On August 14th, the Eve of the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, the new and stunning mosaic icon gracing the entrance to Three Hierarchs Chapel will be blessed. The mosaic was donated by Ernest and Denice Collazo, friends of St. Vladimir's Seminary; it depicts the patrons of the seminary chapel, Ss. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom.
The blessing will follow Great Vespers, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. All are welcome to worship with us and to celebrate the dedication and blessing of this icon.
Thirteen participants from nearly every diocese of the Orthodox Church in America traveled to our campus last week to attend the 5th Annual Diaconal Liturgical Practicum, held by the Diaconal Vocations Program (DVP) of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and St. Vladimir's Seminary. The practicum purposefully expanded the vision of the Holy Diaconate for deacons and candidates, and focused on intense liturgical training.
Practical liturgical training began with daily celebration of the Divine Liturgy and other services by participants with seminary clergy. Intensive workshops led by Archdeacon Kirill Sokolov, director of Diaconal and Late Vocations for the OCA, aimed to provide participants with the skills needed to serve effectively in the Orthodox Church as an attentive server, deacon, or priest. Focus was given to the typical celebration of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom by one priest and one deacon. Participants also received guidance on concelebrations and hierarchical services so that they could effectively prepare for such occasions.
One participant noted, "The opportunity to serve the Divine Liturgy and to learn from this faculty and a 'class' of brothers from all over strengthens and balances my study for the diaconate throughout the year." In addition to this longer practicum held annually, shorter weekend practicums are held regionally throughout the year.
Priest Sergius Halvorsen, recently appointed Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric at St. Vladimir's, led sessions on voice, chanting, and preaching, which sought to empower future deacons to proclaim the Word of God beautifully and compellingly with their voices. Archpriest John Behr, seminary Dea
Archdeacon Kirill addressed the nature of the Diaconate and the connection between the liturgical center of the deacon's ministry—being the symbol of Christ's diakonia in the life of the Church—and diaconal service to the neighbor. The conversation continued in action as the participants traveled to New York City to learn from and participate in ministry to the homeless with the "Christian Kitchen"—a ministry of Priest Martin Kraus, former coordinator of the Diaconal Vocations Program, and the parishioners of Holy Trinity Church, East Meadow, NY. The moving experience highlighted the way in which outreach to the poor is indeed possible for our communities throughout the country.
The practicum culminated with the arrival of His Grace, Bishop Tikhon, who oversees the Diocese of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania. His Grace also serves as Rector of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary and is Chairman of the Holy Synod's Board of Theological Education. The Board of Theological Education oversees the work of the seminaries and the Diaconal Vocations Program and reviews the applications for admission and ordination in the Church's late vocations programs. His Grace led the participants in the celebration of Great Vespers and the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. His Grace addressed the participants on the diaconal ministry and questions posed by participants.
Photographs of the four-day event are available on our Website here. Further information on the Diaconal Vocations Program is available on the OCA Website here.
Our recent "Women Disciples of the Lord" conference provided a lively forum for exploration and reflection, as more than 50 women met on campus to discuss the ministry of women within the Orthodox Church. Plenary speakers, drawing from ancient sources and making contemporary applications, sparked discussions on topics ranging from human anthropology to Christian vocation, from motherhood to prison chaplaincy to campus fellowship and spiritual direction.
Carrie Frederick Frost, a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Virginia with Dr. Vigen Guroian (who delivered a terrific workshop on motherhood, and is the mother of five children, including a set of triplets, and is also studying theological anthropology), summed up her weekend experience, in an e-mail dashed off to conference organizers Tanya Penkrat and Dr. Peter C. Bouteneff:
"Peter and Tanya,
I am freshly home in Virginia but before I unpack and get settled, I had to write and thank you for the incredible experience of the conference. Wow: what an amazing weekend. It exceeding my expectations in a myriad of ways. I met women who were some of the most inspiring people I have ever met. I met women scholars whose work I will want to always follow, and with whom I hope to correspond all of my days. I met females doing Orthodox theology—even though I had known of some of these women and corresponded with them by email, this was literally the first time I'd met other women doing theology 'in the flesh.' I am gushing on here, but truly, I am overwhelmed by just how meaningful the conference was to me.
