Father Theodor Svane, a 2015 alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS), is the priest in charge of The Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary Orthodox Parish (Archdiocese of Orthodox Churches of Russian Tradition in Western Europe, Moscow Patriarchate) in Bergen, Norway. In Norway, where Lutheranism is the state religion and people identify as being culturally Lutheran, it is difficult to convert to another faith. But in a recent interview, Fr. Theodor explains that Norwegians are hungry for a deeper Christianity and the ancient Church. He also talks about the challenges and rewards of building a mission parish in “the land of the Vikings.” His Matushka, Hanne, is a cultural anthropologist who teaches at a local university. They have two children, Simon, 10, and Filip, 5. 

Q: Tell us about your mission parish.

FT:  Since our return from California and the U.S. in 2017 I have been the priest in charge over a mission parish in Bergen, Norway. Our mission is international, but our liturgical language is Norwegian. Thank God we already have many ethnic Orthodox parishes in Norway. However I believe it is very important that we establish Norwegian speaking parishes in addition to other ones. Many Norwegians are longing for a deeper Christianity and searching for the ancient Church. Starting a mission is hard work and it’s been three challenging but also rewarding years. Thank God we have been able to support ourselves through my work as a Navy Chaplain in the Norwegian Armed Forces.

We are currently renting a parish hall from a Lutheran church. Every weekend, we set up for Vespers Saturday evening and for Sunday Divine Liturgy and then we take everything down Sunday afternoon. On feast days falling on weekdays we often celebrate with the Romanian or Russian parishes here in Bergen. It is important for me to have good relationships with the other Orthodox parishes, and my brother clergy in town are good friends and supporters. We are in the same Church, united in Christ, but at the same time of different cultures and languages.

Q: What is the history of Orthodoxy in Norway? 

FT:  The Orthodox Church in Norway has long roots. Norway was Christianized before the Great Schism and the Norwegians were all Orthodox, since both the eastern and western part of the Church was united at the time. Most of the missionaries came from western Europe, but also a significant current came from the east. For instance, the rulers of Norway were related to the rulers of Rus in Novgorod and Kiev. Many of the ruling class had ties in the east. Some of the kings who gave Norway Christian laws spent significant time in Russia. One of them was even nicknamed “the Russian.”

God can send anyone, and ironically it is the Vikings, well known for their savagery and paganism, who brought Christianity to Norway. While they were plundering and pillaging, but also trading and traveling across the medieval world, they encountered Christianity. Many of them became Christians and brought Christianity back to our shores. After the Great Schism, which happens at the end of the Viking era, Orthodoxy disappeared slowly as Norway is drawn under the authority of the emerging papal power of the Latin Church. 

Orthodoxy later resurfaced again in northern Norway around the time of the Reformation, because Norway borders Finland and Russia. The stories of the Russian missionaries who came here resemble the life of St. Herman of Alaska. St. Tryphon was a Russian saint who came to Norway. Norway also has three Orthodox saints who lived during the Viking era: St. Sunniva, St. Olaf, and St. Hallvard.

Q:  Is it difficult culturally to convert in Norway?

FT:  In Europe, religion, ethnicity, and culture are tied together more closely than in the U.S. The religion of Scandinavian countries has had and still has very close ties with the state and culture. In 1537, by decree, all Norwegians became Lutherans by law and anyone opposing this and holding on to the old ways would ultimately be expelled from the country.

The authority of the king replaced the authority of the pope. Religion, nation, and nationality merged. To this day the official name of the Lutheran State Church is the “Church of Norway.” Historically Scandinavians have been very homogenous, ethnically and religiously speaking, and in Norway we did not get full religious freedom until the 1960s. 

For this reason a Norwegian often feels that they have to abandon their nationality if they join the Orthodox Church. This is a paradox since the Orthodox Church is the closest Christian church geographically speaking since we border Russia and Finland. 

Q: How is your parish doing today?

