With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share news of the repose of St. Vladimir’s Seminary Trustee Emeritus Mitchell Zunich. Zunich, 93, died on the Feast of Holy Pascha, Sunday, April 19, at his home at St. Mary of the Woods Assisted Living in Avon, OH.

Zunich was born May 10, 1926 in Lorain, OH. He served with the US Army during World War II in the 357th Regiment of the 90th Infantry Division. During his service, he participated in the battles of Rhineland and Central Europe and received the European-African-Middle-Eastern Theater Ribbon with two Bronze Stars, a Good Conduct Medal, a WWII Victory Medal and an Occupation Medal for Germany. His division was awarded the Bronze Star and participated in the liberation of Flossenburg Concentration Camp. Zunich attended the Ohio State University where he earned a bachelor of science in accounting. He founded Mitchell Zunich & Co. Certified Public Accountants, retiring in 2001. He was active in the community, having served as an officer, president, and board member of many organizations including the Lorain Rotary Club, Lorain Salvation Army, Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority, the City Bank Co., Lorain Family YMCA, Clearview School Board, and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. In the 1990s, Mitchell and his wife, Violet, helped establish a scholarship for Serbian Orthodox seminarians at St. Vladimir’s so that no young Serbian Orthodox men would be turned away from becoming priests. Zunich was a member of St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Lorain, the Serbian National Federation, the Ohio Society of CPAs, and the AICPA.

"Mitch was honored to be on the Seminary’s Board of Trustees," said fellow St. Vladimir's Trustee Emeritus Brian Gerich. "He served many years as one of the four Serbian trustees along with [Trustee Emeritus] Alex Machaskee, Leon Lysaght, and myself.

"During our 1990’s Capital Campaign, I asked Mitch to join with me in establishing endowments for scholarships for Serbian Orthodox students studying to become priests. He immediately accepted, and he and his beloved wife Violet added to their endowment regularly. Mitch was pleased to know that as students graduated they were debt free as they prepared for a lifetime of serving our Lord."

"I remember Mitch as a quiet, decisive, compassionate gentleman who was a staunch supporter of our Orthodox Christian faith and a great contributor of time, talent, and treasure to St. Vladimir's Seminary," added Alex Machaskee. "He was a founding contributor to Monastery Marcha in Richfield Ohio, a decorated veteran of World War II, and a highly esteemed civic leader."

Mitchell Zunich is survived by his sons, Mitch Zunich of Cleveland and Rob (Eva) Zunich of Avon Lake; grandchildren, Neven, Dane, Rada, and Mila Zunich; and sister, Sophie Tyrin of Chicago. Zunich was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Violet M. Zunich (née Kobac) on Sept 7, 2014; infant son, Nick Zunich, in 1959; parents, Nikola & Stanka Zunich (née Kunic); brothers, Demeter, George, Nick, and Mike Zunich; and sisters, Mildred Stamatis, Dorothy Kovan, Nellie Raynovich, and Mary Zunich.

Due to restrictions on social gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, private family funeral services will be held. Hieromonk Nektarije Tesanovic of St. George Serbian Orthodox Church will preside with burial to follow in Elmwood Cemetery in Lorain. Memorial contributions may be made to St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, 3355 Grove Ave, Lorain, OH, 44055 or St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, 575 Scarsdale Rd, Yonkers, NY, 10707. Arrangements are under the direction of Gluvna-Shimo-Hromada Funeral Chapel, 3224 Broadway Ave, Lorain. Online condolences may be made at www.gluvna.net. 

May the memory of Mitchell Zunich be eternal!

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(The photo and some information in this article have been reprinted from The Morning Journal.)

In his new role as Manager of Operations for St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) Press, Dr. Daniel Stauffer gets to combine his academic expertise in late Byzantine theology with his aptitude for business. He spent the past eight years at the University of Notre Dame, where he completed a master’s degree, obtained a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies, and conducted postdoctoral research. As a native of Ithaca, NY, he now returns home to New York State with his wife and four children. As we welcome Dr. Stauffer to the Seminary, he tells us about the books that sparked his love of theology, what he hopes to bring to his new role at SVS Press, and how snapping turtles stirred up an exciting day on campus for his kids!

Dr. Daniel, tell us a little about your background and your time at Notre Dame.

