With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share news of the repose of Archpriest Peter Tutko, an alumnus of both St. Vladimir's and St. Tikhon's seminaries. Father Peter, 80, fell asleep in the Lord on November 5, 2021 at his home in Tarpon Springs, FL.

The Very Rev. Peter Tutko was born on March 18, 1941, to Peter and Anastasia (Talalay) in Brooklyn, NY, and from his youth was raised in service to the Orthodox Church starting at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn. He served in the altar, sang in the choir, taught in the church school and directed the choir.

He entered the Pre-Theological Program at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary when it was still located at Union Theological Seminary on West 121st Street in Manhattan. In the summer of 1962, Fr. Peter became a member of the first St. Vladimir’s Seminary Octet, which travelled to eighty parishes throughout the United States that summer. He completed his theological studies at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, South Canaan, PA and was ordained to the holy priesthood in 1973 by His Beatitude, Ireney.

Father Peter went on to serve in a number of parishes of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and founded several of them in the dioceses of both New England and of the South.

Father Peter’s health began to decline shortly after the repose of his wife of fifty-three years, Matushka Sonja, in March of this year. Despite his failing health, Fr. Peter maintained his missionary spirit, offering his encouragement and inspiration to the newest mission of the Diocese of the South, Ss. Joachim & Anna in The Villages, FL. He was present for the first Divine Liturgy in June and sang with the choir as he was able up until his repose.

Father Peter will be remembered for his humor, his love of church music, his family, love of Christ, and service to His Holy Church. He and Matushka Sonja are survived by their son, Mark, and grandchild, Jayson.

May the memory of Archpriest Peter be eternal!

With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share news of the repose of Alexander Popoff, Jr., trustee emeritus of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. Popoff, who had been living in the Seattle area, fell asleep in the Lord October 30, 2021 at the age of 88.

Popoff served as the committed chairman of the Seminary Building and Grounds Committee during the planning and construction of the most significant capital campaign in St. Vladimir's history. He is remembered as a consummate gentleman with a wonderful, warm demeanor. His professional background and wise counsel were invaluable to the success of the expansion of the campus facilities.

Alexander Popoff, Jr. was born in Lyon, France on January 18, 1933 to Russian parents. His father was a priest in the Orthodox Church. He attended primary grades in France during WWII; after WWII, Popoff and his family lived in Germany from 1945 to 1949 while his father was ministering to Russian and other Orthodox refugees there.

The Popoff family arrived in the United States in 1949. After a brief stay in New York, Alexander went to Kodiak, AK, where his father was assigned a parish. Alexander later attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where he majored in civil engineering and joined the U.S. Navy the same day he was granted U.S. citizenship.

While attending the University of Washington, Popoff met his future wife, Marie, a fellow UW student, at St. Spiridon Cathedral in Seattle. The cathedral would play a central role in their family's spiritual life for years to come: they were married at St. Spiridon; their three children were married at St. Spiridon; their eight grandchildren were baptized at St. Spiridon; and their oldest granddaughter was married at St. Spiridon. Popoff served on the parish council many terms, including as treasurer and vice president of the council.

Alex's career after the Navy started at Puget Power, but by 1962 he joined a startup, ABAM Engineers, to focus on structural engineering with concrete, designing many unique concrete structures such as the monorail at Disneyworld, Space Mountain at Disneyland, and many other large-scale projects around the world. He remained at ABAM until his final retirement in 2012, serving as CEO and chairman of the board.

In November 2009, upon Popoff's retirement from the St. Vladimir's Seminary Board of Trustees, the Seminary and the Board of Trustees bestowed on him the title of trustee emeritus to honor his eleven years of outstanding service to St. Vladimir's.

Alexander Popoff is survived by his wife, Marie; his children, Anna Lee (Terry), Alex Popoff III (Kim), and Cathy Salmon (Jim); his eight grandchildren, Tania (Steve), Michael (Renee), Alexandria, Zoya, Natasha, Dimitri, Samantha (Jackson), and Ian; and six great grand children. 

