O who loves Nicholas the Saintly,

O who serves Nicholas the Saintly.
Him will Nicholas receive,
and give help in time of need.
Holy Father Nicholas!

With the singing of this traditional St. Nicholas hymn, the children of the Three Hierarchs Chapel's Sunday community welcomed special guest St. Nicholas for his annual visit to St. Vladimir's Seminary. As is customary, the identity of the good saint was camouflaged by his abundant white beard, but astute children perceived he bore a striking resemblance to The Rev. Dr. David Mezynski, associate dean for Student Affairs. During the celebration, grown ups and kids alike also enjoyed a potluck meal and a time of carol singing.

By Peter C. Bouteneff

I didn’t know our first-year student Harrison Russin played the accordion, until he flung it out of its case and launched into a spirited set of Christmas carols at our semi-annual Talent Show. I knew that seminarians Lee and Jamey Bozeman had been accomplished Christian rock musicians and signed recording artists, but I didn’t know how good they could sound with a faculty bass player.

Our winter Talent Show provides the campus community a much-needed opportunity to relax in fellowship just before final exam week. It also gives us the chance to celebrate each other’s talents, and to discover facets of our brothers and sisters that do not come to fore in the classroom, chapel, or on field assignments!

The SVS Karate Club has been meeting weekly since Fall 2009. Most students are seminary children, but several adults have participated as well. The traditional Karate training conducted here is designed to develop positive character traits in students through working within strict guidelines while enjoying a fun atmosphere.

 InstructionStudents learn valuable self-defense skills; they learn to respect themselves and others, to practice self-control, and to coordinate their minds and bodies. Training gives children a sense of self-value and confidence, better health, and increases their ability to concentrate on tasks. All students are taught that the Karate techniques they learn are for self-defense purposes only, and they practice different methods to avoid physical confrontation.

Thursday August 26^th was warm but not too hot — a perfect day for a SVOTS picnic! New students, their families, some faculty and their families, with other seminarians and families already on campus enjoyed a cook-out on the porch of the Germack Building after Vespers.

Adults sat on steps, on grass, on stone walls, and ate and talked and laughed. The children were in constant motion, attracted by the brook, the ball game on the front lawn, and Professor Bouteneff’s very well-behaved dog.

More Orientation Cookout Photos