I grew up in Ithaca, NY, so just a couple hours away—in the nice part of New York State [laughs]. But I met my wife Deandra at Notre Dame. She’s originally from Texas. At the time we met, she had just finished her master’s in theology and I had just started my master’s degree, also in theology. But I would say that in her heart her true interest is in literature.

Ah, so with a background in theology and literature, she must have been excited when you told her about the possibility of working for SVS Press! How did that possibility come about while you were at Notre Dame?

Yes, she was definitely excited about that!

Well, at Notre Dame I was there for a really long time, studying with, in particular, Protopresbyter Dr. Alexis Torrance, who is an Orthodox theologian on the faculty there. And Fr. Alexis was great. Even though my Ph.D. was in medieval studies, within that I focused almost exclusively on Byzantine theology. My dissertation was on the Christologies of the hesychast controversy, which was really fun. That’s being reviewed for publication now. Hopefully one day it’ll see the light of day [laughs]. So I spent the last eight years studying theology, and then teaching a bit at Notre Dame as well.

Following those studies, I decided that academia was perhaps not the route I wanted to take in my life. It was very fortuitous that Fr. Alexis knew [Seminary Dean] Dr. Tudorie. I guess Dr. Tudorie reached out to Fr. Alexis and said, “We’re looking for someone for the Press. Do you know anyone who would be a good fit?” Then Fr. Alexis passed that along to me. It’s a beautiful thing to get a job that way, that absolutely falls into your lap [laughs]. So that’s how I got this job. My advisor recommended me to Dr. Tudorie. He interviewed me and liked that I have an academic background and eventually offered me the position.

I thought working for SVS Press would be pretty cool. As I said, I didn’t want a life in academia, but I still really enjoyed theology, and this was a way to keep in contact with that in some sense. Also, I would be involved with the business aspects of the Press. Though that’s not something I spent time doing at Notre Dame the past several years, that mode of thought comes very naturally to me. I was, amongst other things, an economics major in my undergraduate studies. So I’m getting back in touch with some different ways of thinking from my past, you might say. I’m enjoying that aspect of working with the Press a lot. There’s a theological dimension, but then there’s this other dimension—the more mathematical, business side—that I think comes naturally to me too. I’d like to think that I offer something a little different that maybe will bear some fruit for the Press in the future.

What sparked your desire to study theology?

The summer after my freshman year of college, for reasons that are unclear to me, I picked up Jaroslav Pelikan’s five-volume series The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. I read all five volumes, and it just opened my mind to a whole world of Christian theology that I’d had very little contact with up to that point. I was raised as a non-denominational Protestant, so I read the Bible and knew it reasonably well. But reading Pelikan opened my eyes to a lot of questions and things I didn’t know existed, and so that’s really what got me into theology. Ever since I read those books, I’ve been very interested in theology, especially in a historical key. The way I approach theology is very historical, as that way comes most naturally to me, although that is certainly not the only way to approach theology, of course.  

Was that experience with Pelikan’s books what led you to the Orthodox Church?

Yeah, I mean it definitely led me, not directly, but it set me on the path, you might say, to becoming Orthodox. It wasn’t immediate. But I was baptized in 2015 at Holy Apostles, which is an OCA parish, in Lansing, NY. So that was my parish in college, because I went to college in my hometown. It’s been very nice that I get to go back there occasionally when I go home to visit my parents and maintain a bit of the relationships with the people I knew at Holy Apostles during those years. Normally, after you graduate college and leave the parish you had gone to, you might never see those people again. One of the great things about being here, at St. Vladimir’s, is that it’s significantly closer to my family.

How has the move to campus been for you and your family?

I think the transition to living at St. Vladimir's has gone pretty well. We really like the apartment we’re in, and the Seminary, the campus, is really lovely. I remember the second or third day, my family was in the apartment. My kids all ran up to the balcony because there were two snapping turtles having a fight in Crestwood Lake! We just watched from our balcony. That was pretty cool, right? Every morning my son is excited to look out from the balcony and listen for different bird calls that he tries to recognize. So it has been a good transition. We’re of course sad to leave our home and our friends in South Bend, IN, but we’ve enjoyed it here.

Do you have any hobbies you enjoy at the moment?

