St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary
Alumni Association E-News - January 2007
Volume 7, No.01

Dear Friends,

I hope this issue of E-News finds you well. Since I communicated with you last month, the seminary completed the fall semester, students left the campus for their winter break, the annual Christmas Retreat was held, preparations were made for the spring semester, and classes have begun. As you will read below, steps are being taken by the Transition Committee of the Board of Trustees to make the leadership change which will occur July 1, 2007 to be as easy and seamless as possible.

Please let us know about any milestones and transitions in your life so we can publish them. Everyone here extends their very best to you!

SVS LEADERSHIP TRANSITION TAKES STEPS

From January 24-30, Fr Chad Hatfield will visit the seminary campus for formal and informal meetings with faculty, staff, and students, along with interviews with people desiring to fill open administrative and staff positions. The Transition Committee of the Board of Trustees recently designated Fr Chad Hatfield as “Chancellor of the Seminary.” Fr John Behr will have the title “Dean of the Seminary.” Mrs Anne Glynn-Mackoul will serve as “Executive Chair” of the Board of Trustees. The President of the seminary, Metropolitan Herman, approved the latter position. Mrs Glynn-Mackoul will serve as a liaison between the Board of Trustees, on the one hand, and the Dean and the Chancellor of the Seminary, on the other hand, in order to facilitate the reality and atmosphere of shared governance as approved by the Board of Trustees in its meeting of November 2006. For more information, please visit: http://www.svots.edu/News/Recent/2007-0116-leadershipcommunity/

SVS WELL REPRESENTED AT OCF WINTER RETREAT

The Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) held very successful winter retreats at Antiochian Village, Bolivar, PA and at St Nicholas Retreat Center in Dunlap, CA, December 27-31, 2006. Both venues were again filled to capacity with nearly 300 and 100 college students respectively, hungry for knowledge about their faith. This year, as in prior years, St Vladimir’s made an important contribution. Dr Al Rossi was the main speaker at Antiochian Village, delivering three talks on the retreat’s theme “Be Still and Know That I Am God.” Fr John Behr, Dean-elect, gave four workshops on the topic “St Ignatius on the Witness of Silence” and Presbytera Kerri Pappas, wife of Fr Harry Pappas, gave four workshops on “How to Choose a Spouse.” In addition, the seminary provided every participant a copy of Fr Thomas Hopko’s booklet “Finding One’s Calling in Life,” a seminary Viewbook, and a seminary DVD. Of particular note, the seminary gave a copy of Fr Thomas Hopko’s CD entitled “The Word of the Cross” to every participant. We understand that this gift was accepted with great excitement. For more information on the work and ministry of OCF, visit their website: www.ocf.net .

SEMINARY CHORALE NEWS

The Seminary Chorale, comprised of eight male students, returned wearied but excited and uplifted from a very successful tour of parishes in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island during the week of January 15-21. With large crowds at every community, the Chorale sang the responses to the liturgical services and provided a concert with an educational commentary. Prior to their departure from the seminary, the Chorale recorded a CD featuring Hymns of the Theotokos through the liturgical year. The CD will be available soon through the seminary bookstore.

SCHMEMANN LECTURE SET

Fr Paul Lazor will be this year’s invited lecturer for the 24th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture to be held Sunday, January 28 at 7:30pm. Vespers will be served prior to the lecture at 6:30pm. Fr Paul’s topic is “Father Alexander Schmemann – A Personal Memoir.” The talk is free and open to the public.

MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM OFFERED A PREPARE/ENRICH

workshop will be held on Saturday, January 27 for members of the St. Vladimir's community who are interested in becoming certified PREPARE/ENRICH facilitators. The PREPARE inventory is a valuable tool for pre-marital counseling, while the ENRICH inventory is used with couples for marriage assessment, enrichment, and/or as a springboard for marriage counseling. Both are completely compatible with Orthodox teaching and practice. The workshop leader will be Presbytera Kerri Pappas, who is a graduate of Holy Cross School of Theology, a certified PREPARE/ENRICH facilitator/trainer, and a marriage and family therapist (licensed in MN).

