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Alumni E-News from St Vladimir's Seminary
August/September 2005
Volume 5, No. 8/9 Dear Friends, With the beginning of the new academic year there is an excitement on campus. The entering class numbers 39 and has already undergone the regular orientation program. Our total enrollment is 107. Along with excitement is a sense of great relief since it was not clear whether the first of the two new married student apartment buildings (Lakeside Apartments) would be ready for the arrival of our new married students. Fortunately, the seminary received a temporary certificate of occupancy for Lakeside Building #2 from the City of Yonkers on September 2, a miracle in and of itself, and students were able to move in on September 7. This allowed the seminary to accommodate our entering married students. The second of the new apartments buildings, Lakeside Building #1, will be ready for occupancy in November and will accommodate those presently living off campus at Crestwood Lake Apartments. Housing married students off campus at Crestwood Lake Apartments and subsidizing their rent was always considered a temporary solution to increased enrollment, but it had its financial repercussions. Housing all of our students on campus, although incurring substantial construction costs, will benefit both the seminary and the students. We are grateful to God that the construction of these buildings is nearly complete. All we have to do now is pay for them. Let me share with you some of the events and news that took place over the last months. METROPOLITAN HERMAN ATTENDS OPENING OF ACADEMIC YEAR Metropolitan Herman, the president of St Vladimir's and primate of the OCA, presided at the opening Liturgy of the academic year, the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos on September 8. His visit provided him an opportunity to welcome students to the school, met each of them personally at a brunch, and encouraged them for the coming year.
ORTHODOX EDUCATION DAY This year's OED, to be held on Saturday, October 1, will feature as keynote speaker His Grace Bishop Savas of Troas, Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. His topic will be the theme of the day “Icons & iPods: Finding God in Popular Culture.” Metropolitan Herman (OCA) will preside at the Liturgy with fellow bishops and clergy. The seminary choir, along with the choir from Holy Trinity Church, Parma, OH, will sing the responses at the Liturgy. Workshops for clergy, laity, and youth; campus tours; exhibitors; and ethnic foods will round out the day. Fr Thomas Hopko will lead a workshop aimed especially at the clergy, Fr John Garvey ('93) will lead one aimed especially at the laity, and Dr Al Rossi will lead one aimed especially at youth. We extend to you our warmest invitation to join us in fellowship.
FACULTY AND STAFF ATTEND ALL-AMERICAN COUNCIL A large contingent from the seminary attended the All-American Council (AAC) held in Toronto, ON the week of July 16-22. Fr Paul Lazor, Fr John Behr, John Barnet, and Eleana Silk represented the seminary as official delegates. Dean Erickson was present as a member of the Metropolitan Council of the OCA, and Paul Meyendorff and Fr Alexander Rentel were present as members of the Pre-Conciliar Commission. In addition to his responsibilities on the Metropolitan Council, Dean Erickson participated in a panel on seminary education and was also reelected as a member of the Metropolitan Council. Paul Meyendorff chaired the Resolutions Committee at the council. Fr John Behr and John Barnet led a workshop on preaching on Saturday, July 16. Peter Bouteneff participated on a panel regarding Orthodox and Interchurch Relations. In addition, members of the Departments of Recruitment, Advancement, Technology, and the seminary Press were also present as exhibitors. Also, nearly a dozen of our students acted as interns at the council. The seminary hosted a reception on Tuesday evening, July 19 for our alumni and for guests interested in attending. