In the tradition of the traveling "St. Vladimir's Seminary Octet," which began in 1962, our current "St. Vladimir's Seminary Men's Choir" will take to the road this weekend and visit two parishes in Pennsylvania. The group will be conducted by Hierodeacon Philip Majkrzak, our Chapel Choir Director, and accompanied by our Chancellor, Archpriest Chad Hatifeld.
On Saturday, January 15 at 6 p.m., the choir will sing Vespers at Christ the Saviour Church (OCA) in Harrisburg. On Sunday, January 16 at 10 a.m., they will sing the Divine Liturgy at St. John Chrysostom Antiochian Orthodox Church in York; they also will present a free concert in the York church at 2 p.m., as part of the parish's Open House.
Books and materials from SVS Press will be available for sale at both venues.
As we approach the New Year, our seminary community remembers our alumni/ae and trustees who have departed this life in 2010. Memory Eternal!
Most recently, Protojerej-Stavrofor Milan Savich, 90, fell asleep in the Lord on November 27, 2010 in Chicago. He was preceded in death by his devoted wife of 51 years, Protinica Constance (nee Vuckovich) in 2004. He was the loving father of Mileva (also a SVOTS alum), Jovan, Marya, Natalie, and George.
Father Milan was born in Arilje, Serbia to Slavko and Mileva (Ocokoljic) Savich. His mother Mileva was the sister of His Grace Bishop Firmilian (Ocokoljic) of Blessed Memory. Fr. Milan obtained his early education in Arilje, Belgrade, and Kraljevo.
He received his initial theological education at the Serbian Orthodox Seminary in Bitolj, where he was sent by his diocesan bishop, Bishop Nikolaj (Velimirovic), who later was canonized a saint. The Bitolj Seminary was a magnificent center of Orthodox learning at that time. In addition to St. Nikolaj and many other scholars, among the teachers there were then Archimandrite and now St. John (Maksimovic); then Archimandrite and now St. Justin (Popovic); then Hieromonk Vasilije (Kostic), later Bishop Vasilije of Zica; then lay theologian Jovan Velimirovic, later Bishop Jovan of Sabac and Valjevo.
In 1948, Fr. Milan won a scholarship to study at Dorchester College, near Oxford, England. In 1950, he came to the United States, where he completed his education at St. Vladimir’s Seminary and Columbia University in New York.
Also departed to be with the Lord in 2010, were:
Resa Ellison, choir director at St. Mary Cathedral, Minneapolis, MN, +January 3, 2010.
Archpriest Milorad Milosevich, retired rector of St. Luke Church, McLean, VA, +June 22, 2010.
His Eminence Christopher [Kovacevich], metropolitan of the Midwestern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada, +August 18, 2010
His Grace Tikhon (Stepanov), bishop of Archangelsk and Kholmogory, Russia, +October 19, 2010.
We also remember His Grace Boris (Geeza), bishop of Chicago and Midwest, on the tenth-year anniversary of his death, December 30, 2000.
On the Feast of St. Herman of Alaska, the seminary community joined in celebrating a memorial service for Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, the prominent 20th-century Orthodox churchman and theologian who served as Dean of St. Vladimir's from 1962 until his death on December 13, 1983. Our current Dean, Archpriest John Behr, served the panikhida for Fr. Alexander's repose, and presented the following homily that wonderfully encapsulated his earthly ministry:
Today we celebrated the memory of St. Herman of Alaska, the one who brought Orthodoxy to these lands. Now, this evening we will serve a panikhida for Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, who more than almost anyone else in the past century helped shaped Orthodoxy in America. Today, in a very particular way, as the weather turns colder and life around us begins to die, with these two figures—St. Herman and Fr. Alexander—we celebrate our own “Winter Pascha," knowing that through their work Orthodoxy will continue to flourish in these lands.
Father Alexander came to St. Vladimir's Seminary in 1951, and when the Seminary moved to Crestwood in 1962, he was appointed Dean, in which role he served for twenty-one years until his death in 1983. There is probably no figure as identified with our Seminary as Fr. Alexander. During his time as Dean he worked tirelessly, taking up three specific challenges:
First, that of secularism and modernity; he insisted that Christianity never become a "mere religion," commoditized on the marketplace of American consumerism. Although we are now in a post-secular and a post-modern culture, his words are still as applicable as ever.
Second, he emphasized that Orthodoxy must find its indigenous expression here in the new world, become an American Orthodoxy, with full canonical regularity. And again, his message here is as timely as ever.
And third, of course, he revived the liturgical practice and experience of the Church, trying to communicate to others the joy and taste of the Kingdom that is given in the liturgical celebration of the Church. This message is not simply still relevant—it is eternally relevant.
