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St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary
Alumni Association
E-News - January / February 2008
Volume 8, No. 1 and 2
Dear Friends,
Since I communicated with you
last, I hope that your Winter Pascha was joyful and filled with the peace of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The spring semester has begun with a flurry of activity. Let me share
with you some of the events.
SVS PARTICIPATES IN WASHINGTON DC RALLY
Led by SVS Chancellor Fr Chad Hatfield, a
group of seminarians, seminarian children, and staff, volunteered to join St
Tikhon's Seminary
and many fellow Orthodox Christians to participate in the National March for
Life on Tuesday, January 22, 2008. Classes were cancelled on that day, a bus
was rented, and food was provided in order for St Vladimir's Seminary to make their first pro-life
witness in Washington DC. For
further information, please visit: http://www.svots.edu/news/recent/2008-0122-marchforlife/
INDIAN
ORTHODOX METROPOLITAN VISITS SVS
Metropolitan Mar Barnabas of the American
Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church spent Friday, January 18, 2008
with St Vladimir's
seminarians and faculty as our "Hierarch
in Residence." Each semester, one bishop is invited to the seminary to spend a day with the
students and faculty. Hierarchs in Residence pass on the lessons of their
experience, interact socially with the students and expose them to different
traditions. Archbishop Nathaniel
of the Romanian Episcopate visited the seminary last semester. Please visit http://www.svots.edu/news/recent/2008-0118-metbarnabas/ for more information on Metropolitan's Barnabas' visit.
SVS ANNUAL CHRISTMAS RETREAT
A UNIQUE EVENT
St Vladimir's
Seminary joined with Orthodox Youth Outreach (OYO) in welcoming 35 high school
students to the seminary for the Christmas retreat with a mission. The retreat,
entitled "Who Is My
Neighbor?" gave teens
the opportunity to reflect and act on the Gospel imperative to love one's neighbor as oneself. For a full account
of the retreat, please visit: http://www.svots.edu/news/recent/2007-1226-christmasretreat/
PATRONAL FEAST COMBINES
SCHMEMANN LECTURE AND SYMPOSIUM
St Vladimir's Seminary celebrated the Feast of the
Three Hierarchs, the patronal feast of the seminary chapel, with a Divine Liturgy,
a symposium on St John Chrysostom, and the 25th annual Fr Alexander
Schmemann Memorial Lecture on January 30, 2008. The day began with a
hierarchical Divine Liturgy celebrated by His Grace Bishop Basil of Wichita and
Mid-America. His Grace, a graduate of St Vladimir's Seminary (SVS '73), was this year's speaker for the Fr Alexander Schmemann
Memorial Lecture. For full coverage of this extraordinary day, please see: www.svots.edu.
PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING TOOL FOR SVS ALUMNI
We've created an SVS group on LinkedIn, an
online professional network tool. Membership in the SVS group is restricted to
SVS alumni, so it provides an immediate connection with any fellow graduate who
works somewhere you'd like to work or knows someone you need to know!
Alumni have expressed interest in having a job bulletin board on our
website and a place to connect to old friends. We hope this helps serve
these purposes. To join the SVS Alumni Group for LinkedIn, go to: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/48410/3A8F4B1C6AD2
Unless your email has changed recently, you
should receive immediate approval for membership. Otherwise, the site will have
us verify your status and you'll be approved ASAP. If you're not already a
member of LinkedIn, their site is pretty easy to use and you should be able to
sign up and join the group at that time. If you have any questions regarding this new resource for our
alumni, Protodeacon Kirill Sokolov has offered to assist. He can be
reached for this purpose at
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ADDICTION WORKSHOP
HELD
As part of its
emphasis on Community Safety, the seminary arranged for a workshop on
Addictions. Fr Steven Voytovich
('90) spoke during the morning session on the nature of addictions and their
affect on the family system. In
the afternoon session, Theo Nicolakis, the Director of Information Technology
at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, presented disturbing statistics around the
exploding issue of Internet pornography. For more information and photos, please visit: http://www.svots.edu/news/recent/2008-0215-addictionseminar.
BISHOP JOSEPH TO LEAD
SVS LENTEN RETREAT
The seminary is happy to announce that
Bishop Joseph of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West of the Antiochian
Orthodox Church will be present at its two-day Lenten retreat, March 10-11, and
will deliver the meditations. One
meditation will actually be a talk entitled " Holy Nation - Holy Priesthood."
SEMINARY TO HOST OPEN
HOUSE
From
March 27-29, the seminary will host an Open House for Prospective Students. If you know someone who might benefit
from such an experience, please
email Daniel Bethancourt at
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. The Open House comes
free of charge and provides an excellent experience of seminary life and
study.