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship and getting reacquainted. SVS REPS ATTEND ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CONVENTION Director of Recruitment, Fr Steven Belonick and Capital Campaign Director, Michael Kaufman, along with SVS Bookstore staff, Adriel Van Drimmelen and Deacon Philip Rogers, represented the seminary at the Antiochian Orthodox Convention held in Dearborn, MI, July 26-29. It was good to see many of our alumni and their families. Fr Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus, delivered three talks to the delegates and spoke at the banquet. FINNISH DELEGATION VISITS SEMINARY On Saturday morning, July 30, Dean Erickson welcomed Archbishop Leo in the seminary chapel and hosted him for breakfast with members of the seminary faculty. Archbishop Leo arrived in New York on Friday, July 29, 2005, for an official 14-day visit to the Orthodox Church in America. Accompanying Archbishop Leo was the wonderworking icon of the Valaam Mother of God, enshrined in Finland's New Valaam Monastery. Included in the delegation with Archbishop Leo were Archimandrite Sergey of New Valaam Monastery, Mother Marina of Finland's Lintula Monastery, Protodeacon Kimmo Kallinen, and Mrs. Sirpa Anttonen of the New Valaam Lay Academy. For further information, visit: http://www.oca.org/news.asp?ID=818&SID=19 TRIP CAMP VISITS CAMPUS On July 20, a handful of campers from Antiochian Village made St Vladimir's one of their stops on what is called “Trip Camp.” The group's intention was to visit important Orthodox sites on a road trip over a period of a few weeks. Among the sites visited were St Vladimir's Seminary, St Tikhon's Seminary, and offices of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese in Englewood, NJ. Michael Kaufman provided a tour of the school and an explanation of the seminary vision and purpose to the campers. The group stayed overnight and ate breakfast in the seminary's refectory before leaving for their next destination. "GOOD PASTOR" RETREAT HELD The seminary faculty met for a full day retreat on Thursday, September 1 to discuss the topic “The Good Pastor – Community of Formation.” As an initiative of SVS 2010, the retreat was one of a number of ongoing discussions regarding the seminary's desire to provide the best academic and spiritual formation for seminary graduates. The September retreat dealt with the seminary curriculum and how it might be improved to produce the kinds of pastors the seminary desires. SEMINARY WELCOMES NEW FACES Timothy Clark ('00) accepted a position as Lecturer in New Testament Greek. He is currently completing his doctoral dissertation in Old Testament from Emory University. We welcome Tim and his wife, Shoshanna, again to our campus. In addition, the seminary welcomes Sofia Lopoukhine, who has been hired as the new Communications and Public Relations Officer. Sofia has worked for the last three years as communications director for the Orthodox Christian Mission Center. Prior to her experience at OCMC, she completed her theological studies at St Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris. DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT VISITS CHURCH CAMPS Fr Steven Belonick visited the camp at Antiochian Village for the Feast of Transfiguration where he had the opportunity to address the 55 counselors present and to preach at the Transfiguration Liturgy. He also had opportunity to speak to counselors personally and to a number of the campers. In addition, he visited St Andrew's Camp in Syracuse, NY, where he spoke to campers and counselors and served the Sunday Liturgy, August 24. ADULT EDUCATION INSTITUTE 2005 As a continuation of the Summer Institute held June 19-24 and having as its theme “Church and World: Church and Culture,” a series of five lectures will be held at Holy Transfiguration Church in New Haven, CT. Lectures will be on Monday evenings beginning September 19 and ending on October 17. A second lecture series with the same theme will be held on consecutive Tuesdays beginning September 27 and ending on October 25 at Holy Trinity Church, Bridgeport, CT. For more information, please contact the Alumni Office at 914-961-8313, ext. 328. FACULTY/STAFF NEWS Dean John H. Erickson, Peter N. Gramowich Professor of Church History, spoke at St Nersess Armenian Seminary Commencement, May 22. He presented a paper “Knowing the Past for Understanding the Future” at an inter-Orthodox conference on the theme “Christ: He Who Is,” Sigtuna, Sweden, June 2-4. In addition, he will be the featured speaker at the OCF Fall Event, Livonia, MI, October 22 speaking on “Life after OCF: Being a Christian in a Secular World.” Rev Dr John Behr, Professor of Patristics, delivered ten hours of lectures on St Athanasius and the Council of Nicaea for the annual SVS Institute in Saskatoon Canada, held May 20-23. From June 2-4, he attended the North American