St. Vladimir’s Seminary, including the Seminary bookstore, will be closed for business December 24 and 25 in observance of the Eve of Nativity and the Feast of the Nativity. Normal business hours will resume December 26.
A schedule of services at the Seminary’s Three Hierarch’s Chapel can be found here.
Singers from the St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) community kept a busy schedule in the month of December, performing at two concerts and spreading Nativity season cheer at a local nursing home.
On December 8, the St. Vladimir’s Seminary Chorale partnered with Ancient Faith Ministries and the Choir from Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, East Meadow, NY to present an evening of carols, hymns, and scripture readings in preparation for the celebration of the Holy Nativity of our Lord. Under the direction of Robin Freeman and former SVOTS faculty member Dr. Nicholas Reeves, Holy Trinity’s choir director, the combined choirs sang familiar carols and Orthodox liturgical hymns interspersed with readings from the Old and New Testaments.
Watch a replay of the concert, performed at Holy Trinity, here.
The very next evening back on the Seminary campus, on December 9, the Chorale performed alongside The Westchester Chorale, recognized as one of the region’s leading musical ensembles.
“It was a true pleasure for us to host The Westchester Chorale. The entire evening was built around the theme of how music, and specifically singing, unites us,” said SVOTS Director of Music Robin Freeman. “To that end, we opted to arrange the chairs in a circle so that everyone, including the audience, would feel included in the experience. Singing is for everyone, and so, at the end of the program, everyone joined us in singing a few Christmas carols. I hope it will be the first of many collaborations!”
A short clip of the performance can be viewed here.
On Friday, December 14, members of SVOTS’ choir and community members continued the tradition of Christmas caroling at Sunrise of Crestwood nursing home near Seminary campus. The gathering provided the SVOTS’ community a chance to share the joy of the Nativity in song with the residents there and to celebrate the end of the semester together.
His Beatitude the Most Blessed Tikhon, archbishop of Washington, metropolitan of All America and Canada, and chair of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, has published his Archpastoral Message for the Nativity of Christ for 2018.
His Beatitude’s message is available on OCA.org, and is reprinted below.
Archpastoral Message of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon Nativity of Christ 2018
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
To the Honorable Clergy, Venerable Monastics, and Pious Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America,
My beloved brethren and blessed children in the Lord,
Today, the glorious feast of the Nativity in the Flesh of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ shines forth and brings joy to all of creation. The sacred hymnography and iconography of the Church provide words and images to help us interpret the light-filled feast that we celebrate on this day, when He Who “has adorned the vault of heaven with stars has been well pleased to be born as a babe,” and He Who “holds all the earth in the hollow of His hands is laid in a manger of dumb beasts.”
Holy Tradition offers us the account of the universal hush that took place at the incarnation, expressed in Joseph’s encounter with the stillness of the natural world: birds hanging motionless in flight, men and beasts frozen in their tracks and the waters ceasing their flow. The continuous passage of time and movement of history came to a halt as creation paused in astonishment as the Eternal enters into the heart of time and the pre-eternal God is born as a little child.
This miraculous moment may be unique in history, but it provides us with some inspiration for the manner in which we ought to receive the sacred mystery that we celebrate today. The Apostle Paul writes: “Be ye thankful” (Colossians 3:15) and “In everything give thanks” (I Thessalonians 5:18). It is in this spirit of gratitude that we should receive this feast.
We live in a world in which the offering of thanksgiving has become a scarce commodity and a rare virtue. In almost every aspect of our human existence, it seems that our first instinct is not to give thanks, but rather to reply, to respond, or to react. At every second of our waking, we are compelled to reply to emails, to texts and to posts. Daily, we respond to our own passionate desires, to every perceived threat and to every offense, and we are drawn to react to every instance of human fallenness, political division and ecclesiastical conflict.
While it may be easier to blame the world for these challenges, we should remember that it is from within our hearts that our actions and attitudes spring forth. We may long for perfection, but we are confronted by our own weaknesses. But even here we should remember, as Saint Barsanuphius reminds us, that thanksgiving intercedes before God for our weaknesses. Thanksgiving is not the crown of the perfect but the strength of the weak.
Thanksgiving is what allows us as broken, sorrowful, hurting and frail human beings to join our voices to the rest of creation in singing:
Make glad, O ye righteous; Greatly rejoice, O ye heavens; Ye mountains dance for joy.
Christ is born; and like the cherubim the Virgin makes a throne,
Carrying at her bosom God the Word made flesh.
Shepherds glorify the new-born Child.
Magi offer the Master gifts.
Angels sing praises, saying:
“O Lord past understanding, glory to Thee” (Praises at Matins).
Sincerely yours in the new-born Christ,
+ Tikhon
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada
*UPDATE - Jan. 28, 2019
The registration period is now closed to new attendees. Please return to SVOTS.edu/events to find out about the next open house opportunity.
Do you feel called to serve the Church, either in ordained ministry or another vocation? Cozy up to the idea of enrolling at St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) and pursuing your calling at the Winter Open House, February 3 and 4.
