This July, will you be at the 57th Biennial Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese Convention? Or will you be in the Chicago area around that time? Meet us there for a gathering of alumni and friends, and enjoy food and fellowship!
This sermon by Archpriest Sergius Halvorsen was delivered on the Feast of the Holy, Glorious Prophet Elijah, July 20, 2025, following the reading of the Holy Gospel at Divine Liturgy (Luke 4:22–30).
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
When Moses went up Mount Sinai, God gave the people ten commandments. And the first of these commandments is “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.”
The very first commandment that God gives commands the people to have no other gods except for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt. In other words, God was saying, “Do not create idols, and do not practice idolatry.”
These days when the ancient pagan religions have almost faded to nothing, it is tempting to think that God’s command forbidding idolatry only refers to the proper forms of worship. I’m not bowing down before a golden calf, and I’m not offering incense in a pagan temple, so I don’t have to worry about this commandment, right?
But maybe the temptation to idolatry is more insidious than that.
Today we hear about people worshipping in the Synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath day. They were hearing the word of God in Scripture, praying the Sabbath day prayers, assembled with members in good standing of the Synagogue. They weren’t worried about the temptation of idolatry. God’s first commandment was probably the last thing on their minds.
But that’s the problem. Because the underlying temptation of idolatry is not the golden calf or the pagan temple. Those come much later, once the idolatrous temptation has fully wound its way around the soul. The underlying temptation of idolatry is transactional spirituality. It is the temptation to look at life as one big business proposition: How do I get what I want for the best deal possible?
It is a kind of vending machine spirituality: if you do just the right thing in just the right way, then you’ll get exactly what you want. Say you’re hungry and you come to a vending machine that dispenses food. You figure out what you want, put in the right amount of money, push the right buttons, and you get what you want. This idolatrous vending machine spirituality looks at God and other people as a way to get what I want, exactly how I want it.
This is one of the reasons that pagan religions usually have multiple deities. Each one has a different area of influence: the pagan god of war, the pagan god of love, the pagan god of commerce and communication. Depending on what you want, you go to the temple of that particular pagan god, and then perform the specific ritual for that request, and then hope you get what you want. Just like a cosmic vending machine.
But this idolatrous spirituality can also affect those who worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Think of the people in the Synagogue on that Sabbath day in Nazareth, they had all the externals right: the Scripture, the prayers, the building. But in spirit they were looking to do business. On that Sabbath day Jesus had returned to Nazareth, His home town, and He was in the Synagogue. The people listen to Jesus teach and they ask, “Wait, is this not Joseph's son? If you’re really a prophet, then work some miracle here, so that we can see for ourselves.” Our Lord sees into their hearts, He knows what they’re looking for. They’re looking for proof: “We knew you as a child and a young man. Do you have special power? Can you get us what we want, just the way we want it?” They’re looking for some kind of transaction.
But Jesus is not a pagan idol, and He refuses to be used in that kind of way, He refuses to perform any miracle for them. And the people become enraged, they chase Him out of town in anger, and even try to hurl Him off of a cliff.
Because, when a transaction fails, people get angry. Like if you put money into a vending machine, and you think you push the right combination of buttons, but you get nothing. That is SO frustrating, it can make you so angry.
The people in Nazareth looked at Jesus with a spirit of idolatry, asking “What can you do for us? Can you get us what we want, just the way we want it? Can you get us a good deal?” And when Jesus did not give them what they wanted, they reacted with anger and rage. This is why idolatry is so dangerous, because even pious people who have all the externals right can look at God and their neighbors as mere opportunities for profit.
And of course, the temptation to idolatry is just as strong today as it has ever been. Here I am, an Orthodox Christian priest, wearing all the right vestments, saying all the right prayers, in this beautiful building adorned with stunning traditional icons. But how easy is it for me to think that if I do everything just right, then God will give me what I want, just the way I want it. And of course, if I pray and pray and pray for something, and don’t get it, the idolatrous temptation in my heart leads me to ask, “What didn’t I do right? Why isn’t this working?” As if God were some kind of cosmic vending machine who will do whatever I want as long as I push just the right buttons.
This is not faith, this is not a relationship, this is a transaction, it is idolatry.
This pagan, idolatrous approach also tempts me to look at other people in terms of what they can get me, in terms of how useful they are to my goals and objectives. Hey, this person is wealthy, I should be extra nice to him in case I want to ask a big favor. Or, this person over here is extremely popular, I better go out of my way to cultivate this relationship. When people see that we’re friends, my reputation will surely improve, and that will help my business prospects. But what about the people that aren’t wealthy, or influential, or powerful? Well, that person is just scraping by financially, I don’t want to get too close to him, he might ask me to borrow money. And, those people are such losers, if I hang out with them, I’ll get a bad reputation. It’s terrifying how easy it is to relate to other people in this pagan, idolatrous transactional way.
