stasis of the Salutations of the Theotokos, with renowned chanter Christos Chalkias from Greece, will be served according to the Byzantine liturgical tradition, in Three Hierarchs Chapel at 7 p.m. A reception will follow, with members and friends of The Axion Estin Foundation as the seminary's guests.
I am not what one would call a stereotypical monk. From my days as a novice I have been given “obediences,” that is to say I’ve accepted certain tasks given to me by my spiritual father, that have taken me out of the confines of coenobitic monastic life. On many occasions and for varying stretches of time I have not partaken of a daily cycle of services. Often, I have been the only monastic in whichever community I happen to find myself, and I’ve eaten many meals without the company of another monastic. Reflecting on my past, I for all intents and purposes seem to have been completely outside of the monastic lifestyle.
And yet, I have found myself in these (for a monk) precarious positions because of obedience, and so for this reason I don’t particularly feel as though I have ever left the monastery. I have been granted the gift of accomplishing specific work, with the blessing of my spiritual father, in a manner that I pray is unto my salvation. I have no complaints in this regard; the work that I’ve been given and the circumstances that have resulted have never made me doubt my monastic vocation, but have instead worked to grant me the possibility of surrendering more completely to God, if I only accept the opportunity.
This is not to say, however, that all of my experiences have been particularly easy. No, much like anyone else there have been times when I’ve greatly missed the community life to which I still feel greatly called, and I have desired the friendship of individuals who have undertaken the same struggle. So one can imagine just how thankful I am to find myself in the midst of a community whose daily rhythm is dictated by the divine services, who shares meals together, and who have conscientiously responded in obedience to God’s calling by undertaking a common struggle. For a monastic, seminary life seems to be pretty ideal.
My daily schedule here is similar to that of the monastery, though for obvious reasons with not quite the same nuances. Every morning we assemble for Matins, every evening we assemble for Vespers. Saturdays and Sundays are dedicated to the preparation and celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection, and the Divine Liturgy is celebrated according to the festal cycle. During feasts and fasts, the divine services are increased. I have one or two daily jobs for which I am responsible, and just like in the monastery, I know to be on the lookout for the Dean of Students, who always seems to have one or two more tasks that require volunteers. Just like in the monastery too, mistakes are made, someone misses a responsibility, and plans change. And just like in the monastery, the community works together to cover for the mistake, to pick up the responsibility, and to adapt. Life goes on, and the community grows closer together, bearing up one another’s burdens for the sake of Jesus Christ and the gospel message.
Classes and homework seem to take up every other spare moment, but this is joyous work—surely there could be worse things then studying the fathers, the history of the church and its many elements, and scripture. My classmates are studious and respectful, and thankfully it is not difficult to find the quiet that is so conducive to study. (Although finding enough of it may be another matter altogether!) Much like at the monastery, there is always something new and challenging before me. I am continuously encouraged by my studies to evaluate my life and move past the “old Adam,” in hopes of more fully acting in accordance with the will of God. What more could one ask for?
Given the overall theme of this my reflection, one should again not be surprised that I have been granted even more blessings than what I’ve already mentioned. That is, I’ve also been granted a community of monastics here on campus that I can without hesitation call “my brothers.” There are four of us here on campus now, and we interact with the campus in varying capacities, some teaching classes or lecturing and others as students. We grow in our commitment to each other daily, learning from and inspiring each other to seek Christ more completely. In a way I’m thankful that I’ve been allowed to experience monasticism outside of a monastery before coming to St. Vladimir’s, because I’m not sure that I’d appreciate just how rich the small monastic community here on campus is if that weren’t the case. This is not to say, of course, that St. Vladimir’s has a fully functional monastery within its boundaries—that much is simply not true. However, I do feel that it is safe to say that the monastic presence here on campus is quite alive and functioning, providing context and support for the monastics that have been called to St. Vladimir’s in one way or another. It is a very good thing for us to be together.