FT: The community was established in the early 90s. I am the first resident priest of the mission and so far my main focus has simply been to get the services up and running on a weekly basis. We are growing slowly as you would expect for a small mission, but we will receive a catechumen into the church this fall and we have a few more coming down the pipeline. On a regular Sunday, before COVID, we would be between twenty and twenty-five worshippers.

Our mission is international, with people from all over the world. We have Japanese, Romanians, Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, and Middle Easterners. The core are, however, Norwegian converts, and this is great. There is a danger if we become a parish of only converts, so I am very grateful for all the internationals that God sends us. People from Orthodox countries are less “heady” than converts from western Protestant countries. We need them because they have Orthodoxy in their bodies and not just in their heads. I pray that God will send us more cradle Orthodox who are excited about establishing a Norwegian speaking parish.

Q:  How did you become Orthodox?

FT:  I came to the Orthodox Church while studying theology part-time and working as a civil engineer. My parents were practicing Christians who gave me a traditional Norwegian Christian upbringing. However from my early twenties I was drawn to the Orthodox Church and had a long distance relationship with it, mainly through books (this was before we got internet). But at that stage I did not really consider it as an option for me, since I, like Norwegians in general, believe Orthodoxy to be a cultural expression of Christianity and thus something for people from Eastern Europe and the Middle East, but not for me. However when we lived for one year in Thailand, when my wife did her field research for her Master’s thesis in 2005, I realized that I had to do something with my relationship with the Orthodox Church. And as soon as we moved back to Europe we went on a pilgrimage to the Holy land and Syria, and from that point on there was no point of return. I was completely sold and felt that if I did not become Orthodox I would wither and die.

However the process took quite a few years because it was important for me and my wife to do this together. I am very grateful that we took the time.

At the time the Orthodox community in Bergen was very small and there were no resident priests. A priest would come once a month to celebrate the liturgy on Saturdays, and we would gather on Sundays to read the Typika service in between. I never dreamt of becoming a priest when I was young, but the thought emerged in my heart partly because I was seeing a need for a priest.

 We moved to America because we realized we needed to immerse ourselves in an Orthodox community. You can read books on the Orthodox Church, but you will miss out on the essentials, because the faith is something we practice in a community as the Body of Christ. 

Q: I understand you have started a building campaign.

FT:  Yes, I never thought we would start this early, but someone approached me just after Christmas and wanted to give us $20,000 if we established a fund. It is a challenge to find a place to worship. Our desire is to establish a viable Norwegian community by the grace of God. Having our own place to worship is a very important part in reaching that goal. A part of my long term dream is to build an Orthodox church inspired by our ancient Norwegian building traditions. Either a wooden stave church or perhaps a fusion of Russian/Byzantine and Norwegian stone church traditions.

Q: What is the state of Orthodoxy in Norway?

FT:  For more than ten years, Orthodoxy has been the fastest growing Christian Church in Norway. Our numbers have been growing because of immigration mainly from Eastern Europe, but also Norwegians are finding their way. It is a very typical growth challenge. We are lagging behind on infrastructure, clergy, choir directors, etc.

Our parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Orthodox Churches of Russian Tradition in Western Europe, which is a diocese with a long history in Western Europe and also has close ties to the Orthodox Church in America. The last couple of years have been very challenging for our diocese, but we are now very grateful to be reunited with the Russian Church to which we historically belong. I am eager and look forward to starting the work God has set us to do here. 

Q: Tell me about your time at SVOTS.

FT:  We had a great time at St Vladimir’s. Our five years in the U.S., starting at St Vladimir’s followed by being an assistant priest in California, were the five best years of our lives. I can’t stress how important the formation that happens in the seminary community is. You can’t absorb the Orthodox ethos and way of life through reading, you have to live and practice it in a community. The childhood that we were able to give our kids was filled with so much joy and a lot of friends at the seminary campus. If I could find an excuse to go back and live there I would! But I know that God has called us to be where we are even though it sometimes feels like a desert compared to the situation in the U.S. Because we love the seminary, it was such a great joy and honor for us to host Fr. Chad Hatfield here in December as he was giving a retreat for us and inspiring us to be the Church sent to our own people. I am incredibly grateful for our time in the U.S., and for the ties and friends we have been given. We are always delighted to receive visitors and friends in the land of the Vikings.

Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Alumnus Angelo Niqula was ordained to the holy diaconate on the Feast of the Dormition of the Holy Theotokos, August 15, 2020. The ordination took place at St. George Orthodox Church of Boston, located in West Roxbury, MA, by the hand of His Grace, Bishop John (Abdallah; SVOTS Class of ’84).

Niqula—now The Rev. Dn. Anthony—graduated from St. Vladimir’s Seminary with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 2019, with a commendation for service to the community. Deacon Anthony served as student council president at the Seminary and sang frequently with the St. Vladimir’s Seminary Octet and Chorale; he is one of the voices featured on Arise! Music of the Psalms, an album released earlier this year by SVS Press. He is also a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 2016.

Deacon Anthony currently serves as pastoral assistant at St. George Orthodox Church and is studying Byzantine music at Hellenic College Holy Cross, Brookline, MA.

The community of St. Vladimir’s Seminary wishes the newly ordained Dn. Anthony and Diakonissa Evangelia many years!
(Photos: St. George Orthodox Church of Boston)

A homily for the Apostle Andrew, the Holy and All-Praised First Called (commemorated on November 30).

Walking through this dark, cold morning, did you happen to ask yourself, “What in the world am I doing?”

What were we looking for when we got out of bed this morning? What were we looking for when we came to this place—whether we came from the other side of the world, or the other side of the street?

Have we found it? What are we looking for now?

When St. Andrew first followed Jesus, our Lord looked at him and asked, “What do you seek?”

What were we seeking when we were first called?

Something inspired us to leave everything and follow Christ to this place. Perhaps it was a fire that burned in our souls, or a light that guided us through the darkness, or a Word that spoke to us in our loneliness.

As Andrew, and Simon Peter and Phillip and Nathanael are called, they leave everything and follow Christ. And we can imagine that in those early days, there was a great deal of excitement, perhaps even some back slapping and self-congratulation. “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

We have found Him, you and I, we are the chosen ones, we can see something amazing in Jesus, and so we leave everything to follow Christ.

But it is a LONG path.

It stretches from the wilderness of Jordan, throughout the Galilee, across the perilous waters of that sea, to the land of the Gaderenes and back, and ultimately the path leads up the long and treacherous road to Jerusalem.

It is a path that starts out bright, hopeful, exciting, thrilling even, but it gets harder, and harder.

And standing there on the Mount of Olives, looking across the Kidron Valley at the Temple, we wonder, just as Andrew did, “Lord, all that you have foretold, when will it come to pass?” But when it becomes clear that the journey ends with a shameful, dishonorable death on Golgotha, nailed to the cross, we realize just how hard it is to follow Christ.

The carrying of the cross. Duccio di Buoninsegna.

It was not easy for St. Andrew, and it is certainly not easy for us.

But it is frighteningly easy to fall away. So frighteningly easy to deny Christ, voluntarily or involuntarily, in word or in deed, in knowledge or in ignorance.

And so today, on this cold, dark, morning, we may feel a bit like Andrew and the other disciples who were so dispirited as Jesus hung upon the Cross. But just because we might be dispirited, does not mean that we are defeated.

In those dark days, Andrew’s faith may not have burned as bright as it once had in those exciting days of leaving everything and following Christ. And this morning maybe our faith does not burn as bright as it once did, when we first we made exciting decisions to go off in new directions. Perhaps Andrew’s faith was nothing more than the tiniest spark of a smoldering wick. And perhaps that is all the faith that we have.

But that one small spark is all it takes.

Pentecost. Duccio di Buoninsegna.

In that upper room on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, the smoldering wick of faith was fanned into a tongue of fire. No matter how weak their faith had been, each one of them became a light in the darkness, and they were sent out into the world to bring Christ to a lonely world.

At that moment Andrew began to understood his calling.