The funeral service for Popoff will be held at St. Spiridon Orthodox Cathedral in Seattle at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 3. Burial service will begin at 1 p.m. at Washelli Cemetery with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Spiridon or a charity of your choice.

May the memory of Alexander Popoff, Jr. be eternal!

On Sunday morning, October 31, 2021, Seminarian Joseph (Aaron) Thornburg was ordained to the holy diaconate at St. Anthony Church in Bergenfield, NJ. 

His Eminence, Metropolitan Joseph, archbishop of New York and metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA), presided over the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy and ordination service. Saint Vladimir's Seminary President Archpriest Chad Hatfield and Dn. Joseph's fellow Antiochian seminarians from St. Vladimir's were also present.

The Rev. Dn. Joseph Thornburg is in his second year at St. Vladimir's, studying in the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program. He and his wife, Marina, are parents to Isaac and Ella. Their home parish is St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, CA.

May God grant the newly ordained Dn. Joseph and his family many years! AXIOS!

Pictured: (Back, left to right) Dr. Ionut-Alexandru Tudorie and Dr. John Barnet; (Front, left to right) Mr. Alexandru Popovici, Fr. Aetios (Nikiforos), Fr. Chad Hatfield, Dr. Konstantinos Delikostantis, and Dr. Peter Bouteneff

On Friday, St. Vladimir's Seminary warmly welcomed to campus Very Rev. Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios (Nikiforos) and University of Athens Professor of Religion Emeritus Dr. Konstantinos Delikostantis. The two guests are in the country traveling with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on His All-Holiness's apostolic visit to the United States.

The distinguished guests met with seminary faculty and staff and toured the chapel and library. Father Aetios and Dr. Delikostantis were particularly impressed by the work happening in the Fr. Georges Florovsky Library. They also discussed the possibility of more seminarians from the Ecumenical Patriarchate studying at St. Vladimir's in the future.

Father Aetios graduated from St. Vladimir's Seminary in 2018 as class valedictorian, and was made grand ecclesiarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in November 2019 by His All-Holiness in Istanbul, Turkey. Father Aetios also directs the Private Patriarchal Office of His All-Holiness.

Dr. Delikostantis taught comparative religion and philosophy of religion at the University of Florina from 1990–2001. That year, he took up a position at the University of Athens to teach systematic theology. Dr. Delikostantis is the author of many articles and books on theology, philosophy, education, and culture. He currently serves as director of the First Patriarchal Office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. 

The St. Vladimir's Seminary community bids a fond farewell to Ramon Contreras, a member of the Seminary's Plant Maintenance team. Ramon entered retirement on Friday, October 29, 2021.

For sixteen years, Ramon has been a wonderful member of the Seminary team, working to help maintain and beautify campus daily.

"He is a man of many talents and an incredible work ethic, but we will above all miss his warm friendship we've enjoyed for so many years at St. Vladimir's," said Seminary President Fr. Chad Hatfield. "We offer our prayers and best wishes as he enters his well-deserved retirement."

Seminary staff gathered for a farewell party on Ramon's final day.

Congratulations, Ramon!

A scene from Becoming a Priest, with Fr. Peter Runyon.

The 2021 edition of University of St. Katherine's Byzanfest features a short film by St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS). The Seminary's entry, Becoming a Priest, is nominated for Best Documentary (Short-Film) and Best Female Director.

Becoming a Priest was shot and directed in 2021 by Sarah Werner, SVOTS' chief marketing officer, and edited by Caleb Rexford. It features Alumnus Priest Peter Runyon, who was completing his degree at St. Vladimir's at the time, offering a powerful reflection on his journey to Orthodox Christianity and the priesthood.

"This film was created to help inspire those who are discerning their call to service in the Church, whether through priesthood or lay leadership," said Werner. "We hope Fr. Peter's words touch everyone's hearts as they did ours while we were filming it.

"Thank you, Byzanfest, for including Becoming a Priest in this year's film festival! We are so honored to be a part of it."