A few weeks ago, as we celebrated the holiday of Thanksgiving, which was the day he served his last liturgy, we read the sermon that he gave that year, which begins with the words: “Everyone who is capable of thanksgiving is capable of salvation.”
Let us give thanks then, for Fr. Alexander and for all that he has given us—the work he did building up the seminary, and the words that he has left for posterity—knowing that all who are capable of thanksgiving are capable of salvation.
"Tis the Season"...to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick that linger outside New York's Penn Station. During Advent, members of our seminary community have been making several charitable trips to the Big Apple in response to the Gospel's commandments (Matt 25:35–37).
Our seminarians, their spouses, teenagers of faculty members, and alumni continue to pack up warm clothing and make hot soup for needy city residents, making evening runs to New York to aid street folk that need a helping hand and a cheerful word. SVOTS community members cooperate with Emmaus House, an active, ecumenical, Christ-centered non-profit organization that has served the poor in Harlem and on the streets of Manhattan for over forty years. Founded and led by Father David Kirk, an Orthodox Christian priest, the organization has taken a unique approach to assisting those in need. It offers food and clothing to the neighborhood poor, approaching each person as created in the image and likeness of God.
Tanya Hoff, wife of student Jeffrey Hoff, commented on her "soup run" experience thus far: "As we prepare for the coming of our Lord at the approaching feast of the Nativity, our group from SVOTS has had the blessing to share in the fellowship of those who dedicate their time to Emmaus House, and in the fellowship with the poor that Emmaus House serves. With love, we prepared and served warm soup, and with love, our neighbors in Christ received it, as we shared time together outside of Penn Station."
This coming year's presenter of the 28th annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture is His Eminence Hilarion, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Affairs. His Eminence has chosen "The Meaning of 'Icon' in the Orthodox Church" as his topic, and he will deliver the free and public lecture on Saturday afternoon at 3:30, February 5, 2011, in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Foundation Building on our campus. A public reception will follow and the All-Night Vigil will be celebrated at the usual time of 6:30 p.m., with Metropolitan Hilarion presiding.
Born in 1966, Metropolitan Hilarion received his initial education in music, studying violin, piano and composition, at the Moscow Gnessins School and the Moscow State Conservatory. After military service from 1984–86, he entered, in January 1987, the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he was tonsured a monk, ordained deacon, and ordained priest in the same year. In 1989 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary, and in 1991 from the Moscow Theological Academy. From 1991 to 1993 he taught Homiletics, Dogmatic Theology, New Testament Studies and Byzantine Greek at the Moscow Theological Schools. In 1995 he completed his doctoral thesis on "St. Symeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition" at Oxford University, Great Britain, under the supervision of Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware).
After completing his formal studies, from 1995 to 2001 he served as Secretary for Inter-Christian Affairs of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. On December 27, 2001 he was elected bishop, and on January 14, 2002 consecrated by His Holiness Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, and ten other bishops. He served as an Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Sourozh in Great Britain until his nomination, on July 17, 2002, as Head of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European Institutions. On May 7, 2003 he was appointed Bishop of Vienna and Austria, as well as temporary administrator of the Diocese of Budapest and Hungary, in addition to his position as the Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European Institutions in Brussels. On March 31, 2009 he was appointed Bishop of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations. On April 20, 2009 he was elevated to the dignity of Archbishop.
Metropolitan Hilarion is the author of more than 700 publications, including numerous books in Russian, English, French, Italian, German, and Finnish. Apart from his doctoral degree from Oxford, he also holds a doctorate from St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris.
“If we have faith, and allow God to do to us that which He wills, everything good will come down to us,” said His Grace Thomas, visiting bishop to our Three Hierarchs Chapel, during his homily on the Feast of St. Barbara and St. John of Damascus. Preaching on Luke 8:43, the gospel story of the woman with the flow of blood, His Grace reminded our seminary congregation that obedience to God’s will, within the providential circumstances of life and within the Holy Orders of church service, produces healing and perfection.
An alumnus of St. Vladimir’s, Bishop Thomas leads the Diocese of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic, part of the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America (AOCANA). The diocese includes more than thirty churches and missions in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
This was His Grace’s first visit back to his alma mater in twenty-five years. He warmly greeted the chapel congregation, and graciously presided over the Divine Liturgy. Five presbyter-seminarians and one deacon-alumnus within the fold of AOCANA concelebrated with His Grace, along with three visiting presbyters from AOCANA, and our seminary Dean Archpriest John Behr and Chancellor Archpriest Chad Hatfield.
