Dear Friends,

I apologize for the tardiness in posting this issue of Web News.  Ken Johnson, the Advancement Officer of the seminary, and I just completed a week-long trip criss-crossing Ohio for the seminary, meeting with alumni, benefactors, and prospective students.  We returned just in time for the seminary's two-day Lenten Retreat.  At the retreat, we were very happy to welcome seminary alumnus Fr. Alexander Atty from St. Michael Church in Louisville, KY who provided the Lenten meditations this year.   And so, just now, have I had a chance to update you on the activities here during the month of February.

We were blessed to have our president, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman for the festal liturgy of the Meeting of our Lord, where he ordained John Zarras to the diaconate.  Ordinations to the diaconate are not usually unique to the seminary, but this one was.  Deacon John first became associated with the seminary through the SVS Foundation. In fact, he was the last president of the Foundation before its work was assumed under the Office of Advancement.  Subsequently, he was elected to serve as a member of the Board of the Trustees, a position he holds to this day.  After his retirement from his secular profession, Deacon John furthered his relationship with the seminary by enrolling as a student in the M.Div. program.  His journey is not typical, but we are very grateful to God for his association to the seminary and presence on our campus.

The seminary hosted a Missions Symposium from February 27-28.  Coverage and photos of the event can be found on our web site.  The symposium was highlighted with Metropolitan Herman bestowing on His Beatitude, Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, the keynote speaker, an honorary doctorate.  His Eminence, Metropolitan Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and His Beatitude Metropolitan Theodosius of the Orthodox Church in America (retired), along with several other bishops were present.  The symposium drew more than 300 people, including representatives from St Tikhon's Seminary, Holy Cross Seminary, the Greek Orthodox Theological Academy in Toronto, Canada, St Herman's Seminary, and OCMC.  The excitement generated by the event was not only a testimony to the importance of the subject matter, but also a witness to the stature of His Beatitude, Archbishop Anastasios who is considered a world-renowned missiologist.  The symposium continued on the following day with four speakers -- Fr. Thomas Hopko, Fr. Luke Veronis, Fr. Constantine Nasr, Fr. Michael Nasser -- discussing a variety of topics related to "mission."

The seminary faculty and staff were active during the month.  Through a designated gift from seminary trustee, Alex Machaskee, the seminary's new Communications Director, James McRay traveled to Nashville, TN to participate in the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention from February 8-11.  This is the first time the seminary has had an experience in this milieu.  Reporting about his trip, James was excited about our presence and the contacts he made on behalf of the seminary.

Fr. Paul Lazor traveled to Las Vegas to lead a retreat at St Paul the Apostle Church where seminary alumni Fr. Eric Tosi and Fr. Lawrence Gaudreau serve.  He also was retreat master for the clergy of the missionary deanery in the diocese of the West (OCA).  From there, he traveled to Phoenix, AR to lead a parish retreat at Ss Peter and Paul Church (OCA) where Archimandrite Gabriel (Cooke), an SVS alumnus, is assigned.

Three other faculty members were asked to lecture at a series sponsored by the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, NYC, on the topic "Fear and Faith."  Dr. John Barnet spoke on "'Fear Not:' Christian Witness in the New Testament"; Fr. Alexander Rentel addressed the topic, "With Fear of God, and Faith and Love, Draw Near"; and Dean John Erickson focused his words on "Between Hope and Fear: Orthodoxy Faces the Future."

Fr. John Behr, who is on sabbatical this semester, completed a series of lectures on Jesus Christ at St. John Episcopal Church, NYC.  He also led a Lenten retreat at the church on March 8^th.  In addition, Fr. John spoke at Holy Trinity Seminary, Jordanville, NY on the topic "The Challenge of the Fathers."

Fr. Paul Tarazi led a Lenten retreat at St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church, Yonkers, NY on March 8.  He also traveled to Finland to offer classes in Scripture March 9-16 at Joensuu Orthodox Seminary.