One thing that really struck me, was just how many times women said 'not many women have done this before' about their ministry or 'this topic is really understudied' about their scholarship (even Fr. John Behr said this about work on human anthropology). There was a real sense of sitting with fellow female pioneers in the Church, and that was humbling and completely inspiring. With gratitude, Carrie"
Alumnae and professors from Holy Cross Orthodox School of Theology, St. Vladimir's Seminary, and St. Tikhon's Seminary contributed much to the gathering, acting as both plenary speakers and workshop leaders. Additionally, SVOTS alumnae met in a special session with seminary Dean Archpriest John Behr and seminary Chancellor Archpriest Chad Hatfield, exchanging concerns and ideas, especially related to "curriculum and programs at the seminary that will be more attentive to the needs and aspirations of women students."
We're sorry if you could not be with us for this past weekend for the wonderful workshops and awesome networking opportunities. But, you can share in the conference by listening to podcasts of the plenary session speakers, which will be broadcast on Ancient Faith Radio in bi-weekly segments:
Opening Address: "The Joy to Serve" • Matushka Juliana Schmemann (via video)
Keynote Address: "Mal e and Female He Created Them" • The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, Dean of St. Vladimir's
"Eve, Mary, and Us" • Dr. Kyriaki Karidoyanes Fitzgerald
"Light from the Past on Vocations Today" • Dr. Mary Ford
"Confessions of a Free-lance Writer: Discerning God's Will in an Unpredictable Vocation" • Khouria Frederica Mathewes-Green
Add a comment about your experience at the Women's Conference on our SVOTS Facebook page. Not yet a fan of SVOTS? Please join!
Students and alumni from St. Vladimir's and St. Tikhon's seminaries are stepping out boldly to spread the gospel within the context of the Orthodox Church. Under the auspices of and funded by the Orthodox Church in America's (OCA) Department of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministry, they'll be setting up a booth at the Cornerstone Music & Arts Festival, the largest Christian—but for the most part, non-Orthodox Christian—music extravaganza on the planet. The event will be held June 29–July 3 in Bushnell Illnois and will feature more than 120 bands, dozens of speakers, and hundreds of vendors, artists, and other performers.
The Orthodox "evangelists" include Fr. Christopher Foley (SVOTS alumnus), Dn. James Bozeman (SVOTS 3rd-year student), and Fr. Joel Weir and Christopher Patton (STOTS alumni). Along with Subdeacon Luke (Seraphim) Beecham, director of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry for the OCA, they will be distributing as much Orthodox Christian material as they can to festival goers.
Both Fr. Christopher, who is now rector at Holy Cross Orthodox Mission in High Point, North Carolina, and Dn. James were once members of the Christian rock band "Luxury," so they will understand the mind-set of many who will attend the festival. The idea to have an "Orthodox" presence at the festival arose this past year in a Missiology course at St. Vladimir's and was the brainchild of Dn. James; his fellow seminarian Andrew Boyd helped push the project forward.
Archpriest Chad Hatfield, who taught that course, noted, "The presentation made in the Missiology class this past fall and the ideas floated to find a way to make Orthodoxy present at the Cornerstone Music and Arts Festival were very exciting and bold. It may even expand in future years if this first attempt is a good experience."
"This is an incredible opportunity for us to witness to Orthodox Christianity in a highly visible venue," said Subdeacon Luke. "The festival director has been gracious enough to allow us the opportunity to celebrate daily Matins and Vespers, as well as the Divine Liturgy on Saturday at the event. They’ve even given us space in one of the main tents and put us in the program!"
Subdeacon Luke is looking for several young adults, age 18 or over, to assist the team that is organizing the department's booth. "If five days of music, art, fellowship, and witnessing to the fullness of the faith sparks your interest, please contact me at 317-460-8574 or lsb@oca.org," said SDn. Luke. "While our primary team has been assembled, we'd very much like to have some college students and others join us."
Our Dean, Archpriest John Behr, recently whirled through Kansas like a (benevolent) twister, touching down in several places in order to teach, preach, observe, and socialize with Orthodox Christian communities. As part of his effort to create an ongoing dialogue between the faithful in the “Sunflower State” and the seminary, Fr. John participated in activities ranging from a parish book discussion in Overland Park to a tour of a community center in Kansas City.
Fr. John’s tour was initiated by Fr. Timothy Sawchak, rector of Holy Trinity Church in Overland Park, and Tracy Gustilo, a member of the parish and a part-time, “itinerant” seminarian at St. Vladimir’s. They at first invited Fr. John simply to act as a visiting author and teacher for their parish’s book study group. The invitation to participate in the book discussion blossomed into a grand tour of the area.