FACULTY/STAFF NEWS
Fr John Behr, Dean, participated in the theological discussion group, LOGOS in Boston
from February 1-2. From Feb 22-24, he attended the Association of
Theological Schools (ATS) Lilly Conference on Theological Research in
Pittsburgh, PA, reporting on work he did with Syriac manuscripts in the British
Museum Library in 2007 with the aid of a Research Grant. From March 14-16, Fr
John will travel to Flint, Michigan for the Sunday of Orthodoxy and to visit
with our trustee, Leon Lysaght, as he continues his treatment for cancer
(please keep him in your prayers). On March 28, Fr John will deliver a Lenten lecture at the Annunciation
Greek Orthodox Church, NYC on the topic "What the Church Fathers Say About
Astrology, the Occult and Demonic Forces."
The
next day, March 29, he will lead a retreat at St Philip Antiochian Orthodox
Church, Souderton, PA where SVS alumnus Fr Noah Bushelli ('04) is the associate
pastor. The theme of the retreat
is "Standing by the Cross: Putting on Christ." He will deliver the same talk on April
4 at St Jacob Church in Northfield Falls, VT where SVS alumnus Fr Caleb Abetti
('07) is the pastor. Fr John will also travel to St Nicholas Serbian Orthodox
Church in Hamilton, Ontario from April 12-13 to lead a retreat entitled "The
Creed." And finally, he will
attend the Annual Meeting of North America Patristics Society in Chicago from
May 22-24 and will participate in a discussion group on Exegesis and Theology.
Fr Chad Hatfield, Chancellor, was in Austin, TX from January 4-8 for an
alumni gathering. He spoke at an
Indian Youth Conference on January 12 in Yonkers, NY. On Sunday of Orthodoxy, March 16, Fr Chad will be at the
Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA and visit St Andrew's College, Winnipeg on March
17. From March 29-30, he will lead
a Lenten retreat at St. Elias Church, Austin, TX. He will travel to Louisville, CO from April 5-6 to lead a
Lenten retreat at St John Chrysostom Mission and will then head to Denver on
April 7. Further, he will visit St
Nicholas Cathedral, Brooklyn on March 21 and then Holy Trinity Church in
Yonkers, NY on April 13. From May 6-8, will attend the OCMC Board Meeting in Detroit, MI.
Dr Peter Bouteneff, Associate Professor of Dogmatic
Theology will teach a one-day course on "Mysticism in the
Cappadocian Fathers" at the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, TX on March
2. On March 29-30, he will give a retreat
stemming from my book "Sweeter than Honey: Orthodox Thinking on Dogma and
Truth", at the OCA Church of the Holy Cross in Medford, NJ where Fr John
Shimchick ('80) is the pastor.
Fr John
Erickson, Professor of Church History,
is currently on a sabbatical from teaching, with academic work focusing on Orthodoxy's engagement with the modern
world (from the Enlightenment onward).
Fr
John is also working on a second revised edition of his book "Orthodox
Christians in America: A Short History" (now in paperback, at a lower
price, Oxford University Press, 2008). In addition, he participated in the semi-annual meeting of the Board of
Directors of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) at Antiochian Village,
February 1-2. Further, he will be
spending upwards of two weeks teaching in an Orthodox theological seminary in
Bukoba, Tanzania, sponsored by the Orthodox Christian Missions Center (OCMC).
Fr Paul Lazor,
the former John and Paraskeva Skvir Lecturer
in Practical Theology and Associate Dean of Student Affairs will deliver public lectures and a clergy
retreat for the Greater Pittsburgh Orthodox Clergy Association, March 15-17,
2008. The public lectures will be
entitled "Being Living Icons," and the clergy retreat will examine 1 Tim 4:12. SVS alumnus, Fr Stevo Rocknage ('88),
is the president of the clergy retreat. Fr Paul will also travel to lead another parish retreat entitled "The
Cross: the Law of Lent" at SS Peter & Paul Church, Phoenix, AZ on March 29
and will serve and deliver the homily at the Sunday Divine Liturgy on March 30.
On April 12, he will lead a retreat entitled "Holy Week" for the FOCA District
at St. Andrew's Church (OCA), Baltimore, MD and will serve and offer the homily
at the Sunday Divine Liturgy there. From May 16-17, Fr Paul has been invited to participate in celebration
of 100th anniversary of the Dormition of the Theotokos Church (OCA),
Cumberland, RI where SVS alumnus, Fr Vasily Lickwar ('73) is pastor. Fr Paul will give the main address at
the Anniversary Banquet.