FACULTY NOTES:

Dr. Al Rossi will be retreat master for the Armenian Clergy in Chicago, March 17-19 and will have has his topic "Prayer as a Source of spiritual Nourishment and Healing."  He will repeat the same retreat for Armenian Clergy in Elberon, NJ, March 31-April 1.  He will speak at St Nicholas Cathedral, Washington, DC on "Listening for God's Voice."

Fr. Paul Lazor will lead a parish retreat on March 15-16 at St. Thomas Antiochian Orthodox Church, Sioux City, IA where SVS alumnus, Fr. Thomas Begley, is pastor.  He will also deliver a lecture entitled "On the Orthodox Faith" at St. John Episcopal Church in Stamford, CT on March 18^th.

Fr. Paul Tarazi will offer a lecture series on the Sacrament of Healing at the National Conference for Christian Educators, Charlotte, NC.

Dean John Erickson will speak at St. John the Forerunner Church (a new Orthodox community in Indianapolis, IN) on March 22, and at St. George Church in Indianapolis, IN on March 23 where Fr. Nabil Hanna and his wife, Elaine, SVS alumni, serve.  He will also be a speaker on Wednesday, April 2 at St. Mark's Orthodox Church, Bethesda, MD as part of the parish's Lenten series. SVS alums Fr. Gregory Safchuk and his wife Alexandra serve the parish. His topic will be "In the Path of Righteousness is Life."  Dean Erickson will also speak on April 4 at St. Nicholas Cathedral, Brooklyn, NY where Fr. Thomas Zain, seminary alumnus, is the pastor.  

ALUMNI NEWS:

Archpriest Jerome Cwiklinski ('85) a Commander, Chaplain Corps and Archpriest Mark Koczak ('82), a Lieutenant Commander, Chaplain Corps, are on active duty as chaplains in the US Navy and are deployed in the Middle East.  Your prayers are requested.

Soren ('99) and Ever Johnson announce the birth of their daughter, Ever Therese, on February 28^th in Washington, DC.  Ever was born a healthy 9 pounds, 2 ounces, 21 ½ inches long.

John Beal ('01) and Medea Beal announce the birth of their first child, Magdalen Maria Teresa on February 28 in Oakland, CA.  Magdalen was born a healthy 7 pounds, 11 ounces.  John also announces his election to the post of Education Minister in the parish council at St. Nicholas Church in San Anselmo, CA (OCA).

CONSTRUCTION NEWS:

The seminary is undergoing some important construction projects that will help us provide better service to our students, and from our bookstore and Press.  Here is a brief run-down on them from a report from Dean Erickson to our student body.

"Physical changes are being made in the Education Building, and more are forthcoming in the New Facility and Women's Dormitory. 

"All classrooms are being wired for computer use.  In the Education Building, the Bashir Auditorium and classrooms 5 and 6 will be equipped with overhead projectors for Powerpoint applications.  Each room in the Women's Dormitory soon will be wired for telephone and computer hookup.  With the completion of these buildings, all the educational buildings and dormitories on campus will be provided with telephone and internet connections.  In addition, classroom and dormitory windows have been replaced with insulated thermal units.  Future scheduled work for the Education Building will include installation of a new central fire system, exterior computer-access security doors, acoustical drop ceilings, energy efficient lighting fixtures, and a completely zoned air-conditioning system.

"The most conspicuous change will be relocation of Bookstore / Press operations to the area vacated by the library.  The existing Bookstore, now housed in the New Facility, will be moved to the old library reading room space, with a new customer service counter installed at the double door entrance.  The old library stack area will be equipped with extensive shelving for more than 50,000 copies of SVS Press titles.  A manual conveyor system installed against the outside wall will facilitate the movement of collated orders and will terminate in a new packing and shipping room that will double as the seminary mail room.  The new mail room is designed for UPS and US mail deliveries.  A separate customer service area with telephone, fax and internet connections will be located in the old stack area next to the mailroom and Press shelving area.  All SVS Press offices (managerial, editorial and production) will be relocated to space in the educational wing of the Education Building.