Patristics Society Conference in Chicago. Further, he responded to various papers given on his book The Nicene Faith at the Orthodox Theological Society in America's annual meeting held at SVS, June 9-11 and was elected President. In addition, he participated in the annual meeting of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius in England from August 15-19 and delivered a paper entitled “Eucharistic Theology Revisited.” Finally, he completed a new book entitled, “The Mystery of Christ: In Death, Life.” Dr Paul Meyendorff, Fr Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology, participated in the meeting of the Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, held at SVS on June 6-8. On June 14-21, he attended a meeting of the WCC Faith and Order Standing Commission in Crete (Greece). From Oct 20-22, he will attend the meeting of the Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation in Georgetown, MD and will attend the Nov 8-13 meeting of the St Iereneos Orthodox-Catholic Working Group, Athens, Greece. Dr Albert Rossi, Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology, will lead a retreat September 17, 2005 entitled “Be Still, and Know that I am God: Your Path to Holiness” at St Matthew Church Columbia, MD. SVS alumnus Fr Duane Johnson is the contact person. Fr Paul Tarazi, Professor of Old Testament, led a seminar on 1 Corinthians at The Metropolis of Boston Camp and Retreat Center in Contoocook, NH, June 20-25. From June 27-July 2, he taught an intensive course on Biblical Hebrew at the same camp. And from August 22-25, he gave a seminar on Ezekiel and Genesis, also at the camp. Fr Paul will visit St John of the Ladder Church, Greenville, SC on September 17 where he will speak on the Epistle to the Galatians. SVS alumnus Fr Marcus Burch is the host pastor. He will also lead a retreat on the Book of Psalms at St Nicholas Church, Whitestone, NY on September 26, October 3, 10, 17 where SVS alumnus Fr Michael Koblosh is pastor. On October 8, Fr Paul will be in Phoenix, AZ at St George Antiochian Orthodox Church where he will speak on the Gospel of Mark. On October 22, he will be at Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco, CA where he will speak on the book of Ezekiel. He will travel October 30 to Helsinki, Finland to participate in the Helsinki Annual Book Fair and is co-authoring an Introduction to the Bible with Merja Merras. Fr Paul will deliver an intensive course from Oct 31-Nov 4 on an Introduction to the New Testament in Tallinn, Estonia. Finally, Fr Paul will deliver a talk on the Epistle to the Galatians, November 11-12, at St Elizabeth the New Martyr Mission, Eagan, MN where SVS alumnus Fr Marc Boulos is serving. ALUMNI/STAFF NEWS Bradley Nassif ('85) PhD, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at North Park University, Chicago, IL will be a featured speaker at Northern Baptism Seminary, Lombard, IL on October 1 to speak on the topic “What Orthodox Christians can learn from Protestant Evangelicals.” In addition, his latest publication is titled “The Evangelical Theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church” and can be found in the book Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism, ed. James Stamoolis (Zondervan). Patty Schellbach ('90) has completed all course requirements for a Master of Education from Azusa Pacific University. She concluded 1200 hours field work, 81 credits and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. She is currently applying for Ed.D (Doctorate in Educational Leadership, K-12) at Azusa. Symeon Froyshov ('92) was appointed professor of Ancient Church History and Patristics at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Oslo. He will begin his work in the fall of 2006. Congratulations! Rev Paul Schellbach ('96) was promoted to Major and has served for an extended period of time in Iraq as an active duty National Guard chaplain. Shortly, he will begin a two-year MSW program at California State at San Bernardino. Jeremy Davis ('04) returned to Wichita, KS after one year of missionary journey to the Antiochian churches in Australia, where he had the opportunity to preach, teach, chant, and advise. His efforts not only impacted the lives of young people he met but also impacted his life. Welcome back to the states. Rev William Mills ('00, MTh. '04) announces the upcoming publication of his new book Prepare O Bethlehem: Reflections on the Scripture Readings for the