Initially my hobby was theology, and then I turned that into my profession for a long time as a grad student. I mean, at this point, I don't know. I don't have a lot of time for hobbies between the children and the academic work I was doing for a long time. And now, I've been pretty busy with the Press up to this point. Yeah, that's a lame answer. There were hobbies once [laughs].

To learn more about St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press and browse its collection, visit SVSPress.com.

On this Feast of Holy Transfiguration, St. Vladimir’s Seminary remembers the eminent Orthodox Church musician and noted Professor Boris Ledkovsky, on the 50th anniversary of his repose in the Lord (+Aug. 6, 1975).

Boris Ledkovsky was born in 1894 in Agrafenovka, Russia. The son of a priest, Boris began directing a church choir from the age of 14. Ledkovsky founded and directed various choirs in Europe (France and Germany) before arriving in America in 1951 with his wife and children. He joined St. Vladimir's Seminary faculty in 1953 and served as its choir director in the early years, when the Seminary was still located on 121st Street in New York City.

Professor Ledkovsky became one of the most influential Orthodox Church musicians of the twentieth century, playing a key role in changing the style of singing in North American Orthodox churches. In his compositions, Ledkovsky attempted to convey what he so often referred to as “tserkovnost” (i.e., churchly), drawing inspiration from the old Russian chants. He emphasized the importance of the text—and that the music should never predominate over it—and composed music in service of the sacred words sung in liturgical settings. One of his students, David Drillock—who would go on serve for many years himself as the Seminary's Professor of Liturgical Music—recalled, “I became very close to Professor Ledkovsky and can remember so vividly how, when I would excitedly show him some piece of music that I had heard and was asking him why we shouldn’t sing it, he would look at me, shake his head, and simply reply, ‘Ny, David, eto ne tserkovno’ (But, David, this is not churchly).”

Under Ledkovsky's direction, the St. Vladimir's Seminary Male Choir achieved such a high level that the choir gave several public concerts in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1961 the first recording by the Seminary choir was produced. Boris Ledkovsky directed and, for the most part, the selections were settings of chant done by Ledkovsky along with a few of his own compositions. Drillock described the transformation that the work of Ledkovsky and others helped set in motion during those years throughout the Church in North America:

Already as a result of the annual Lenten visits to parishes on the east coast and the annual concerts which we gave in New York City, and especially by the lectures given by Fr. Alexander [Schmemann] throughout the entire country in churches and college campuses, an awareness that liturgical worship and church singing were not only vestiges of an “ancient, colorful rite” but something that was relevant and meaningful to contemporary life was beginning to take hold.

Then, in 1964 a recording of the Divine Liturgy in English with Prof. Ledkovsky directing was made. The choir was recognized, as one reviewer for The New York Times put it, as “almost a professional chorus,” and among church people it was known not only for its “prayerful” renditions of church music but also as the choir most responsible in America for arousing interest in the ancient liturgical chants of the Russian Orthodox Church.

(Although that 1964 album is no longer in publication, the recording has been posted online. Other recorded compositions and arrangements of Ledkovsky's may be downloaded via Musica Russica.)

Toward the end of his life, Professor Ledkovsky’s work at St. Vladimir’s Seminary was limited to one rehearsal a week, though he also continued to compose music for the choir, which Professor Drillock would adapt to English. Ledkovsky was commissioned by the Seminary to write a Vespers, which in turn was adapted for English and published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary in 1976. Professor Ledkovsky never saw the published work, as he died in 1975 after battling lung cancer.

His beloved wife, Marina Viktorovna Ledkovsky, whom he married in 1943, was a pioneering scholar of Russian women’s studies. She was appointed full professor jointly at Barnard College and Columbia University in 1979 and remained there until her retirement in 1996. She fell asleep in the Lord in 2014. Boris and Marina had four children: Alexander (also a noted church musician), Dimitri, Tatiana, and Michael.

Over the coming academic year, to commemorate 50 years since his falling asleep, the Seminary's liturgical music curriculum and programs, led by The Rev. Dn. Dr. Harrison Russin and Zachariah Mandell, will pay special tribute to Boris Ledkovsky's prolific career and contributions.

May the memory of Professor Boris Ledkovsky be eternal!

More about the work of Ledkovsky, other noted figures, and significant historical events in North American Orthodox liturgical music may be found in Professor Drillock’s “My Life in Church Music.”

