On a wintry Monday, St. Vladimir’s Seminary welcomed dozens of guests to campus: His Grace Bishop Ignatije of Branichevo, the dean of the Orthodox theological seminary in Belgrade, Serbia; Mother Christophora, the abbess of The Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City, PA; and more than 40 others visiting for the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) board certifications.

Hierarch visit

Bishop Ignatije met with faculty and Serbian Orthodox seminarians, and was joined by Seminary board member His Grace Bishop Irinej of the Diocese of Eastern America. Seven seminarians and a Doctor of Ministry student from the Serbian church are currently enrolled at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. The Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Belgrade has shared much in common with St. Vladimir’s Seminary over their long histories, including dozens of mutual alumni and professors.

Chaplain certifications

For the second year in a row, St. Vladimir’s Seminary campus hosted certification meetings for the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc. (BCCI), the national certifying body affiliated with the Association of Professional Chaplains. More than twenty-five certified chaplains of different faiths convened March 4 and 5 to assess fifteen candidates seeking to be certified as clinical health care chaplains.

Sarah Byrne-Martelli, a Board Certified Chaplain endorsed by the Antiochian Archdiocese and a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) student at St. Vladimir’s, chaired the event. Sarah serves as the Palliative Care Chaplain at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA.

“This event was an excellent way for chaplains of various denominations to visit the Seminary and to learn about the Orthodox faith," said Sarah. "The attendees remarked on the beauty of the campus and the hospitality of the SVOTS community."

Sarah added that several attendees came to Vespers at Three Hierarchs Chapel—the first time many of them had been to an Orthodox service.

Since 2012, all Master of Divinity (M.Div.) students at St Vladimir’s have been required to complete one unit of ACPE-accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Under the directorship of Priest Adrian Budica, the Seminary’s program was expanded to offer introductory CPE sessions to all students as part of first-year prison ministry. Additionally, in becoming a satellite CPE center accredited through ACPE—the gold standard for CPE in the U.S.—the Seminary has begun offering (and will eventually require) parish-based CPE.

St. Juliana Society

On Monday evening, the Seminary’s St. Juliana Society (SJS) welcomed Mother Christophora, who spoke to women of the Seminary community about Great Lent.

“Mother Christophora shared with us that humility is knowing yourself and knowing God, and she encouraged us as women and mothers to be ourselves,” said Kh. Anna Fields, whose husband, Fr. Herman Fields, is in his third year at Seminary. “She gave us a lot of practical advice about navigating fasting and long church services for those of us with young children.”

“Her talk was refreshing…” added Seminarian Asha Mathai, who said Mother Christophora reminded priest wives and mothers not to feel guilty if they can’t follow the practices of a fast as strictly as others. “She reminded us that these practices were created by single young monastics in the desert. She told us of her mother who couldn't prostrate after injury. She reminded her mother that her pain is her prostration.”

Mother Christophora also shared with the group that wives of clergy are the priests of their family while the husband attends to needs of his parish. While the father is away, the mother teaches a child how to cross oneself and pray. Additionally, the wife of a priest cares for her husband, who will be giving so much of himself to his parish.

The Wives’ Program on campus was formalized in 2007 to help strengthen the formation of clergy families. In 2010, the fellowship took the name of the St. Juliana Society. Women’s fellowship events and programs on campus also include women seminarians. Read more about women’s fellowship on campus and past events here.

The board of the Orthodox Christian Leadership Initiative (OCLI) convened in Houston, TX in February to discuss the mission and future of OCLI and its work in the Orthodox Church.

Sponsored by the Orthodox Vision Foundation and graciously hosted at The Saint Constantine School, the gathering allowed for fruitful discussion, establishment of purpose, and preparation for the third annual Advanced Leadership Conference. The conference will be hosted over the weekend of September 20-22, 2019, at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY. Dedicated to nurturing and empowering Orthodox Christian servant leadership, OCLI plans to expand its ministry in the coming years by hosting seminars throughout the United States.

St. Vladimir’s Seminary is playing a key role in OCLI’s efforts. The meeting in Texas was attended by Seminary President Archpriest Chad Hatfield, Seminary Trustee Dr. Frank B. Cerra, and Trustee Emeritus Protodeacon Peter Danilchick.

“The mission of St. Vladimir’s fits well with that of OCLI,” said Fr. Chad. “Both organizations are invested in raising up leaders for the Church, so I am pleased we are able to contribute the Initiative’s efforts.”