Experience community and academic life at SVOTS over these two days. Take a guided tour of the Seminary campus, sit in on classes, meet the Seminary president, faculty, and staff, attend services, share meals with seminarians, and even attend the community Super Bowl party on Sunday evening!
Plan to arrive before 4 p.m. on Sunday, February 3. The Open House formally concludes the next day with Vespers, which begin at 5 p.m., although you are more than welcome to stay longer for dinner and a Monday evening event with the Seminary’s St. Juliana’s Society.
REGISTRATION
Fill out and submit the registration form on this page to RSVP by Monday, January 28, 2019 (see form below).
DAILY SCHEDULE
Arrive Sunday afternoon, February 3, and leave Monday evening, February 4
Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019
Monday, Feb. 4, 2019
ADMISSIONS INFORMATION
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The new book, Mixed Marriage: An Orthodox History, “will surely become a standard work on the subject,” according to Archpriest John A. McGuckin, visiting research professor at Oxford University and emeritus professor of Byzantine Christian Studies at Columbia University & Union Theological Seminary.
The book, written by Priest Anthony Roeber, is available now through St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) Press. The study explores historical documentation of incidents and practices regarding mixed marriages throughout the history of the Orthodox Church.
“Fr. Roeber’s excellent book offers a lucid and fascinating history of marriage and its relationship to the Church, the authority of the bishop, pastoral practice in relation to the administration of the Mysteries (how can a couple sharing in the sacrament of Orthodox marriage not be allowed thereafter to share in the Eucharist from which it flows?) and how that important, but often ill-defined term of oikonomia can address the issue of mixed marriage today,” said McGuckin.
Fr. Anthony Roeber is professor of Church History at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS). The author of some 50 articles, six books, and three edited volumes, his most recent publications include the co-authored Changing Churches: An Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran Theological Conversation (Eerdmans, 2012) and Hopes for Better Spouses: Protestant Marriage and Church Renewal in Early Modern Europe, India, and North America (Eerdmans, 2013).
Join us for an evening of sharing music together with friends, old and new! The Westchester Chorale, recognized as one of the region’s leading musical ensembles, is joining the St. Vladimir’s Seminary Chorale for a free concert this December.
Concert-goers will be treated to Dmitry Bortniansky’s Sacred Concerto No. 6 from the Westchester Chorale and other Orthodox Christmas music courtesy of the Seminary Chorale.
An Evening of Christmas Music begins at 7:30 p.m. on campus Sunday, December 9. A reception will follow.
The Westchester Chorale, directed by Douglas Kostner, was founded in 1965 and is based in Larchmont, New York.
On November 5, the 2021 Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) Cohort arrived on campus for their first onsite intensive.
This cohort, the third that has formed since the D.Min. program was revived in 2014, is comprised of seven students from six different jurisdictions and denominations. The students of the 2021 cohort serve in a variety of ministries and include parish priests, crisis counselors, lay catechists, and active duty military chaplains.
"Forming a community of teachers and learners has always been a top priority for us, and we are always learning how to do that better,” said Fr. Sergius Halvorsen, D.Min. program director. “For this cohort, we expanded the orientation to a six-week online experience, and I think this really helped. By the time we met face to face for the very first time, we all felt like we were old friends. This sense of camaraderie is a wonderful foundation for ongoing learning and pastoral formation."
This semester, the 2021 D.Min. Cohort took the first two of their nine courses: Liturgical Life and Pastoral ministry, taught by Dr. Grant White; and Advanced Preaching and Communication taught by Fr. Sergius Halvorsen.
Dr. White noted, "The intensive was marked by informed, critical discussion of liturgical, theological, and pastoral issues in an atmosphere of mutual trust and learning together."
In addition to working with Seminary faculty, the students had an opportunity to discuss topics of communication, leadership, and productivity with Deacon Michael Hyatt, the Executive Chair of the Board of Trustees. A number of the students remarked on how grateful they were for the wisdom and encouragement that Dn. Michael shared with the class during the course of an inspiring discussion. While they were on campus, the students of the 2021 D.Min. Cohort also had a chance to meet with Dr. Ionut-Alexandru Tudorie, the new academic dean of St. Vladimir's Seminary.
The 2021 D.Min. Cohort is off to a great start, and we wish them every blessing as they continue their work!
St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Arvo Pärt Project co-presented an incredible concert featuring the Estonian composer’s music Monday night in New York City. The Project partnered with Sacred Music in a Sacred Space for the event.
A sold-out crowd packed inside the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola for Arvo Pärt: The Sound of the Sacred to hear some of the leading performers of Arvo Pärt's music in the world, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste. The all-Pärt program included two major compositions inspired by St. Silouan of Mount Athos, as well as a new setting of the Prayer from the Kanon of Repentance performed for the first time in the United States.