According to legend, he traveled far and wide, preaching the Gospel in Cyprus, Georgia, Romania, and Kiev. And in his most difficult moments, on those cold dark mornings, hundreds and hundreds of miles from the warm shores of the Sea of Galilee, perhaps he thought back to Jesus’ first words, “What are you seeking?”

No matter where he was, no matter what he was doing, no matter how dark or cold, he needed to look no further than his own heart, for as St. Paul says, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 5.5) Filled with that love, Andrew saw the image of God in everyone he met. He saw the image of God in the poor, the angry, the sick, the despairing, the lonely, the stranger. It was this love of God that allowed him to rejoice and give thanks even as he offered his life as a martyr.

Today as we give thanks in this Liturgy, we pray to God, “Send down your holy spirit upon us and upon these gifts.” As we pray this prayer today, may God remind us of the moment that we were first called.

By the prayers of St. Andrew the First Called, may we fulfill our calling to do God’s work: being faithful in everything we do, especially those things that are annoying or unpleasant; offering a kind word to the people that God places in our life, especially the ones who are the most difficult to love; and giving thanks to God for all things, especially the crosses that we are blessed to bear on this day.

By the prayers of St. Andrew the First Called, may our hearts catch fire with faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

-

The Rev. Dr. J. Sergius Halvorsen (SVOTS ’96) received his M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Seminary and completed his doctoral dissertation at Drew University in 2002. From 2000 to 2011 he taught at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell Connecticut, where he also served as Director of Distance Learning. He was ordained to the priesthood in February 2004, and currently serves on the faculty of SVOTS as Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric and Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program.

Recent St. Vladimir’s graduate John Thetford has joined the ranks of the holy diaconate. Deacon John was ordained on the Feast of the Glorification of St. Herman of Alaska, August 9, 2020, by the hand of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon (Orthodox Church in America) at the Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration, Ellwood City, PA.

The Rev. Dn. John Thetford was raised in the Orthodox faith at St. Elias Parish, Ellwood City, PA (Romanian Episcopate).  He graduated from St. Vladimir’s Seminary with a Master of Arts (M.A.) Degree in 2020. He also earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Studies from the University of Pittsburgh in 2010 and a Master’s Degree in Education from Duquesne University in 2011. Deacon John worked as an elementary teacher and social worker prior to enrolling at St. Vladimir’s in 2017.

He was an active student during his time at seminary, serving as student leader of the St. Innocent Mission Society on campus and Ss. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, Jersey City, NJ, for his student parish assignment. As a seminarian Deacon John also served the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), working at Central Administration since June 2019 as an intern. He continued there following his graduation from St. Vladimir’s and became an administrative assistant in June 2020.

Deacon John will now take on even more responsibility within the OCA, having been appointed personal secretary to His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon. Deacon John began his new position August 16, 2020. He is also returning to the Seminary for the 2020-2021 academic year to complete a Master of Theology (Th.M.) degree.

The community of St. Vladimir’s Seminary wishes the newly ordained Dn. John and Matushka Katherine Thetford many years!

Father Simon Menya is on the move in Northern Uganda, translating books into the local Luo language, spearheading agricultural projects to promote self-sufficiency, distributing supplies to those in need, and, of course, catechizing the faithful.

The first Ugandan to graduate from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS), Fr. Simon (’18) was ordained to the holy priesthood in 2019 by the hand of His Grace, Silvester Kisitu Maximos, bishop of the Ugandan Orthodox Church’s Diocese of Gulu and Eastern Uganda.

The pandemic has hit Uganda hard, with its people never before experiencing lockdown. But Fr. Simon is using it as an opportunity to minister to his flock in Acholi-Nyek village, where he is planting a church community.

“When the Covid-19 outbreak occurred I continued visiting and encouraging them by telling them to keep calm and carry on,” said Fr. Simon. “This gave us time to meet and also talk about farming activities.”

• View photo gallery

Father Simon hired local laborers to uproot trees and plow approximately eight acres of land to grow crops, which will benefit the church community. He also gave community members about thirty acres of land so that they could have their own plots to farm in order to support their families.