The most recent Orthodox Advanced Leadership Conference in September 2018 drew more than eighty people, including bishops, priests, deacons, monastics, and lay leaders from several Orthodox Christian jurisdictions and diverse professional backgrounds.

In September of 1794, a group of ten monks from the Valaam Monastery in Russia arrived on Kodiak Island, Alaska to begin what would become one of the greatest missionary endeavors in the history of Orthodox Christianity. This year is the 225th anniversary of that mission to North America, and St. Vladimir’s Seminary is co-sponsoring a special event with Mother of God Orthodox Church, Princeton, NJ to mark the occasion.

The anniversary celebration May 11 and 12 includes services, speakers, and a banquet. The celebration culminates with Divine Liturgy Sunday morning at Mother of God Church concelebrated by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon and His Eminence Archbishop Michael, followed by a banquet at the historic Nassau Inn in Princeton featuring St. Vladimir’s Seminary Professor Emeritus Dr. Paul Meyendorff as guest speaker. See below for the full schedule of events.

All events of the 225th Anniversary Celebration are free and open to the public, with the exception of the Sunday banquet. Banquet reservations are $55 per person. Attendees have a choice of Chicken Saltimbocca, Grilled Atlantic Salmon, or Penne Primavera. To reserve seats and indicate choice of meal, contact Teresa Filippini.

225th Anniversary Celebration Schedule
Saturday, May 11 (at Mother of God Orthodox Church)

• 10 a.m. – Akathist to All Saints of North America
• 11 a.m. – Welcome by Archbishop Michael, Address by Archpriest Chad Hatfield
• 12:30 p.m. – Lunch
• 2 p.m. – Address by Metropolitan Tikhon
• 3 p.m. – Response to presentation by Jim Winkler  
• 3:30 p.m. – Q&A
• 5 p.m. – Vespers
• 6 p.m. – Reception

Sunday, May 12 (at Mother of God Orthodox Church; Banquet to be held at Nassau Inn 10 Palmer Square Princeton, NJ 08542)

• 9:30 a.m. – Greeting of Metropolitan Tikhon, Vesting, and Hierarchical Divine Liturgy
• 1:30 p.m. – Banquet featuring Guest Speaker Dr. Paul Meyendorff

Download the flyer.

Registration for the webinar is now closed. Please check SVOTS.edu/events for information on future D.Min. webinars

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An opportunity to transform your ministry for the better might sound too good to be true, but that is exactly what St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program was set up to be. And its most recent graduates want you to see fruits of the D.Min. program for yourself.

On Thursday, February 28, we are continuing our latest round of webinars featuring D.Min. graduates presenting their final projects. These webinars—free and open to the public—are meant to give people a taste of what the D.Min. program offers and what it can do for your ministry.

Registration ends at 12 a.m. Monday, February 25, so register soon if you plan on joining us!

• Webinar Registration – Rev. Alcuin Kellerhouse, D.Min. (Register here)
  Thursday, February 28, 2019 12 PM - 1 PM EDT

This latest webinar presentation will feature Rev. Alcuin Kellerhouse, D.Min., and his project, titled, “Responding to Substance Use Disorders.”

“We read of the impact of the opioid epidemic on our society, and in the ministries our clergy encounter Substance Use Disorders (SUD) in a variety of settings,” explains Fr. Alcuin. “This presentation will explore how Orthodox clergy perceive the adequacy of their preparation, their readiness to recognize SUD and respond appropriately. Implications for the larger Church and theological education will be explored.”

Registrants will be emailed a link to join the webinar via computer or phone.

On Monday, the St. Juliana Society (SJS) welcomed to campus His Beatitude the Most Blessed Tikhon, archbishop of Washington, metropolitan of All America and Canada, and chair of St. Vladimir’s Seminary.

His Beatitude met with the group, comprised of women seminarians and wives of seminarians, at the home of Archpriest Chad and Matushka Thekla Hatfield. Matushka Thekla coordinates SJS. Metropolitan Tikhon discussed a number of topics proposed by the group, including his own journey from childhood to primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), his mother, the role of youth in the OCA, the March for Life, and humility.

The Wives’ Program on campus was formalized in 2007 to help strengthen the formation of clergy families. In 2010, the fellowship took the name of the St. Juliana Society. Women’s fellowship events and programs on campus also include women seminarians. Read more about women’s fellowship on campus and past events here.