Dr Paul
Meyendorff, The Father Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology, was a speaker at OCF Conference at
Antiochian Village from December 27-31, 2007.
Fr Harry
Pappas, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, was a speaker at the OCF Conference at
Antiochian Village from December 27-31, 2007. Most recently, he visited and learned about the
inner city ministries of "Souls in Motion" and "Emmaus
House" in Harlem on February 4. Both serve the needs of the poor and involve significant Orthodox Christian
leadership, particularly Dr Al and Julie Raboteau and SVS alumnus, Fr. John
Garvey ('93). He will lead a
Lenten retreat at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Naples, Florida, on
Saturday, March 15, and preach at the pan-Orthodox, Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers
the next day. He will offer a
meditation on the words of Christ from the Cross, "Today you will be with
me in paradise," during the Good Friday Retreat at St Ignatius of Loyola
Roman Catholic church in Manhattan, on March 21.
Dr Al Rossi,
Adjunct Professor in Pastoral Theology, delivered a talk at the teen retreat at Antiochian Village
from Jan 18 to 20 entitled "Vocation of the Adolescent." From February 22-24, he will lead a woman's retreat at St Elijah
Antiochian Orthodox Church, Oklahoma City, OK entitled "Orthodox Christian
Family Life."
Fr
Paul Tarazi, Professor of Old Testament: A list of Fr Paul's talks is available at http://www.svots.edu/Events/faculty-speaking.html.
Eleana Silk,
Head Librarian, will speak
at St Mark Orthodox Church in Bethesda, MD where SVS alumni Fr Gregory and
Alexandra Safchuk ('82) on Wed. April 9 after Presanctified Liturgy. Her
topic is entitled "St Innocent of Alaska".
ALUMNI NEWS
Fr Paul Shafran
('46) celebrated the 60thanniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on December 27, 2007. Fr Paul is one of the oldest living
seminary alumni. He was ordained
in 1947 by Bishop Nikon at the Cathedral of the Protection of the Holy Virgin
Mary, New York, NY. After his
first assignment serving as Pastor for three small parishes in rural Ohio,
Father Paul served for more than 53 years as Pastor of St Vladimir Orthodox
Church in Trenton, NJ, and is now Pastor Emeritus. Congratulations and many years to him and to Matushka
Mary! AXIOS!
Fr William C.
Mills (MTh '07) is pleased
to announce the publication of his fifth book, Let Us Attend: Reflections on
the Gospel of Mark for the Lenten Season. This book is a collection of pastoral
reflections on the gospel lessons from Mark that are read during Great Lent.
Let Us Attend is a wonderful resource for personal and group Bible study, adult
education classes, and sermon preparation. Fr William Mills, Ph.D. is the
rector of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin
Orthodox Church in Charlotte, NC, and an adjunct professor of religious studies
at Queens University in Charlotte, NC. Fr Mills is
available for clergy and parish retreats. For more information about his books
or his speaking engagements please visit his webpage at www.wcmills.com
Dn Nicholas
Belcher ('05). We extend
to Dn Nicholas our deepest condolences on the sudden falling asleep of his
wife, Sonia (Daly), on February 21. Dn Nicholas and Sonia were new parents of a four-month old son. For many years, Sonia was the Admissions Officer at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and because of her position there had many opportunities to develop relationships and friendships with the faculty, staff, and graduates of St Vladimir's, many of whom attended her funeral. May Sonia's memory be eternal!
Andrey Sukharev
('07) was married to
Elizabeth Koen, at the Joy of All Who Sorrow
Orthodox Church in Indianapolis, IN, on January 27, 2008. Elizabeth's
father, Fr John Koen, is one of the priests there. Metropolitan Joseph of the
Bulgarian Diocese presided at the wedding. Many Years!
ORDINATIONS
Dn Fouad Saba
('07) was ordained to the
priesthood on Sunday, January 13, 2008 by His Grace Bishop Mark of Toledo and
Midwest at St George Church, Cicero, IL. He has been assigned to that parish as the Assistant Pastor. AXIOS!
ANNIVERSARIES
Very Rev Paul
Shafran, 60th anniversary to the priesthood, 12/28/1947
Dn Konstantin
Gavrilkin,
to the diaconate, 01/28/2007
Dn Jeffery
Williams, to the diaconate, 02/02/2007
Rev Thomas George,
to the priesthood, 01/30/1994
Rev Timothy
Sawchak, to the diaconate, 02/02/1994
Very Rev John H
Erickson, to the diaconate, 01/30/2006
Protodeacon
Kirill Sokolov, to the diaconate, 01/30/2004
Rev Paul Rivers,
to the diaconate, 01/30/2007
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