The work in Acholi-Nyek is part of The Northern Uganda Self-Sufficiency Project (NUSSP), which was initiated under His Eminence, Metropolitan Jonah of Kampala and All Uganda. NUSSP was formed out of a desire to see a thriving Orthodox community in Northern Uganda no longer dependent on financial assistance from the Church in Greece, which reduced its support during Greece’s financial crisis.

Extreme poverty is widespread in Uganda and Orthodox priests must work multiple jobs to provide what little they can for their families and parishes. The country has also been ravaged by years of civil war. Father Simon’s brothers were killed by the rebel group, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) during the conflict.

“I hope to restore the lost faith and hopes of the people due to the twenty-four years of war,” he said, “and to encourage self-supportive life skills in them through our churches.”

Besides the agricultural program, NUSSP initiatives include developing forty hectares of land recently acquired to support a church, school, and small businesses; establishing a health center; and implementing Orthodox youth and adult education programs.

Father Simon is also taking advantage of the many hours in lockdown to translate materials from English into Luo so that people can understand church services. Four young men who are active members of the Church are assisting him in this process. They have just finished translating the service of Orthros as well as a booklet on the Jesus Prayer, an Orthodox prayer book, and a book on catechism.

These and many others books were donated by SVOTS when Fr. Simon was a seminarian. In 2019, SVOTS tithed 10% of its funds from Giving Tuesday and used the monies to ship the books to Uganda and to support NUSSP.

The NUSSP has also received support during the COVID-19 pandemic from Dr. Ioana Popa and Sébastien Falardeau of the organization Along The Journey, Coaching, Consulting & Spiritual Care. With that help, Fr. Simon and his team purchased food items and face masks and distributed food to orphans and widows in the village. They also handed out masks to those who couldn’t afford one, following a government directive making masks mandatory in public.

Along with his work in Acholi-Nyek, Fr. Simon is an assistant priest in three parishes. To sustain himself during his many long days of ministry, he tries to remember wise words once shared with him.

“We all know that ‘life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, but it’s about learning how to dance in the rain,’” said Fr. Simon. “One time an old man told me a word of wisdom, that ‘My son, during low points in your life it’s better to be busier than to be busy worrying, because when the world is running down, you can make the best of what's still around.’ This is what inspired me and NUSSP to engage this community during COVID-19.”

If you want to support the work and progress of Fr. Simon/NUSSP in Uganda, you can donate through Lift Up Uganda, a nonprofit that was started by American supporters of NUSSP. You may also donate through PaPpal on the NUSSP website. Father Simon can be reached by email at menyasimon@gmail.com.

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A homily delivered in Three Hierarchs Chapel at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary on Sunday, November 15, 2015.

We have all seen and heard about this barbaric, horrific, and frightening terrorist action that took place in Paris on Friday. Three teams of men, disciplined in dealing death, planned this attack with the help of others and managed to evade an enormous security apparatus that blankets most of the Western world. Notably, at least one of them deviously managed to slip into Europe under the guise of a refugee. Perhaps in the coming days, we will find out more about how this crime came about: who else was involved? Who financed it? Where did they train? But at the same time, the part of story that concerns those who were out on a cold November night for dinner, a concert, a stroll, or a soccer game must also be told. The victims are worthy of our remembrance and our consideration today, and not those who appear strong with weapons that bring death or those who appear mighty and sow fear, confusion, and further enmity.

The victims of this tragedy once again compel us to think on Christ, on His Gospel, and to turn our gaze to Him. Only then can we also bear to look on the dead and the wounded of this November night, and also the dead and the wounded, the marginalized, the outcasts of every age, all those along the side of the road—sick, wounded, destitute, ill-afflicted, dead, and dying—that we would prefer to pass by. Only with Christ can we see them, as the Gospel tells us today, as our neighbor, those whom we must love with the same ferocity, the same devotion, the same ardor that we love God. Consequently, we mourn at the death of our neighbors. We anguish over the wounded. We pray that God receive the dead into His kingdom and that He restore the injured to health. To those who appear strong in their might on Friday, we call out their brutality as senseless and weak.

