Military chaplains, solemn and dignified in crisp dress uniforms, were honored guests at our annual open house, Orthodox Education Day, this year with the theme, “For God and Country.” The seminary, recognizing the "double Cross" Orthodox Christian chaplains bear in their obedience to the Church and military authorities, filled the day with special presentations and exhibitions, all of which paid homage to our military service men and women, and especially to the "fathers in the field" who serve as pastors to them.
The excellent keynote by The Rev. Dr. Philip LeMasters, "Orthodox Perspectives on Peace, War, and Violence," and the especially moving workshop by Dr. Stephen Muse, "Listen, Witness, and Weep: What Can the Church Offer Service Men and Women?," may be heard as podcasts on Ancient Faith Radio, here: Fr. LeMaster's talk will be available October 5th; Dr. Muse's talk will be available October 19th.
Also, notably, a commendation was given by seminary Chancellor/CEO Archpriest Chad Hatfield to Archpriest Michael Kovach, the oldest living alumnus of our school, and the second Orthodox Chaplain ever to be commissioned by the U.S. military.
Watch a video of Fr. John Perich, curator of the Metropolitan Museum at St. Tikhon's Monastery, describing memorabilia of Orthodox Chaplains, here.
Other highlights of the day were captured in photos (by Deborah Belonick, David Lucs, and Kim Piotrowski):
"Our speaker for the first annual 'Missions Day' on our campus is someone you will not want to miss," enthuses Chancellor/CEO Archpriest Chad Hatfield. "Our presenter, Father Themistocles Adamopoulo, was once an atheist Rocker from Australia, now turned missionary to Africa."
The Right Rev. Dr. Archimandrite Themistocles, member of the Alexandrian Orthodox Patriarchate, indeed had a vibrant ministry and mission in Nairobi, Kenya, and now is in Sierra Leone. In both settings, "Father Themi," as he is known, ministered to the poor by providing educational and employment opportunities.
In Kenya, Fr. Themi opened some small business enterprises in one of the mission compounds to provide some self-sufficiency for the poor of that part of the world, especially the abandoned mothers and their young ones. He had his first class of early school teachers graduate from his Orthodox Teachers' College, who were congratulated and praised for their high capabilities by the Kenyan Minister of Education. The Teachers' College has since grown into the St. Clement of Alexandria Orthodox College of Africa.
Father Themi now has been placed in charge of outreach in Sierra Leone, as administrator of the newly created Diocese of Freetown, under the authority of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. Since his arrival in Sierra Leone in 2007, the Church has gone from being non-existent to consisting of two parishes with four local priests, a large primary/secondary school in the capital, an agricultural school in the countryside, a clinic to assist in the rehabilitation of amputees, and an educational outreach in a women's prison in Freetown. In September 2011 an Orthodox university was due to open in the country as well.
Join us Saturday, November 19th in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building for this presentation. We will start at 10:00 a.m. and end at noon. This event is free and open to public.
"Like" Fr. Themi's Facebook Page, and read his bio here.
Watch a goosebump producing video about Fr. Themi's work in Sierra Leone on his Website: "Paradise Kids 4 Africa," here.
"We are a healing presence to others when we give them strength and when we give them hope," said Dr. Albert S. Rossi, our adjunct professor of Pastoral Theology, during a recent interview on Ancient Faith Radio. The interview, titled, "Becoming a Healing Presence: Through Christ, We Learn to Bring Healing to Others," is divided into two episodes: "Welcome: Definition of a Healing Presence" and "God Heals Others through Us." The episodes are featured podcasts on the radio show, and both may be heard here.
During his interview, Dr. Rossi explores "how the fire of God's healing presence can flow right through us to others." He also explains how to imitate Christ, "our complete healer, who desires nothing more than for us to be His humanity on earth—His healing presence to others."
Listen to other podcasts featuring our faculty in the Voices from St. Vladimir'ssection of Ancient Faith Radio.
