Giving thanks to God, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) kicked off its 2022–2023 Academic Year on Monday, August 29.

Forty-three students are beginning their first year of studies in their respective degree programs: nineteen (19) in the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program, eleven (11) in the Master of Arts (M.A.) program, eight (8) in the new Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) cohort, and five (5) in the Master of Theology (Th.M.) program. 

The incoming class is a diverse, pan- and inter-Orthodox group. The thirty-five (35) men and eight (8) women hail from six (6) countries: The United States, Canada, China, India, Uganda, and Ukraine. The seminarians represent eleven (11) Eastern and Oriental Orthodox jurisdictions:

• Orthodox Church in America (OCA)
• Patriarchate of Alexandria
• Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
• Serbian Orthodox Church
• Romanian Orthodox Church
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church
• Coptic Orthodox Church 
• Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch
• Armenian Apostolic Church
• Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
• Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church

One of those first-year seminarians, Naomi DeHaan, from the OCA's Diocese of the South, is pursuing an M.A. with a concentration in Theological Scholarship and Research. 

"I am very excited about participating in the choir community and daily services," she said, "as well as exploring the Church Fathers who express themselves in poetry, such as St. Ephrem the Syrian, St. Gregory Nazianzus, and other poetic writers."

This year's incoming class includes several single students as well as married seminarians. Dn. Mark Roosien, from the OCA's Diocese of New England, and his wife Claire have three small children.

"The thing I am looking forward to the most is the formation," said Dn. Mark. "St. Vladimir's has a very unique and special way of integrating academic formation with spiritual formation, combining learning in the classroom with worship in the chapel and pastoral education classes."

Counting the incoming class, SVOTS' total student body is eighty-seven (87) seminarians.*

The new academic year also brings new faces to the faculty: noted scholars The Very Rev. Archimandrite Dr. Maximos Constas and Dr. Michael Legaspi. Dr. Legaspi is beginning his first semester teaching as SVOTS' associate professor of biblical studies (Old Testament). Fr. Maximos is a visiting professor at SVOTS for the 2022 fall semester; he is teaching a course on the Philokalia. 

May the intercessions of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, our patron Great and Holy Prince Vladimir, and all the saints be with our seminarians, faculty, and staff as a new academic year commences in service to Christ!

On August 13, 2022, Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) hosted its annual Education Day Online, a six-hour “Zoomathon” where participants listened and posed questions during discussions led by Seminary professors and guest scholars.

The online event drew around 730 registrants from more than 20 different countries. The discussions—which included the future Orthodox biblical studies, liturgical theology, abortion, and other topics—were led by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, board chair of SVOTS, archbishop of Washington, and Metropolitan of All America and Canada (OCA); The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, president of SVOTS; The Very Rev. Archimandrite Dr. Maximos Constas; The Rev. Dr. Bogdan Bucur; The Rev. Ignatius Green; The Rev. Dn. Dr. Michael Azar; The Rev. Dn. Dr. Vitaly Permiakov; Dr Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie, academic dean of SVOTS; Dr. Ana S. Iltis; Dr. Michael Legaspi; Dr. Matthew Vest; and Dr. Harrison Russin; Dr. Peter Bouteneff served as host and moderator.

A replay of Education Day Online is now available to watch on YouTube.

Education Day Online, in addition to serving as an educational forum for the public, also helps raise funds to educate seminarians. This year's event raised approx. $47 thousand (more than $15k above SVOTS' fundraising goal for the event!) thanks to the generosity of the many participants and sponsors. Glory to God!

Donations may be made anytime at www.SVOTS.edu/give/donate.

With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share news of the falling asleep in the Lord of His Eminence, Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia, a leading Orthodox Christian theologian, teacher, and author. 

His Eminence authored, among many other works, the immensely popular The Orthodox Way, published by St. Vladimir's Seminary (SVS) Press, and the Seminary was blessed to have him speak on campus on multiple occasions. In September 2011, the Seminary Board of Trustees and faculty bestowed upon Metropolitan Kallistos an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in recognition of the many gifts His Eminence contributed to the Orthodox Church and to Christians worldwide.