In summary, St. Vladimir’s has proven to be a true blessing for this monk. Many of the key elements of the coenobitic life are present here on campus: a daily cycle of services, daily obediences, a strong sense of community, and more profitable and spiritual reading than one could possibly absorb in any given period of time. And even amongst the non-monastic students, the there is still a strong mindfulness of obedience to the will of God. Though I’m not currently in a monastery but in a seminary, I have to admit that I feel now, in an even more complete way than before, that I have still never left the monastery.
So, “what,” one might ask, “is seminary life like for a monastic?” I’d have to say that for this monk, seminary life is really quite good.—Monk James
Read more reflections by our students in the "Seminarians Speak—Voices" section of our Website, here.
Fellow students honored two senior seminarians this past Sunday with a small reception that recognized their recent great accomplishments. Seniors Logan Johnson and Sarah Johnson (no family relation!), who will graduate this spring with Master of Divinity degrees, have been accepted into highly competitive and prestigious full-time CPE (i.e., Clinical Pastoral Education) programs, starting in August 2012. The programs will prepare them to be certified hospital and institutional chaplains.
"The CPE residency program I am joining is at Carolinas Medical Center NorthEast in Concord, North Carolina—part of the medical system in the Charlotte area," noted Sarah. "It is in a community-oriented hospital that really impressed me as a positive atmosphere in which pastoral care is recognized and respected by the whole staff. This residency will help me prepare for board certification as a chaplain. I am really excited about this opportunity and look forward to starting the program in August."
And Logan, commenting on his upcoming residency at Cleveland Clinic (ranked fourth in the nation by US News and World Report), explained, "The CPE residency at Cleveland Clinic is within the Center for Ethics, Humanities and Spiritual Care, and residents minister to over 1,400 patients, their families, and the hospital staff. Patients come across the world for treatment, and I am excited to be part of a team that cares for such a culturally and religiously diverse population.
At the reception, students congratulated Sarah and Logan, offering a hearty "Axios" and "Axia" in recognition of their hard work, and offering encouragement for their upcoming challenges.
Priest David Mezynski, currently Associate Dean for Student Affairs at St. Vladimir's, became "Father-Doctor David," when he earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Fordham University this past week. Father David defended his thesis titled "The Effects of the Origenist Controversy on the Pastoral Theology of Barsanuphius and John" before a panel of his readers and advisers, which included Archpriest John Behr, dean of St. Vladimir's Seminary, and professors from the Faculty of Theology at Fordham University: his mentor, Dr. George Demacopoulos, and Dr. Michael Peppard,Dr. Maureen A. Tilley, and Dr. Joseph T. Lienhard, SJ.
Encouraging friends, such as Priest Nilus Lerro, the Director of Student Affairs at St. Tikhon's Seminary, as well as several seminarians from St. Vladimir's attended Fr. David's doctoral defense and were on hand to be the first to offer congratulations. From 2004 to 2005 Fr. David served as Assistant to the Dean, and from 2005 to 2009 as Director of Student Affairs, at St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, before joining the staff at St. Vladimir's.
"I'm still floating six feet off the ground, and all I can think about is that I'm finally done," said Fr. David. "It took me a total of eight years, which seems like a long time, but basically I was working on this part-time while working at St. Tikhon's, and then at St. Vladimir's. I especially want to thank His Grace Michael (former Dean of St. Tikhon's Seminary and now bishop of the Diocese of New York and New Jersey) for encouraging and supporting me as I pursued my doctoral studies, as well as Dr. George Demacopoulos, for his patience and guidance, and Fr. Nilus Lerro, for his never-wavering belief that I would actually finish."
Dean Fr. John Behr noted Fr. David's accomplishment, saying, "It has been a joy to work with "Father-Doctor" David on his dissertation over the last years, and especially to see him shine today as he faced his examiners. He has learnt a lot from working so closely through the letters of Sts. Barsanuphius and John, as I have from him, and I am sure that it will stand him in good stead in his future ministry."
Likewise, Chancellor/CEO Archpriest Chad Hatfield offered his congratulations, remarking to Fr. David, "You joined our team with 'part of the deal' being that you complete your doctoral studies. That day has arrived and you honor all of us at SVOTS!"
