Fr. Herman Fields The Rev. Herman Fields graduated as the valedictorian of St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Class of 2019 . On his blog page , which he set up as a student to facilitate information sharing between other seminarians and community members, Fr. Herman recently imparted how he succeeded during his...

Fr. Theophan Whitfield Is your parish committed to ministry to the poor and suffering? That question is at the heart of Priest Theophan Whitfield’s Servant Parish Project , a research study Fr. Theophan has been completing as part of his Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) work at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. On...

Father Giorgi Tskitishvili is a 34-year-old priest of the Orthodox Church of Georgia and a Master of Theology (Th.M.) degree candidate at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS). Before becoming a priest, Fr. Giorgi was a successful pharmaceutical salesman who often traveled between Georgia and Turkey. When he became a...

Alexander Earl is a 28-year-old Master of Divinity student in his first year at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS). A graduate of Yale Divinity School, he had been on his way to becoming an Anglican priest when he discovered Orthodoxy reading St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) Press books for his...

Is beauty within the Church optional or essential? What are the origins of Orthodox Christian liturgical vestments, and what is their significance? Khouria Krista West explores the fascinating and colorful world of liturgical vesture in the first comprehensive book on this topic in the English language, the SVS Press book...

Amber Bennett is a 27-year-old first-year student in the Master of Divinity program at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS). Bennett has wanted to be a missionary ever since she was a child. She and her family converted to Orthodoxy from a nondenominational background when she was 18 years old...

Saint Vladimir’s Seminarian Deacon Andrew Eskandar was born and raised in Egypt until the age of thirteen, when his parents decided to move with Dn. Andrew and his two sisters to America to offer their children a more stable future. Since then, Dn. Andrew has lived in Staten Island, NY...

Philip McClanahan is a third-year M.Div. student from the Antiochian Archdiocese. Philip and his wife, Kristiana, have a daughter, Irene, and a son, Simon. How has your seminary experience been since the pandemic started? When COVID really kicked in at the beginning of March [2020], it was obviously challenging for...

Donna Karabin, the Chairperson for the Orthodox Church in America's Department of Christian Service and Humanitarian Aid, came and spoke to the St. Juliana's Society on the evening of October 13, 2014. She introduced us to several resources (such as oca.org/resource-handbook ) and elucidated the plans the OCA has for...

By Robyn Bishop, wife of 2nd-year seminarian Ryan On Monday night the St. Vladimir's Women's Group got together to cook for the HOPE soup kitchen, a service of HOPE Community Services located in neighboring New Rochelle, NY. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, also in New Rochelle, graciously let us use...