It’s New York’s turn to experience Tenebrae: Music of Holy Week from East & West. After a performance in Washington D.C., the St. Vladimir’s Seminary Chorale will bring the spectacular evening of music to New York City’s beautiful St. John Nepomucene Church on Friday, April 5.

The concert takes its name from a candlelit Holy Week service from the Western Christian tradition (tenebrae means “darkness” in Latin). The evening’s program will immerse listeners in the solemn Lenten journey to the cross and the empty tomb.

The concert is a fundraiser that helps the Seminary educate and form the future leaders of the Orthodox Church. There is no admission fee to attend the event. Tickets are available at the door, or you may reserve your seat in advance (see below). A reception will follow for the first 100 people to RSVP with a donation. Donations made before the concert, by April 1, of over $100 will be listed in the event program.

• Download the flyer
• Download Social Media flyers (.zip)

 *Choose the sponsorship level of your choice below. No matter what level you select, you may contribute to any area of need of your choosing. Simply indicate your preference on your check, or if paying by credit or debit card email advancement@svots.edu to let us know.

On Tuesday St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) featured one of its own, faculty member and alumnus Dn. Evan Freeman, in a special seminar. Dn. Evan’s talk, “Art and Liturgical Reform: Byzantine Eucharistic objects and the development of the Prothesis rite," was the first in a series of monthly seminars to be hosted on campus featuring members of the SVOTS academic community and guest speakers.

A full house, including both faculty and students, gathered to hear the presentation in the Seminary’s Gerich Boardroom.

“I argued for the importance of liturgical arts for understanding the history and experience of liturgy,” said Dn. Evan. “Eucharistic objects such as the chalice and diskos, for example, were active participants in the development, interpretation, and performance of the Prothesis rite. Corresponding with the words and ritual actions of the Prothesis, Eucharistic objects enabled the clergy to visualize and commemorate Christ’s incarnation and Passion in the preparation of the bread and wine through their forms, materiality, inscriptions, and iconography.”

Dn. Evan is lecturer in Liturgical Art and assistant director of the Sacred Arts Initiative at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. He holds a Th.M. and M.Div. from the Seminary and is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of the History of Art at Yale University. He is currently writing his dissertation on portable objects of the Middle Byzantine liturgy. His dissertation is titled, “Ritual Object, Ritual Space: Art, Agency, and Performance in the Middle Byzantine Liturgy.” Dn. Evan’s research has been supported by an Andrew W. Mellon Mediterranean Regional Research Fellowship from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers and by a Dissertation Grant from the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture.

St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) celebrated an eventful Feast of the Three Hierarchs on its campus Wednesday. The day began with Divine Liturgy and concluded with the 36th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Lecture and Mid-Year Commencement. The day’s conclusion also marked the end of three-days of the Orthodox Church in America [OCA] and Anglican Church in North America [ACNA] dialogue, which was also hosted on campus.

HIERARCHICAL DIVINE LITURGY (View a photo gallery)

Divine Liturgy for the feast of the patrons of the Seminary’s campus chapel—Ss. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom—was presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West (OCA) along with His Eminence Archbishop Melchisedek of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania (OCA), both of whom are SVOTS alumni. Joining clergy from among the Seminary faculty and student body were several other alumni, including Archimandrite Gerasim, administrator of the Diocese of the South (OCA) and dean of St. Seraphim of Sarov Cathedral, Dallas, TX; and Dean of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary Archpriest John Parker.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Seminary President Archpriest Chad Hatfield presented a palitza (epigonation) embroidered with an icon of the Three Hierarchs to each of the archbishops as a gift from the Seminary.

OCA-ACNA DIALOGUE

The Divine Liturgy was also attended by Anglican clergy who were preparing for the final day of meetings with a delegation from the OCA. The OCA-ACNA Dialogue began on Monday, January 28. The OCA delegation included Archbishop Melchisedek, dialogue co-chair Archpriest Chad Hatfield, and Archpriest John Parker; Anglican representatives included co-chair Bishop Kevin Bond Allen and Bishop Ray R. Sutton.

The ACNA entered into informal dialogues with the OCA in 2009, and has met regularly with the OCA since then to explore the history of the Orthodox and Anglican ecumenical dialogue and to encourage cooperation.