“Further evidence of the power of Arvo Pärt’s music and its relevance for the contemporary concert-goer was given tonight,” said Dr. Nicholas Reeves, who co-founded the Arvo Pärt Project when he was a professor at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. “It has been four years since the Estonians performed in New York and, regardless of the repeated programming of certain compositions, Pärt’s sway over the audience is as strong, if not stronger—the attendance, applause, and overall spirit of eagerness to listen was self-evident, even the pre-concert lecture was virtually packed. The depths of Pärt’s works and how they relate to his faith are an endeavor that the Arvo Pärt Project will continue to provide for a metropolitan populace thirsting for life-giving water.”
As part of the evening’s events, the Seminary invited Elder Zacharias of Essex—one of the living elders of the Orthodox Church—to take part in a free pre-concert lecture on St. Silouan and repentance in the music of Arvo Pärt. Archimandrite Zacharias is a disciple of St. Silouan’s own disciple Elder Sophrony, and is a monk in the community founded by Elder Sophrony, the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England. Also taking part in the pre-concert lecture were His Beatitude, The Most Blessed Tikhon, archbishop of Washington and metropolitan of All America and Canada, and Seminary Professor Dr. Peter C. Bouteneff, who directs the Arvo Pärt Project.
Earlier that day, Fr. Zacharias visited the Seminary campus, where he spoke to members of the seminary community and guests.
Arvo Pärt’s spiritual roots in Orthodox Christianity have inspired the Seminary to engage in a project that has produced high-profile concerts, publish essays and books, and engage in cross-disciplinary panel discussions. Learn more about the Arvo Pärt Project and the Seminary’s Sacred Arts Initiative online.
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Online Presentation (Webinar) – Register here
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 Wednesday, November 14, we are beginning another 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.
While registration is free, space is limited, so sign up through this link if you are interested:
The next presentation will feature Very Rev. Dr. David G. Subu, pastor of St. Mary Orthodox Church in Falls Church, Virginia. Fr. David’s topic for the webinar session will be based on his project, “Repent and Recover: Addiction Recovery and Traditional Christian Ascetic Principles for Pastors and Their Parishioners.”
"Many have identified the connection between the modern affliction of addiction and what the ascetic Fathers call 'the Passions,'” Fr. David explained. “If addictions are a form of the passions, we should find that successful principles of recovery from addiction should also be useful in healing the passions and habitual sinful behaviors.”
“This project examines the dynamics of the passions and the scientific study of addiction treatments and develops a course of recovery-minded repentance from sin that can help both priests and those under their spiritual care to actualize the benefits of the ascetic tradition in their lives for overcoming sin, God helping."
Registrants for Fr. David’s presentation will receive a link to join the webinar on the morning of November 14.
Watch this space for information about the next webinar coming soon.
St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Fall Benefit & Theological Convocation brought people together from near and far to support scholarships for seminarians, celebrate forty years of ordained ministry for Seminary President Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, and lay out the vision for the future of theological education.
On Thursday morning, November 1, the two-day event began with Divine Liturgy on campus, presided over by His Beatitude, The Most Blessed Tikhon, archbishop of Washington and metropolitan of All America and Canada of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). The Divine Liturgy was celebrated in commemoration of the reception of relics of Great and Holy Prince Vladimir at Three Hierarchs Chapel five years ago, in November 2013.
Later that evening, the Seminary hosted a gala at the scenic Surf Club on the Sound in New Rochelle, NY, to honor Fr. Chad and boost St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Tuition-Free Initiative. The initiative, which launched in 2012, offers fully-paid tuition to seminarians to free them of the burden of tuition debt as they go forth to serve the Church. Contributions from the gala’s attendees and donations sent in toward the cause totaled nearly $200 thousand at last count, with donations still being sent in the week following the event.
“I am delighted to use this occasion marking forty years of service in ordained ministry to benefit those who are in the early stages of priestly formation as seminarians,” said Fr. Chad. To have a small part in the formation of future priests, and those called to other vocations of service in the Church, is one of the great blessings of my life.”
Many distinguished guests were in attendance to honor Fr. Chad, including His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon; SVOTS Alumnus Very Rev. Archimandrite Gerasim (’12) of St. Seraphim of Sarov Cathedral in Dallas, TX; Rev. Vasily Fisher of St. James Orthodox Church, Napaskiak, Alaska; and Very Rev. John Parker, SVOTS alumnus and dean of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.
Activities returned to the St. Vladimir’s Seminary campus on Friday for the theological convocation, “Theological Education in the Twenty-First Century.” Featured speakers Rev. Dr. George Parsenios, Dr. Vigen Guroian, new Academic Dean Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie, and Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield spoke to various facets of theological education moving forward with regard to Church History, Scripture, and Dogmatics and Ethics. A discussion followed, led by a panel comprised of Seminary Professors Dr. Peter Bouteneff and Rev. Dr. Anthony Roeber and Fordham University Professor Dn. Patrick (William) Baumgarth.
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary (SVOTS) pays 75% of the cost of tuition to educate each seminarian through its fully-paid tuition program. The remaining 25% is covered by a seminarian’s home parish, diocese, or other church organization. Since 2012, SVOTS has paid out an average of $475,000 each year in scholarship funds for its seminarians. You can support the Tuition-Free Initiative fund and help SVOTS offer fully-paid tuition to seminarians here.
