Diaconal Liturgical Practicum: From June 3-6, 2008 St Vladimir's held intensive diaconal training workshops for deacons and Diaconal Vocations Program participants. The Practicum faculty led participants in presentations on the Liturgy of the Church and the Typikon (Father Alexander Rentel); vocal technique and training (Father Sergius Halvorsen) and liturgical practice and training (Protodeacon Kirill Sokolov). A gallery of photographs is available here.

The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation: From June 2-4, 2008 SVS faculty members Fr John Erickson and Dr Paul Meyendorff participated in the consultation, at which the two church bodies examined their understanding of ecclesial authority and the sacramental nature of the Church. This 74th meeting of the group was held at Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. The next meeting is slated for October 23-25, 2008 in Montreal, Quebec and will be sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has been an official participant in the North American Consultation since 1997.

The consultation is sponsored jointly by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Since its establishment in 1965, the Consultation has issued 22 agreed statements on various topics. All these texts are now available on the SCOBA Website at http://www.scoba.us/resources/orthodox-catholic.html and at the USCCB website at http://www.usccb.org/seia/orthodox_index.shtml.

Ordination of Fr Daniel Bethancourt:  During the weekend of June 8th, Fr Daniel Bethancourt was ordained to the Holy Diaconate and to the Holy Priesthood by His Grace Bishop Basil (Essey).  The ordinations were in his home parish, Holy Trinity Church, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Fr Daniel graduated from St Vladimir's Seminary in 2007 and took a position in the Office of Recruitment.  He and his wife Maria (SVS alumna 2008) are now preparing to serve at St Nicholas parish in Shreveport, Louisiana.  A gallery of photographs from Fr Daniel's ordinations is available here.

Fr Chad Hatfield speaks at Serbian Clergy Brotherhood meeting:  On Tuesday June 10th SVS Chancellor Fr Chad Hatfield was the guest speaker at the annual Serbian Clergy Brotherhood meeting. Fr Chad concelebrated the Divine Liturgy at St Sava's Serbian Orthodox Cathedral before delivering his talk on "Revitalizing Our Priestly Ministry in A Post Christian Culture."  In attendance were Serbian clergy from all over the United States, including St Vladimir's Seminary alumni Fr Rastko Trbuhovich, Fr Rodney Torbic, Fr Norman Kosanovich and Dn Aleksa Pavichevich. A gallery of photographs from this event is available here.