From October 30 to November 8, Byzanfest will stream Becoming a Priest and other short and feature-length films inspired and produced by Eastern Orthodox Christians around the world on YouTube. You can also access the stream through the Byzanfest website.

Established in 2014, Byzanfest is an international film festival dedicated exclusively to Orthodox Christian cinema. Byzanfest organizers aim to stream and screen the very best Orthodox stories each year with the world.

Fr James Parnell baptizes a soldier in the Gulf of Aden June 28, 2021.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Amanda Stock)

The Rev. James Parnell graduated cum laude from St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program in 2013. The title of his M.Div. thesis could serve as an abstract of the story of his life and ministry before and after seminary: Growing from Dragon to Man: A Parish Resource for Reintegrating Orthodox Soldiers and Veterans Returning from War.

Today, Fr. James is rector of All Saints Orthodox Church, Hartford, CT, where he was assigned shortly after graduation. He is also a chaplain in the Connecticut Army National Guard, assigned to the 1-102nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain) headquartered in New Haven, CT, and chief of chaplains for the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, focusing on the spiritual care of those suffering from Moral Injury, Post-Traumatic Stress, Substance Abuse, Acute/Chronic Pain, and Long-term Mental Illness.

Father James was born and raised in Little Rock, AR, in a devout Southern Baptist home. He joined the Army shortly after the attacks on September 11, 2001 and began training as an Arabic linguist. He met his wife, Holly (also an Army veteran), while studying at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. Father James and Mat. Holly were married in 2007 and have five children: Samuel, Ariane, Eleanor, Sean, and Ingrid.

In June of 2021, inspiring U.S. Army photos made the rounds on social media showing Fr. James baptizing a soldier in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and the Horn of Africa. We caught up with Fr. James to ask him about the story behind the images and his devotion to serving those who serve.

The newly ordained Dn Anthony with Fr Chad Hatfield

Seminarian Dr. Anthony (Gaelan) Gilbert was ordained to the holy diaconate Sunday, October 24, 2021 in Wichita, KS. His Grace, Bishop Basil (Essey) presided over Divine Liturgy and the service of ordination at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Cathedral.

The Rev. Dn. Anthony, a seminarian of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA), is in his second year studying in St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program. He holds a master’s degree in English language and literature from San Diego State University and a doctoral degree in English and medieval literature and culture from the University of Victoria.

Deacon Anthony has held several teaching roles, including adjunct professor of literature and history at Hellenic College-Holy Cross, Brookline, MA; department chair and associate professor of arts and humanities at the University of Saint Katherine, San Marcos, CA; and headmaster at Christ the Savior Academy in Wichita, KS.

He recently penned an article in Healing Humanity: Confronting our Moral Crisis (Holy Trinity Publications, 2020), joining Seminary President Fr. Chad Hatfield and a number of other Orthodox writers who contributed to the book.

May God grant the newly ordained Dn. Anthony and his family many years! AXIOS!

Odysseus [Ulysses] Recognized by His Dog (Theodoor van Thulden, c. 1630)

Argus the Watcher, by St. Vladimir's Seminarian Theodore Mantzikos, was chosen as the winning entry of the 4th Annual St. Matthias Merit Scholarship Essay Contest. The anonymous donors behind the St. Matthias Merit Scholarship asked seminarians to reflect on the relationship between Ulysses and his dog, Argus, in Homer's Odyssey, and to relate it to the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7.24-30 and Christ's exhortation to "watch" in Mark 13.33-37.

Met. Tikhon and Theodore Mantzikos at SVOTS' Commencement Exercises, May 15, 2021 

Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) has announced Seminarian Theodore Mantzikos as the winner of the 4th Annual St. Matthias Merit Scholarship Essay Contest. 

The contest was opened to current SVOTS students at the beginning of the 2021 fall semester. For his winning entry, titled, “Argus the Watcher”, Mantzikos had $3,000 in award money added to his scholarship fund.