But the more that I look at God and other people in this way, the more I start to look at myself in the same way. What have I done, what have I accomplished, what have I achieved or mastered or conquered? What am I actually worth, what is my value in the big transaction of life? And that last question is the worst, because as soon as I ask what I am worth, the Evil One says, “Nothing. You’re worthless. Your entire life is one long string of failures.” Of course, this is a lie, but the more I view God and my neighbor transactionally, the more susceptible I am to that lie.
So the temptation to idolatry and a transactional view of life can lead to a very dark place of shame, regret, and despair. And this is why God’s first command is, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.” Because God’s ultimate objective was not just to liberate the people from hard labor under Pharoah. God’s ultimate objective is to free us from the tyranny of the transactional, to liberate us from the subjugation of shame, and to release us from the repression of regret. This is why the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sends His Only Begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, into this world: To deliver us from the dark destruction, and the crushing burden of idolatry.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not a pagan idol, he is not a false god, He is the Son of the Living God. And the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has never dealt with His people transactionally. During his earthly ministry, Christ did not cozy up to the people who were wealthy and powerful and influential, the leaders and influencers who could support His ministry and promote His interests. Jesus did not limit himself to only the righteous, and the pious and the holy who walked the straight and narrow path of virtue. Instead, our Lord comes into this world, not to call the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance. He ministers to the poor and the sick and the outcast. He travels across the sea of Galilee to a gentile city, to cast demons out of men who lived among the tombs and had no hope of salvation. He allows the woman with many sins to anoint His feet with her tears of repentance. He calls fishermen to be his disciples yet they were confused about His ministry, and they struggled every step along the way, even to the point of publicly denying Him. And when people are nailing Jesus to the cross, He prays that God would forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. This is not the ministry of transactional idolatry, this is the saving work of the Living God.
As St. Paul teaches us, “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6–8).
This is not a transaction, this is love. God did not send His Only Begotten Son into this world to make a transaction, Christ came into this world to love and to heal and to save.
When Jesus was confronted in the Synagogue in Nazareth, He reminded the people of the ministry of the Prophet Elijah, whom we celebrate today. In Elijah’s day, God’s people had fallen deeply into idolatry. And God sent Elijah to call the people to repentance, to put aside their idolatrous ways and to have no other gods than the one true God who had brought their fathers out of bondage in Egypt. But Jesus also reminds us about miracles that God worked through Elijah. There was a widow in Zarephath, and God sent Elijah to this woman saying, “This woman will give you food and drink.” But when Elijah meets the woman, she is in a very bad situation. She tells Elijah that she’s gathering a few sticks of firewood so that she can use her last tiny bit of flour and oil to bake one last tiny loaf of bread for her and her son before they die. But Elijah asks her to bake him some bread, and he tells her that God will not allow her to perish. And through her faithful act of generosity to Elijah, God miraculously provides sustenance for the woman and her son. Then, shortly after this, the widow’s only son became deathly ill. But Elijah prays for the boy and he is restored to health.
Jesus reminds us that there were many widows at this time, but God sent Elijah to this one widow of Zarephath, a city outside of Israel. This woman was not an insider, she was not well-connected, she was not powerful, she had nothing. Now remember, at this point in his ministry Elijah could have really used some support from powerful people. From a transactional perspective, it would have made a lot more sense for Elijah to work a miracle for a wealthy widow whose relatives were powerful leaders in the community. But, no. When Elijah is most vulnerable, and at his weakest, God sends him out of his own country, to a widow who has nothing.
And this is how God sends us. When we are weak, when we are completely broken, when it feels like we have nothing left to give, this is when God sends us to the lonely, the abandoned, the hopeless. Because, in that moment when we have nothing of ourselves to offer, then it is God who provides the grace, the love, and the life. Just like He provided for Elijah and the widow and her son.
For God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. This is how God manifests his power and his glory. This is how God shatters the lie of idolatry, by showering love and mercy upon the outsider, the sinner, the people who live in the shadows. And this great mystery of the Living God that was seen in Elijah the prophet is perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who takes on the form of a servant, and ministers to the weak and the broken in love and mercy.
This is God’s Messiah, this is the Lord whom we worship.
Today we come before the Living God and offer true worship saying, “Lord, I come before You today, broken, empty, and sinful, not seeking any transaction, just asking for Your love and mercy. Merciful Lord, just as You provided for the widow of Zarepath, give us that small portion of life-giving bread, even Your very Body and Blood that we might minister and serve those in the shadows who are alone, hurting, abandoned.”
For this is true worship, this is true joy, this is everlasting life in Christ.
We invite all our beloved graduates of St. Vladimir’s Seminary to join us this July for an alumni reception at the 21st All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America, inPhoenix, Arizona. Join Dr. Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie and other Seminary faculty members and staff for an evening of fellowship, drinks, and food with other alumni, and learn about the exciting things happening at St. Vladimir’s Seminary!