“It is a blessing to be with you,” Bishop Thomas began his homily. Then, especially addressing seminarians, he instructed, “It will be a temptation for you to think that you will heal people; that you will teach; that you will change things. We think that we will save the world, the Church. It’s best, if we simply save ourselves.
“We must not lose sight of the fact that we are slaves of Jesus Christ,” he continued. “We must not forget Who is the true Priest and Who is in charge of everything we do.”
Bishop Thomas also conveyed to the seminary the Nativity Season blessing of Metropolitan Philip, Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All America. Lastly, he acknowledged St. Vladimir’s as a “hospital that [spiritually] heals people and sends them out to distribute God’s Grace.” He wished the seminary “many more years of healing and teaching for His kingdom.”
Serving at the altar with His Grace were presbyter-seminarians, Frs. Raphael Barberg, Jason Blais, Michael Sakran, Lucas Rice, and Ignatius Warren; deacon-alumnus Adrian Budiça; sub-deacon-seminarian Richard Ajalat; and altar-server seminarian Andrew Meena—all from his archdiocese. Visiting AOCANA priests who served included Frs. George Alberts, Dimitri Darwich, and Thomas Zain; Fr. Elias Bitar, SVOTS Lecturer in Liturgical Music, also attended the liturgy.
At the conclusion of Divine Liturgy Chancellor Archpriest Chad Hatfield welcomed His Grace, noting, “It is a particular joy to receive back one of our students who is within the episcopal rank of Holy Orders.”
A special luncheon with Bishop Thomas, for AOCANA seminarians, their spouses, and visiting clergy, followed.
Two affable Orthodox Christian Swedes visited our campus this week, to gain "inspiration" and to glean "knowledge" that will help them develop "Sankt Ignatios teologiska seminarium"—that is, "St. Ignatios Theological Seminary"— a newly formed school in the town of Södertälje, Sweden, which opened its doors September 2010. Olle Westberg, the Chancellor of the newly formed seminary, and Michael Hjälm, its Director of Studies, eagerly and carefully observed the program at St. Vladimir's this week, both the academic curriculum and rhythm of liturgical life, tucking away ideas and making comparisons and contrasts between the Swedish and U.S. educational systems.
"We're here to get inspiration from because the cultural similarities between Americans and Swedes are closer than, say, between Swedes and the French."
"Also, we need the experience and knowledge that St. Vladimir's has to offer," chimed in Mr. Hjälm. "St. Vladimir's, to us, is like an older sister, or like a mother taking care of a daughter."
Specifically, Mr. Hjälm said that they chose to observe the theological program at SVOTS for three reasons: its emphasis on pastoral theology, "which is similar to liturgical theology, in that sacramental life is primary"; its administrative structure that is organized with a dean and a chancellor, which is very similar to Swedish educational institutions; and its inclusion of Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians within its student body, since St. Ignatios is supported by Coptic, Serbian, Romanian, and Syrian church jurisdictions. The school itself is housed in St. Minna Coptic Orthodox Church.
Despite the similarities, Mr. Westberg and Mr. Hjälm noted the distinctions between U.S. and Swedish educational operations. Many schools in Sweden, they said, are related to and opened by trade unions, churches, and so forth; the state provides for their funding but does not control their curricula. "Churches have educational systems parallel to universities," said Mr. Westberg. "These educational institutions must belong to another 'official' state school, but the state cannot interfere in their life or educational aims." St. Ignatios, he noted, is part of Botkyrka folkhögskola (college) in cooperation with the Orthodox Education and Culture Study Association, which remains in close dialogue with the Orthodox churches in Sweden.
St. Ignatios was founded by a board of representatives of Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, which initially started a school to serve refugees who were believers and who needed to learn to speak English. Now, notes the school's Website, it is prepared to offer "a year of introduction of Orthodox theology and tradition." Among its faculty are Fr. Mikael Liljeström, a St. Vladimir's alumnus.
St. Vladimir's Seminary Dean Archpriest John Behr, after meeting with our Swedish visitors, said, "I am amazed by the work that they are doing in Sweden, involving not only the various Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions, but also the Oriental Orthodox. They have established a very firm foundation, and I am sure that their school will continue to grow, and look forward, with great anticipation, to building up connections and collaboration."
Online ticket sales have finished. In order to purchase a ticket for this event, please show up at Will Call at the concert location, The Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Columbus Avenue between 59th & 60th Streets, starting at 6:15 PM.
