Seminary Celebrates Patronal Feast of St. Vladimir of Kiev

Our seminary community marked its Patronal Feast with a celebration that included fellowship, fun, and worship. Neighboring alumni joined our staff, faculty, and resident summer students for Great Vespers on Thursday evening, followed by a cookout on the grassy knoll below Three Hierarchs Chapel. 

The next morning, our Dean, Archpriest John Behr presided at the Divine Liturgy and presented a homily that highlighted the life and work of the seminary's patron, the Holy and Great Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the Apostles and Enlightener of the Russian Lands. In his sermon, Fr. John recounted  the story of St. Vladimir's conversion to belief in Christ and his missionary zeal.

Father John also reminded those gathered that the founders of St. Vladimir's Seminary embraced the Russian prince at their patron, not because of ethnicity or nationalistic reasons, but because of the saint's quest to discover Jesus Christ as the "Pearl of Great Price" (Matt 13:45–47) and because of his dedication in spreading His gospel to the people of Rus'. Following Divine Liturgy, the seminary community then celebrated a Memorial Service (Pankhida) to mark the anniversary of the falling asleep of Protopresbyter John Meyendorff, who served as Professor of Church History and Patristics at St. Vladimir's Seminary from 1959–1962 and as Dean from 1984 until his death in 1992.

We sincerely thank the alumni and friends who came to pray and picnic with us during our Patronal Feast!
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Alumni Gathering July 14th: Great Vespers with Cookout Following

Start Date



Our Alumni Office is organizing a cookout to follow Great Vespers for the Feast of the Holy and Great Prince Vladimir this Thursday evening. Great Vespers begins at 6:30 p.m. and the cookout will follow immediately afterwards on the seminary grounds.

All alumni in the area are invited to join our faculty, staff, students, and community members. Come pray, sing, and enjoy the evening with us!

For more information, contact Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, Director of Alumni Relations and Recruitment: jmatusiak@svots.edu or (914) 961-8313 EXT 342.

“What Is Life?” Question Draws Together Scientists, Philosophers—and Our Seminary Dean

“What is life?” is one of the great questions that has stimulated and confounded human thought for centuries. From Platonism to naturalistic pantheism, from Judaism to Tenrikyo, and from the Death Anxiety supposition to the RNA world hypothesis, human beings have developed theories in attempts to offer the Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question.

Our Dean, Fr. John Behr, as a theological scholar in the Orthodox Christian tradition, recently added to the age-old discussion by attending the "What is Life?" conference in sponsored by the Centre of Theology and Philosophy at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. There, he joined philosophers and scientists in an “immensely stimulating and rewarding discussion” about the mystery of life.

“I gave a paper entitled ‘Let Us Make a Human Being: Divine Initiative and Human Response,’ ” said Fr. John, “exploring, through the writings of St. Irenaeus of Lyons and St. Maximus the Confessor, how while every other aspect of creation was spoken into existence—'Let there be, there was, and it was good—the work which God specifically sets himself to—'Let us make a human being in our image'—requires a fiat, a 'Let it be,' from the creature, to be born anew in Christ, living the life that he grants by his resurrection through taking up the cross.”

The conference was the sixth in a series of conferences that the Centre has sponsored, including one in Rome (2008) on "The Grandeur of Reason: Religion, Tradition, and Universalism"; and Granada (2006) on "Belief and Metaphysics."  This year’s conference was led by Professor John Milbank, the leader of a group of Christians from a number of church traditions known as “Radical Orthodoxy,” and Conor Cunningham, the author of the recent book "Darwin's Pious Idea: Why the Ultra-Darwinists and Creationists both get it Wrong."

“The point of these conferences,” said Fr. John, “is to bring together theologians, philosophers, and scientists to discuss areas of common interest relating to the witness of Christianity in the contemporary world. It is very important that we bring an Orthodox presence to such gatherings, to be part of the broader discussions going on.”

The gathering was cosponsored by  the Uniwersytet Papieski Jana Pawla II, Kraków, Baylor University, and Brigham Young University.

Trustees Attend Conference on Christian Witness in the Middle East

Two trustees from St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Board Chair Anne Glynn-Mackoul and  The Rev. Dr. Philip LeMasters, recently attended an international conference titled “Christian Presence and Witness in the Middle East Today: Theological and Political Challenges." The conference was held June 20–23, 2011 in Volos, Greece at the invitation of the World Council of Churches and the Volos Theological Academy and was hosted by Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias. The thirty participants included theological scholars, social scientists, politicians, and church representatives.

At the Volos conference, participants first examined the relevance and the different aspects of the “Kairos document” issued in December 2009 by Palestinian Christians from all church traditions. Second, they analyzed the socio-political challenges facing the Christians in the Middle East against the background of the recent uprisings in the Arab World. And finally, they listened to Christian witnesses from different parts of the region.