This free alumni event will take place on Tuesday, July 15 from 8pm–10pm at the Arizona Grand Resort, 8000 S. Arizona Grand Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85044.
On June 23 The Very Rev. Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios (Nikiforos), an alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) and the Director of the Private Office of the Ecumenical Patriarch, passed his viva examination and successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at Cardiff University in Wales.
Fr. Aetios submitted his dissertation, “The Creation of a System of Orthodox Canon Law: The Case of the Pedalion (1800),” within the school of Law and Politics at Cardiff. The examiners accepted his dissertation without the need for corrections, which is extremely rare and a sign of the excellent quality of the thesis.
The Seminary’s Assistant Professor of Canon Law The Very Rev. Dr. Alexander Rentel served as external reviewer and traveled to Cardiff for the doctoral defense. The internal reviewer was Professor Russell Sandberg of the School of Law and Politics at Cardiff University. Fr. Aetios wrote his dissertation under the direction of Prof. Normon Doe, the Director of the Centre for Law and Religion at the same university.
Fr. Aetios and His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at a luncheon June 23, 2025, held in Cardiff by the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in honor of Fr. Aetios. (Photo: Archons.org)
Trained as an attorney, Fr. Aetios was initially drawn to SVOTS due to its strength in canon law and historical disciplines. He graduated from the Seminary summa cum laude with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 2018. He was also selected as the class valedictorian. Hailing from Greece, he called Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Brooklyn, NY, home during his time at St. Vladimir’s Seminary.
Top Photo (from left): Fr. Alexander Rentel, Dr. Richard Caddell (convener of the viva), Fr. Aetios, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Prof. Norman Doe, and Prof. Russell Sandberg.
What makes art sacred? Can an object be inherently holy—or does sacredness lie in its use?
Saint Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) Press’s new book,Rethinking Sacred Arts, brings together leading scholars and artists to explore these and other questions across visual art, architecture, music, poetry, and liturgy. This first installment in SVS Press’s new Sacred Arts series is ideal for practitioners and scholars alike. It offers a vital resource for anyone probing the spiritual dimensions of art within an academic or liturgical context.
“With all of the fascinating ideas it presents, this book is also a bridge between the worlds of art history and theology—fields that haven’t always wanted to be in conversation. It demonstrates that we have so much to learn from each other, that our interaction can raise new questions and yield fresh and unexpected insights,” said Peter Bouteneff, who directs the Seminary’s Institute of Sacred Arts (ISA) and co-edited the book with Christina Maranci of Harvard University.
The new publication has been praised by scholars as engaging, enlightening, and deeply thought-provoking.
“This book is remarkable for examining sacred art from an impressive range of perspectives …” said Henry Maguire, Professor Emeritus of Johns Hopkins University. “The result is a volume which by turns engages, enlightens, and challenges the reader, and which will inspire many fruitful discussions of this complex and important field in the future.”
“The Institute of Sacred Arts at St. Vladimir’s has become a much-needed wellspring of wisdom when it comes to the interface between human creativity and the divine,” added Jeremy Begbie, Professor of Theology at Duke University. “This multidisciplinary book will expand that reputation. A rich and accessible collection that deserves attention from any with interests in the field.”
Rethinking Sacred Arts features 27 black-and-white plates and 14 color plates. The book is available in paperback (6×9, 300 pp.) at SVSPress.com.
With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share news of the repose of Archpriest Paul Kucynda, an alumnus of St Vladimir’s Seminary. Fr. Paul fell asleep in the Lord Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
The Very Rev. Paul Kucynda, an archpriest of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), was a long-time Rector of Holy Resurrection Church, Wayne, NJ. In his retirement he was attached to the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, in Brick, NJ.
Fr. Paul attended St. Vladimir’s Seminary in the 1960s, and was a member of the first Seminary Octet. In the summer of 1962, Fr. Paul and the other members of the Octet toured some 80 parishes throughout the United States in order to raise awareness, fundraise, and recruit for the Seminary. His dedication and love for the Church were evident throughout his time as a student. A letter to Fr. Paul dated August 27, 1965, from his fellow seminarian and Octet member, David Drillock—who went on to serve for many years as Professor of Liturgical Music at the Seminary—notes:
The Faculty of St. Vladimir's Seminary takes special note of the extra curricular work of Mr. Paul Kucynda, during the 1964–1965 academic year. Mr. Kucynda directed the Chapel Choir on weekdays during both the winter and spring semesters. In addition he rendered invaluable assistance in helping to prepare and to direct a special group for the Holy Week Services. All this he did with devotion and sincere love and at all times showed deep responsibility in performing the duties of a Chapel Choir Director.
