Catherine Mandell, author of When You Fast: Recipes for Lenten Seasons, a cookbook published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press (2005), made national news this past weekend. She appeared on the popular PBS program "Religion & Ethics Newsweekly" in a segment titled "Orthodox Lenten Meals," hosted by Bob Abernathy. In the show, Ms. Mandell shared with her audience not only the fasting rules and regulations within the Orthodox Christian tradition but also the ethos underlying them.
Expressing the joy associated with the season of Great Lent, Ms. Mandell presented the spiritual benefits of fasting, and commented upon practical works that normally accompany fasting, such as almsgiving and refraining from gossip. She also described her initial attempts at keeping a strict fast, and her continuing expertise in cooking proper foods for lenten periods.
Ms. Mandell's decade-long quest to attain a rule of fasting in accordance with the traditional Orthodox Christian discipline resulted in her cookbook, When You Fast. The cookbook contains 200 recipes for easy, nourishing, and appealing fasting meals; sprinkled among the delicious recipes are sayings from the Mothers and Fathers of the early Church regarding how the body and soul are affected by eating habits. The PBS interview featured the Mandell family at their Clearfield, Pennsylvania dinner table, partaking of the lenten foods featured in Ms. Mandell's cookbook.
To view the PBS interview, and to try a sample recipe from When You Fast, "Wild Rice Salad," click here.
Dr. Paul Meyendorff, The Father Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology at our seminary, was among the participants in an international consultation of Orthodox Christian theological schools held at the Orthodox Academy of Crete April 5–7, 2011. The consultation focused on the development of a sample strategic plan for Orthodox theological schools in Europe.
The meeting was a continuation of an initial gathering in September 2010. At that time, Dr. Meyendorff traveled to the Orthodox seminary in Joensuu, Finland, to discuss the future of Orthodox theological education in Europe in light of the Bologna Process. The Bologna Process is a recent initiative within the European Union to reform and standardize higher education. The meeting in Joensuu was called to discuss the implications of this process for Orthodox seminaries in Europe. The meeting concluded with a proposal to develop a pan-Orthodox agency to monitor the quality of Orthodox theological education.
At this second gathering, Dr. Meyendorff related the experience of St. Vladimir's Seminary in developing its strategic plan, noting that the situation of the Church in North America differs in many respects from the Church elsewhere. Consultation participants then prepared a conceptual model for strategic planning for theological schools to adapt and further to develop in light of their respective situations. Other issues discussed at the consultation included various concerns with regard to preparation and qualifications of candidates for ordination, theological research, and related matters.
In a report on the status of theological education in the Orthodox Church of Russia, Archimandrite Kirill (Hovorun) stressed the importance that must be placed on interaction between theological schools worldwide and shared recent reforms undertaken at the Moscow Theological Academy. A report was also given on the Orthodox Church of Greece's new theological school. Also represented at the consultation were the Orthodox Academy of Crete, the Theological Academy in Thessaloniki, the Orthodox Seminary in Joensuu, Finland, and the St. Tikhon Orthodox Humanitarian University.
Our faculty will be delivering several retreats and homilies throughout North America during this season of Great Lent. Please check your local church listings and come to hear them when they visit your geographical area.
Archpriest John Behr, Dean
Saturday, March 12, 2011, 7 p.m., St. Joseph Church, Wheaton, IL, public lecture on "The Meaning of Icons"
Monday & Tuesday, March 14–15, 2011, New Gracanica Monastery of the Holy Mother of God, Grayslake, IL, a clergy retreat sponsored by The Orthodox Clergy Association of Greater Chicago, with three presentations: “Through the Cross,” “For This We Were Created,” and “Glorify God in Your Body”
Friday, April 8, 2011, St. Elias Orthodox Church, Austin, TX, 6 p.m. Akathist followed by 8 p.m. lecture, "Orthodox Christianity as Paideia: Faith, Reason, and Culture in the Early Church."