Christ’s own death provides us with the fundamental way of understanding the world according to the Gospel. It is what the Apostle says: “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God (I Cor. 1.27-29).” Only with Christ, in our love for Him and our love for our newly defined neighbor, will we truly live. Seeing things in this manner allows us to see past the veil of this world, past the wisdom of this world, and perceive exactly the wisdom of God, Jesus Christ, active in this world.

In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist acts, social media was abuzz with messages of hope, solidarity, and prayers for the people of Paris. One notorious statement emerged and rejected prayers from the different corners of the globe:

“Please don’t pray for Paris. We’ve had enough religion for one night.”

I counter this to the greatest degree I can personally muster: we do not need less religion, we need more. We need Christianity and authentic faith. We need Jesus Christ, because we need to love Him, because He our God. We need to love those around us, those who are far from us, because they are our neighbor. Neither enmity or hatred, but Christ and the peace spoken of in the Epistle today are what we, the entire world, needs.

In other words, what abides, what remains, is exactly that person spoken of in days of old: “The Prince of peace (Is. 9.6),” He “who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy.” Eternal and holy, He remains. He endures. He revives, restores, comforts, and heals us when we turn to him. Christ is our peace (Eph. 2.14), the peace proclaimed far and wide. In all our struggles, in all our affliction, in all our angst, anxiety, and uncertainty about what happens in the present and what the future might bring, Christ is our peace. When we are most vulnerable and feel we are in danger of losing everything, our Lord remains with us.

Now when Paul speaks about Christ as our peace today, he is not speaking of peace as a state of quiet, personal contentment. Rather he speaks here of reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles in Christ. The resolution to their separation, alienation, and estrangement is faith in God. How are they reconciled? By faith in Christ, who “abolish[ed] in his flesh” what had separated them. He brought forward a new man, reconciling us to God through His blood and His cross. This is not merely a historical fact, or a description of a theological controversy, but exposes for us who we are in reality. We are not strangers or sojourners to the heavenly realms, and citizens of this world. No! We have access to and can be rich in the spiritual treasures, because we are “fellow citizens with the saints…members with of the household of God,” and neighbors one to another. We have been knitted and joined together as the Temple of the Living God, as the dwelling place for the God in the Spirit.

I began today speaking of tragedy. I end today speaking of reassurance, comfort, support, encouragement, hope, and faith, because we are “not like those who have no hope.” We have Christ. We have faith in Christ. We have Peace. He alone is our answer to what ails us and afflicts the world.

-

Archpriest Alexander Rentel, a 1995 M.Div. graduate of St. Vladimir’s, finished his doctoral dissertation under the direction of Fr. Robert Taft, SJ, at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome in January 2004. Prior to coming to St. Vladimir’s as a professor, Fr. Alexander was a 2000-2001 Junior Fellow in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. He has taken numerous research trips to Greece, Italy, and France. He was ordained to the priesthood in July 2001. He and his wife, Nancy (née Homyak, M.Div. 1995) are the proud parents of three children, Dimitrios, Maria, and Daniel.

What should you say to someone whose world is seemingly crumbling around them? How do you navigate between a difficult reality and the expectation of hope?

Hospital chaplain and St. Vladimir’s Seminary Alumna Clio Pavlantos speaks about ministering to cancer & COVID-19 patients in a recent interview with the Seminary’s Ginny Nieuwsma. Pavlantos also talks about her journey from St. Vladimir’s Seminary into chaplaincy and how her seminary training and formation prepared her for ministry. 

During Holy Week and Bright Week, 2015, St. Vladimir’s seminarians Edward Hunter, Lijin Raju, and I had the unbelievable opportunity to travel to Kenya as part of a mission trip sponsored by the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), and led by Executive Director Fr. Martin Ritsi. As the result of a generous grant, the three of us were able to travel to Kenya without any expenses of our own. The trip was one that we will never forget, as it has left an imprint on all three of our hearts.