Fr. Paul also received appreciation from the Seminary for directing the 1965 summer Octet. On June 11, 1967, he married Barbara Anne (née Kuntzevich) at Holy Trinity Church, Brooklyn, Matushka Barbara’s home parish. Mka. Barbara worked as a substitute teacher while Fr. Paul completed his seminary studies. He was ordained to the holy priesthood on January 7, 1968, and received a Bachelor of Divinity degree from St. Vladimir’s Seminary that same year.
Following ordination and graduation, the Kucyndas were assigned to Holy Resurrection Church. They were blessed with a son, Timothy, in 1969. Fr. Paul and Mka. Barbara served at Holy Resurrection for five decades, celebrating fifty years of ministry there together in 2018.
Fr. Paul was preceded in death by his beloved Mka. Barbara (+February 16, 2018). They are survived by their son Timothy.
Information regarding Fr. Paul’s funeral will be announced on the OCA website, here.
May the memory of Archpriest Paul be eternal!
Some information for this article was adapted from OCA.org.
“I am confident that Dr. Tudorie will bring his many talents to bear in fulfillment of the Seminary’s mission of training priests, lay leaders, and scholars for the Church here in North America,” said His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, Archbishop of Washington and Metropolitan of All America and Canada of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).
“My appointment carries enormous responsibility, not just for the Seminary as an institution, but because the Seminary’s mission is in service of the Church,” remarked Dr. Tudorie. “I undertake my duties with profound gratitude to God. I am also very appreciative of the leadership of Fr. Chad Hatfield and all those before me, and for all of the support and prayers I have been receiving. Together with our beloved faculty, staff, and students, I will need those prayers and support at all times in order to fulfill the Seminary’s mission and purpose.”
The transition notably brings with it a shift in governance model at the Seminary. Since Dr. Tudorie's election as President last February, the Board of Trustees resolved during the May 2025 meeting to restore the Seminary’s historic titles and model of governance, according Dr. Tudorie’s position the title of Dean and His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, as Primate of the OCA, the title of President of the Seminary (ex officio).
His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon (President) at the Seminary’s 2025 Commencement Exercises with Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie (Dean).
Restoring the title of President to the office of the Metropolitan (Primate) of the Orthodox Church in America represents the Church’s recognition of bishop as “proistamenos” (the one who presides).
The position of Dean at St. Vladimir’s was held in the past by illustrious and dignified priests, scholars, and leaders, including Frs. Georges Florovsky, Alexander Schmemann, John Meyendorff, Thomas Hopko, and John Erickson. The Dean model was temporarily changed beginning in 2006, when both Frs. John Behr and Chad Hatfield served in a dual leadership model (the former as Dean and the latter as Chancellor), and then in 2017, with Fr. Chad as President (CEO) and an Academic Dean reporting to the President.
During a visit to the campus during Paschaltide 2025, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Serge Schmemann, the son of former dean and renowned theologian Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann (1921–1983), presented Dr. Tudorie with the three original handwritten pages of Fr. Alexander’s well-loved Thanksgiving homily, the last homily Fr. Alexander delivered at the Seminary’s Three Hierarchs Chapel.
“The Seminary has been blessed with highly capable leaders, with close relationships with the Primate of the OCA and other bishops, both within and outside of the OCA,” noted the Rev. Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, Trustee Emeritus of SVOTS. “Historical and practical circumstances dictated a change to a Dean-Chancellor arrangement [in 2007], then to a CEO/President some years ago, again a blessing for this school. The latest change … both restores the historical arrangement at SVOTS and strengthens the relationship with the Church hierarchy.”
The transition in the governance model is the fruit of collective reflection on how best to address the administrative, academic, and practical needs of the Seminary and its students, as well as how the spiritual dimension of the school is embodied and fulfilled. The President serves as the spiritual father of the Seminary. The Dean undertakes, and is responsible for, the operational, financial, and administrative health of the Seminary, the daily care for the people, the theological education and spiritual formation of students, and the offering of the Seminary’s labors, fruits, and gifts to the world. The Board Chair (previously titled “Executive Chair” from 2006–2025), presently held by SVOTS Alumnus The Right Reverend Archimandrite Jeremy Davis, is a liaison and facilitator for Board and Board-administration matters in support of the mission.
Trustees in session for the November 2024 meeting on campus. Pictured from left, facing the camera: His Grace Nikodhim (OCA), Dr. Tudorie, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, and the Rt. Reverend Archimandrite Jeremy Davis (AOCANA).
The Dean also empowers and develops the faculty and staff in their leadership and stewardship of the school's mission. Rounding out the Seminary’s administrative and academic leadership are the following academic appointments made by Dr. Tudorie, which also took effect July 1, 2025:
Dr. John Barnet is appointed as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs;
Dr. Peter C. Bouteneff is appointed as Associate Dean for Institutional Mission and Engagement; and
The Rev. Dn. Dr. Harrison Basil Russin is re-appointed as Associate Dean for Residential Life (following his first appointment at the beginning of the 2024–25 academic year).
