Over Winter Break 2017 three SVOTS seminarians participated in an IOCC Action Team that helped rebuild homes in New Orleans, an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005: Dn. Andrew Honoré, Evan LeDoux, and Antwian (Anthony) Davis. Seminarian Davis shares his experience ministering—andbeing ministered to!—during his one week adventure in Louisiana.

My trip to Louisiana was amazing—so amazing that my experience is almost hard to put into words. To begin, the people from IOCC who put the trip together were great: they took care of us from the moment we signed up to the time we got on the plane to go back to the Seminary.

And, one thing we never had to worry about was food. As soon as we landed, the IOCC Team took us out to eat, and from there on, we never stopped eating the great cuisine of Louisiana!

For me though, the best part of the experience was getting to spend time with all the people on the trip—students from the other seminaries, and even other seminarians from St. Vlad’s. I know that might sound a little strange, but because of our busy class schedules while the Seminary is in session, we just do not have the opportunity to see each other or to spend time around each other as much as we’d like. This was a chance to get to know each other personally, outside of the daily routine of classes and schoolwork.

After the workday, we went back to the Lutheran church where our daily meals were prepared, and cleaned up for dinner. After dinner we enjoyed a little down time before vespers, and after vespers each of us gave a reflection about our day—which offered us a time to get to understand each other personally and spiritually. We even spent a couple of nights hanging around an outside fire pit, having refreshments and, again, getting to know each other a little better.

One day we visited the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, to see where most of the flooding took place during Hurricane Katrina. That eye-opening experience alone was worth going on the trip; I saw where the devastation had occurred and how the city is still rebuilding ten years later.

The work I did for Habitat for Humanity was rewarding and life changing—an opportunity to step outside of myself and my daily routine, to do something for someone else and help them start life in a new home. (Personal note: don’t shy away from a trip like this if you lack building experience, because the onsite supervisors are there to help and make sure safety always comes first.)

I would recommend this IOCC Seminary Build to anyone who would like to have a wonderful experience working with good people from several seminaries, IOCC, and Habitat of Humanity—not to mention the unforgettable experience of Southern hospitality!

Father John will bring his years of experience in Ecumenism and teaching in Eastern Orthodox theological studies to reflect on the shifting terrain of what unites and divides in the quest for Christian Unity. While he will focus on the relations between the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church, he will identify the issues of unity and division in terms that apply to all Christian communities and individuals who care deeply about church unity.

The event, which will run from 6 p.m.–9 p.m., is free and open to the public. The evening will begin with an Orthodox Christian service, a Molieben to the Holy Spirit, and a reception will follow Fr. John’s presentation.

Parking is located at the rear of the Shrine. RSVP here by February 7, or call 202.832.2675.

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On Friday, January 13, 2017, Archpriest John Behr, dean and professor of Patristics at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, presented his inaugural lecture as holder of the Metropolitan Kallistos Chair in Orthodox Theology and assumed his position as full professor at the Amsterdam Centre for Orthodox Theology (ACOT) in the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). Father John’s lecture, titled, “The Paschal Gospel: Reading John in Early and Eastern Christianity,” may be read here.

Father John was appointed to the newly created Chair by the Executive Board of VU on September 1, 2016. He retains his position as Dean of St. Vladimir’s, but will visit ACOT a number of times each year to give instruction through intensive courses.

The chair was created to address the need to train new clergy for the growing number of Orthodox parishes in the Netherlands, in the wake of the arrival of a surge of migrants and refugees belonging to the Orthodox tradition. E.A.J.G. Van der Borght, Ph.D., vice-dean of the Faculty of Theology at ACOT, noted, “The creation of this chair in Orthodox theology is in line with the tradition of the VU to study, teach, and reflect critically on one’s own religious theological tradition.”

The schedule of inaugural festivities at ACOT included: a public dialogue about Fr. John’s academic work, titled, “Theology and Scripture”; a Seminar titled,“Orthodox Theological Education”; the inaugural lecture; and a congratulatory reception.

During the inaugural ceremonies Dr. Van der Borght warmly welcomed Fr. John and his family members and briefly sketched his academic biography, saying, “John Behr’s academic education and career connects the academic disciplines of Philosophy, Patristics, and Orthodox theology and the contexts of the Western culture and a deep existential rooting in Eastern Christianity, fed by an ongoing living contact with the sources of early Christianity, that is, the New Testament and the Patristic writing.”

In his laudatio (laudation) of Fr. John’s theological acumen, he noted that his “scholarly originality has been matched by intellectual creativity and spiritual depth.” (Read the full laudatio here.)

Dr. Van der Borght also read a message from the namesake of the new Chair, His Eminence the Most Reverend Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia, who could not attend because of frail health. Metropolitan Kallistos taught at Oxford University for four decades, supervising countless doctoral students, including Fr. John. His Eminence is perhaps the most recognizable Orthodox voice in the world, and is chiefly responsible for introducing Orthodox theology to the West.

Metropolitan Kallistos touchingly wrote:

Please assure Father John and the others present how deeply I am grateful for the significant honour that the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has conferred upon me in naming a chair after myself. I wish Father John and future occupants of the chair every success in their lectures. With all my heart I hope that this chair that is to bear my name will contribute positively in making the Orthodox Church better known in Amsterdam and far beyond.