“As a seminarian, I am constantly looking for ways to bring ‘a taste’ of seminary life into the parish,” said seminarian Gustilo. “People are always asking me what I am learning at St Vlad's and wishing they could participate. When I heard that Fr. John was offering a course on his book The Mystery of Christ last spring semester, I thought, ‘We can do that!’ Fr. John concurred and even volunteered to visit and talk with us in person.
“The prospect of his coming spurred us on in our reading as we grappled with such a challenging book,” she continued. “As it turned out, many more people were able to attend Fr. John's Saturday presentation than were able to join in our original weekly discussion, and now he has inspired a whole new group to begin reading! We are very much looking forward to Fr. John coming back to teach—both clergy and laity—in Kansas City next year. Ongoing ‘dialogue’ between the seminary and our parish is proving incredibly fruitful.”
Fr. Timothy concurred. “We hope to have Fr. John come to our area annually and possibly do some continuing education for the clergy here, as well as meeting with the faithful. It was an awesome weekend!”
Fr. John, reflecting upon his experience, said, “I had a wonderful time visiting with all the various Orthodox communities and projects in Kansas, and was very impressed by the life that is going on there. I had a great time talking with everyone, and look forward eagerly to returning next year.”
Friday, June 3: Fr. John visited St. Nicholas Church in Lawrence, where Dn. Joshua Lollar, a SVOTS alumnus, will be assigned as Priest-in-charge on June 26. Dn. Joshua will hopefully begin teaching at the University of Kansas, Spring 2012, and Fr. John got an extensive tour of that campus from Fr. Timothy (a proud alum!).
Friday, June 3: Fr. John met with the Clergy Brotherhood of Kansas City at St. Mary of Egypt Church in Kansas City and toured the facility there which houses Reconciliation Ministries/FOCUS Kansas City.
Saturday, June 4: Fr. John met with the book study group and other interested folks at Holy Trinity Church.
Saturday, June 4: Fr. John was at Holy Trinity Church for Vespers and then went to dinner with participants from the book discussion group.
Sunday, June 5: Fr. John served Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Church and preached the homily on the “Sunday of the Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council”; he then met with parishioners at the social hour following.
If you would like to have Fr. John visit and teach in your parish community, please contact him: jbehr@svots.edu. Perhaps you and your fellow parishioners would also like to study his book The Mystery of Christ, written for a popular audience, which may be ordered from SVS Press & Bookstore.
The enormous world of internet pornomillion Americans are regular visitors to porn sites; 70% of men ages 18–24 visit porn sites monthly; 1 in 3 porn viewers are women; there are 116,000 searches for “child pornography” daily; 35% of all internet downloads are pornographic; and in the U.S., Internet porn pulls in $2.84 billion per year.
In his recent campus workshop addressing this invasive addiction—“Internet Pornography and Chastity”—Dr. Albert Rossi, adjunct professor for Pastoral Theology at St. Vladimir’s, stressed two things: hope in Christ and help from commendable resources.
“The sessions,” said Dr. Rossi, “stressed the necessity of personal stillness and accountability. Perhaps the signature insight of the workshop was, ‘Christ is everything.’ Many persons don't comprehend the seriousness of Internet pornography. But, Jesus said, ‘If anyone looks at a woman lustfully he commits adultery with her in his heart’ (Matt 5:28). In Jesus' time, adultery was a serious sin, punishable by death. In the workshop, we discussed how viewing Internet pornography is a form of ‘adultery,’ with disastrous consequences for personal relationships.”
Dr. Rossi also noted the importance of personal accountability in addressing the problem of the pull toward Internet pornography. “‘Revolving door’ confession for an Internet pornography addiction only aids and abets the behavior,” he observed. Thus, in his presentation, he particularly highlighted the distinction between self-will and surrender to the Lord, along with surrender to another human being—inside and outside of the sacrament of Confession. “Isolation is the enemy of emotional and spiritual growth,” he stressed.
He also recommended two sources of help for those dealing with an Internet pornography addiction or compulsion: “Covenant Eyes,” a software program that provides accountability for computer use; and “Sexaholics Anonymous,” a 12-Step fellowship that includes individuals, many of whom are professionals, whose "only" sexual problem is Internet misuse.