“I've never been more excited for our St. Vladimir's Seminary and the future of our Church,” said His Grace Bishop John (Abdalah, SVOTS M.Div. class of ’78 ) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA), who sits on the Board of Trustees as one of its appointed hierarchs. “I have confidence in the Board; great respect and love for the Dean, faculty, and staff; hope in the students; and trust in the alumni and benefactors. May God continue to bless and guide Metropolitan Tikhon and our St. Vladimir’s community.”
With the new governance model in place and a renewed commitment to remain at and invest in the Seminary’s campus in Yonkers, NY, SVOTS administration, trustees, faculty, and staff are preparing for the coming academic year and another large incoming class, as well as for a process of Strategic Planning to define the Seminary’s future.
“The significant growth of the Orthodox Church in North America in recent years requires that priests and other Church leaders are equipped to respond to the needs of growing parishes and communities,” Dr. Tudorie stressed. “Our task is to ensure the SVOTS curriculum and spiritual formation prepare our graduates to convey the Gospel of Christ effectively, with deep pastoral care and attentiveness for established faithful and new inquirers alike.
“Alongside my colleagues, I embrace this important charge as Dean of St. Vladimir’s, and thank His Beatitude, the Board, and our students for their trust. May it be for God's glory!”
Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie was born and raised in Romania. He studied at the University of Bucharest where he earned a B.S., two M.A.s, and two Ph.D.s. (one in Orthodox Theology and one in Byzantine History). In addition to his duties as Dean and Professor of Church History at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, he is also affiliated with the University of Bucharest, Romania, where he serves as Doctoral Advisor in the field of Cultural Studies at the Interdisciplinary School of Doctoral Studies (ISDS). His areas of academic specialization include Church History, Byzantine and Post-Byzantine History, and the Theological Dialogue between Christian Confessions.
Dr. Tudorie served St. Vladimir’s Seminary with distinction as Academic Dean and Professor of Church History starting in 2018. Following the retirement of The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, Tudorie served as Interim President and Academic Dean from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. He was elected President in February 2025 as the result of a comprehensive international search process led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon as chair of the President Search Committee. After Tudorie’s election, the Seminary’s Board of Trustees implemented a governance model with the Dean (no longer the President) as the CEO of the institution, restoring the title of President to the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).
Dr. Tudorie with his wife Denisa and their two daughters, Sofia and Theodora, outside the Seminary’s Three Hierarchs Chapel, Pascha 2025.
Dr. Tudorie has been married since 2004 to Dr. Denisa-Mihaela Tudorie (née Alexandru). They have two children, Sofia (b. 2011) and Theodora (b. 2016).
The Tudories have been integrally involved in seminary life since their arrival to the U.S. in 2018. The Drs. Tudorie regularly extend gracious hospitality in their home to members of the seminary community as well as to visitors. Denisa has also taken an active role in the St. Juliana Society (the on-campus fellowship group for women), hosting gatherings, baby showers for expectant mothers, and festivities for children of the chapel community. She likewise has lovingly assumed the ministry of adorning festal icons for Three Hierarchs Chapel.
As a family, the Tudories support and assure students as they make their transition to seminary life, cultivating a warm and welcoming place for those who call the seminary their home. As a leader, Dr. Tudorie has infused compassionate, magnanimous pastoral leadership combined with an assiduous and diligent attention to fulfilling the seminary’s mission with excellence at all levels of the institution.
View Dr. Tudorie’s faculty page and CV to learn more about his scholarship and teaching interests.
About St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is a higher education institution that embraces the challenge of serving the Church and the needs of Orthodox Christians in the twenty-first century. SVOTS trains priests, lay leaders, and scholars to be active apologists of the Orthodox Christian Faith, focusing on academic rigor and spiritual formation within a residential Orthodox community. The Seminary is chartered by the University of the State of New York and accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) to offer the following program degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, Master of Theology, and Doctor of Ministry. Learn more at www.svots.edu.
Top Photo: Seminary leadership, trustees, faculty, and graduates at SVOTS’ 2025 Commencement.
Twenty-four people participated in Writing the Light’s workshops, held June 16–20 at the Seminary’s recently renovated Sacred Arts Room. The group included students from both Writing the Light’s certificate program and other independent students.
“For so many reasons, this week was a delight and an enrichment for our seminary and our Institute of Sacred Arts,” said ISA Director Dr. Peter Bouteneff. It reaffirmed our longstanding relationship with one of the great iconographers and theologians, and a personal friend. Plus, seeing our renovated Sacred Arts Room bustling with creativity felt like a special joy!”
On the evening of June 17, Dr. Bouteneff and Dr. Kordis held a public discussion at the Fr. Georges Florovsky Library. The conversation was recorded in its entirety for ISA’s Luminous Podcast. The episode will be available soon. (Click below to hear last year’s discussion.)