I can think of no candidate better qualified to be appointed to this position than Dr Behr. Ever since the time that I acted as his university supervisor when he was working at Oxford for his doctorate, I have had a very high opinion of his scholarly ability and of the skill with which as a teacher he can communicate his ideas. He is extremely hard-working, genuinely original in his ideas, and remarkably gifted as a writer, as is indicated by his substantial list of publications. I am fully confident that his presence as a member of your Faculty will greatly enhance the work of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Special guests among the attendees included His Eminence Archbishop Mor Polycarpus of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, an alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary; His Eminence Bishop Arseny of the Coptic-Orthodox Church; and the Very Reverend Andrew Louth, emeritus professor of Patristic and Byzantine Studies at Durham University and Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Theology of VU.

Link to a PDF of the Inaugural Lecture here.
Link to the Inaugural Lecture invitation here.
Link to a congratulatory letter from His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Volokalamsk here.
Link to the laudatio (laudation) of Fr. John Behr, read on the occasion of his Inaugural Lecture

On Monday, January 23, 2017, at 7 p.m., St. Vladimir’s Seminary will co-sponsor an “Orthodox-Catholic Prayer for Unity and Life” event at the Parish of St. John Nepomucene and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. Other sponsors include the host parish and the Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Sienna. An Orthodox Christian service, the “Akathist for the Unborn,” and a Roman Catholic service, the “Divine Mercy Chaplet,” will be held during the evening.

His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), will speak following the Akathist, which will be served by seminary President Archpriest Chad Hatfield. Sister Virginia Joy of the Sisters of Life, a Catholic religious order dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the sacredness of every human life, will speak following the Chaplet service.

The event is related to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity originally begun by the World Council of Churches's Faith and Order Commission and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The Week of Prayer is customarily held between January 18 and January 25 annually, inclusive of an octave of days.

“This particular jointly sponsored event,” said Fr. Chad, “uniquely focuses on the common witness of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian faithful as regards the value of human life.

“It will be a precursor to what will happen at the conclusion of the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday, January 27^th, when once again Orthodox Christian and Roman Catholic believers will stand with their hierarchs to up offer memorial prayers for the unborn.”

Find the Church of St. John Nepomucene on Google Maps.

The Arvo Pärt Project (AAP) at St. Vladimir’s Seminary and Sacred Music in a Sacred Space will present an All-Arvo Pärt Program performed by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir on Wednesday, February 1, at 7 p.m. at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, NYC. The concert will be conducted by Kaspars Putninš, artistic director and chief conductor of the choir, with K. Scott Warren, artistic director at St. Ignatius, as organist.

As a leading proponent of Arvo Pärt’s music in the world, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir has won two Grammy awards for recordings of Pärt’s compositions. Their February concert program will include several of Pärt’s works both for a cappella choir, and choir and organ, among them: "Solfeggio,” "The Beatitudes," "Summa," "Magnificat," "Dopo la vittoria," "The Woman with the Alabaster Box," "Nunc dimittis" and "Salve Regina."

• Order tickets online here, or call 212.288.2520. One-half of the proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit SVOTS.
  
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On Friday, January 20, 2017, at 7 p.m., Fr. Ivan Moody will share his thoughts on the past, present, and future of Orthodox music during an informal conversation with St. Vladimir’s Seminary faculty: Harrison Russin, lecturer in Liturgical Music, and Robin Freeman, director of Music. The event is free of charge and open to the public.

Father Ivan, a celebrated composer, in-demand conductor, and accomplished musicologist, currently is a researcher at CESEM-Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and also is Chairman of the International Society for Orthodox Church Music (ISOCM). ISOCM has recently released a book by Fr. Ivan, titled Modernism and Orthodox Spirituality in Contemporary Music.

While on the seminary campus Fr. Ivan will also spend time with the seminary choirs in a private classroom setting. Additionally, on Saturday, January 21, he will travel to New York City to attend the world premiere of his composition Vespers Sequence, which will be performed by the Grammy-nominated ensemble New York Polyphony. (Read concert information here.) 

In September 2016, as a participant in St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s weekend symposium entitled “Rethinking Sacred Arts,” Fr. Ivan was interviewed by Professor Peter C. Bouteneff, director of the Sacred Arts Initiative (SAI) at the Seminary. (Watch the interview here.) The symposium was the first in a series of events planned between Fall 2016 and Spring 2018, all of which are part of the SAI funded by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.

The Seminary welcomes the public to what promises to be a lively and richly informative event! An open reception with light refreshments will follow.

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On Friday, January 13, 2017, Archpriest John Behr, dean and professor of Patristics at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, will present his inaugural lecture as holder of the Metropolitan Kallistos Chair in Orthodox Theology at the Amsterdam Centre for Orthodox Theology (ACOT) in the Vrije Universiteit (VU). Father John’s lecture, titled, “The Paschal Gospel: Reading John in Early and Eastern Christianity,” will be posted on the Seminary’s website after it is presented.