CrossRoad Summer Institute hosted one of its summer sessions on the campus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) this July. Although technically the program’s first official visit to campus in its twenty-year history, it was a homecoming of sorts for CrossRoad.

The Seminary welcomed a group of thirty-two high school juniors and seniors for the intensive ten-day program, held July 5-15. Participants were given a taste of seminary life as they roomed in dormitories, partook in daily prayers at Three Hierarchs Chapel, ate meals at the Seminary refectory, and enjoyed focused classroom sessions with Dr. Peter Bouteneff and Fr. Bogdan Bucur. The group also forayed into Yonkers and New York City. Those trips included several parish visits, including to Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Yonkers and St. Nicholas National Shrine in Lower Manhattan, and tours of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOA) headquarters, Central Park, and the Statue of Liberty.

“CrossRoad started through the 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,” said SVOTS Alumna Ana Legaspi (’25), who returned to campus now as CrossRoad's Summer Programs Director. “Having a program like this at St. Vladimir’s Seminary was a great way to show what the Seminary has to offer and to extend the reach of CrossRoad at the same time. It felt like a very natural partnership and came together really smoothly, especially since Seminary faculty have been involved from the beginning.”

CrossRoad’s session on campus was initially brought forward by Seminary Dean Dr. Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie, and was coordinated by Legaspi and senior SVOTS staff member Ted Bazil.

“Members of the Seminary community have been so involved with CrossRoad’s past and present, that the program’s visit felt like welcoming our own back home,” said Dr. Tudorie. “We are thankful for everything CrossRoad does for young Orthodox Christians, and were honored to help facilitate their wonderful work—especially as their emphasis on theological education aligns so closely with our mission.” 

Members of SVOTS faculty have been actively involved in CrossRoad since its inception in 2004, including Fr. Thomas Hopko, Fr. Alexander Rentel, Dr. Albert Rossi, Dr. John Barnet, and Dr. Michael Legaspi, Ana Legaspi’s father. The CrossRoad initiative began with another alumna, Dr. Anne Bezzerides (’00), who started the program and now serves as its Executive Director.

“Dr. Anne has been wanting to bring the program here for decades,” Legaspi added. “I know she was so happy to see that finally come to fruition.”

Other members of the SVOTS family involved with CrossRoad include Alumna Dr. Jennifer Haddad Mosher (’09), who serves as Research & Educational Design Director, and Dimitrios Rentel, CrossRoad’s Telos Center Manager. Rentel is an incoming seminarian and grew up on campus with his father Fr. Alexander, mother, and siblings.

The session at St. Vladimir’s Seminary was CrossRoad’s third of the summer. Two sessions in Boston began the season, and CrossRoad completed its final session of summer 2025 in Southern California.

About the CrossRoad Summer Institute

CrossRoad is a ten-day academic summer institute that prepares high school juniors and seniors to make big life decisions and invites them to connect with the Orthodox Christian theological and spiritual tradition in a deep and meaningful way. CrossRoad offers a space for young people to form authentic and lifelong friendships, ask hard questions, and explore their calling as an Orthodox Christian in the 21st century.

To learn more about the program and how to sign up, visit CrossRoad’s website.

View More Photos of CrossRoad’s New York Summer Session

“My hope and prayer when I joined the Board was that I would be able to make an impact on the success of the Seminary with the experiences I have had in my life,” said Francis (Frank) Barrett. “To be able to play a small part in improving the quality of life for the seminarians, and to be able to do it with physical labor, walking the path of many holy men and women here of the past and present, was incredibly humbling and rewarding.”

Frank Barrett serves as an elected member of St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Board of Trustees. He indeed brings a wealth of experiences to the Board, including thirty-five years of experience as Treasurer and later President and CEO of Boyd Wilson, LLC in Lancaster, PA. He is currently its Chairman of the Board. He has also served on the Parish Council as Treasurer of St. John Chrysostom Antiochian Orthodox Church in York, PA, from 1995 to 2024, helping to grow the parish from a mission to its current average of 220 people in Liturgy on any given Sunday.

He had recently been discussing with his fellow Seminary Board members the importance of investing in and improving the campus for seminarians and their families.

“I thought, ‘I’d better put my money where my mouth is!’”

