From the earliest days of St. Herman Theological Seminary (SHS) in Kodiak, Alaska, a special relationship has existed between it and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVS). Both Protopresbyters Alexander Schmemann and John Meyendorff, SVS Deans, worked closely with the first Dean of SHS, Protopresbyter Joseph Kreta, to secure a firm foundation for the Alaskan seminary.

In August 2008, two SVS administrators, the Very Rev. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor, and the Rev. Protodeacon Kirill Sokolov, Associate Chancellor for Systems, began re-building this relationship by traveling to Kodiak Island, where the first Orthodox missionaries landed in 1794.

In his current capacity as an ex-officio member of the SHS Board of Trustees, Fr. Chad spent part of his time in Alaska exploring with other members of the St. Herman Board some exciting new ways in which St. Vladimir’s can serve Alaska once again, beginning with a strong SVS alumni base associated with SHS.

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.”