"The existing Bookstore space will be transformed into a smart classroom / internet room, replacing the small internet room now on the lower floor of the Education Building, and the technology department (techsupport offices) will be relocated to the space currently occupied by the Press offices, just above the current bookstore.  The basement packing and shipping area of the New Facility will be remodeled to provide a student workout and fitness center as well as additional campus storage.

"All these transformations will take time, and very possibly they will result in occasional inconvenience in the course of the semester, but the new arrangements will give all of us a much more efficient and friendly environment for work, study and relaxation."

STRATEGIC PLAN (SVS 2010) NEWS:

After months of gathering input from our many constituencies by way of focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires, the information has been compiled and analyzed by the Strategic Plan facilitator, Protodeacon Peter Danilchick.  Ten major areas of seminary life, listed below, have been identified for close consideration.  A small team of "experts" and "questioners" for each major area was identified and is being asked to develop strategic initiatives during March and April.  Results will be developed into a report that will be presented for review and approval at the May 2003 Board of Trustees meeting.

The ten major areas are as follows:

Training for Ministry: 

Dr. Al Rossi, Fr. Paul Lazor, Fr. John Breck, Fr. Michael Massouh

Educational Outreach:

Dr. Peter Bouteneff, Dr. John Barnet, Fr. Eric Tosi, Mrs. Stefanie Yazge

Parish Presence:

Fr. Steven Belonick, Fr. Michael Westerberg, Fr. Nicholas Ceko, Fr. Thomas Zain

Church Relationships:

Dean John Erickson, Bishop Basil (Essey), Bishop Seraphim (Storheim), Bishop Dimitrios (Couchell)

Cooperation with other Seminaries:

Dr. Paul Meyendorff, Eleana Silk, Fr. Michael Dahulich, Dr. Anton Vrame

Student Recruitment:

Fr. Steven Belonick, Fr. Michael Anderson, Fr. Michael Nasser, Fr. George Gray

Student Life:

Fr. Steven Belonick, Mrs. Anne van den Berg, Fr. Kevin Scherer, Peter Drobac

Communications:

Ted Bazil, James McRay, Fr. Irinej Dobrijevic, Fr. Gregory Havrilak, Mr. Alex Machaskee

Faculty Development:

Dr. Paul Meyendorff, Dr. Susan Ashbrook, Dr. Jaroslav Pelikan, Kerry San Chirico

Financial Resources:

Kenneth Johnson, David Drillock, Ivan Rudolph-Shabinsky, Fr. Anthony Scott

ALUMNI BOARD NEWS:

The Alumni Board held a teleconference meeting February 13^th.  The following items were discussed:

-               Fr. Anthony Yazge, Alumni Board President, reported on the November meeting.  He is publishing a short newsletter that will be sent to all our alumni outlining the results of that meeting.

-               An SVS Alumni retreat is being planned for early June 2004 at Antiochian Village.

-               Establishment of criteria to honor an alumnus/a on a annual basis.

-               Annually and beginning in 2003, the alumni board will give each degree-receiving graduate a unique diploma frame bearing the school's name and logo.

-               The alumni board will convene a meeting on the seminary campus on May 15.  They will meet informally with the 2003 graduates, the members of the Board of Trustees, and those who able will be present at the Commencement exercises.   

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 22-29   -           OCF students from the University of California at Berkeley will 

                                    visit the seminary, meet with the dean, and attend classes and

                                    chapel services.

April 1            -           Oriental/Eastern Orthodox Symposium

April 5            -           Visit of His Eminence, Archbishop Dmitri of Dallas (OCA)

April 6            -           Visit of His Grace, Bishop Seraphim of Ottawa (OCA)

April 5-6         -           Open House for prospective students

April 12          -           Lenten Retreat led by Fr. Thomas Hopko

PRAYERS REQUESTED

Please keep in your prayers Nancy Shadid who is suffering from cancer.  She is the mother of our alumnus, Fr. Don Shadid ('81).

All of us at the seminary extend to you our warmest regards.  We sincerely pray that your Lenten journey will be joyful.  We always pray for you at each liturgy.  We will communicate with you again in April.