Metropolitan Kallistos was born Timothy Ware in Bath, England, on September 11, 1934. He was raised Anglican but discovered Orthodox Christianity in his youth, and he was finally received into the Church in 1958, at the age of twenty-four. 

In 1966, he was ordained to the priesthood and was tonsured as a monk, receiving the name Kallistos, in honour of St. Kallistos Xanthopoulos. The same year, he became a lecturer at the University of Oxford teaching Eastern Orthodox Studies, a position which he held for thirty-five years until his retirement in 2001. His Eminence was elected and consecrated titular bishop of Diokleia (of the Patriarchate of Constantinople) in 1982, becoming the first Englishman to be consecrated as a bishop in the Orthodox Church since the Great Schism of the eleventh century. In March 2007, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elevated the Diocese of Diokleia to Metropolis and Bishop Kallistos to titular metropolitan of Diokleia. 

For many years following his retirement as a university lecturer, Metropolitan Kallistos continued to publish and to give lectures on Orthodox Christianity, traveling widely. He was considered by many to be one of the most important Orthodox Christian theologians of his generation.

May the memory of Metropolitan Kallistos be eternal!

Reader Dr. Geevarghese (Renish) Abraham was ordained to the holy diaconate Saturday, August 20, 2022 in his home diocese of Delhi, India (Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church).

His Grace, Youhanon Mar Demetrios of the Diocese of Delhi presided over the ordination at Ss. Peter and Paul’s Orthodox Church, Parumala, Kerala, India. Also participating in the ordination service were St. Vladimir's Seminary Trustee His Grace, Zachariah Mar Nicholovos (Poothiyottu) of the MOSC's Northeast American Diocese; and the Seminary's Assistant Professor of Malankara Studies The Rev. Dr. Varghese M. Daniel.

The Rev. Dn. Dr. Geevarghese Abraham is entering his second year of studies at St. Vladimir's. He is currently on sabbatical from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, where he serves as assistant professor of English. Dn. Geevarghese earned both his Ph.D. in English studies and M.A. in English literature from the University of Delhi; he also holds a B.A. in English language and literature from Catholicate College, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India.

May God grant the newly ordained Dn. Geevarghese many years!

Registration is closed

St. Vladimir's Education Day Online returns! Listen to discussions by Orthodox scholars and ask them your burning questions on a variety of topics, including Scripture, church history, and current events such as the influx of Orthodox seekers and the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. Education Day Online is a six-hour “Zoomathon” where you get to participate and pose questions to Seminary professors and guest scholars.

The online event is Saturday, August 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT (7 a.m. to 1 p.m. PDT). Participate in discussions and win prizes. Join the Zoomathon when a topic that interests you is scheduled, or join several discussions throughout the day. It's up to you when you join and for how long. (See the schedule below.)

Education Day Online is also for a good cause—join us and help raise $30,000 to educate seminarians! Attendance is FREE. Please consider making a donation as you register or during the event. (If donating through our Giving Page, please write "ED DAY" in the comment section.)

You may submit questions now, as you register, to be asked during the event on August 13 (please indicate what topic your question belongs to in the comment box). Of course, you will be able to submit questions during the event as well.

Faculty members from St. Vladimir’s Seminary will be joined by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon and University of Scranton Professor Rev. Dn. Dr. Michael Azar (SVOTS class of '05).

Schedule of Topics & Scholars

Matushka Anne “Anya” Hopko, née Schmemann, for the last two decades of Ellwood City, PA, and previously, for many years, of Crestwood, NY, fell asleep in the Lord on Thursday afternoon, August 4, 2022, in Quebec, Canada, where she was vacationing with family. She was 78.

At the time of her repose in the Lord, Matushka Anne was in palliative care in a hospital in L’Annonciation (Rivière-Rouge), Quebec. She had suffered, without warning, a sudden, massive stroke on Wednesday, August 3, while enjoying a late morning cup of tea with family members, together on summer holiday in Lac Labelle, Canada.

Anne Hopko was the wife of the late Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko (+2015). She was the oldest child of the late Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann (+1983) and his wife, the late Matushka Juliana (Ossorguine) Schmemann (+2017).