During the conversation, Dr. Kordis spoke about his own journey with the sacred arts.
“My teacher, Fr. Symeon, told me from the very beginning—maybe the first class I had with him—he told me that if you want to be an iconographer, you have to love Christ and the saints. Love Christ and the saints,” Kordis recalled. “Not just know formation and then, whatever. All these are useful things, but basically it is a matter of love. If you don't love Christ, you don't love the saints, you don't love the Church life, you can't be an icon painter. You can produce icons, but how is it possible to go beyond that and render, you know, the Spirit, the ethos of the Church? I don't think that that is very easy.”
ABOUT DR GEORGE KORDIS Eminent iconographer George Kordis has the rare distinction for a practicing artist of a complete academic training in theology, with advanced theological degrees from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston and the University of Athens, where he was assistant professor in iconography (theory and practice). His training as a painter preceded and motivated his move into theology: During the 1980s he worked with the Cypriot master iconographer, Fr. Symeon Symeou, and also studied painting at The School of Fine Arts at The Museum of Boston from 1987–89; and even while obtaining his doctorate (Athens) in 1991 he continued his studies in painting and engraving under Fotis Mastichiadis. Dr. Kordis has been a visiting professor teaching icon painting courses at Yale University, the University of South Carolina, the University of Bucharest/Department of Orthodox Theology, and Ukraine Pedagogical University, Odessa, while continuing to create major church programs of iconography—including several in the US (see Holy Trinity in Columbia, SC and, recently, Holy Trinity in Pittsburgh and panel icons, which have been seen in numerous prominent exhibitions at Yale University and elsewhere). Kordis is also a prolific author with wide-ranging interests: theory and practice of Orthodox iconography, Fayum mummy portraits, Theophan the Cretan, Andrei Rublev, Fotis Kontoglou, Greek folk art, and many other topics.
We spend a lot of time worrying about titles: from the head office with all kinds of executive nomenclature, down the line, to the branches, to the factory floor's various supervisory levels. Titles can convey not only responsibilities and duties but also appearances of power and prestige. So, as Christians, we need to be careful about titles, how we regard them, and how they affect us. We need to embrace responsibilities and duties, and reject power and prestige.
In the Old Testament, Israel switched from priests, to judges, to kings, to prophets. Finally, Israel discovered the One who fulfilled all these titles: Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, The Priest, The Judge, The King, The Prophet.
Everything we do in the Church needs to recognize that all levels of responsibility and duty refer back to Christ. There is to be no appearance of power and prestige—only service and sacrifice.
Saint Vladimir’s Seminary is part of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. There is no dichotomy or division between the salvific nature of the Church, the theology being taught at the Seminary, the care given to all who pass through her sacred gates, the mission to all those who receive from her hands works and words of life, and the inner person-to-person workings of her governance and administration. Accordingly, the Seminary has always adopted a unified understanding of the Church's mission, the daily activities conducted within her walls, and the people who are responsible for her.
Trustee Emeritus The Rev. Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, who celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his diaconal ordination the same day as the 2025 Commencement Exercises in May, was honored for his long service and commitment to St. Vladimir’s Seminary.
In this structure, the President is the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America (His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon) and serves as the spiritual father of the Seminary. The Dean (Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie) is the one who is responsible for that theology which is taught, the care for people, and the offering of the seminary gifts to the world.
But, the Seminary does not exist in only this point in time and space. She stands in a long line of forebears and extends her arms to people around the country and the world. The Board of Trustees (individuals of varying ages and locales) ensures the continual connection with history, learning from the past and pointing at all times to the future, while being vitally concerned with today's responsibilities to everyone the Seminary serves, in whatever jurisdiction and origin the Lord blesses the Seminary with. The Board is chaired by a Chair, elected to a one-year term, currently Archimandrite Jeremy Davis.
In the cases of the above three “titles,” those individuals are in turn responsible to their own constituencies and colleagues. The Metropolitan is responsible to the Holy Synod of Bishops in the OCA and, by extension, to all other Orthodox bishops as well to all the faithful, preserving the sacred unity of Christ and the integrity of His mission. The Dean is responsible to faculty, administration, students, alumni, donors, and all those who depend upon the Seminary in any way, to fulfill its mission. The Board Chair is responsible to all the Trustees and to the greater constituency of the Church, both now, in various places, and for the future. These three are also co-responsible to one another, “eager to maintain the unity of the faith in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).
At all times, there is to be transparency and openness in mutual dealing. One approaches the other in openness and sincerity, speaking one's mind, but “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another in love” (Eph 4:2). This we pledge to one another and to all those who depend upon the St. Vladimir’s Seminary.
