For the past two years, Ana Legaspi has enjoyed the unique blessing of studying alongside her mother, a fellow M.A. student in her cohort, while taking classes with her father, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Dr Michael Legaspi. We sat down with Ana to learn about her decision to receive a theological education, her experience at seminary, and her new role as Director of Summer Programs for CrossRoad. Ana is slated to graduate from St Vladimir’s Seminary with a Master of Arts degree in May 2025.
Please tell us a bit about your background in the Church and your life before seminary.
My family has moved around a lot, but I'd say that I feel most at home in State College, Pennsylvania, and I would also say my home parish is there–St George Antiochian Church in Altoona, PA. I studied at Haverford College as a general music major, then I transferred to Eastern University, where I specialized in Classical Vocal Performance. After college, I worked in hospitality until coming to seminary.
The Legaspis, Pascha 2024. From left: Cato, Ana, Dr Michael Legaspi, Abby, Sister Glykeria, and Josiah
As for my background in the Church, we converted as a family when I was four. I've seen the pictures, and so I feel like I remember it, but maybe that's just me projecting the pictures onto my memory. I started singing in the choir at a very young age, which is actually what sparked my interest in pursuing music in the first place.
Having moved around a lot, I have been able to experience a lot of different jurisdictions. We were chrismated in an Antiochian church, but we went to GOA and ROCOR parishes, as well, and now, of course, we are in the OCA at seminary.
What first stirred your calling to serve in a more intentional capacity in the Orthodox Church, and why did that calling lead you to St Vladimir's Seminary?
I was moving towards a leadership role with the choir at my home parish in Altoona, PA, and my priest was encouraging me to take on more responsibility there. I was grateful for the opportunity, but I also felt intimidated and unqualified in a lot of ways. I had studied music in college, but just thinking about the theological implications of the hymnography and the words we sing, I started to realize how much I had taken for granted growing up Orthodox. I thought I knew a lot since I had been in the Church for years, but then when it came down to it, I really didn't. I wanted to know more. I felt almost irresponsible stepping into a role like that without a firm theological foundation.
At that point, my dad was in his first year teaching at St Vladimir’s Seminary as the Old Testament professor. It was funny–I was planning to go home and visit my parents for a weekend, and have a conversation with them, like, “Hey, I think I might want to come here. I think this is the right step for me.” Turns out they were planning a conversation with me, saying, “Hey, we think you should come here.” Things kind of fell into place after that. I wasn't fulfilled at my hotel job, and I wanted some grounding in my faith, to be a part of a community like this.
Tell us about your choice to enroll in the M.A. program at St Vladimir’s Seminary.
As I mentioned before, my background is in music, so I was initially drawn to the liturgical music aspect of the M.A. concentration in sacred arts. I also have a love for painting and drawing, though I’ve never pursued it professionally or seriously. Learning about iconography and the other arts and architecture of the church was incredibly fascinating to me. These are obviously beautiful aspects of our tradition, and the opportunity to study them more deeply was exciting. That’s what first drew me to the M.A. program and the sacred arts concentration. But, as I got into it, I found that the study of theology, which I hadn’t expected to love as much as I did, really took hold of me.
How did your study of music evolve at the seminary?
There are a lot of opportunities here. The choir is wonderful, and with so many services, you get the chance to dive into things like new arrangements, ensembles, and directing. The class schedule is packed with courses like Church History and Dogmatic Theology, but the really cool thing about seminary is that even without many extra arts classes, being immersed in the services lets you experience the fruit of hymnography, iconography, and architecture firsthand. Everything is so immediately present and applicable. So for me, the most compelling part of seminary has been the real-life application. You learn something, and 20 minutes later, you’re practicing it in the services.
Ana directs a trio during a hierarchical visit, joined by her mother, Abby Legaspi (M.A. ‘25), and Laura Ionescu (M.Div. ‘25)
How soon did you dive into directing–was it right away? Or did you take some time to get used to the music?
I took some time to get used to the music. I started with smaller groups, like leading a women's trio for special hymns, but leading the whole choir took more time. I also needed to get comfortable with things like pitching, since I was more used to Byzantine chant, so I wanted to take my time with that.
I've had a very busy schedule this year, so I actually haven't been part of the campus Byzantine choir this past semester, but I participated in it throughout my first year, and that was a wonderful opportunity as well. There's a Byzantine notation class, taught by Fr Nicholas Fine (M.Div. ‘23), that people are taking. There's a lot of desire to learn about Byzantine chant, and many seminarians really immerse themselves in that side of Church music.
Tell us more about your new position with CrossRoad. How has your M.A. program prepared you for this service?
So I've already started in a part-time capacity, and I will, God willing, continue in a full-time capacity as the Crossroad Summer Program Director. Crossroad runs Summer Institutes for high school juniors and seniors. It's an immersive 10-day program where they take classes on Scripture and theology, learning about and practicing the Faith. Many of them are heading off to college, so it helps them ground themselves in a community of other Christians their age. I’ll be overseeing and organizing those sessions. Youth ministry has always interested me, so this is a great opportunity to keep working in that area. I learned about this role through an information session here, which helped shape my understanding of the job. I also participated as a staff member last summer.
Along with taking theology classes and discussing pastoral topics with my classmates, being immersed in this community of people striving to find God has been invaluable in preparing me for this position with CrossRoad. It’s more than just academic instruction. I feel like I can now answer the basic questions high schoolers might have, and, more importantly, I know when I don’t have the answer. When that happens, I now know where to look and how to approach texts from the Church Fathers. I’ve gained practical knowledge, but it’s also been humbling to realize how much I don’t know—and that’s okay.
