St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary - Press Releases

Press Release
St Herman's Seminary Christmas Octet,
Christmas Star visit St Vladimir's

St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary
575 Scarsdale Road, Crestwood, NY 10707-1677
Contact person: Fr Steven Belonick
tel +1.914.961.8313, ext. 328 / email info@svots.edu

On December 12-13, St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York, welcomed a Christmas Octet from St Herman's Theological Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska. The visit corresponded with the feast day of St Herman, an 18th Century Russian missionary to Alaska and the Alaskan seminary's patron saint.

All the singers in the St Herman's Seminary Starring Octet are Yup'ik Eskimo students and alumni who are touring the northeastern United States and sharing some of Alaska's rich Orthodox heritage and music with friends and faithful.

"We are very excited to share the joy of the upcoming Feast of the Nativity of Christ with the community of our sister seminary, St Vladimir's, through music and worship," said Fr Michael Oleksa, St Vladimir's Seminary alumnus and coordinator of the Octet's Christmas tour. "This is the first time that Alaska's 'starring tradition' has been celebrated outside of Alaska, and it represents the continuation of a very old tradition from the Slavic lands."

Throughout Alaska beginning on the celebration of Christ's Nativity, Orthodox faithful share in the festive season by following large, pinwheel-shaped twirling "stars" from house to house singing hymns and folk carols. Singers and celebrants may stay at a home, feasting for several hours before the ‹starŠ leads the merrymakers to the next home. In a large village, the celebration may last nearly a week.

Following its visit to St Vladimir's Seminary, the Octet will visit parishes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as St Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, and St Nicholas Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

As the oldest Orthodox diocese in North America, founded in 1794, the Alaskan Orthodox Church now includes 92 parishes as well as St Herman's Seminary in Kodiak.

St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary is a graduate school of theology, whose primary purpose is the preparation of leaders--both clergy and lay--for service to the Orthodox Church and the world at large. The seminary offers a Master of Divinity; a Master of Arts in Christian Education, Liturgical Music, and General Theology; a Master of Theology; and a Doctor of Ministry degree.