So this July—with temps in the upper 80s and 90s—Barrett traveled to campus, put on his working boots, and spent several days helping Plant Manager Rafael Rivera install ceiling fans, dehumidifier switches, and making other improvements in seminarian apartments and dormitories. Barrett donated the labor cost and arranged for the fans to be obtained at a lower price.

“I told him I may not let him leave,” joked Rivera.

The new ceiling fans will help better circulate the cooler air in the common living areas in the summer. In the winter, the fans can be switched to alternate rotation in order to push warmer air down and distribute it more evenly. Barrett described the dehumidifier switches as “building savers.”

“The trustees we have are so dedicated to the Seminary and have such generosity—and talent, as you can see,” said senior staff member Ted Bazil. “We are so thankful to Frank for coming down here himself to help get this work done. Rafael works very hard for this place, and I know he appreciated the help immensely.”

“I only had a small part in the excellent work Ted, Rafael, and Yuri [Shcherbakov] have been doing all summer, and just wanted to lend a helping hand. I am happy to help—but we’re not finished with our improvements!” added Barrett.

Donations can be made to the Seminary toward any number of essential needs—from seminarian scholarships to campus improvements. To learn more about ways to give and to make a donation, svots.edu/give.

Top Photo: Trustee Francis (Frank) Barrett and Plant Manager Rafael Rivera

Faculty member and alumna Dr. Sarah Byrne-Martelli has developed a penchant for firsts. In 2019, she became the first woman to graduate from St. Vladimir's Seminary's Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program in its current format. Now, she has also become the first chaplain to be accepted as a full-time Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 

Dr. Byrne-Martelli began her two-year fellowship in July in the Department of Supportive Oncology at the Institute, located in Boston, MA. She is conducting research on the role of spirituality in medical decision-making, on existential distress, and on the integration of chaplaincy within palliative care teams.

Research Fellowships such as hers are typically reserved for medical doctors and established Ph.D. researchers, but Byrne-Martelli is the first D.Min. to be awarded such an honor by Dana-Farber.

“I’m looking forward to continuing the research I have been conducting in these areas,” said Dr. Byrne-Martelli. “In fact, I began conducting qualitative research while studying at St. Vladimir’s. I enjoy creating bridges between the worlds of medicine and religious practice and belief. 

The way I approach my research is: What keeps me up at night? This Fellowship is an opportunity to study the topics I have wrestled with over twenty-five years of clinical practice. I have worked at three major academic hospitals and three Hospice programs, and I have always been one of very few chaplains within huge medical systems. The availability of professional spiritual care and the integration of chaplaincy into interprofessional teams is highly uneven across the US. Perceptions of chaplaincy vary widely, and sometimes with good reason. So I will explore: What are the barriers that are negatively impacting the provision of spiritual care? How might our faith better help us navigate serious illness? How does religiosity affect the way we make medical decisions? And so forth. I am thankful for the opportunity to explore this new non-clinical role and to bring my experience caring for seriously ill patients into dialogue with my research.”

Dr. Sarah Byrne-Martelli is a board-certified chaplain and bereavement counselor, endorsed by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA). She serves as Board Secretary of the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion (OCAMPR). Her book, Memory Eternal: Living with Grief as Orthodox Christians, was published by Ancient Faith Publishing in 2022 and includes an Orthodox Christian bereavement group curriculum. At St. Vladimir’s Seminary, she is Assistant Professor of Spiritual Care for the D.Min. program.

May God grant her many years and bless her ministry!

• RELATED: Living with Grief: Alumna Sarah Byrne-Martelli pens new book 'Memory Eternal'
• WATCH: “Working through Grief During the Holiday Season” Webinar with Dr. Sarah Byrne-Martelli and Dr. Daniel Hinshaw.

Top Photo: Dr. Sarah Byrne-Martelli at the Seminary’s Mid-Year Commencement Exercises, January 30, 2020.

In July, the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) Board of Directors announced the selection of St. Vladimir’s Seminary Alumnus Dr. Nathan Hoppe (’20) as OCMC’s new Executive Director. Dr. Hoppe will succeed Fr. Martin Ritsi and assume the helm in January 2026, following Fr. Martin’s retirement after more than twenty-six years of dedicated service.