ANNUAL SCHMEMANN LECTURE (View a photo gallery)

On Wednesday evening, University of Notre Dame Professor Dr. David Fagerberg delivered the 36th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Lecture, titled “The Anchor of Schmemann’s Liturgical Theology.”

“The man who was famed as a liturgical theologian says his main interest is not liturgical embellishment. The first floor [of the ‘house of Schmemann’] is not his total occupation,” said Fagerberg. “I therefore propose we do him an injustice if we fail to excavate down to the anchor of his thought.”

Fagerberg integrates Schmemann’s theology, among other sources, into his own study of liturgical theology and is author of the recently released Liturgy outside Liturgy: The Liturgical Theology of Fr. Alexander Schmemann (Chora Books, 2018). During his lecture, Dr. Fagerberg expressed his sincere gratitude at being invited to St. Vladimir’s Seminary, where Fr. Schmemann taught and worked for more than three decades.

“I know it’s customary for a speaker to say that he is glad to be wherever he’s speaking, but I really, really mean it. It’s not just customary for me. The material that has come out of this place has affected me in my own work, and it’s a privilege for me to be back and make a public statement of ‘repayment of debt.’”

Listen to Dr. Fagerberg’s lecture in its entirety below.

DOCTOR OF MINISTRY MID-YEAR COMMENCEMENT

The Seminary’s Mid-Year Commencement Ceremony followed the lecture, as two Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) candidates received their degrees in absentia: Priest Alcuin Kellerhouse, assistant priest at Dormition of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Church, Carnegie, PA (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia) and St. Gregory's Orthodox Church, Homestead, PA (OCA); and Priest David Subu, rector of St. Mary Orthodox Church in Falls Church, VA.

• View the 2018-2019 Mid-Year Commencement Program

At the evening’s conclusion, Archbishop Benjamin offered a final word of thanks and encouragement to the seminarians present.

"One of the things that Fr. Schmemann spoke about was the beauty of the Liturgy and its ability to transform lives," His Eminence remarked. "...And if I had a word for the students, I would say, when you graduate, if you are ordained, make the Liturgy beautiful. The world needs the beauty of the Liturgy."

Holy Three Hierarchs - Divine Liturgy

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36th Annual Fr. Alexander Schmemann Lecture

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St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) raised over $250,000 to support seminarians during its fundraising campaigns over the fall and winter of 2018/2019.

On November 1 and 2, 2018, SVOTS held its Fall Benefit and Theological Convocation to support the Seminary’s Tuition-Free Initiative, which offers fully-paid tuition to seminarians. Through the Fall Benefit Gala and related campaign in the weeks that followed to boost funding for scholarships, SVOTS raised approximately $284 thousand.

The Seminary also raised nearly $60,000 through its annual Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign on November 27, 2018. Donations toward the effort came in before Giving Tuesday, on the day of, and in the weeks following.

“It is remarkable to see how people stepped up to support the work that St. Vladimir’s does,” said Archpriest Chad Hatfield, SVOTS president. “Offering seminarians fully-paid tuition, in particular, has been a massive financial commitment on the part of the Seminary, but we believe strongly that the Church’s future leaders should not go forth burdened with debt from their time here—or worse, be too deterred by the prospect of student loan debt to answer their call to come to Seminary in the first place.”

Since 2012, SVOTS has offered fully-paid tuition to seminarians through its matching grants program. The Seminary shoulders 75% of the cost to make this happen, if a seminarian can obtain 25% of the cost of tuition through their home parish, diocese, or other church source.

Each year, SVOTS participates in Giving Tuesday and partners with a non-profit. SVOTS will donate a tithe of this year’s Giving Tuesday total to its select non-profit partner for 2018, The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Kerala Flood Relief Project

Members of St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) joined thousands of pro-life marchers in Washington, D.C. Friday, January 18, for the 46th annual March for Life, marking the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973 that legalized abortion in the United States.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) led the Orthodox Christian hierarchs, clergy, seminarians, and faithful on the march to the Supreme Court building. SVOTS President Archpriest Chad Hatfield led eleven seminarians from St. Vladimir’s and was joined by St. Tikhon’s Seminary Dean Archpriest John Parker and many students from St. Tikhon’s.

The delegation from St. Vladimir’s was organized by the school’s St. Ambrose Society, a pro-life student interest group at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, which is led this year by second-year Seminarian Deacon Symeon Halsell.

• WATCH: 2019 March for Life Prayer Service led by Metropolitan Tikhon