This past week, a group of some thirty Orthodox Christian academics from around the U.S. met at the seminary to discuss the possibility of and issues involved in establishing an Orthodox College in North America. The idea of the conference was announced on our SVOTS website last year and was guided to fruition by a pan-Orthodox steering committee led by Dr. Bruce Seraphim Foltz (Eckerd College) and Dr. David Bradshaw (University of Kentucky) together with our Chancellor, The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, and our Dean, The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr.
In his opening words to the conference, Fr. John pointed to the increasing interest in this topic, as evidenced in the consultations sponsored in recent years by the Orthodox Theological Society in America and the Orthodox Scholars Initiative run by Office of Vocation and Ministry at Hellenic College, Brookline.
“Those past discussions related to Orthodoxy and the Academy, the changing nature of the Orthodox Theological Society in America over the past decade, and the various attempts to establish an Orthodox College,” said Fr. John, “which together suggest that we might be at a ‘kairos moment’ in which such aspirations could become a reality.”
In eight different sessions this week, participants discussed all aspects of developing an Orthodox College, including funding, curriculum and pedagogy, and ethos related to student life and administration. “Many of the participants,” observed Fr. John, “noted that the kinds of items that came up for discussion, and the vigor and enthusiasm with which they were debated, witnessed to the increasing maturity of Orthodoxy in North America—due to an increasing number of scholars in all disciplines and an increasing sense of our ability to tackle and speak to the intellectual culture and the task of education more generally.”
Participants at the conference were instructors and administrators from a variety of secular and religious colleges and universities, including those from Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, which included: Dr. Demetrios Katos, Dean of Hellenic College; Dr. Ann Mitsakos Bezzerides (SVOTS alumna, ‘00), Director of the Office of Vocation and Ministry; and The Rev. Dn. Nicholas Belcher (SVOTS alumnus ‘05), Dean of Students.
All presentations from the conference were recorded and are now available on Ancient Faith Radio (AFR). A listing of the topics may be found in the schedule for the conference.
This week our seminary hosted the 80th meeting of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation—the oldest official dialogue between the two Churches in the modern era. The dialogue is jointly sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA).
Since its establishment in 1965, the Consultation has now issued more than 20 agreed statements on various topics. All these texts are now available on the USCCB Website and the SCOBA Website.
The Very Rev. John Erickson, former dean of St. Vladimir's, and Dr. Paul Meyendorff, professor of Liturgical Theology at the seminary, are members of the group and participated in the meeting. "During our discussions," said Professor Meyendorff, "we focused on the role of episcopal assemblies in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, as well as on roles played by the laity."
Accurately chronicling bygone theological debates can be extraordinarily challenging, but our Dean, Archpriest John Behr, has proved himself worthy of the task. In May 2011, he published a landmark work, The Case Against Diodore and Theodore, which is being touted by its publisher, the prestigious Oxford University Press (OUP), as "ground-breaking" in its research. The new book is part of OUP's "Oxford Early Christian Texts" series.
Even more impressive, this is Fr. John's second book with OUP, his first being Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement, published in 2000 as part of the "Oxford Early Christian Studies" series. The publication of both titles makes Fr. John one of only two people in the world to be published in both series.
In his newly published work, Fr. John provides a complete analysis of the teachings of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, two key figures at the center of the Christological controversy that raged from the fourth to the sixth centuries in the Church. Most importantly, he throws down an intellectual gauntlet, deftly confronting modern scholarship with solid historical inquiry that simultaneously accords with the Orthodox Christian tradition.
Diodore and Theodore, who were posthumously condemned for their teachings at the Second Council of Constantinople (AD 553), have often been depicted by modern scholars as sympathetic characters because of their concern for the "historical Jesus" and their aversion to scriptural allegory. In his work, Fr. John presents a historical and theological analysis that completely revises modern scholarship, showing Diodore and Theodore to be outside the tradition of the Church. He does this by presenting a complete collection of the extracts of their writings—in Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Armenian—some newly edited from manuscripts, and all newly translated and accompanied with an explanation of the historical context in which they were written. Although the original works of the two figures were destroyed by the Church after their condemnation, passages quoted by their supporters and opponents remain, and Fr. John uses these to state his theological case.
When asked about work involved in producing this volume, Fr. John commented that although it required great painstaking work, this meant getting involved in a level of detail that was tremendously illuminating, and that the most exciting part of it was being able to handle manuscripts that date to the very years of the controversy itself. Although this volume is intended for an academic audience, he added, the work was necessary as background preparation for the next volume of his Formation of Christian Theology series.