“We have been exceedingly blessed to have Fr. Martin chart the course of the organization all these years, and we couldn’t be more confident in Dr. Hoppe’s ability to build on the legacy that Fr. Martin will leave,” stated Board Chair Dr. Gayle Woloschak.

Under Fr. Martin’s leadership, the Mission Center significantly expanded its global missionary presence, strengthened pan-Orthodox collaboration, and played a pivotal role in growing the Orthodox Church—supporting more than 3,000 missionaries and volunteers and distributing millions of dollars in grants around the world.

“It is exciting to see a person who has been raised in the mission field and then dedicated decades of his life to missionary service, now taking on the key leadership role of the Mission Center,” said Fr. Martin. “I look forward to transitioning leadership to Nathan in these months ahead.”

A graduate of Wheaton College (B.A., M.A.), Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (M.T.S.), and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (D.Min.), Dr. Nathan Hoppe is a respected author and international church leader. The Mission Center’s longest-serving missionary, he brings more than twenty-five years of experience to his new role. Working in close collaboration with the late Archbishop Anastasios of Albania and other local hierarchs, Dr. Hoppe has helped establish vibrant Orthodox communities and has led numerous ministries focused on theological education, family and youth development, and parish life.

In Albania, he taught for many years at the Resurrection of Christ Theological Academy (now Logos University College), where he helped shape a generation of church leaders. He also led the Church’s Children’s Office for over twenty-one years, initiated a national summer family camp program, helped develop and lead a university ministry, and oversaw the creation of Sunday School curricula for Orthodox parishes.

Throughout his career, Dr. Hoppe has represented the Orthodox Church of Albania in ecumenical dialogues on five continents and served on multiple international theological commissions with the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches. With decades of missionary experience and a proven dedication to Orthodox Christian witness, Dr. Hoppe brings the vision, leadership, and global perspective needed to guide the Mission Center into its next chapter.

“I am profoundly honored to be called to this new position of service and look forward to working with Fr. Martin and the Board throughout the transition process and beyond,” said Dr. Hoppe. “I am grateful for the strong foundation the Mission Center has established and am excited to see how God will lead us in the future.”

May God grant Dr. Hoppe many years and bless his ministry with OCMC!

Top Photo: From International Orthodox Theological Association talk, “The Mission-Critical Task of the Church.”

Information for this article courtesy of OCMC.

This July, will you be at the 57th Biennial Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese Convention? Or will you be in the Chicago area around that time? Meet us there for a gathering of alumni and friends, and enjoy food and fellowship!

RSVP to Alumni LUNCH

This free alumni event will take place on Wednesday, July 23 from 11am–1pm at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, 9300 W. Bryn Mawr Ave, Rosemont, IL 60018. 

RSVP and let us know if we'll see you there!

By The Very Rev. Dr. Sergius Halvorsen, Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric

This sermon by Archpriest Sergius Halvorsen was delivered on the Feast of the Holy, Glorious Prophet Elijah, July 20, 2025, following the reading of the Holy Gospel at Divine Liturgy (Luke 4:22–30).

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

When Moses went up Mount Sinai, God gave the people ten commandments. And the first of these commandments is “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.”

The very first commandment that God gives commands the people to have no other gods except for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt. In other words, God was saying, “Do not create idols, and do not practice idolatry.”

These days when the ancient pagan religions have almost faded to nothing, it is tempting to think that God’s command forbidding idolatry only refers to the proper forms of worship. I’m not bowing down before a golden calf, and I’m not offering incense in a pagan temple, so I don’t have to worry about this commandment, right?

But maybe the temptation to idolatry is more insidious than that.

Today we hear about people worshipping in the Synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath day. They were hearing the word of God in Scripture, praying the Sabbath day prayers, assembled with members in good standing of the Synagogue. They weren’t worried about the temptation of idolatry. God’s first commandment was probably the last thing on their minds. 

But that’s the problem. Because the underlying temptation of idolatry is not the golden calf or the pagan temple. Those come much later, once the idolatrous temptation has fully wound its way around the soul. The underlying temptation of idolatry is transactional spirituality. It is the temptation to look at life as one big business proposition: How do I get what I want for the best deal possible? 