During his presentation, Fr. Philip, priest of the Orthodox Antiochian Archdiocese of North America and dean of Faculty of Social Sciences at McMurry University, spoke on "Orthodox Approaches to Non-violent Resistance." After first reviewing the roots of the conception in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, he turned to the martyrs and confessors who, with their non-violent resistance, confronted and refused to obey the secular powers’ demands that they abandon their faith.

“Though I had the honor of presenting a paper on non-violent resistance,” commented Fr. Philip, “my main function at the conference was to learn by hearing firsthand accounts of the struggles and opportunities faced by our brothers and sisters in Christ in the land of our Lord’s birth. I came away from Volos with a heightened interest in the complex political and religious dynamics of the region and a number of new insights to share with my students and parishioners.”

Mrs. Mackoul, who moderated a session at the conference, noted, “It was an interesting and important gathering, with broad significance particularly in its timing, as it took place so immediately following the public remarks of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the BBC about the Christians of the East, which remarks received such strong negative reaction from among Christians living in the area.

“Conference attendees,” she continued, “were reminded that Christians in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Israel—rooted in those areas since the time of Christ—are constantly and forcefully confronted with the importance of defining the relationship between communal loyalty and national identity, not only in the realm of ideas but in their daily lives. It is important to remember that religious identity and communal identity are not one and the same. Meaningful identities are multiple.

“Support in prayer and understanding from the Christians of the West of the actual situations in those communities and the aspirations of the Christians in the East as members of pluralistic societies is critical for maintaining this traditional Christian presence,” she concluded. “Alarmism and resignation about migration of Christians from the area will have the tendency to accelerate the very result that is feared.”

The conference was followed worldwide through an Internet live stream, intv.gr. The meeting comes in advance of a second meeting with religious leaders to take place in the Middle East in November 2012.

Read more about the conference and view more photos on the Website of the Volos Theological Academy here.

Eyewitnesses to Rebirth in Albania: Seminarians Take Missionary Journey

Three of our seminarians recently traveled to Albania, both to observe the phenomenal "resurrection" of the Orthodox Church since the fall of communism in that country and also to study missiology. Their extraordinary journey included an audience with His Beatitude Anastasios, archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania; meetings, bible studies, and social time with university students; tours of churches, church agencies, seminaries, and monasteries; and a visit with Metropolitan John of Korça.

Fr. Ignatius Warren (Class of 2011, and now assigned to St. Elias Church in Sylvania, Ohio), Dn. Timothy Yates (3rd-year student), and Richard Ajalat (2nd-year student) witnessed firsthand the incredible rebirth of the Orthodox Church in Albania since December 1990, when student protestors began to overthrow the religiously repressive government. All three seminarians were there as participants in a 3-credit summer course titled "The Missiology of Archbishop Anastasios (Yannoulatos) and Practical Evangelism." Students in the course analyzed the foundation and calling of missions, studied the resurrection of the Church of Albania over the past 20 years, and examined how well the Church has lived out the missiology of Archbishop Anastasios.

The course and trip were under the supervision of course leader, Fr. Luke Veronis, adjunct professor of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. The endeavor was partly subsidized by The Missions Institute of Orthodox Christianity and was among the Mission Team 2011 programs offered by the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC). This was the second year in a row that seminarians from St. Vladimir's have participated in a mission trip to Albania.

"It was truly a blessing to witness firsthand the rebirth of faith among the Albanian people," noted Fr. Ignatius. "Archbishop Anastasios is a modern-day Apostle, Evangelist, and Missionary par excellence. The Missions Institute under Fr. Luke Veronis provides a much-needed link between the academic study of missiology and the firsthand witness of mission in the church. In addition, it was a great blessing to be with students from our sister schools, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Theological School, and St. Tikhon's Seminary."

View a photo gallery of the trip, by Dn. Marty Watt,  in a related story on the Website of the Orthodox Church in America.


 

Meet "Generation Z": Faculty Trio Participate in Teen CrossRoad Program

Teens participating in Hellenic College's CrossRoad program this summer got a golden opportunity to rub shoulders with three of St. Vladimir's finest: Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus and former professor of Dogmatic Theology; Dr. John Barnet, associate professor of New Testament; and Dr. Al Rossi, adjunct professor of Pastoral Theology. This year's Boston-based program offered high school students the opportunity to absorb the wisdom of the scholarly triad—and to share some of their own "Generation Z" sagacity.

"An extraordinary program!," commented Dr. Barnet. "What more can I say about an institute that brings together thirty bright, committed high school students, a half dozen smart, enthusiastic counselors, and three seminary professors for a week of study, prayer, reflection, outreach, and fun in the suburbs of Boston? Kudos to Ann Bezzerides and her CrossRoad staff."