SVOTS Board of Trustee member Dr. Leon Lysaght, Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee and professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, lauded Fr. John's accomplishment, saying, "Once again Father John has demonstrated his pre-eminence as a patristics scholar and theologian. The writings of Diodore and Theodore have been understood to mark the fault lines that have separated Eastern Christianity. Father John’s comprehensive study provides a foundation for understanding the nature and context of the disputes arising out of scriptural interpretations that have been a source of contention within the Churches of the Orthodox East. His careful and comprehensive analysis will define the agenda for discussion among the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches for generations.
"This monumental work," he continued, "makes an important contribution to the tradition and role of St. Vladimir’s as a center for the study of Eastern Christianity. Father John’s distinctive and insightful scholarship is a remarkable demonstration and reminder of the important position that St. Vladimir’s occupies in the Orthodox Christian world. Those who support the work of St. Vladimir’s should feel enormous pride in the contribution Father John has made to Orthodox Theology and to the Seminary."
Not only is Fr. John the Dean of St. Vladimir's, but he also is Professor of Patristics at the seminary, as well as the Distinguished Lecturer in Patristics at Fordham University. His continual theological quest to answer Jesus' challenge to the Apostle Peter—"Who do men say that I am?" (Matt 16:16)—has led him to write his Formation of Christian Theology three-volume series, which catapulted him to the forefront of patristic scholarship.
Look out for his two new books coming out later this year from St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press: a new translation of St. Athanasius’ work On the Incarnation; and The Glory of God: A Living Human Being, a work addressed to a general audience that presents Fr. John’s insights into what it is to be a human being, supported by patristic and scriptural explorations that mark Fr. John’s research.
The full description of The Case Against Diodore and Theodore may be found on the Website of Oxford University Press. Books in his scholarly Formation of Christian Theology series, including The Way to Nicaea and The Nicene Faith, as well as his more popularly written The Mystery of Christ, may be purchased through St. Vladimir's Seminary Press & Bookstore.
In an effort to reach two indigenous and rapidly growing North American populations with the message of Orthodox Christianity, our two-day workshop on missiology and evangelism will focus on outreach to people of African heritage and Spanish-speaking cultures in the U.S. and Canada. Workshop leaders will be Fr. Moses Berry of St. Louis, Missouri, and Fr. Antonio Perdomo of Pharr, Texas, two experienced "evangelists."
Fr. Moses is the President of the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black, a non-profit organization which has as its mission to "minister to Americans the gift of Orthodoxy." Through an annual conference, the organization targets those who have little exposure to Orthodoxy as well as the African roots of Orthodoxy.
Fr. Moses also is pastor of the Theotokos "Unexpected Joy" Orthodox Church in Ashgrove, Missouri. On the parish's website, Fr. Moses notes: "It has fallen to me to speak wherever I can about the universality of our Church, of the necessity to bring Her good news to all people, especially to those who’ve been neglected in our evangelical efforts. African Americans from all over the country call me for information and counsel and their numbers are growing. It is likely, and hopeful, that I will have increasing work to do in the coming years."
Fr. Antonio Perdomo pastors St. George's Orthodox Church in Hidalgo County on the South Texas border, which bridges the lower Rio Grande Valley and Mexico. A diversity of people from various ethnic and national backgrounds, including many who speak Spanish, make up the parish. Because of St. George's strategic location, parishioners have the honor, opportunity, and responsibility to serve Christ by reaching out to their neighbors—both in South Texas and across the border in Mexico.
In particular, the parish began helping its neighbors by creating St. George's Food Pantry in early 2004. Other outreach ministries have long been part of the parish as well, including deliveries and assistance offered to the Casa Amparo Orphanage for girls in Reynosa, Mexico. Many new ones are in early stages of development. For a number of years, Fr. Antonio has hosted a Spanish-language internet forum called Hisporto. The parish is working on encouraging and making easily accessible and available translations of Spanish- language Orthodox Liturgical Translations, Educational Materials, and developing a list of Spanish-speaking Clergy and monastics for others to use as helpful resources.
Download the attached flyer of the Missiology and Evangelism Workshop, and share it on your social networks with your family, parish family, and friends.
Download the attached postcard describing all of our Summer Programs 2011 and share it with your family, parish family, and friends.