Struggling with disease and terminal illness is part of the human condition, but dealing with suffering in a redemptive, Christian way presents a special challenge. To help our seminarians, neighboring clergy, health professionals, and friends better understand how to approach and manage human suffering, St. Vladimir's Seminary will offer a free seminar Friday, October 21, from 9:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., titled "Spiritual Issues in Suffering and Palliative Care."
Drs. Daniel and Jane Hinshaw, both medical doctors and Orthodox Christians, will lead the seminar. Daniel B. Hinshaw, M.D., is Professor of Surgery at the University of Michigan Health System, in the Section of General Surgery based full time at the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Medical Center. Dr. Hinshaw completed a fellowship in Palliative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in June of 2001, during a sabbatical. His clinical research interests are focused on care at the end-of-life and the use of complementary medicine in the relief of pain.
Dr. Jane (Carnahan) Hinshaw is a Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Health System, and Staff Psychiatrist at the Mental Health Clinic at Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Medical Center. Her area of special interest is psychiatric issues in palliative care.
The seminar will be held in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building on our campus. No registration is necessary.
We invite the public to our seminary chapel, to venerate the extraordinary Hawaiian Myrrh-streaming Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. Our chapel clergy expect to receive the icon Tueday, October 11th, at 7 a.m.; and at 7:30 a.m., instead of daily Matins, they will celebrate a Molieben and Akathistos to this icon. The public is invited, both to attend the morning services, and also to venerate the icon in Three Hierarchs Chapel until 1:00 p.m.
The following partial description of the icon and its history is taken from the Official website of the Eastern American and New York Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR): www.eadiocese.org. The full article may be found here.
This myrrh-streaming icon depicts the Mother of God holding the Christ child. The myrrh that flows from this icon is an oil-like substance possessing the fragrance of roses. It is considered a great blessing from the Mother of God, and many healings, both spiritual and physical, have been attributed to it. The icon is a replica of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God of Montreal. The original icon of the Iveron Mother of God is still housed in the ancient Iveron Monastery on the monastic peninsula of Mount Athos, Greece.
The Hawaiian Iveron Mother of God has a unique history; the icon is a mounted replica of the Montreal Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, made by the Sofrino Church Supply Company in Russia. It was given as a gift to an Orthodox believer in Hawaii by the parish rector in the summer of 2007. It was in October 2007 that the believer, Reader Nectarios, smelled a strong fragrance of roses coming from the area in which the icon was placed in his home. As he approached the area, searching for the source of the strong aroma, he noticed that the icon of the Mother of God that he had received as a gift was completely saturated with the fragrant myrrh. After he notified the parish priest, the icon was brought to the church and completely wiped dry. A service of intercession was held before the icon and, by the end of the service, the icon was again streaming myrrh and the church was filled with the fragrance of roses.
The holy icon of the Mother of God continues to stream its fragrant myrrh to this day. Many people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds come to venerate the icon of the Mother of God and ask for her assistance with their troubles and maladies, as well as their physical ailments and spiritual needs.
In June 2008, the Holy Myrrh-streaming Hawaiian-Iveron Icon was officially recognized by His Eminence Kyrill, archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), as miraculous and genuine. The icon and its bearer have been given the blessing to travel to the various churches and monasteries of Orthodox Church.
A schedule for the East Coast travel of the icon may be found here.
The first regular discussion of Interseminary Dialogue (ISD)—a group comprised of eight seminaries in the New York Metro area (Jewish and Christian, "traditional" and "progressive")—will be hosted on our campus, Monday, September 19, from 7 p.m.–9 p.m. The dialogue is open to all of our seminarians, and the topic for the evening is "Vocation and Calling," part of this year's overall theme: Our Movements, Our Seminaries, Ourselves.
St. Vladimir's Seminary has been participating in ISD since the 1950s. Once per month, during academic sessions, some of our seminarians engage in a two-hour peer discussion with students from surrounding seminaries. Each seminary with students involved in the dialogue takes a turn hosting a discussion about a particular topic within a set theme.
Student co-coordinators at SVOTS this year are Sarah Bracey-Johnson and Kevin Basil Fritts.
"Like" the Inter-Seminary Dialogue Facebook page here.