During this year's gathering, Dr. Barnet spoke on the topic, "Through the Cross, Joy," while Dr. Rossi presented two 2-hour sessions on "Chastity Today," and Fr. Thomas addressed the subject, "Love: The Christian Understanding." Together, they comprised the academic component of the program, designed to help high school students study theology in a serious way; other equally beneficial elements of the program included experiencing a full liturgical life, serving one's neighbor, and just "hanging out" as a group for fun and fellowship.

"CrossRoad provides a wonderful experience for high school students to get closer to Christ, to their Orthodox faith, to the Church, and to each other in engaging ways," noted Dr. Rossi. "For me, a 'quotable quote' came from a student who was sent out on a 'group mission' to buy breakfast for a homeless person. When he couldn't find anyone to offer to buy breakfast for, the student—putting into practice some of the CrossRoad learning—said, 'Well then, let's pick up litter.' CrossRoad teaches youth to care for others in the most practical and loving ways possible."

View a photo gallery of fun and fellowship at CrossRoad 2011 here (click on Day 1, Day 2, and so forth to view photos).
Are you a high school student reading this? Do you want to be part of CrossRoad next year? Contact someone from the program here.

"Happy Birthday!": Alumnae Contribute to New Book about Women Saints

Three seminary alumnae—Susan Arida, Stefanie Yova Yazge, and Valerie Zahirsky—are contributing authors to Encountering Women of Faith, volume II, a book that tells the stories of ten women saints within the Orthodox Christian tradition. Inside the book, readers will find the lives of Ss. Christina of Tyre, Juliana, Perpetua, Felicitas, Anna, Paula, Populia, Mother Maria Skobtsova, and Mary of Egypt, among others.

Each chapter of the volume contains a three-part format: a history of the saint and her service to community; a candid meditation by each author as to how the saint has touched her own life; and "Reflection and Discussion Questions" suitable to personal or group study. Appropriately, the title's "Happy Birthday" launch recently occurred at the "Women Disciples of the Lord" conference held on our campus from June 17–19, at which contemporary women serving the Lord in areas such as theological studies, education, chaplaincy, prison ministry, hospice, pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, philanthropy, publications, and missions made presentations.

The book's authors are all members of "St. Catherine's Vision," a group founded by and open to women graduates from all Orthodox Christian theological schools, with the mission to "study and support the many ways in which the people of God are called to contribute toward the building up of the body of Christ through education, spiritual renewal, and Orthodox unity." The newly released title is published by Holy Cross Orthodox Press and edited by Dr. Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald. The book is part of a the Saint Catherine's Vision Collection. The title will be available through our SVS Press & Bookstore in the near future.

Read more about our Alumni and Alumnae in the Alumni News/Profiles section of our Website, including the recent news of Brent Gilbert's Fulbright Fellowship! Add your news to the page by contacting PDn. Joseph Matusiak, Director of Alumni and Recruitment.

From Constantinople to Charleston: Church Architecture Seminar Weds Old and New

Designer Andrew Gould spellbound participants of the Church Architecture seminar held last weekend on our campus, through an image-rich slideshow presentation that depicted the historical development of Christian church structures. Using images ranging from the ancient Roman basilica to the Great Church of Constantinople (Hagia Sophia) to Russian onion domes and beyond, Mr. Gould demo

Mr. Gould, who works in partnership with George Holt at the firm New World Byzantine, in Charleston, South Carolina, is becoming known nationwide as a designer of traditional Orthodox churches. His goal, he says, is to keep intact the "consistent and invariable” elements of early Christian architecture while accommodating the locale of present-day churches and the creature comforts (heating and air conditioning) expected by present-day church-goers.

“It would be disturbing to me to see an out-of-context church building in the United States, which might look as if it had been dropped by helicopter from ancient Byzantium,” he muses. “I believe that Orthodox churches today can be simple, inexpensive, beautiful, and comfortable, if they are well built out of ‘honest’ materials and if they include basic aspects of traditional Orthodox architecture.”

Some of those basic traditional aspects, he notes, include thick walls, lighting that lends an air of mystery to the space, arches, high ceilings, and handmade furnishings (including lamps, tables, metalwork, and painted icons and frescoes) that appropriately “vest” the inside of the temple. All of these elements together, he observes, are evocative of the New Jerusalem, where heaven and earth meet. Moreover, he asserts, present-day church buildings, though based on ancient models, can nevertheless be built simply and relatively inexpensively—and can even be intrinsically “green,” if constructed from local, “honest” materials.