Father John was appointed to the newly created Chair by the Executive Board of VU on September 1, 2016. He retains his position as Dean of St. Vladimir’s, but will visit ACOT a number of times each year to give instruction.

The schedule of inaugural festivities at ACOT includes:

• 10:00 a.m. Theology and Scripture: This dialogue will be between Father John Behr and his Dutch colleagues about his academic work. The public is invited to register to receive by email the texts that will be discussed, and to listen in.
•  1:30 p.m. Seminar on Orthodox Theological Education: Metropolitan Kallistos Ware of Diokleia is anticipated to be in attendance.
•  3:45 p.m. Inaugural Lecture: Father John Behr presents, “The Paschal Gospel: Reading John in Early and Eastern Christianity.”
•  5:00 p.m. Congratulatory Reception

Those wishing to attend the events should register here.

Link to the Inaugural Lecture invitation here.

The Right Reverend Paul Doyle, a St. Vladimir’s Seminary alumnus, reposed on Saturday, December 17, 2016. He was a priest of distinction in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA).

In April 2016, Father Paul, who was retired, had received the high honor of the Gold Order of St. Raphael for his more than four decades of priestly ministry in a variety of capacities, which included being the founding pastor of St. Matthew Antiochian Orthodox Church in Torrance, CA; dean of the Southern California Deanery; and Protosyngellos (episcopal vicar) in the AOCANA.

His Eminence Joseph, archbishop of New York and metropolitan of all North America (AOCANA), announced Fr. Paul’s repose on the archdiocesan website. His Eminence stated: “It is with a sorrowful heart, lightened only by confidence in the abundant mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, that I announce the passing of the Right Reverend Protosyngellos Paul Doyle. For almost 42 years, Fr. Paul has led an exemplary life as a priest of the Holy Orthodox Church, and, I dare say, is one of the most profoundly humble men I have ever met. Read Metropolitan Joseph’s entire text.

 The St. Vladimir’s Seminary community prays for the soul of Father Paul. Memory Eternal!

 Read the schedule of funeral services.

Our St. Vladimir’s Seminary community extends its deepest sympathy to our Coptic Orthodox Christian brothers and sisters in Cairo, Egypt, after hearing of the deadly explosion inside St. Peter Church early Sunday, December 11, 2016. At least twenty-three people were killed instantly in the bombing, and another 49 were injured, including three critically wounded. The current death toll stands at 25.

The church, which is attached to the Coptic Cathedral of St. Mark, was built in 1911 on the tomb of Boutros Ghali, who was Egypt's prime minister from 1908 to 1910. The blast occurred in the church's “ladies section,” according to local media. The Cathedral of St. Mark was left undamaged. A security source stated that the explosion was caused by a 12 kilogram TNT bomb.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing so far. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said that the country will observe three days of mourning following the explosion.

His Grace Anba Suriel, an alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary and currently the Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Melbourne, Canberra, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand, traveled to Cairo for the funerals of the victims and posted a reflection about the tragedy on his Facebook page.

Archpriest John Behr, dean of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, is also traveling to Cairo, to deliver a previously scheduled presentation at the Anafora Conference, titled, "Saint Irenaeus and Enlightened Humanity," with His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, and His Eminence Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Cardinal of Lyon in attendance. Father John will be in Cairo from December 14–15.

The Seminary community offers prayers for Fr. John’s safe travels, and prays for the eternal rest of the new martyrs in Cairo.

(Photo used with permission by Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE)

On Monday, December 12, at 4:30 pm, in the Seminary’s Three Hierarch’s Chapel, immediately prior to Great Vespers, the annual memorial service (panikhida) for the repose of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann of blessed memory will be held.

Father Alexander was Dean and Professor of Liturgical Theology at St. Vladimir’s Seminary from 1962–1983 and was instrumental in educating a generation of Orthodox priests. During his tenure, the Seminary achieved wide recognition as a center of Orthodox theological studies

Besides teaching at St. Vladimir's, he held positions as adjunct professor at Columbia University, New York University, Union Seminary, and General Theological Seminary in New York, and was a popular guest lecturer at many universities throughout the country. He was also active as a representative of the Orthodox Church in the ecumenical movement, and held positions in the Youth Department and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.

Father Alexander published more than a dozen books which received wide circulation, including For the Life of the World, Introduction to Liturgical Theology, Ultimate Questions, and Church, World, Mission, and numerous articles and tracts. For the Life of the World, a volume on Christian faith as reflected in liturgy, has been translated into numerous languages and remains one of the most popular works on Orthodox Christianity for the general public. His major study, The Eucharist, was completed only weeks before his death.

On the anniversary of his death, December 13th, words from his work The Services of Christmas: The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (eds. David Anderson and John Erickson, Department of Religious Education, Orthodox Church in America, Syosset, New York, 1981) remind us of his vibrant faith and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Christ is born, glorify Him!"

With these words something changes in our life, in the very air we breathe, in the entire mood of the Church’s life. It is as if we perceive far, far away, the first light of the greatest possible joy—the coming of God into His world! Thus the Church announces the coming of Christ, the Incarnation of God, His entrance into the world for its salvation. 

Memory Eternal!