The dialogue will be held in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building. Find us on Google Maps.
Father John's faith informs his scholarly work and vice versa, so that in his life and work, Fr. John epitomizes the thought of St. John Chrysostom, the famed 4th-century preacher who spoke of the pastoral power of theology and words. Paraphrasing St. John in a recent sermon, Fr. John said, "A disciplined mind and a mind raised to the Word of God: It is this that gives theology its pastoral power."
Reflecting upon his decade as a priest, Fr. John said, "Every year, I am ever more glad that I was given the gift to be ordained on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-given Cross. I am increasingly coming to appreciate the apostle's words that he would know nothing apart from Christ and him crucified.
"If we try to approach our own problems or issues—personal or institutional, societal or ecclesial—in any other way," he concluded, "we will not find resolution and peace; but with the Cross before us, we are given a taste of life, a life not of this world, but a foretaste of the Kingdom."
With an insightful, prophetic, and entertaining keynote, Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware), bishop of Diokleia and renowned churchman, inaugurated the North American Conference of the Fellowship of Ss. Alban and Sergius, an Orthodox-Anglican gathering which is meeting on our campus September 8–10. In his talk, titled "The Present and Future of Orthodoxy," he reviewed major trends in twentieth-century Orthodox Christian thought and proposed a "shift in focus" for twenty-first century theological study.
Mainly, His Eminence suggested that Orthodox theologians move from the study of ecclesiology, which preoccupied scholars of the last century—"What is the Church?"—to the study of anthropology—"What is the human person, and what does it mean to be a person in relationship?". He stressed the reasons for this proposed shift: an ever-growing duty for Orthodox Christians to address bioethical concerns; the "disastrous" ecological state of the cosmos and the relationship of humanity to the Earth; and the dearth of Orthodox Christian studies concerning personhood. Especially, he advocated a creative approach to this theological venture, encouraging scholars to "acquire the mind of the fathers" in light of God's word in Scripture, "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev 21:5).
Metropolitan Kallistos delivered his keynote on the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, Thursday evening. The conference continued all day Friday, beginning with a welcome to participants from seminary Chancellor/CEO Archpriest Chad Hatfield. Father Chad acts as Co-Chair of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA)-Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) dialogue, along with his counterpart, Bishop Ray Sutton, chair of the Anglican Church in North America's Ecumenical Relations Task Force.
Listen to podcasts of Metropolitan Kallistos's keynote and all the speakers of the conference (listed below) on Ancient Faith Radio, by clicking here.
Father Stephen Platt, General Secretary of the Fellowship of Ss. Alban and Sergius, introduced by Fr. Chad Hatfield: "A Historical Record of Dialogue and Exchange"
Bishop Keith Ackerman, 8th Bishop of Quincy in Anglican Church of North America, retired; currently serving as President of Forward in Faith North America, a traditionalist Anglo-Catholic movement: "The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham and the Anglican-Orthodox Witness"
Father John Parker, SVOTS alumnus and current rector of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: "The Filioque"
Professor Moheb A. Ghali, Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, Western Washington University: "Early Orthodox-Anglican Contacts"
The Reverend Canon Robert S. Munday, Ph.D., Research Professor of Theology and Missions, Nashotah House Theological Seminary: "Charles Chapman Grafton: Reflections on the Reunion of the Oriental and Anglican Churches"
Dr. Michael Howell, Executive Director of Forward in Faith, a traditionalist Anglo-Catholic movement, and former Associate Professor at the University of South Florida: "John Mason Neale and His Legacy"
(from left) Fr. Stephen Platt, general secretary of the Fellowship of Ss. Alban and Sergius; Metropolitan Kallistos, Co-chair of Orthodox-Anglican Dialogue from 2008 to the present; Bishop Keith Ackerman, president of Forward in Faith North America; Bishop Ray Sutton, chair of the Anglican Church in North America's Ecumenical Relations Task Force; and Moderator, seminary Chancellor/CEO Fr. Chad Hatfield: "Open Forum and Panel."