Christmas and Epiphany Season (Rollinsford, NH: Orthodox Research Institute, 2005). In April, Fr Bill presented a paper at the national Callings Conference hosted at Mount St Mary's College in Emmitsburg, MD. His paper was titled “Called to Be Saints: Holiness and Sanctity in Today's World,” which focused on the writings of Fr Alexander Schmemann and Mother Maria Skobtsova. The paper will be published later this year in Callings: “What Does It Mean to Be Called By God?” published by Baylor University Press. Later this month, Fr Mills will be co-presenting a paper with Leanne Pupcheck at the annual Carolina Communication Association meeting held in Charlotte, NC. Their paper is entitled "Liturgy as Catechesis: A Rhetorical Perspective on Orthodox Christian Educational Practice." Currently Fr Mills is revising his dissertation “Church, World, and Kingdom: The Eucharistic Foundation of Alexander Schmemann's Pastoral Theology,” which will be published by Hillenbrand Press/Liturgical Training Publications in late 2006. Ksenia Babich ('05) and Charles Bruner ('07) were united in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony on Sunday, August 21 at the Holy Resurrection Church, Hermitage, PA. Fr Steven Belonick co-celebrated with the parish rector, Fr David Subu. A number of fellow students attended and sang the responses to the service. The couple is living on campus while Charles completes his studies. Peter John Gillquist ('06) was ordained to the diaconate on Sunday, August 21 by Bishop Thomas at St John the Evangelist Church, Beaver Falls, PA. Axios! Ann Campbell ('06) was named the first recipient of the Elenie Huszagh Internship at the National Council of Church of Christ in the USA. Elenie is a member of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and is the immediate past President of the NCCC. Funds were raised in her honor to provide an Orthodox intern for the NCCC. KEEP IN PRAYER Fr Dennis Pavichevich ('75) suffered a mild heart attack and experienced lung problems during the summer. We ask you to please keep him and his family in prayer. IN MEMORIUM Very Rev Vladimir Soroka ('57─'60) fell asleep in the Lord on August 4 and was buried at St Tikhon's Cemetery, South Canaan, PA. He was the pastor emeritus of St Nicholas Church in McKees Rock, PA.Fr Vladimir was a talented musician and a crucial personality in the development of liturgical music in the Orthodox Church in America. CORRECTION It has been brought to my attention that Metropolitan Maximos was incorrectly referred to as His Eminence Metropolitan Maximos of Ainou. His correct title is His Eminence Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh. I am sorry for this oversight. CLASS REUNION SCHEDULED The Alumni Board has secured Monday, October 17 to Wednesday, October 19 as dates for the second Alumni Class Reunion. The Class of 1980 is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the Class of 1955 is celebrating its 50th anniversary. An information packet has already been mailed out to all of our alumni. This year, the alumni will honor Fr Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus, for his many years of labor at the seminary. MARK YOUR CALENDARS and join us. Last year's participants were delighted to attend. Below, please find the schedule of events for the reunion. -END- ALUMNI CLASS REUNION SCHEDULE 2005 Monday, October 17 1:00pm Arrivals and registration
Rangos Building (Atrium) 1:00pm – 3:00pm Alumni Board Meeting
Rangos Building (Board Room) 2:00pm Tour of the Campus
Rangos Building (Library) 3:00pm Continued Education
Metropolitan Philip Auditorium 5:00pm Vespers
Chapel 5:45pm Dinner
Refectory/Solarium 7:00pm General Assembly
Metropolitan Philip Auditorium 9:00pm Wine and Cheese Fellowship
Rangos Building (Hallways) Tuesday, October 18 7:00am Divine Liturgy
Chapel
25th and 50th anniversary classes serving 8:30am Breakfast
Kunett Auditorium 9:15am – 11:00am Attend Classes
(see class schedule) 11:00am –1:00pm Attend Classes
(see class schedule) 1:15pm Lunch
Kunett Auditorium 2:00 – 3:00pm Update about the school
Chapel 3:00pm – 4:00pm Bookstore 4:15pm Memorial Service for Departed
Chapel 5:00pm Vespers
Chapel 6:30pm Banquet
Metropolitan Philip Auditorium
Presentation of 25th and 50th anniversary class gifts Wednesday, October 19 7:30am Matins
Chapel 8:15am Breakfast and End of Program 9:00am Alumni Board Wrap-up meeting
Rangos Building (Board Room)
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