In 1727, J. S. Bach drew church congregations into the drama of Christ’s suffering and death through his monumental composition, the St. Matthew Passion. Today, Russian Orthodox Christian composer and churchman Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev is offering the post-modern world a corresponding experience with his fresh and original St. Matthew Passion, a profound piece of sacred concert music that combines Gospel narrative with liturgical texts of the Orthodox Church.
Concert lovers in Moscow, Rome, Melbourne, and Toronto have already greeted performances of the work with standing ovations. Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), a Roman Catholic television station that reviewed the performance in Rome, characterized the opus as “unique in the history of contemporary music, in its musicality, its variety and coherence, and its emotional and spiritual depth.”
Now, a New York City audience will have the same opportunity to hear this moving composition, which describes the Passion of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of St. Matthew through an exquisite interplay of soloists, choir, and orchestra. On Monday, February 7, 2011, St. Vladimir’s Seminary will present the U.S. English-language premiere of the piece at 7:30 p.m. at The Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Columbus Avenue, between 59th and 60th Streets, New York City.
Dr. Greg Hobbs, director of music at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, will conduct the performance, as well as the Dallas premiere of the work, one week following the NYC premiere. He holds a Doctor of Music in conducting from Northwestern University, where he specialized in large scale choral-orchestral repertoire.
Performers will include The Salomé Chamber Orchestra, famed soloists soprano Mary Mackenzie, mezzo-soprano Ana Mihanovic, tenor Blake Friedman, and bass Aaron Theno, and the New York Virtuoso Singers prepared by Harold Rosenbaum. The principal baritone part of the "Evangelist" will be sung by Protodeacon Vadim Gan. As a prelude to the season of Great Lent, the composition will convey the Gospel account—using scriptural texts interspersed with texts of the liturgical services of the Orthodox Church that are normally sung during Holy Week—in the forms of music recitative, choruses, fugues, and arias.
The composer, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, who is Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department of External Church Relations and an episcopal member of Board of Trustees of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, will also be present at the premiere. His musical expertise and reputation are renowned; he studied composition at Moscow Gnessins School of Music and subsequently at the Moscow State Conservatory. In 1987 he was ordained priest, and since 2002 he has been a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church.
A polyglot and exceptionally gifted, Metropolitan Hilarion has authored more than 600 publications, including twenty books that have been translated into major European languages. Two of his books, Christ the Conqueror of Hell: The Descent into Hades from an Orthodox Perspective (2009) and Christian Orthodoxy (upcoming 2011) have been published under the auspices of St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. His musical compositions include the Divine Liturgy (2006) and All-Night Vigil (2006) for a cappella choir; the Christmas Oratorio for soloists, boys choir, mixed choir, and symphony orchestra (2007); and A Song of the Ascent, a choral symphony on the Psalms (2008).
The inspiration for his St. Matthew Passion came to Metropolitan Hilarion “out of the blue” as he was driving from Vienna to Budapest on August 19, 2006, the Feast of the Transfiguration according to the Julian calendar. His vivid account of the origination of the work is remarkable and may be read in an interview conducted by Zenit.
Tickets for The St. Matthew Passion are in tiered prices:
$250 for a VIP pre-concert reception (5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.) at the New York Athletic Club and preferred concert seating;
$45 for preferred concert seating only;
$20 for general concert seating only; and
$15 for students and senior citizens, general concert seating only.
Total seating is limited to 700. Overflow general seating may be available on the night of the performance, but it will be limited. Please continue to check our Website for ticket availability. NOTE: VIP concertgoers may pick up their pre-paid tickets at the New York Athletic Club. Other concertgoers may pick up their pre-paid tickets at the Church of the Apostle Paul up to one hour prior to the performance. Please bring your ticket purchase confirmation, sent to you via e-mail upon registration, when you pick up your tickets. Ticket purchases are not refundable.
If you have reserved a seat on the bus it will be leaving from the seminary campus February 7th promptly at 6:15 p.m.
St. Vladimir’s Seminary is pleased to acknowledge the generous funding of this event by The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and The St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation, and also thanks the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York for its cooperative efforts in presenting this concert.
For further information, email events@svots.edu, or call 914-961-8313 X323.
Download the attached high resolution flyer for this upcoming event and share it with your family, church family, and friends! Or, send the low res flyer electronically through your social networks!