Recognizing the many gifts that Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware), bishop of Diokleia, has offered to the Orthodox Church and to Christians worldwide, the seminary Board of Trustees and faculty bestowed upon him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree, during an academic convocation held on the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos. The convocation was but one of many scheduled activities related to the visit of His Eminence to our campus, who came mainly to deliver the keynote at the North American Conference of the Fellowship of Ss. Alban and Sergius, being hosted by the seminary September 8–10.
Metropolitan Kallistos, a renowned author, teacher, and speaker, held the esteemed position of Spalding Lecturer at the University in Oxford in Eastern Orthodox studies for 35 years, prior to his retirement in 2001. Among his students was our seminary Dean, Archpriest John Behr, who had the privilege of introducing Metropolitan Kallistos to the crowd that had gathered to hear his keynote. Noting His Eminence's extraordinary contributions to the classroom and to the Church, Fr. John remembered fondly his former professor's nickname—"Super K"—apropos to the scholarly instruction and pastoral care that Metropolitan Kallistos had generously given to generations of students.
Upon his reception of the honorary degree, Metropolitan Kallistos thanked the seminary for the distinction, saying, "I have the joy to be speaking today at St. Vladimir's Seminary, and the honor to have been granted a doctorate by this institution. I have long held St. Vladimir's Seminary in high admiration; it is a remarkable powerhouse of Orthodox theology and witness, not only in the West but also throughout the Orthodox world."
Also lauded at the convocation were two seminarians, Dn. David Wooten, 3rd-year M.Div. student, and Harrison Russin, 2nd-year M.Div. student, both of whom received the school's "St. Basil the Great Award" for high academic achievement. Fr. John noted that historically St. Basil is remembered as a “harp of the Spirit,” a “trumpet of truth,” a “flowing river of wisdom,” a “teacher of the universe,” and a “pillar of the Church," and that the award bearing his name encourages recipients toward "intellectual pursuit and vigor in pastoral life." Fr. John Behr congratulated both seminarians, and wished them further excellence in "academic achievement, wisdom, and virtue."
View the citation read at the bestowal of the Doctor of Divinity honoris causa upon Metropolitan Kallistos here.
Listen to podcasts of Metropolitan Kallistos's keynote, and other presentations at the Fellowship of Ss. Alban and Sergius conference on Ancient Faith Radio here.
Following the Divine Liturgy in celebration of Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah, primate of the Orthodox Church in America and president of the Board of Trustees of St. Vladimir's Seminary, was publicly honored by a committee of Orthodox Christians based in Russia. His Beatitude, who concelebrated the liturgy with visiting hierarchs His Eminence The Most Rev. Justinian, archbishop of Naro-Fominsk and administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in the U.S.A., and His Eminence The Most Rev. Kallistos, bishop of Diokleia, was presented the "Triumph of Orthodoxy" award in the seminary chapel, directly after the service.
The award was given by the "National Awards Committee,"a group of Orthodox Christians blessed to do their work by the hierarchs of the Patriarchal Church in Russia. Valerii Sergeivich Balakirev, who represented the committee, bestowed a medal upon Metropolitan Jonah, "in recognition of His Beatitude's efforts in promoting unity and friendship among Orthodox Christians the world over."
"This is neither a church nor a government award," said Mr. Balakirev, "but rather an honor given by Orthodox Christians, as representing the hearts of the faithful, and therefore, knowing no bounds." His Beatitude Jonah responded to the reception of the award by saying he was "humbled" by the committee's decision.
Mr. Balakirev said the committee made its decision to choose Metropolitan Jonah as the award recipient on July 20th of this year. Patriarch Alexei II was the recipient of the first award given by the committee in 2002, for his role in resurrecting spiritual life in Russia. Patriarch Pavle of Serbia also received the award in 2003.
After the award ceremony, Metropolitan Jonah greeted the new and returning students, and admonished them to pay attention to their prayer life while enrolled at the seminary, stating "prayer will illumine your studies." Besides serving Divine Liturgy in the morning, His Beatitude met with the student body in the afternoon, in scheduled sessions.
See a gallery of photos of the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, and the award ceremony, here.
