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Alumni E-News from St Vladimir's Seminary
January 2004
Volume 4, No. 1 Dear Friends, We hope that your feasts of Nativity and Theophany were filled with joy and peace, and that our Lord will bless each of you abundantly in the coming year. If you are on the Julian calendar, we pray that your Theophany is blessed and that the Lord will prosper you and yours. A number of important events occurred and a number of important dignitaries visited the campus during the month of December. Let me share these with you. YONKERS MAYOR-ELECT VISITS CAMPUS The seminary received an important visit from Mayor-elect Phil Amicone of Yonkers. His intent in visiting was to become better acquainted with the activities and work of the seminary and the role of the Orthodox Church in the community. The V. Rev. Yaroslav Sudick, rector of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church (OCA) in Yonkers, and the Rev. Richard Baker of St Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers, accompanied him on his visit. Mayor-elect Amicone met with Dean John Erickson and the senior administration of the seminary. He was given a tour of the campus and apprised of the future plans for married student housing. Afterward he ate lunch in the refectory with students. http://www.svots.edu/Press-Releases/2003-1203-mayor-elect/index.html ANNUAL ST NICHOLAS CELEBRATION HELD On Sunday, December 7, the seminary hosted its annual St Nicholas day community meal. Students, their families, church school students, and chapel members enjoyed a Lenten meal and a visit from St Nicholas. The church school children welcomed St Nicholas with the singing of “O Who Loves, Nicholas the Saintly.” St Nicholas distributed gifts to all the children in the community. The church school parents provided a delicious meal for everyone's enjoyment. MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR PROTOPRESBYTER ALEXANDER SCHMEMANN On Saturday, December 13, many gathered in the Three Hierarchs Chapel for the feast day divine liturgy of St Herman of Alaska, and for a memorial service honoring the twenty-year anniversary of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann's death. The V. Rev. Thomas Hopko, who spoke at Fr Schmemann's funeral twenty years ago, also gave the eulogy at the memorial following the Divine Liturgy. He said that Fr Schmemann "was in love with life — in the deepest and most serious sense of that word. He believed that there was no life without God, and that the Church was the mystery of God given to us now. He inspired others to want to live and not surrender to darkness." Fr Hopko also spoke of Fr Schmemann's conviction that the Church in America had a very particular vocation in the world. On behalf of His Beatitude, Metropolitan HERMAN, Archpriest David Brum extended greetings to all who were present, especially Fr Alexander's wife, Juliana Schmemann. On hand were many members of Fr Alexander's family, including children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and other members of his extended family. Together with family members, current and former members of the SVS community, alumni/ae, and friends assembled for the service and for a fellowship meal afterwards. http://www.svots.edu/Press-Releases/2003-1213-schmemann-memorial/index.html DELEGATION FROM GEORGIA VISITS THE SEMINARY An official delegation from Georgia visiting the US made a stop at the seminary on Thursday, December 18. The seminary helped coordinate their visit to the campus where they toured the grounds and met with Dean Erickson. The seminary also coordinated a roundtable discussion that included the Georgian delegation, seminary faculty members, and alumni who are working in the area of international church cooperation. To read more, please visit the following website: http://www.oca.org/pages/news/news.asp?ID=451 ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL CHRISTMAS RETREAT SVS hosted its annual Christmas Retreat December 26-28. High school and college students between the ages of 16-22 participated. This year's theme, “Lord, Teach us to Pray”, was developed in three presentations: “Lord, teach us to pray,” by Mother Raphaela, abbess of the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery in Otego, NY; “Developing a Rule of Prayer,” by Professor Peter Bouteneff, Assistant Professor of Dogmatic Theology at St Vladimir's Seminary; and “Using the Jesus Prayer,” by Dr Albert Rossi, Adjunct Professor in the Pastoral Theology Department at St Vladimir's Seminary. FACULTY RECEIVE INSTRUCTION IN TECHNOLOGY A major goal of the Lilly Endowment Information Technology for Theological Teaching Grant that the seminary received in 2000 was increasing the level of familiarity that faculty have with instructional technology. In addition to individualized tutorial provided by Director of Systems Kirill Sokolov and student assistants, several seminars were held. Nicholas D. Lombardi, S.J., Ph.D., Instructional Technologist and Director of the Faculty Resource Center at Fordham University, was invited to provide faculty with a framework to help understand what is possible with technology. The entire faculty attended a half-day program that covered lecture style, course development, online courseware such as the seminary's e-campus, student involvement and reaction, and legal and ethical issues. In addition, an in-house seminar was offered to faculty on effective use of the seminary's e-campus system by Professor Peter Bouteneff. An outside professional trainer provided instruction to faculty on comprehensive use of Microsoft Powerpoint software to deliver content in the classroom. The outside trainer provided instruction to faculty, staff and students on combating computer security threats, an increasing problem that threatens to impact reliable access to instructional resources at times of major virus or other vulnerability problems. FACULTY AND STAFF FEATURED ON COME RECEIVE THE LIGHT Helen Breslich Erickson, lecturer in liturgical music at St Vladimir's Seminary and chair of the Department of Performing Arts at Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, gave a talk entitled “Being a Christian in the Workplace.” Informed by both the Orthodox teaching and her experience as a professional, Ms. Erickson offered helpful insights. The half-hour talk aired December 27, on Come Receive the Light. In addition, Deacon Kevin Smith, Fellow in Liturgical Music at the seminary, also was featured along with Holy Cross faculty member Fr Nicholas Kastanas on December 20. They discussed the role of Orthodox hymnography in the Nativity celebration. Come Receive the Light—a radio program broadcast weekly in sixteen different cities—makes it their mission “ to spread joy, hope and salvation in Jesus Christ, while exploring Orthodox Christianity in contemporary society.” The program has featured many SVS speakers to date. Archived talks are available on their website at http://www.receive.org/ . UPCOMING EVENTS January 30
Annual Fr Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture – Dr Alexander Lingas will be the featured speaker. March 18-20
Spring Open House for Prospective Students March 27
Lenten Retreat ALUMNI NEWS The Very Reverend Igumen Joseph (John Hoffman), ('91) was appointed Acting Chancellor of the Diocese of New York and New Jersey by His Eminence, Archbishop Peter (OCA) on December 1. Igumen Joseph had been serving as Secretary of the Diocese, and personal secretary to His Eminence, for the previous two years. He continues to serve as Rector of Holy Transfiguration Church, Pearl River, NY where he was assigned in July 2000. His previous assignments have been: Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, IL; Christ the Saviour Church, Beyesville, OH; Holy Virgin Mary Cathedral, Los Angeles, CA; and St Michael church, Pueblo, CO.
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