Five of us from St. Vladimir’s—Dn. Timothy Yates, Monk James Stevens, Seminarian Adam Horstman, Hierodeacon Herman Majkrzak, and myself, Dn. David Wooten—recently traveled to nearby St. Joseph’s Seminary (aka "Dunwoodie"), a Roman Catholic seminary in Yonkers, to take advantage of a post-abortion counseling training seminar. St. Joseph's was hosting "Lumina Ministries," the post-abortion counseling ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and had graciously invited all clergy and seminarians to attend, free of charge, these sessions that sought to help church leaders provide help for all victims of abortion—not only the unborn but also the mother, father, and family of the unborn child.
Theresa Bonapartis, head of Lumina Ministries, delivered the afternoon sessions (seminarians from St. Vladimir’s were unable to attend the morning sessions due to class requirements), in which she detailed the hurt and confusion that the would-be parents or siblings experience in the aftermath of abortion. Accompanying her in her presentations was Fr. Mariusz Koch, CFR, Vicar of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Together, they outlined common emotional responses and spiritual dilemmas that these living victims of abortion often suffer through. Theresa spoke from her own experience as a post-abortive woman, while Fr. Koch provided anecdotes of how these responses usually manifest themselves in confessional or parochial settings.
The sessions were oriented specifically towards training priests, and Theresa spoke of her own soul's healing, effected by a priest who was sensitive to the trauma of abortion: he not only acknowledged her pain over a sin that had damaged her soul but also declared to her that, yes, God is merciful, and that there is no sin that our heavenly Father cannot forgive, no wound He is unwilling to make whole.
We trainees were told over and over that these two attributes of truth and compassion—affirming the sinfulness of abortion, and declaring the mercy and forgiveness of God—were always to be presented together in order to effectively and rightly minister to men and women who are confused and hurt in the wake of their ordeal. The clarity this approach provides serves as a remedy for the lies many women tell themselves and for the lies that family, friends, and even clergymen may tell them. From serial confession (“God couldn’t possibly have forgiven me last time, or ever!”) to presumption and false compassion (“Well, since God forgives and the baby’s in heaven instead of in a hard life on earth, abortion is technically OK.”) and all points in between, these ways of dealing with emotional and spiritual wounds were addressed and diagnosed.
Following Theresa’s and Fr. Koch’s sessions, we listened to a very moving testimony by a woman, Gail, who had had two abortions—one at her parents’ behest when she was in her teens and one as an adult—and her moving story of the emotional turmoil that ensued; her invitation to a retreat at a Roman Catholic monastery by a devoutly Catholic friend and coworker; her subsequent confrontation of her past through the guidance of loving, compassionate lay, clergy, and monastic attendees of the retreat; and her final encounter with Jesus Christ during the night when she confessed her sins and felt for the first time that forgiveness was not only possible, but a reality He was ready to give to her. It was evident that the constant presence of concerned, loving people all along the way was vital to her healing; had the people not been present to provide caring support for her, she would have known neither the severity of her sin, nor the forgiveness of her Savior.
We were very grateful for the opportunity to attend the afternoon half of these sessions, and we hope that this relationship between Catholics and Orthodox will continue to flourish. We also hope that our shared heritage of care for life in and out of the womb would result in our mutual stance being not only “anti-abortion” but also truly “pro-life.”
For, what does it mean to be “pro-life”? Many who style themselves as “pro-life” are all too often simply “anti-abortion,” and often simply lock themselves into concern for the baby’s pre-natal development while neglecting other, post-natal needs. Furthermore, many anti-abortion advocates focus so much on the baby’s survival that they neglect (or worse, condemn!) the “living victims” that are also traumatized by the horrific event. From the despair of young or poor mothers who very often are thrust into a seemingly hopeless situation by a boyfriend or husband who refuses to stay and care for her and the little one growing inside of her, to the anguish of would-be fathers whose partners had aborted their children, to the “survivor’s trauma” of children who were told that their parents had aborted the children who would have been their older siblings—these are also the victims of the reality of abortion.
Read more reflections by our seminarians in the "Seminarians Speak–Voices" section of our Website, here.
