The Board of Trustees and Administration of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary have been prayerfully observing and reflecting on the events and news in recent days as the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America and the Metropolitan Council meet at the Chancery in Syosset, New York.

We appreciate the recommendations of the Special Investigating Committee and the first steps that are being taken to follow those recommendations, including publishing the report of the Committee.  We note, regarding the Committee's recommendation to require annual external audits of all OCA bodies and institutions, including Stavropegial institutions such as seminaries, that St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary for over twenty-five years has engaged outside auditors who have conducted full annual external audits of its financial records.  These audits are made available for the examination of all interested parties.  Recent annual audits may be viewed on our web site: http://www.svots.edu.

  St. Vladimir's Seminary is an independent non-profit educational institution chartered by the State of New York. The seminary's independent, experienced, and diverse Board of Trustees has been and continues to be committed to transparent and accountable governance of the Seminary.  Its membership, drawn from the various Orthodox jurisdictions that the Seminary serves, includes clergy and laity distinguished by their achievements in such fields as finance, business, media, law, medicine, and education. The Primate or locum tenens of the Orthodox Church in America serves as the Seminary President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  The members of the Board of Trustees elect an Executive Chair, who coordinates the work of the Board.

While acknowledging the difficult circumstances of the just-announced retirement of His Beatitude Metropolitan Herman, the Seminary notes with appreciation his service to St. Vladimir's Seminary and his ministry of leading us in prayer over the last six years.  As His Beatitude undergoes surgery this month, we pray that the hands of his physicians will be guided by the Lord and that his recovery will be swift.

The Board of Trustees looks forward to working with the locum tenens and the administrator of the Metropolitan See in the coming weeks.

The entire seminary community wishes to thank the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America for the opportunity to serve the Church as a theological school.  We assure you of our intention to continue and deepen our efforts to provide for this and future generations of priests and church leaders. We pray that the Lord will give peace to His Church and to His people for every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.

In Christ,

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.

“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.”

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.”

Updated August 14, 2008

St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary has several job postings available: an Advancement Officer (Capital Campaign); a Production Assistant in SVS Press; and part-time position customer service positions in SVS Bookstore. Please see the full job descriptions on our Employment Opportunities page.