Our first week in Kenya was spent in Nairobi at the Orthodox seminary, which is run by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Kenya. The entire time we were there, the staff and students were exceptionally hospitable and His Eminence always went out of his way to ensure that we were taken care of. One of the days, Archimandrite Philip Mugadizi (SVOTS ‘03), told us about the work Archbishop Makarios has done as well as what he hopes to accomplish in the future.

We participated with our brother seminarians in the Holy Week services, which the priests served using a mix of English, Greek, and Swahili. On Great and Holy Friday, after we processed with the tomb of Christ through the impoverished neighborhood of Kibera, one of the largest slums in the world, Archbishop Makarios professed, “Jesus has been crucified. But He will rise on the third day. Even if you are in the poorest place, Jesus will rise here also.”

My time at Makarios III Patriarchal Orthodox Seminary worshipping the same Lord and celebrating the same Pascha showed me that the God we all worship is the same one—the same Christ that we all need in order for salvation, the same Christ who has called each of us, as seminarians, to serve in His One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church.

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Shawn Thomas is a third-year seminarian in the Master of Divinity program. He is from Chicago, IL, and his home parish is St. Peter’s Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church.

Take a look “behind” the icons at St. John of the Ladder Orthodox Church in Greenville, SC. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Alumnus Seraphim O'Keefe is giving readers insight into the iconography he has been commissioned to design and paint there.

O’Keefe has penned a marvelously detailed article for the Orthodox Arts Journal, entitled, “Murals for the Burning Bush Chapel and Prothesis at St John of the Ladder in Greenville, South Carolina.” In it, he walks readers through the iconography program of those sections of the church building, describes the theology behind the icons, and even discusses the type of paint he chose to complete the murals.

In one section of the article, O’Keefe explains the guiding theme the program of St. John of the Ladder’s side-chapel, the prophet Moses and the Burning Bush icon of the Theotokos.

“In our chapel, this imagery is directly above the altar, which gives it a particular liturgical meaning,” he writes. “This is the classic image of God revealing himself to man. With her arms in the ‘orans’ position of prayer, the Theotokos’ form resembles a chalice, in which Christ takes flesh and blood. Our hymns frequently relate the Eucharist to fire, as in the prayer before Communion: ‘Rejoicing and trembling at once, I partake of Fire, I that am grass. And, strange wonder! I am bedewed without being consumed, as the bush of old burned without being consumed.’”

• Read the full article here. 

Seraphim O’Keefe graduated from St. Vladimir’s Seminary in 2018. He had already begun developing his skills in iconography before enrolling at St. Vladimir’s. He was given commissions in parishes, which eventually led him to painting the icons for St. Cyprian of Carthage Orthodox Church in Midlothian, VA in the summer of 2015. Immediately following the work on the icons at St. Cyprian, Seraphim and his family packed their belongings and drove to St. Vladimir's Seminary, where he began his three-year course of study in the Master of Divinity degree program.

A homily delivered in the Three Hierarchs Chapel at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary on the Feast of St. Demetrios (Monday, October 26, 2015).

Some excuses never get old.

When I was little, if my brother did something to me, I’d do the same back to him. I’d launch a proportionate retaliatory strike. If he pulled my hair, I’d pull his hair. If he punched me in the arm, I’d punch him in the arm. And whenever I got caught, what do you think I said?

“He did it to me first!”

Somehow, without ever having been taught, my kids know the exact same excuse.

“Why did you do that to your brother?”

“He did it to me first!”

This excuse is as old as time, yet every generation picks it up and uses it. And it’s not just kids that use the excuse. Husbands and wives use it to excuse insults and infidelities. Neighbors use this excuse to justify snubs and petty treachery. Nations and regions are torn apart by brutal retaliation and blood feuds. And in every case, it is all based on that age old excuse:

“They did it to us first.”

“Someone hurt me, so I have the RIGHT to hurt them back.”

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. A proportionate, retaliatory strike.

But does it bring life?