It is a kind of vending machine spirituality: if you do just the right thing in just the right way, then you’ll get exactly what you want. Say you’re hungry and you come to a vending machine that dispenses food. You figure out what you want, put in the right amount of money, push the right buttons, and you get what you want. This idolatrous vending machine spirituality looks at God and other people as a way to get what I want, exactly how I want it.

This is one of the reasons that pagan religions usually have multiple deities. Each one has a different area of influence: the pagan god of war, the pagan god of love, the pagan god of commerce and communication. Depending on what you want, you go to the temple of that particular pagan god, and then perform the specific ritual for that request, and then hope you get what you want. Just like a cosmic vending machine.

But this idolatrous spirituality can also affect those who worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Think of the people in the Synagogue on that Sabbath day in Nazareth, they had all the externals right: the Scripture, the prayers, the building. But in spirit they were looking to do business. On that Sabbath day Jesus had returned to Nazareth, His home town, and He was in the Synagogue. The people listen to Jesus teach and they ask, “Wait, is this not Joseph's son? If you’re really a prophet, then work some miracle here, so that we can see for ourselves.” Our Lord sees into their hearts, He knows what they’re looking for. They’re looking for proof: “We knew you as a child and a young man. Do you have special power? Can you get us what we want, just the way we want it?” They’re looking for some kind of transaction.

But Jesus is not a pagan idol, and He refuses to be used in that kind of way, He refuses to perform any miracle for them. And the people become enraged, they chase Him out of town in anger, and even try to hurl Him off of a cliff. 

Because, when a transaction fails, people get angry. Like if you put money into a vending machine, and you think you push the right combination of buttons, but you get nothing. That is SO frustrating, it can make you so angry.

The people in Nazareth looked at Jesus with a spirit of idolatry, asking “What can you do for us? Can you get us what we want, just the way we want it? Can you get us a good deal?” And when Jesus did not give them what they wanted, they reacted with anger and rage. This is why idolatry is so dangerous, because even pious people who have all the externals right can look at God and their neighbors as mere opportunities for profit. 

And of course, the temptation to idolatry is just as strong today as it has ever been. Here I am, an Orthodox Christian priest, wearing all the right vestments, saying all the right prayers, in this beautiful building adorned with stunning traditional icons. But how easy is it for me to think that if I do everything just right, then God will give me what I want, just the way I want it. And of course, if I pray and pray and pray for something, and don’t get it, the idolatrous temptation in my heart leads me to ask, “What didn’t I do right? Why isn’t this working?” As if God were some kind of cosmic vending machine who will do whatever I want as long as I push just the right buttons.

This is not faith, this is not a relationship, this is a transaction, it is idolatry. 

This pagan, idolatrous approach also tempts me to look at other people in terms of what they can get me, in terms of how useful they are to my goals and objectives. Hey, this person is wealthy, I should be extra nice to him in case I want to ask a big favor. Or, this person over here is extremely popular, I better go out of my way to cultivate this relationship. When people see that we’re friends, my reputation will surely improve, and that will help my business prospects. But what about the people that aren’t wealthy, or influential, or powerful? Well, that person is just scraping by financially, I don’t want to get too close to him, he might ask me to borrow money. And, those people are such losers, if I hang out with them, I’ll get a bad reputation. It’s terrifying how easy it is to relate to other people in this pagan, idolatrous transactional way. 

But the more that I look at God and other people in this way, the more I start to look at myself in the same way. What have I done, what have I accomplished, what have I achieved or mastered or conquered? What am I actually worth, what is my value in the big transaction of life? And that last question is the worst, because as soon as I ask what I am worth, the Evil One says, “Nothing. You’re worthless. Your entire life is one long string of failures.” Of course, this is a lie, but the more I view God and my neighbor transactionally, the more susceptible I am to that lie.