The CrossRoad Program will hold one of its summer sessions on the St Vladimir’s Seminary campus this year, for the first time ever. Why is it significant that CrossRoad is coming to St Vladimir’s, and what will it look like?
We are so excited for this. Dr Anne Bezzerides (M.Div. ‘00), who started CrossRoad, is an alum of St Vlad’s, and she’s been wanting to bring the program here for decades. We just celebrated CrossRoad’s 20th anniversary last year, so it’s really exciting that it’s finally happening.
The participants will be staying in the dorms, praying in the chapel, eating in the refectory—they’ll really get a feel for life on campus. We’ll also be using the classrooms for sessions, so it’s a real immersion.
CrossRoad started through the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOA) and was primarily based at Hellenic College Holy Cross for a while, with wonderful support. But now that it’s grown, we want to make sure it’s available to as many people as possible. Having a program like this at St Vladimir’s is a great way to show what the seminary has to offer and to extend the reach of CrossRoad at the same time. It’s felt like a very natural partnership, and it's come together really smoothly, especially since St Vladimir’s faculty have been involved from the beginning. Dr Rossi has been giving sessions for decades, Fr Thomas Hopko was involved for a long time, my dad’s been teaching there for about ten years, and now Dr Bouteneff and Fr Bogdan, too. So yes, St Vladimir’s faculty will be the professors for the session, and they can literally just walk over from their homes to teach—it’s wonderful.
Dr Michael Legaspi teaches at a CrossRoad session
You were a participant in a new elective course at St Vladimir’s last spring, focused on creating faith-based narratives (supported by the Compelling Preaching Initiative). How will that experience inform your work with CrossRoad?
I’ve thought a lot about that. The Faith-Based Narratives course was focused on learning to tell a story, specifically how God works in our lives and shows strength through our weaknesses. What struck me was the range of stories, all of which centered on how God works through our weaknesses and is present in unexpected ways. On an intellectual level, I knew that everybody faces different challenges, but hearing those stories really reinforced that for me in a new way. In ministry, you meet so many different people, and you can't generalize. Every person has their own path, but they can always trace it back to God. This experience has shaped how I approach training the staff at Crossroad, helping them recognize the unique stories of others while reflecting on their own. Writing those stories down and formulating them is a very valuable experience.
One aspect of your experience at seminary is certainly quite unique–your dad, Dr Michael Legaspi, teaches here, and your mom, Abby Legaspi, is also completing her Master's degree side by side with you.
It is definitely a unique circumstance, and on the whole, I’m just really grateful for it. You don’t expect to have this much time with your parents after college, so it feels like a bonus. Time with them has been a blessing. It’s nice—lots of home-cooked meals, and on long, hard days, it’s easier to take a step back and rest. That’s definitely a benefit.
There are challenges, though. I’m not in the dorms, so I’m not as immersed in community life, and I do miss out on some of that. But I still feel very welcome. I am with my classmates for services, classes, extracurriculars, and there’s always something happening—people hanging out, music on the porch. So while there are a few things I don’t experience, I’d say it’s like anything else: you get out what you put in. Sometimes I have to go a little more out of my way to engage with the community, but if I do, it’s there for me.
Ana takes a bow with the cast of “Patriarch Abraham,” a play performed by members of the student body in April 2024, raising funds for a new well in seminarian Dn Richard Okello’s hometown in Uganda
How has it been being in class with your dad? Were you in class with your mom, too?
Yes, I sat next to my mom, and my dad was the one teaching. He’d pretend to forget our names—it became a bit of a running joke. I thought it would feel weirder than it did, but he’s the same whether he’s teaching or at home, so it actually felt really natural. It was funny—and definitely something we all loved.
Did being in class together lead to any new conversations at home?
Definitely at dinner. Honestly, growing up, he’d already give us prompts to talk about, so it wasn’t totally new—it was kind of just how our family always worked. But it was really exciting to carry something from class into conversation and dive deeper. I didn’t want it to feel like he was always on the clock, but he was genuinely excited to talk about this stuff, and so was I. So, yes, this situation led to a lot of good conversations.
Ana and her mother, Abby, listen to Dr Michael Legaspi give a presentation at the New Student Orientation, August 2023
Would you say that coming to seminary is worthwhile for people who are not on the path to the priesthood?
Absolutely. The priesthood has, of course, never been on the table for me, but that’s never lessened my desire to learn or my conviction that those of us not pursuing ordination can still benefit deeply from this kind of study. Even if you're not going into ministry or working directly in the Church, it makes a difference—whether it’s speaking with catechumens at your parish or just being more immersed in the services for your own spiritual growth.
I’ve gleaned so much from this experience. Even if I weren’t going into ministry after this, I wouldn’t regret my time here at all. It’s definitely changed the trajectory of my life, even if not in a concrete way like ordination.
What would you like to say to those who choose to give of themselves to support seminarians and the seminary itself?
Being here—and now preparing to go into ministry, especially in a nonprofit context—it has really hit home for me that none of this is possible without people’s generosity.
I think before, I saw donations more as material gifts, which are of course deeply appreciated. But now I understand them differently—it feels like donors are truly entering into the ministry with us. It’s not just writing a check and walking away. There’s real involvement. Board members and donors visit often, and I’ve had wonderful, personal conversations with people who support the seminary.
So, whereas before I didn’t fully grasp what that support meant, now it feels like a shared web of ministry that we’re all part of. I’m just incredibly thankful for the opportunities made possible by the generosity of the wider community.