There is a famous line from a play, where villagers are being unjustly driven from their homes, and they say, “We should stand our ground, we should fight. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!” And the main character replies, “Very good. That way the whole world will be blind and toothless.” And it’s true.

Blinded by a quest for justice on our terms we cannot see our neighbor as a human person, created in the image and likeness of God. All we see are dark fearful shadows. And having been rendered toothless, we starve, unable to eat at the table of God’s mercy. Instead we choke on the smoke of our smoldering anger. We dwell on old wounds and grievances as if they could do anything more than poison our souls.

Today Jesus says to us, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” So, according to the age-old excuse, Jesus had every right to hate the world. Of all the people who have ever lived, Jesus had the most reasons to hate the world back. He was innocent. He had done nothing wrong. He had committed no crime. He healed the sick, he gave sight back to the blind, he cast out demons, he fed the multitudes. But yet, he was convicted by the religious authorities of being a blasphemer, and he was convicted by the governor of being a political trouble-maker. So they stripped him naked, and whipped him, and marched him through the city, and nailed him to a cross, and let him hang there until he died.

If anyone had the right to hate the world it was Jesus.

But he knew better.

Yes, the world hated Jesus, but God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. God acted first, out of love and mercy and compassion. He came into the world and facing the horrors of the Crucifixion, as the world went mad with hatred, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Instead of making excuses, Jesus makes the perfect sacrifice. He offers himself. And today we see that same sacrificial love in the life and death of St. Demetrios.

St. Demetrios was born and raised in a Christian family in the late third century, before Christianity was legal. His father was a high-ranking imperial official in Thessalonica who maintained a secret Church in his home. When Demetrios’ father died, the emperor appointed Demetrios to succeed his father as proconsul.

But in addition to the normal imperial duties of managing and protecting the city, the emperor commanded Demetrios to eradicate Christianity in the city and execute anyone who called on the name of Christ. Demetrios accepted the appointment as proconsul, but instead of carrying out the emperor’s command, he returned to Thessalonica and publicly confessed his Christian faith, proclaiming the Gospel to all that would listen. Upon learning that Demetrios was a Christian and that he had converted many to the faith, the emperor ordered his arrest.

At dawn on October 26, 306, soldiers came to his cell and ran him through with spears. Instead of making an excuse, St. Demetrios made the perfect sacrifice of his own life.

Martyrdom breaks the cycle of violent retribution. The Christian martyr does not go down in ball of flaming rage, but rather makes a simple statement:

I would prefer to die than to renounce my faith in Christ, so that you may know the power of the love of God.

Since his death and burial, the relics of St. Demetrios have been a source of consolation and inspiration to generations of believers. Multiple empires and hundreds of wars have come and gone since the death of St. Demetrios, but his witness to the love of Jesus Christ remains. The martyr does not die in spite of his persecutors, any more than Jesus died in spite of the world. Rather, the martyr dies for the salvation of the very ones who persecute him.

This is the love of Christ.

This is the power of God.

So today is not a day for excuses. It is a day to bring the love of Christ into the world. Smell the air, right here in the chapel. Do you smell the sweet aroma of myrrh? It is not unlike the myrrh that streams from the tomb of St. Demetrius. It is the wonderful aromatic reminder we have on our clothes every time we return home from Church.

So today, the moment you feel the slightest hint of anger or resentment, think of this smell right now, and remember the love of Christ that fills our hearts this morning. In some small way, perhaps known only to God, sacrifice part of your life for the sake of your neighbor. Respond to an insult with a kind word. Repay an offense with an act of kindness. React to anger with the love of Christ. Offer yourself for the sake of your neighbor, and glorify Jesus Christ.

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The Rev. Dr. J. Sergius Halvorsen (SVOTS ’96) received his M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Seminary and completed his doctoral dissertation at Drew University in 2002. From 2000 to 2011 he taught at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell Connecticut, where he also served as Director of Distance Learning. He was ordained to the priesthood in February 2004, and currently serves on the faculty of SVOTS as Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric and Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program.