So the temptation to idolatry and a transactional view of life can lead to a very dark place of shame, regret, and despair. And this is why God’s first command is, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.” Because God’s ultimate objective was not just to liberate the people from hard labor under Pharoah. God’s ultimate objective is to free us from the tyranny of the transactional, to liberate us from the subjugation of shame, and to release us from the repression of regret. This is why the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sends His Only Begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, into this world: To deliver us from the dark destruction, and the crushing burden of idolatry.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not a pagan idol, he is not a false god, He is the Son of the Living God. And the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has never dealt with His people transactionally. During his earthly ministry, Christ did not cozy up to the people who were wealthy and powerful and influential, the leaders and influencers who could support His ministry and promote His interests. Jesus did not limit himself to only the righteous, and the pious and the holy who walked the straight and narrow path of virtue. Instead, our Lord comes into this world, not to call the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance. He ministers to the poor and the sick and the outcast. He travels across the sea of Galilee to a gentile city, to cast demons out of men who lived among the tombs and had no hope of salvation. He allows the woman with many sins to anoint His feet with her tears of repentance. He calls fishermen to be his disciples yet they were confused about His ministry, and they struggled every step along the way, even to the point of publicly denying Him. And when people are nailing Jesus to the cross, He prays that God would forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. This is not the ministry of transactional idolatry, this is the saving work of the Living God.

As St. Paul teaches us, “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6–8).

This is not a transaction, this is love. God did not send His Only Begotten Son into this world to make a transaction, Christ came into this world to love and to heal and to save.

When Jesus was confronted in the Synagogue in Nazareth, He reminded the people of the ministry of the Prophet Elijah, whom we celebrate today. In Elijah’s day, God’s people had fallen deeply into idolatry. And God sent Elijah to call the people to repentance, to put aside their idolatrous ways and to have no other gods than the one true God who had brought their fathers out of bondage in Egypt. But Jesus also reminds us about miracles that God worked through Elijah. There was a widow in Zarephath, and God sent Elijah to this woman saying, “This woman will give you food and drink.” But when Elijah meets the woman, she is in a very bad situation. She tells Elijah that she’s gathering a few sticks of firewood so that she can use her last tiny bit of flour and oil to bake one last tiny loaf of bread for her and her son before they die. But Elijah asks her to bake him some bread, and he tells her that God will not allow her to perish. And through her faithful act of generosity to Elijah, God miraculously provides sustenance for the woman and her son. Then, shortly after this, the widow’s only son became deathly ill. But Elijah prays for the boy and he is restored to health.

Jesus reminds us that there were many widows at this time, but God sent Elijah to this one widow of Zarephath, a city outside of Israel. This woman was not an insider, she was not well-connected, she was not powerful, she had nothing. Now remember, at this point in his ministry Elijah could have really used some support from powerful people. From a transactional perspective, it would have made a lot more sense for Elijah to work a miracle for a wealthy widow whose relatives were powerful leaders in the community. But, no. When Elijah is most vulnerable, and at his weakest, God sends him out of his own country, to a widow who has nothing.

And this is how God sends us. When we are weak, when we are completely broken, when it feels like we have nothing left to give, this is when God sends us to the lonely, the abandoned, the hopeless. Because, in that moment when we have nothing of ourselves to offer, then it is God who provides the grace, the love, and the life. Just like He provided for Elijah and the widow and her son. 

For God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. This is how God manifests his power and his glory. This is how God shatters the lie of idolatry, by showering love and mercy upon the outsider, the sinner, the people who live in the shadows. And this great mystery of the Living God that was seen in Elijah the prophet is perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who takes on the form of a servant, and ministers to the weak and the broken in love and mercy.

This is God’s Messiah, this is the Lord whom we worship.

Today we come before the Living God and offer true worship saying, “Lord, I come before You today, broken, empty, and sinful, not seeking any transaction, just asking for Your love and mercy. Merciful Lord, just as You provided for the widow of Zarepath, give us that small portion of life-giving bread, even Your very Body and Blood that we might minister and serve those in the shadows who are alone, hurting, abandoned.”

For this is true worship, this is true joy, this is everlasting life in Christ.

Amen.

Icon: The Ascension of the Prophet Elijah and Scenes from His Life, Theodore Poulakis (1622–1692).

We invite all our beloved graduates of St. Vladimir’s Seminary to join us this July for an alumni reception at the 21st All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America, in Phoenix, Arizona. Join Dr. Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie and other Seminary faculty members and staff for an evening of fellowship, drinks, and food with other alumni, and learn about the exciting things happening at St. Vladimir’s Seminary!

RSVP to Alumni Night

This free alumni event will take place on Tuesday, July 15 from 8pm–10pm at the Arizona Grand Resort, 8000 S. Arizona Grand Parkway,  Phoenix, AZ 85044. 

RSVP and let us know if we'll see you there!