V. Rev. John Behr (Dean) and V. Rev. Chad Hatfield (Chancellor) were delighted to welcome Professor Valery A. Alekseev and Archimandrite Zacchaeus, to St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary on Sunday, October 25, 2009. Professor Alekseev, President of the International Foundation for Unity of Orthodox Christian Nations (IFUOCN) traveled from Moscow, Russia, to Crestwood, NY, bringing official notification to the Seminary from His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill that it had been chosen as a recipient of the Foundation's 2009 award. He was accompanied by Archimandrite Zacchaeus of St Catherine the Great Martyr Church in Moscow, the representative of the Orthodox Church in America.

After the Divine Liturgy, at which Archimandrite Zacchaus concelebrated with St Vladimir's clergy and the V. Rev. John Dunlop, a visiting SVS alumnus and Dean of St Herman's Seminary in Alaska, Professor Alekseev read the official notification letter from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia. Professor Alekseev read the letter in its original Russian, after apologizing with great charm for his English. Professor Paul Meyendorff, the Fr Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology, translated.

His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill's letter stated that St Vladimir's Seminary was chosen to receive the "Unity of Orthodox Peoples Award" because of its educational efforts and its "activity aimed at strengthening the unity of Orthodox nations." Fr John Behr said that the award recognized the tireless work done by St Vladimir's Seminary and faculty since its inception, and added that the Seminary continues to work for the same goals with the same vigor.

Seminary representatives will travel to Moscow in January, 2010, to receive the award in the presence of His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in Christ the Savior Cathedral's Hall of Church Councils.