Thomas Totonchy It was Easter morning during my first year at St. Vladimir's Seminary, and I stood at the altar of St. Mark's Cathedral in Teaneck, New Jersey, wearing subdeacon vestments, listening to our bishop read the gospel of St. Mark. In the traditional Syriac Orthodox melody, he chanted: And...
Simon Menya Greetings in the name of our Lord! I thank the Almighty Father for the blessing and opportunity for me to attend St. Vladimir’s Seminary, and I thank the entire administration for supporting my education. Over the Christmas holiday, it was my privilege to go home and check in...
On Monday, May 4, the St. Vladimir's Women's Group sorted donated clothes and cleaned the facilities at Emmaus House in New York City , a hospitality home in Harlem with a mission of serving the poor in a disadvantaged neighborhood. We learned about the history and mission of the house...
"Life is pain, highness" the Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley tells Buttercup in the classic film The Princess Bride. "Anyone who says differently is selling something." Like many, I grew up loving this movie. Our family returned often to Blockbuster to rent it, until my parents decided it would save us both...
Christopher Moore Saying goodbye to Mongolia last summer was tough. After years of preparation, we had only been in Ulaanbaatar for nine months out of an expected two years, when suddenly it was time to make a change. We had to back out of teaching roles that we had committed...
Erik Potter As a seminarian, it can be very easy to lose yourself in classes and books, giving most of your attention to Liturgy, Patristics and Scripture. While these are all wonderful and formative pursuits, in many ways we only taste the fruit of that growth in opportunities to live...
On March 9, a special Lenten meeting of the St. Juliana Society, the St. Vladimir's fellowship for future clergy wives, featured author and speaker Dr. Albert Rossi, St. Vladimir's director of Field Education. An experienced retreat leader, Dr. Rossi led the women in a mini-version of the seminars he holds...
Alexandru Popovici I first encountered St. Vladimir's Seminary early in 2013, when a partnership was forming between the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Bucharest, St. Vladimir's Seminary, and the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas (ROAA). While browsing Svots.edu, I learned about the Seminary's history, mission, and community life. I...
Andrew and Melissa Cannon Let us commend ourselves… The first few days after the miscarriage were foggy and confusing. We were devastated. Afraid. Empty. We weren’t so much angry with God as numb. We shut down and withdrew. Why did we have to let go of the child we never...
Sandy Hermansen O Lord, open Thou My lips and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise. How many times have I heard this phrase, spoken by the priest at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, and missed how bold and vulnerable a prayer it truly is? After all, if "out...