The Seminary has for many years operated with the above understanding. She has been blessed with highly capable deans leading this blessed institution, with close relationships with the Primate of the OCA and other bishops, both within and without the OCA. Historical and practical circumstances dictated a change to a Dean-Chancellor arrangement, then to a CEO/President some years ago, again a blessing for this school. The latest change with the OCA Primate as President, the Dean as the chief executive officer leading the seminary, together with a Board Chair appointed by the Board, both restores the more-historical arrangement and strengthens the relationship with the Church hierarchy.
The critical understanding among the President, Dean, and Board is that positions of responsibility are just that, not denotations of power, prestige, or privilege, but rather specifications of servant and sacrificial leadership for the good of those whom the Church and Seminary serve and for whom our Savior died.
His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon at the Seminary’s 2025 Commencement Exercises with SVOTS' current Board Chair The Rt. Reverend Archimandrite Jeremy (Davis, left) and Dean Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie (right).
Abby Legaspi joins St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) as Student Affairs Administrator, but her ties to SVOTS already run deep: She is an alumna, having graduated with a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in May of 2025; her daughter, Ana, was part of the same graduating class; and her husband, Michael, is Associate Professor of Old Testament at the Seminary! We sat down with Abby and learned about her journey to Orthodoxy and St. Vladimir’s Seminary, the beautiful way she met her husband, and what it was like being in class with her spouse as the instructor and her child as a classmate!
Abby, tell us about your background. What brought you to St. Vladimir’s Seminary?
Well, I grew up in Cincinnati in a family that was very involved in the Presbyterian church that we attended there. My parents had leadership roles within the church, and my sister and I were involved in everything it had to offer. When I went to college at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, I joined the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship there. It was through that Christian Fellowship that I met my husband. In my sophomore year, which was his freshman year, we were assigned to the same small-group Bible study, and the next year we were assigned to lead a small group together! It quickly became clear that Mike enjoyed and had a gift for leading the Bible study portions of the meetings, while I had a knack for the hospitality and community-building aspects. We worked well together and complemented each other, and we were blessed to see the fruits of that in our small group, which was very special. Mike and I each decided independently that we would marry the other before we ever went on what could be called a date, so we got engaged soon after he finally, bravely broached the subject of our relationship. He was able to finish college in three years, and we got married three weeks after we both graduated.
We have rarely had a year since then that did not involve a major life event. We had four children—a boy, two girls, and then another boy—within the next seven and a half years and moved multiple times. After teaching high school for four years (two at the Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, and two at Phil-Mont Christian Academy in Erdenheim, Pennsylvania), Mike was accepted into a Ph.D. program at Harvard, and we moved to Massachusetts. During the writing of his dissertation, we spent two years back in Pennsylvania and one in Göttingen, Germany, which was very challenging but also an incredible experience. Then his work took us to Creighton University in Omaha for four years, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, for four years, Penn State University for six years, and back to Andover for two more years. Then he was invited to apply to be a professor of Biblical Studies at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, he was offered the position after a competitive international search, and we came here in August 2022.
The Legaspi Family in 2005.
During all of that time, it was my joy to use my talents to care for my family, support Mike, and try to be a good steward of all that the Lord gave us. I homeschooled for fourteen years, teaching my oldest three children through eighth grade and my youngest through fifth. I found great satisfaction in managing my household, stretching every dollar in our always-tight budgets, making things from scratch, learning to build furniture, and trying to give our family consistency and a rich life despite our many moves and what the culture would consider to be constraints.
After I stopped homeschooling, when we moved to State College for Mike to teach at Penn State, I started working to try to help pay for college. While trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I held a few administrative positions at Penn State, several part-time customer service jobs, and some roles in educational support for students with special needs, especially children with autism. I think working with children with special needs is what I would have done if I had not had my own children right away and homeschooled them, but when I did join the workforce, I didn’t think getting more education and trying to build a career in that field made sense at my age and in my circumstances. I was still looking for some direction when, about six months into our time at St. Vladimir’s, I received a fundraising letter from [retired SVOTS President] Fr. Chad Hatfield that focused on women seminarians. It pointed out that there are many different reasons why women go to seminary and that there is a need for seminary-educated people in many different jobs in the Orthodox world. And I thought, I would love to do that! I didn’t know where it would lead, but I thought I would enjoy the studies and love being fully immersed in the seminary community for a while. So, right after I turned 50, I started my master’s degree, and I graduated this May. It was a wonderful experience, and I am very grateful for all that I was able to do and learn over the past two years. I had no idea how much I didn't know!
Abby sings with her daughter Ana (middle) and fellow seminarian Laura Ionescu during a hierarchical visit.
How did you start your journey toward Orthodox Christianity?