Saturday, April 9, 2011, 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., followed by Vigil, St. Elias Orthodox Church, Austin, TX, parish lenten retreat, with three presentations on the theme, "Journey to Jerusalem."
Fr. Harry Pappas, Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology
Sunday, March 13, 2011,St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Church in Pawtucket, RI, as guest of the Rhode Island Pan-Orthodox Clergy fellowship, "Truth Is Strongest of All," Homilist for the Sunday of Orthodoxy.
Dr. Albert Rossi, Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology
Protodeacon Nazari Polataiko will instruct aspiring and experienced iconographers in the egg tempera Russo-Byzantine style of iconography, endeavoring to teach not only craft and technique but also the prayerful attitude required in executing this art.
Protodeacon Nazari Polataiko and his wife, Matushka Tatiana, established the Saints Alypij and Andrew Rublew Icon Studio in 1996. The icon painters of the studio are dedicated to reviving this ancient art. The Polataikos were born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine and both graduated with B.F.A degrees: Fr. Nazari from Kosiv and Matushka from Vyznytcia Art College in Ukraine.
Protodeacon Nazari studied the basics of iconography by copying antique icons from his father’s collection and visiting the renowned iconographer, Archimandrite Zinon, in Pskov. Later he learned advanced iconographic technique from Dmitri Andreyev, of the Prosopon School in New York, and by visiting iconography studios all over Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.
Protodeacon Nazari shared his discoveries with his wife and, together, they have been writing icons for almost 15 years. Their work can be seen in several churches in Ukraine, and in numerous churches across Canada and the United States. They can also be found in the private chapels of His All Holiness Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv, Ukraine, and Metropolitan Wasylij of Winnipeg (of blessed memory). The icons from this studio are written in a Russo-Byzantine style, and all are written in egg tempera and gold leaf, using traditional materials and techniques.
The most recent large projects that the Polataikos have undertaken include: decorating the dome of St. George's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Dauphin, Manitoba; a series of icons of Ukrainian saints (an ongoing project); and an iconostas for Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Speden, Alberta. Most recently Fr. Nazari and Matushka completed work on the iconostas of St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Vegreville, Alberta.
The workshop this summer will also include and end with presentations on ecclesiastical architecture by Mr. Andrew Gould, on Saturday, June 25th. Mr. Gould works in partnership with George Holt at the firm New Byzantine World, in Charleston, South Carolina.
Mr. Gould is becoming known nationwide as a designer of traditional Orthodox churches. His built works include Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and he has designed churches pending construction in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. It is Mr. Gould's hope that he can help guide the Orthodox churches of this country to develop an architecture of their own. "This style," he says, "must be one that is worthy of the glorious tradition of Byzantium and Medieval Russia, without abandoning the building traditions indigenous to our own land."
Mr. Gould studied Art History at Tufts University and the Arts and Crafts Movement at University College London. He has a master's degree in architecture from University of Pennsylvania. A craftsman as much as a designer, he is skilled in wood carving and other decorative arts. In addition to Orthodox churches, he specializes in urban infill development and the design of new "old" houses.
Download the attached flyer of the Iconography Workshop & Architecture Seminar, and share it on your social networks with your family, parish family, and friends.
Download the attached postcard describing all of our Summer Programs 2011 and share it with your family, parish family, and friends.
Practical liturgical training for deacons and lay diaconal candidates will be supported by celebration of the Divine Liturgy and other services. Intensive workshops will provide participants with the skills needed to serve effectively in the Orthodox Church, with attention given to the liturgical patterns of movement that inform the rite. Guidance on concelebrations and hierarchical celebrations will prepare participants for such occasions. Focused presentations by seminary faculty will augment the deacon's understanding of his place in the liturgical life of the Church and the deacon's broader vocation as a symbol to the faithful of the diakonia of Christ our Lord. Instruction in public speaking and vocal technique will also be offered. Workshop leaders will be Archdeacon Kirill Sokolov, Fr. Sergius Halvorsen, and Fr. John Behr, dean of St. Vladimir's.