In particular, Mr. Gould warns against “bowing to the god of ‘modernism’,” that is, the movement that started in the 1930s that rejected traditional forms and pushed toward “new forms.” He instead advises the adaptation of traditional forms to modern needs, and during the presentation he gave several drawing-board renderings and photographs of his completed churches, like the stunning church near Charleston, South Carolina, Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, where SVOTS alumnus Fr. John Parker is rector, and Ss. Joseph and Andrew Eastern Orthodox Church,  near Ashville, North Carolina, as examples.

To view more of Mr. Gould’s work, visit his firm’s Website, New World Byzantine.

Participants Awed by Iconography Workshop

Participants in our recent Iconography Workshop expressed high praise when asked about their experiences in creating an icon under Master Icongrapher Protodeacon Nazari Polataiko. For five days, both novice and prteps needed to compose a traditional egg-tempera, Russo-Byzantine-style icon. By week's end, the group posed for a photograph, looking peacefully content while holding their creations, and summarizing the class with words of awe, wonder, and gratitude:

  • Bess Chavkravarty: "medicine for the soul"
  • Antonia Daily: "a thousand Thank-Yous for this opportunity"
  • Fr. Hal Dudash: "a unique opportunity"
  • Rev. T. Michael McDowell: "creative community experience"
  • Janet Massad: "passionate restraint"
  • Kelly Miller: "glowing success"
  • Tanya Penkrat: "grateful for God's grace"
  • Kathryn Pritchett: "wonderful experience!"
  • Anne Therese: "Supremo!—like falling H20"
  • Leigh Wackerman: "window to heaven"

Protodeacon Nazari, who along with his wife establlshed the Ss. Alipi and Andrei Rublev Icon Studio in Ottawa, Canada, has been "writing" iconsfor 15 years. For the past three years he has conducted a summer workshop on our campus. During his workshop, Protodeacon Nazari not only attempts to teach proper iconographic technique to his students but also tries to instill in them the concept that the icon is integral to the Orthodox Christian faith.

 

"By its roots, the icon goes deep into the Eucharistic experience of the Catholic (that is, 'universal') Church," he notes. "Iconographers have to be an integral part of Christ's Body, the Holy Church. We try to reintroduce the importance of the traditional iconographic process to the wider Christian community, and by this means, to bring the Light of Christ's Truth to this world; so the world is enlightened by the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church through the art of iconography."

View of a photo gallery of the Iconography Workshop.

 

REGISTRATION OPEN! North American Conference of the Fellowship of Ss. Alban & Sergius, with Metropolitan Kallistos Ware

Start Date



From Thursday, September 8, through Saturday, September 10, our seminary will host the North American Conference of the Fellowship of Ss. Alban and Sergius. On the evening of September 8th, Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware)—Co-chair of Orthodox-Anglican Dialogue from  2008 to the present—will commence the proceedings by delivering a free and public keynote. Prior to the keynote, at 7:30 p.m., the seminary will bestow an honorary doctoral degree upon His Eminence.

His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen), primate of the Orthodox Church in America, and Fr. Stephen Platt, general-secretary of the Fellowship from the United Kingdom, will also be in attendance. Metropolitan Jonah will serve on a discussion panel on Saturday.

Throughout the conference, members of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA)–Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) Dialogue will present various papers addressing the history of Orthodox–Anglican relations, including: Dr. Michael Howell, "John Mason Neal"; Bishop Keith Ackerman, "Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham and Anglican-Orthodox Connections"; Father Arnold Klukas, "The Sarum Rite"; Dr. Moheb A. Ghali, "Irish and Egyptian Monasticism."

There is a choice of registration rates for participants:

 

  • Registration for all sessions, with all meals, excluding room & board:   $ 65
  • Registration for Friday only, with 3 meals, excluding room & board:     $ 50
  • Registration for Saturday only, with 2 meals, excluding room & board: $ 40
  • Registration for all sessions, excluding meals, room, & board                   $ 35
  • Registration for Friday only, excluding meals, room, & board                   $ 25
  • Registration for Saturday only, excluding meals, room, & board               $ 15
  • Registration for entire conference, with on campus room & board:         $160

 

For those wishing to stay off-campus, a  block of rooms at the Royal Regency Hotel located at 165 Tuckahoe Road, Yonkers, NY 10710, tel 914-476-6200, for the nights of September  7–10, 2011 have been reserved. The rates are $99 per night for King and $109 per night for Double.  The Group Code is STVA and the deadline to reserve is August 24, 2011. 

Register by clicking here.

View a Conference schedule here.

Download and print the attached Conference Schedule.

Note: Watch a wonderful YouTube interview with Metropolitan Kallistos by David Neff, created for Christianity Today Magazine and titled "Five More Minutes with Archbishop [sic] Kallistos," in which His Eminence speaks of "On Being Charismatic," "On Becoming Orthodox," and ""On Church and State."  View it here.

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