So, as I mentioned, my husband and I met in the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship during college, and then we were active in a few Orthodox Presbyterian parishes after that. When Mike was in grad school, though, he became disillusioned with Reformed theology. He started doing a lot of reading, and he became interested in Orthodoxy. I wasn't sure what I thought about it. I read some of the things he asked me to read, and I understood his concerns, but community was very important for me. I wasn't sure I would find that in an Orthodox church the way I did in the Evangelical church in which we were active. The need for a change in our church situation was part of what prompted our move from Massachusetts when we were free to live anywhere while Mike wrote his dissertation. We moved to Pennsylvania to be closer to family, and soon after moving, we saw a sign on Route 30 in York, Pennsylvania, that said, “St. John Chrysostom Orthodox Church, one mile.” We thought, “We'll give it a try.” Mike says that when we walked through the door, he felt like he won the lottery. It was and is a wonderful community, and it was an amazing place for us to discover Orthodoxy. Our family of six was chrismated there on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in 2004. Since then, because of our many moves, we’ve been involved in many different parishes: Antiochian, Greek, OCA, and ROCOR. We are grateful for the people we met and the experiences we had in each of these places. I attended services and sang in the choir in all of them, but I had no idea how much is involved in putting together the services and how rich and extensive the hymnography of the Church is until I studied liturgics at St. Vladimir’s. So, doing the M.A. program and learning about Orthodox music, services, views of Scripture, theology, and doctrine, as well as Church history, was just really wonderful. I loved it. It was challenging, definitely, to be a student, but I learned so much, and I really, really grew. I am far more equipped to engage with people in discussions about the faith than I was before, which was one of my goals when I began my studies. It was a tremendous privilege to learn from the outstanding professors at St. Vladimir’s Seminary alongside my wonderful classmates.
Chrismation at St. John Chrysostom Orthodox Church, York, PA (June 2004).
One of those seminary classmates was your daughter, Ana! That must have been so neat—but did she ever feel, “Wow, this is kind of embarrassing”?
[Laughs] She handled it wonderfully! I so appreciated it. If she ever was embarrassed, she didn’t show it. Sharing this experience with her was really 100% great. At a practical level, she was very helpful with the technological aspects of being a student in this new era that were a challenge for me. Being with her in a different context and at a time in her life when I didn’t expect to have much time with her at all were unexpected and tremendous blessings. People often ask me if we had to take my husband's class, and yes, we did. We each had to take Old Testament 100 with him, which was excellent, but also odd. I've heard him give a lot of talks before, but to actually sit in his class and see him run it, and take his quizzes … that was a strange experience.
Abby, Dr. Michael, and Ana Legaspi on Commencement Day (May 2025).
Now you’ve joined the Seminary in another capacity, as a member of the staff!
Yes, my official title is Student Affairs Administrator. I’m working a lot with Dr. John Barnet, who is the acting registrar. My duties have a lot in common with administrative work I did in the past, and I'm really excited to be able to use my abilities and put my time and effort towards something—the whole St. Vladimir’s Seminary endeavor—that I really believe in and support. I am also very grateful to have a job that will allow me to still be active in the services, choir, and community at St. Vladimir’s.
What has living on campus been like for you and your family?
We love it! Our house is 453 feet from the chapel, and for me, it's a dream to be able to walk to services and to my job. We love the community, and it’s such a blessing to have daily services during the school year. It isn’t easy, though. Everyone here works very, very hard, and there are, of course, challenges to living day in and day out in a small community in which people are stretched all the time. I once heard one of my classmates say that this place is built on sacrifice. That is definitely true. It is humbling and inspiring to see the way people here pour themselves out in service to the Church, the Seminary, and each other. We are very grateful for opportunities we’ve had to get to know people and work together toward common goals.
The Legaspis on Mother’s Day 2024 at the Seminary’s Three Hierarchs Chapel
I enjoy living in New York more than I thought I would. Despite being only a short train ride from the city, the Seminary campus and the area around it are very beautiful. We enjoy taking walks in the neighborhood with our thirteen-year-old Yorkie, Grumio, and we’ve spent some time in the city. We’re also in a great location for our kids—almost equidistant from three of them. Our older son, Josiah, got married in September and lives with his wife, Claire, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Ana was married two weeks ago in the church where we were chrismated, and she is preparing to move to Boston with her husband, Ryan, in August. Our youngest, Cato, has one more year at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Our older daughter, who was once Olivia, is now Sister Glykeria. She lives in a convent in Kansas City. We don’t see her often, but we are very much looking forward to visiting her there this summer. Mike and I celebrated our thirtieth anniversary on June 10. It’s incredible to look back on those three decades and think about how all of those major life events—which often made our lives feel incoherent and unstable—were necessary steps in getting each of us to where we are today. Glory to God!
Ana’s wedding day at St. John Chrysostom Orthodox Church, York, PA
The Legaspi family on Mother’s Day 2024: (back, from left) Josiah, Dr. Michael, and Cato; (front, from left) Sister Glykeria, Abby, and Ana.
Are you interested in studying at St. Vladimir’s Seminary? Learn more about the Seminary’s degree programs and how to apply at www.svots.edu/admissions.
.jpg){kind=link}