Matushka Anne and Protopresbyter Thomas’s five children are Archpriest John (Macrina), Juliana (Gregory), Catherine (Raymond), Mary (Archpriest Nicholas), and Alexandra (Joseph). Matushka Anne had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

May Matushka Anne’s memory be eternal!

With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share news of the falling asleep of Archpriest Alexander Padlo, an alumnus of St. Vladimir's Seminary. Father Alexander reposed in the Lord on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.

The Very Rev. Alexander Padlo was born in 1935. He went on to study at St. Vladimir's Seminary and graduated in 1970. At the Seminary he also served as ecclesiarch under Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann.

In his pastoral ministry, Fr. Alexander Padlo most recently served at Ss. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Miami, FL (Orthodox Church in America), one of the oldest Orthodox parishes in South Florida. He began his ministry there in 2002, having previously served in the Diocese of Western Pennsylvania. He retired as pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul in 2016.  

Father Alexander was described by his former parish as a man of prayer and great faith.

May his memory be eternal!

More spiritual treasures from St. Isaac the Syrian are available in English for the first time. Saint Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) Press has published Headings on Spiritual Knowledge, a translation from the recently discovered “Second Part” of St. Isaac's works.

We invite all our beloved graduates of St Vladimir’s Seminary to join us this July for an alumni reception at the 20th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America in Baltimore, Maryland. Hear from Seminary President The Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield, Academic Dean Dr Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie, and Seminarian The Rev. Dn David Galloway. Enjoy a wonderful evening of fellowship, drinks, and food with other alumni, and learn about exciting things happening at the Seminary!

RSVP to Alumni Night

The alumni event will take place Tuesday, July 19, 2022 from 8 pm–10 pm at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel, 401 W. Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21201. RSVP and let us know if we'll see you there!

The Very Rev. Dr. Sergius J. Halvorsen preaches at Three Hierarchs Chapel

Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) has received a $36,300 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Compelling Preaching Initiative to help strengthen preaching at Orthodox Christian parishes in North America.

Lilly Endowment launched the Compelling Preaching Initiative in 2022 with the primary aim of cultivating practices among aspiring and active preachers that can help them to proclaim the gospel to diverse audiences in more engaging and effective ways. 

SVOTS was invited by the Endowment to apply, and is one of several dozen organizations chosen to take part in phase one of the Compelling Preaching Initiative.

“The Orthodox Church is heir to the remarkable preaching tradition of the Apostles and the Fathers who followed in their footsteps,” said The Very Rev. Dr. Sergius J. Halvorsen, SVOTS’ assistant professor of homiletics and rhetoric. “Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative provides St. Vladimir's Seminary with the unique opportunity to support and enhance Orthodox Christian preaching in North America.”

Father Sergius will serve as SVOTS’ director for this effort.

SVOTS plans to use the one-year Compelling Preaching grant to conduct surveys and interviews of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox preachers and hearers, in order to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary preaching. Two areas of interest will be how preachers can better support one another in their ministry, and how preaching resonates with hearers in the local parish. The Seminary would then use the information gathered to plan for programs and initiatives—to aid seminarians as well as preachers already plying their craft in parishes—intended to strengthen Orthodox Christian preaching to build up the Body of Christ.

Currently, SVOTS seminarians in the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program receive homiletics training that includes two core courses in preaching and supervised student preaching in the Seminary’s chapel. Active preachers who are part of the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program take a course in advanced preaching and communications.

ABOUT LILLY ENDOWMENT
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K., Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion and maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A primary aim of its grantmaking in religion is to deepen the religious lives of Christians, principally by supporting efforts that enhance congregational vitality and strengthen the leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment values the broad diversity of Christian traditions and endeavors to support them in a wide variety of contexts. The Endowment also seeks to foster public understanding about religion by encouraging fair, accurate, and balanced portrayals of the positive and negative effects of religion on the world and lifting up the contributions that people of all faiths make to our greater civic well-being.

ABOUT SVOTS
Saint 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.