Click on the highlighted links for more information & to register:
The enormous world of internet pornography continues to invade our culture, and the statistics* are staggering: 40 million Americans are regular visitors to porn sites; 70% of men ages 18–24 visit porn sites monthly; 1 in 3 porn viewers are women; there are 116,000 searches for “child pornography” daily; and 35% of all internet downloads are pornographic.
Dr. Albert Rossi, our adjunct professor of Pastoral Theology, has designed a workshop for pastors, youth ministers, and educators, to address this pressing problem. There will be a dual focus to this workshop: 1) pastoral counseling for internet pornography problems of adults; and, 2) the issue of chastity for youth and young adults today. Lecture, video material, and discussion will comprise the sessions.
Dr. Rossi teaches courses in pastoral theology at our seminary. He has written numerous articles on psychology and religion and published a book through Paulist Press entitled, Can I Make a Difference: Christian Family Life Today. After teaching at Pace University for 24 years, he retired as Associate Professor of Psychology. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of New York.
Download the attached flyer of the Internet Pornography & Chastity Workshop, and share it on your social networks with your family, parish family, and friends.
Download the attached postcard describing all of our Summer Programs 2011 and share it with your family, parish family, and friends.
This past Sunday, Professor Peter C. Bouteneff brought seven seminarians to St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Cathedral in Teaneck, N.J., at the invitation of H.E. Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, archbishop and patriarchal vicar to the Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church for the Eastern United States. The visit was part of Dr. Bouteneff’s seminar on “Christology in Dialogue,” which focuses on the rapprochement between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
"The Bible is about life—all of life, real life. Not life as we imagine it, or even as we might live it, but life as it truly is whenever we enter into authentic life," began Fr. Harry Pappas as he commenced our seminary's annual public lenten retreat. "And we have a God who, among all the other gods and goddesses that were around during the Old Testamental period, takes great delight in life, in his creation."
Fr. Harry, who is adjunct professor of Pastoral Theology at St. Vladimir's, chose as his overall theme for this year's retreat, "Back to Basics: Old Testament and Life." He focused on the biblical books that the Orthodox Church prescribes for reading during the period of Great Lent—Genesis, Proverbs, and Isaiah—and drew from them images and themes that exemplify life in and with God.
The lenten retreat began with many participants attending the Divine Liturgy in our seminary chapel, and continued with three presentations by Fr. Harry: "How Life Begins" (Genesis); "How Life Works" (Proverbs); and "How New Life Appears" (Isaiah). You may listen to all three of Fr. Harry's presentations in the "Voices from St. Vladimir's" section of Ancient Faith Radio.
View a photo gallery of this day of fellowship, prayer, and instruction.
St. Vladimir's Seminary Press began as a response to the urgent need for English-language books about the Orthodox Christian faith, which arose in the mid-1950s. At that time, our multi-ethnic Orthodox student body were hearing lectures in English, but textbooks were available only in foreign languages, in particular, Russian and Greek. To address this need, lecture notes of the professors were hand typed or mimeographed for student use, and sometimes collated for distribution.
Simultaneously clergy in parishes were clamoring for educational material. To address this need, Fr. Alexander Schmemann (Dean from 1962–1983) produced a series of small pamphlets, including “Clergy and Laity” and “Great Lent." When Fr. Alexander published the full version of his Great Lent in book form in 1969, it sold out within the season of the Great Fast, demonstrating the hunger by clergy and laity for English-language titles about their faith.
Today "SVS Press" is the largest and most active publisher of Orthodox Christian books in the English language, with more than 400 titles in print. It continues its reputation of insisting on works of theological excellence, as evidenced in its 2011 releases, recently showcased in its Spring Brochure.