Thanksgiving is a classic example of how time flows here St. Vladimir’s. Other institutions may experience it in a roughly linear fashion. Here it pools and eddies, and occasionally it seems to be going backward. Thus it is only natural that we celebrate Thanksgiving well in advance of the fourth Thursday of November—2 weeks early to be specific—so as to avoid the dilemma faced by many Orthodox Christians in America, i.e. how to smile convincingly and say “Pass the Tofurky” while your second cousin is gnawing on a drumstick and your great aunt is daintily downing gravy-drowned mashed potatoes. The whole community piles into the Metropolitan Phillip Auditorium, transformed from a lecture hall to a giant dining room, to celebrate and give thanks with feasting and fellowship. This year I gained a new appreciation for what it takes to prepare one of these yearly extravaganzas when I went from being a member of Meal Crew #3 (go Wolverines!) to being the assistant to the Special Events Coordinator.
My first assignment was to procure the decorations. Simple, I thought, I’ll just run over to the dollar tree and pick up a few festive table cloths and napkins and we’ll be all set. Of course I put this off as assignments piled up. I’ve got plenty of time, I told myself. About a week before SVOTS Thanksgiving (Election Day, to be specific), I was given my first test of the Thanksgiving spirit when I got a call from my husband Charlie—the car broke down while he was out on assignment, the transmission had to be replaced, and you know Westchester prices. Had this been an animated film a cartoon angel would have flown across the top of the screen with a banner reading: “In every thing give thanks…”
A week and several borrowed rides later we had a working vehicle and I was all set to go on my mini-shopping spree. I should mention that I hate shopping. Thankfully my friend Mandy, one of the SVOTS spouses, was willing to come along and prevent me from melting into a pool of indecision, or simply choosing the ugliest thing I found simply because it was closest to the checkout line. Little did we suspect that the dollar stores in Yonkers were also experiencing time warps—they were already celebrating Christmas.
After failing to find anything non-green, red, and tinsel related, we moved on, ironically enough, to the Christmas Tree Shops (one store, not many) where we found the discount autumnal ware in assorted patterns for just $1 each. I picked up one of the plastic-wrapped table cloths.
“What size do we need?” Mandy asked.
“Um...Chef said 'banquet sized,' whatever that means.”
We stared at the packet. There were some dimensions, but no helpful captions like “This is the size you’re looking for” or “Buy me.” Then a total stranger paused while fishing napkins out of the bin and said, “Oh, banquet size, that’s…” she gave us some numbers. “These aren’t the right size.” We stared at them some more.
“Well,” I said, “we could just use two per table and overlap them.” So we bought out the most abundant pattern and some napkins to match (most of them were buried beneath the Turkey-patterned dessert plates) and moved on to table decorations. Our options were as follows: straw men on sharp stakes, cardboard pumpkins covered in orange glitter and flat-as-pancakes potpourri bags. Needless to say, we moved on. Here I’ll put in a plug for Trader Joe’s grocery store which had 69¢ gourds that looked to me to be only mildly cancerous.
Thus armed, and with the help of many other students and assorted kids, the stage was set, and during the Akathist “Glory to God for All Things” my crew and I assembled the main attractions: "Ladies and Gentlemen, starting from the door we have the food table with its rice, turkey, yams, cranberry sauce, salad bowl, salad dressing, where are the croutons?? more cranberry sauce, yams, turkey, rice, and the drink bar. 'Yes'—to all of you who asked, 'Is there wine at this event?'."
But it didn’t look complete until chapel let out and the room was filled by the members of the community—students and spouses talking, laughing, kids playing tea party under the appetizer table, faculty members donning aprons to serve the meal. That’s when it really felt like the family gathering that it was, and I finally remembered to be thankful for being a part of it.
Drawing upon his extensive knowledge of the writings of the church fathers and modern theologians, our seminary Dean, Archpriest John Behr, presented a paper titled "Personhood and Freedom: The Grounding of Both in Ascesis," at an international conference hosted by the Russian Orthodox Church. Fr. John was the first presenter on the second day of the "VI International Scientific Theological Conference," which has as its theme this year "Life in Christ: Christian Morality, Church Ascetic Tradition, and Challenges of the Modern Age."
Fr. John's paper focused on the "language of person" central to much modern theology, tracing the genealogy of the correlation between "person" and the transcendence over nature in a grounding act of freedom to Immanuel Kant and suggesting that its proper analogue is the life in Christ entered into through baptism, dying to the old Adam and being reborn in the new, as a human being in the stature of Christ.
This is the second time this year that Fr. John has visited Russia. In January 2010, His Holiness Kyril, patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, met with Fr. John and Fr. Chad, chancellor of SVOTS, and blessed St. Vladimir's to pursue collaboration with the theological schools in Russia. During his visit this time, Fr. John continued establishing connections with the various schools and universities in Moscow, laying down foundations for future collaboration.
See full story on the Website of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian language) at www.st-catherine.ru (English language). Photos: Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr, representation of the Orthodox Church in America to the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
