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“You have come to St. Vladimir’s to discover and develop the foundational call that you have already heard,” noted the Very Rev. John Breck, as he began the first of three talks he delivered to the incoming class of thirty-eight students during Orientation Week, August 21–24, 2008.
Fr. John, Professor of New Testament and Ethics at St. Vladimir’s from 1984–1996, returned to campus as a guest lecturer and focused his remarks on the priestly vocation of Jesus Christ as the model for both ordained and lay ministry. In particular, he defined priestly ministry as offering oneself and others in community to God.
“By coming to the seminary,” he said, “you have renewed an initial
commitment to God in a very serious way. And, you have recognized that
life is essentially made up of who we are because of what Christ has
done for us. Everything changes with this realization.”
Fr. John Breck, former faculty member at St. Vladimir’s, and guest speaker at Orientation 2008, greets incoming students (from left) Dustin Lyon of Minnesota, Clive Cabey of Michigan, and Courtney Jones of South Carolina.
In his talks, which were interspersed among a variety of other
activities related to orienting the new class to campus, Fr. John
concentrated on three, deeply-interconnected themes: “Our Call to
Ministry: Self-giving and Others,” “Dysfunctional Family Systems:
Personal and Corporate,” and “Spiritual Growth: Life in Prayer.”
Throughout, he addressed practical and pastoral concerns taken from his
experience as a parish priest and from the classrooms of the three
seminaries at which he has taught, St. Vladimir’s, St. Herman Orthodox
Theological Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska, and presently, St. Sergius
Orthodox Theological Institute, Paris, France.
In particular, Fr. John emphasized that a seminarian’s academic work
and success were functions of a spiritual orientation, and he stressed
the inner, personal disciplines of prayer, Scripture reading, and the
practice of silence as means to proper formation. “Seminary community
life has as its goal the transformation of us into authentic priests,
who imitate the love and holiness of Jesus,” he said.
Referring to the book Be My Priest, by Monk Lev (Gillet), which was
given to incoming students as a gift from the seminary, Fr. John
concluded his remarks with a sobering quotation: “Live a life of
obscurity and silence; seeking no awards.”
The Very Rev. John Behr, Dean of St. Vladimir’s, welcomed the incoming
class by presenting a history of the seminary, including a memorable
quotation from one of the seminary’s earliest deans, Metropolitan
Leonid Turkevich: “The Orthodox Church in America should be the
avant-guard of Orthodoxy, and should be forced to assume a serious
theological foundation. To carry out this role, there should be
theological scholarship at the highest level. Otherwise, without [our
priests] having proper theological answers to questions, we will end up
as sectarians.” Fr. John urged the incoming students to continue in
that tradition, which, he said, “has dramatically shaped ‘Orthodoxy’ as
we know it today.”
The Dean further distinguished theology from other disciplines of
study by defining it as “a confession of faith, a contemplation of who
God has shown himself to be in the person of Jesus Christ.” He
continued his powerful reflection by stating: “ ‘Theology’ is not
‘words about God,’ for God cannot be the subject of any study, such as
history, or archeology, or social work. Theology is not abstract
speculation, but rather a reflection on God’s revelation in Jesus
Christ, and therefore the application of ‘theology’ is service. Christ
showed his glory as Lord by death on the Cross, and if we—as broken,
sinful, weak human beings—voluntarily ‘die’ to this life, all our
brokenness will become our access to grace. Remember, there is
‘lordship’ [only] in ‘service.’ ”
Fr. John concluded by reminding the students that studying theology
required an “ascetical struggle” of the mind, and that “renewal of the
mind” through the daily cycle of services offered on campus was
essential to spiritually shape the class, both individually and also
collectively.
The Very Rev. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor of St. Vladimir’s,
recognized the sacrifice the students and their families had made by
enrolling at the seminary, and reminded them of the seriousness of
their decision. “Ahead of you will be three years of intense spiritual
warfare, and you will do battle with the Devil, who is not pleased that
you have made this sacrifice,” he warned. He then outlined for them the
administrative and communal organization of the campus, sharing
practical wisdom to help students immerse themselves to the fullest in
opportunities offered by St. Vladimir’s, which he termed “a venerable
institution with a global reputation for excellence.”
Other activities of Orientation included informative talks by
faculty and staff regarding campus procedures and policies; tours of
the SVS Library and Bookstore; class registration; preliminary testing
in writing competency and voice testing for choral assignments; campus
cookouts; an introduction to the Spouses’ Program, directed by
Presbytera Kerri Pappas, which took place at a welcoming reception for
the wives of new students hosted by the Dean and the Chancellor; and a
session with returning students, who number forty-seven.
To introduce them to the rich cultural resources of nearby New York
City, the incoming class took a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
with the Rev. Alexander Rentel, Assistant Professor of Canon Law and
Byzantine Studies at St. Vladimir’s, acting as their guide in the
Byzantine exhibit.
A concluding session regarding spiritual formation, including the
practice of the Jesus Prayer and the discipline of confession, was
conducted by Dr. Albert S. Rossi, Adjunct Professor of Pastoral
Theology, and the Very Rev. Steven Belonick, Associate Dean for Student
Affairs and organizer of the Orientation.
The new and returning students represent a multi-jurisdictional,
multi-national presence, and statistically break down as follows:
Orthodox Church in America, 29; Antiochian Orthodox Christian
Archdiocese of North America, 19; Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America, 13; Armenian Apostolic Church, 6; Serbian Orthodox Church, 5;
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, 3; Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church,
2; Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, 2; Romanian Orthodox
Archdiocese of America and Canada, 2; the Bulgarian Patriarchal
Orthodox Church, 1; and the Patriarchate of Moscow, 1. Additionally,
three non-Orthodox students, of the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and
Evangelical faiths, attend the seminary.
Fr. Steven Belonick summed up the weeklong experience, by saying,
“This very important week not only provides the chance for the seminary
to share its goals and aspirations with the new students, but also
allows us the delightful opportunity to meet the incoming class outside
of the busy academic year. We are so pleased to have them, and we wish
the incoming class growth in our Lord as they join us.”
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