ALUMNI BOARD MEETS

In its effort to keep connected, the Alumni Board met via a teleconference call for its quarterly meeting on December 4. The focus of discussion centered on the dean search results, reports on the last three alumni gatherings, and the seminary’s summer institute and the desire for that event to meet the needs of our alumni. In a new initiative, Fr John Dresko, Alumni Board president, and Fr Stevo Rocknage, Board member, will team up to investigate how an alumni publication might be created on our seminary’s website to provide an avenue for SVS alumni to write and share articles. A publication, in printed form, entitled “The Orthodox Way” served this purpose during the late 1950s and 1960s.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES OPEN UP AT SVS

Three positions at the seminary have opened up: Chief Advancement Officer, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, and Bookstore Manager. If you are interested in learning more about the job descriptions and expectations of the positions, please visit: http://www.svots.edu/News/Recent/2007-0109-employmentopenings/

FR PAUL LAZOR NAMED LENTEN RETREAT SPEAKER

Fr Paul Lazor will be the speaker at the annual Lenten Retreat to be held March 17. Fr Paul’s topic is yet to be determined, but will be published as soon as the information is ready.

SPRING OPEN HOUSE FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

St Vladimir’s Seminary is opening its doors once again in the spring of 2007 to prospective students. This program, which will run from March 22-24, is designed to provide a first-hand experience of seminary life to those interested in ministry or those desiring to deepen their understanding of the faith Participants will attend classes, worship in the chapel, tour the campus and its resources, meet faculty and students, and learn about degree programs, financial aid, and the admission process. Interviews are available by appointment. The event comes at no cost to participants except for their travel arrangements. If you know of anyone who might benefit from this opportunity, please direct them to our website for a schedule of activities and registration form, or have them contact the Recruitment Office at 914-961-8313, ext. 328.

CLERGY RENEWAL OPPORTUNITY

Lilly Endowment, an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation, seeks to strengthen Christian congregations by providing an opportunity for pastors to step away briefly from the persistent obligations of daily parish life and to engage in a period of renewal and reflection. Renewal periods are not vacations but times for intentional exploration and reflection, for drinking again from God's life-giving waters, for regaining enthusiasm and creativity for ministry. Some of our alumni have taken advantage of this program and benefited greatly. If you are interested, please visit the Lilly Endowment website: http://www.clergyrenewal.org.

FACULTY/STAFF NEWS

Fr Alexander Rentel, Assistant Professor of Canon Law and Byzantine Studies, traveled to Italy and Greece from January 9-22 for research on the history of the proskomedia. During this trip Fr Alexander researched manuscripts at the Vatican Apostolic Library, where he received his permanent library card, the Holy and great Monastery of Vatopaidi on Mt Athos, and examined microfilms at Mone Vlatadon in Thessalonike. Fr Alexander is in the preliminary stages of his work but plans to begin publishing his initial findings shortly.

Fr Harry Pappas, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, led a teen/young adult retreat at St Thomas Indian Orthodox Church in Yonkers, NY on Saturday, January 13. He will speak at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Manhattan on Friday, March 2 following Salutations on the topic "The General Marks of a Christian."

Dr Al Rossi, Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology, led a retreat for Indian Orthodox Youth on Saturday, January 13 at Mar Gregorios Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church in Staten Island, NY.

Fr Paul Tarazi, Professor of Old Testament, will speak on Saturday, February 10 at St Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Los Angeles on the topic “Baptism and the Eucharist: According to Scripture.” The event is hosted by the Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies (www.ocabs.org). On February 25, Fr Paul will preach at the Sunday of Orthodox Vespers Service at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Houston, TX. On March 1, Fr Paul will: lead an evening Lenten retreat on the Lord’s Prayer at St John of the Ladder Church, Greenville, SC; speak at the Carolina deanery meeting of the Diocese of the South on March 2 in Greenville; and lead a retreat on the Gospel of Matthew on March 3 at Nativity of the Holy Virgin Church, Charlotte, NC. In addition, Fr Paul will travel to Tallinn, Estonia from March 6-9 to deliver a talk for clergy and laity entitled “Introduction to the Old Testament” at the Archdiocesan offices, and to Helsinki, Finland to deliver a talk entitled “The Gospel of Matthew” at the St Alexander of Skir Church.

ALUMNI NEWS

Tom Dykstra (’88) has published a book: Russian Monastic Culture: “Josephism” and the Iosifo-Volokolamsk Monastery, 1479-1607” (Munich: Verlag Otto Sagner, 2006). This book analyzes the social and political culture of a major medieval Russian monastery’s brotherhood. It addresses questions such as which social strata did the monks come from, why did they become monks, which monks advanced to leadership positions, and how was the monastery governed.

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Jarno (’08) Wassen and his wife Sarah (’07) are new parents of a boy, Cassian, born November 30, 2006. Many years!

Julia Kuritsina (’07) and her husband, Roman, are new parents of a girl, Mary Valentine, born January 17, 2007. Many years!