In addition to its usual scholarly releases, the press welcomes to its collection a children's book, St. George and the Dragon, engagingly written by well-known author Jim Forest and strikingly illustrated by iconographer Vladislav Andreyev. The book will be available in summer 2011, and SVS Bookstore is taking advance orders. Click here to order the book.
"St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press has been really active recently," notes Fr. Benedict Churchill, Associate Director of SVS Press. "In the past few months, we’ve added four books to the Popular Patristics Series, and introduced two new books, with Metropolitan Hilarion's Orthodox Christianity series, vol.1, History and Canonical Structure, and Archbishop Dmitri’s commentary on The Epistle of St. James.
"I’m delighted to have a role in helping these important works see the light of day, and in helping the Press in its mission of making Orthodox materials available in English," he says.
Saturday, October 1, 2011 • Annual Orthodox Education Day
When you come to our annual Orthodox Education Day (OED) this year, look for some surprises: bagpipes, a military honor guard, icon displaying soldiers and peacemakers, folk dancers wielding swords, special workshops to help our service men and women and the church communities ministering to them, and a campaign to send care packages to those deployed in the armed forces—all in conjunction with this year's theme: "For God and Country."
Throughour the day, we will be honoring (and especially praying for, as our liturgy bids us to do), all our men and women "in the armed forces everywhere," and especially our Orthodox military chaplains.
Our keynote speaker will be The Rev. Dr. Philip LeMasters, a member of the seminary's Board of Trustees; Professor of Religion, Director of the Honors Program, and Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Religion at McMurry University; and rector of St. Luke Orthodox Church, Abilene, Texas, under the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA). Fr. Philip is the author of an article titled "Orthodox Perspectives on Peace, War and Violence," published recently in The Ecumenical Review (Vol. 63:1, 54–61, March 2011).
Our primary workshop leader will be Dr. Stephen Muse, director of the Counselor Training Program at the Pastoral Institute, Inc. in Columbus, Georgia, who also teaches and supervises with the U.S. Army Family Life Chaplain Training program at Fort Benning. Dr. Muse has taught and led workshops throughout the U.S. and internationally, both in the civilian sector and also for the U.S. Army Chaplains, in areas such as special problems of clergy and helping professionals, marriage, and the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
We are inviting clergy, with their parishioners, from all area churches to attend the keynote lecture by Fr. Philip, which will be based upon his aforementioned article, and the workshop by Dr. Muse, which will explore the potential support that churches can offer veterans and their families in the mission of returning home—psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually—as well as what civilians have to learn from those have gone to “hell for us” (in the words of Dr. Muse) and returned. We also are planning to have a panel of Orthodox Christian military chaplains, who will be discussing various aspects of service in the Armed Forces; and a panel relating to military family life "states-side," while loved ones are deployed.
St. Tikhon's Monastery Museum houses a good collection of military chaplains uniforms and kits from WWII to current U.S. wars, and the entire display will be on loan to SVOTS for OED 2011. Archpriest John Perich, museum curator, and Igumen Sergius, abbot of the Monastery, who are graciously lending our school this memorabilia, note that each item in this exceptional display is annotated with a specific chaplain's name.
Master iconographer Vladislav Andreyev will be displaying his beautiful illustrations from our new children's book, St. George and the Dragon, a timeless account of the brave saint who conquored demons through martyrdom, written by author Jim Forest.
We'd like to have your voice included in this lively day of discussion and prayer. Please join us for our annual campus open house, and bring your family, parish family, and friends. We'll warmly welcome you to St. Vladimir's!
If you or your parish would like to help with donations to the ethnic food booths, or for further information on the event, please e-mail our Events Coordinator, Tanya Penkrat, or call her at 914-961-8313 x351.
Download a flyer of Orthodox Education Day 2011 as a PDF here.
Download a flyer of Orthodox Education Day 2011 in JPG format here.
Share the news with your family, parish family, and friends!
Download a full schedule of Orthodox Education Day here.
