music at · place in the service, and singing traditional melodies cor-rectly and in tune take on a ministerial quality which semi-narians must discover for “all things to be done

music atseminary

0 snS P R I N G 2 0 0 6

sn

2 • SPRING 2006 sn

Martin Paluch

Message from the MetropolitanDearly Beloved in Christ,

Every year, Orthodox Christian menand women hear the Lord’s call tostudy theology at our seminaries. Thestudent of theology must hear andobey the Lord’s words: Whoever would befirst among you must be your slave (Matthew20:27).

Faithful service as a choir director,teacher, deacon, priest, or bishoprequires emulation of the Lord andstudy of His Word. The life of theChurch through history providesmany lessons for Christians of thetwenty-first century.To faithfully serveChrist today requires that we study thelives of our fathers in the faith, the per-secutions the Church has endured inthe name of Christ, and the triumphsof the truth of the Gospel in the face ofgreat resistance.

The Dean of St Vladimir’s Seminaryhas been guiding our seminariansthrough the study of the Church’s his-tory as a lay professor for many years.I am grateful to the Lord that I was able to ordain John Erickson to the Holy Diaconateon the feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs, the patrons of the seminary’s chapel, and to theHoly Priesthood on May 7, 2006. Father John is now called to renewed service to God’speople at the Holy Table.

Please join me in fervent prayer for Father John in his ministry as a professor, as Dean ofSt Vladimir’s, and as a servant of the Lord.

With love in Christ,

+HERMANArchbishop of Washington and New YorkMetropolitan of All America and CanadaPresident, Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary

O N T H E C O V E R

Students, such as Gregory Ealy and KseniaDanylevich, study theories of chant as wellas practice singing and conducting forchapel services all in preparation for serviceto the Church.

Opposite: Metropolitan Herman ordainsDean John H. Erickson to the HolyDiaconate on January 30, 2006. May Godgrant him many years! (see p. 7 for more onthe ordination).

snSpring 2006 • volume 4, number 1

Editor: Sofia Lopoukhine, Communicationsand Public Relations Officer

Advisory board: Fr John H. Erickson, Dean;Dn Jesse Greendyk, ChiefAdvancement Officer

Art direction: Amber J. Schley Production: Paul Kachur

Excerpts from Orthodoxy and Western Culture:ACollection of Essays Honoring Jaroslav Pelikan on HisEightieth Birthday (pp. 31–33) used bypermission, SVS Press.

St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminaryis a graduate school of theology, whoseprimary purpose is the preparation ofleaders, both clergy and lay, for service tothe Orthodox Church and the world at large.

Comments about the SVSNews magazine arewelcome. Please e-mail [email protected].

www.svots.edu

contentsspotlightMESSAGE FROM THEMETROPOLITANWords of congratulations fromMetropolitan Herman of the OCA to thedean on the occasion of his ordination

2featuresMUSIC MINISTRY...An Integral Part ofSt Vladimir’s SeminaryDn Kevin Smith, Instructor in LiturgicalMusic, uses a verse from St Paul’s letterto the Colossians to illustrate theimportant role of music 4SERVING GODIN A NEW WAYFr John H. Erickson reflects on his path to the priesthood 7ALUMNUS PROFILE:BISHOP BENJAMINSVS News interviews His Grace BishopBenjamin (SVS ’81),Auxiliary Bishopof the Diocese of the West of theOrthodox Church in America 11

at the seminaryCAMPUS CHRONICLESeminary activities from April 2005through February 2006 8DOWN THE ROADEvents calendar 9ORDINATIONSStudent ordinations from January 2005through February 2006 10CLASS NOTESAlumni news from September 2004through February 2006 10TRANSITIONSFarewells and welcomes to staff 13PILLARSSVS thanks St George AntiochianOrthodox Cathedral in Wichita,as well as Matushka Eva Hubiak andProtodeacon Basil of blessedmemory 14READER’S CORNERExcerpt from Dr Jaroslav Pelikan’smemoir in Orthodoxy andWestern Culture 15OFF THE PRESSNew releases from SVS Press 16

0R

ober

t Li

sak


By Dn Kevin Smith,Instructor in LiturgicalMusic

WHY DOES THE

CHURCH HAVE, OR

EVEN NEED, MUSIC?

The following words from St Paul’s letter to the Colossians

indicate music’s power to rally the hearts of the faithful

toward thankfulness to God: Let the word of Christ dwell in you

richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and

hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God (3:16).

These words establish for all believers a standard of study,

teaching, and teachability, that is, the humble spirit of ser-

vant leadership, the “job description” for every order of

church ministry.

MusicMinistry...

An integral part of St Vladimir’s Seminary

Rob

ert

Lisa

k

sn SPRING 2006 • 5

discernment to apply these in concrete situations where Godwill call them to serve.These courses have a strong implica-tion for music ministry as well: simply put, anyone servingGod in a ministry of teaching or preaching within theChurch will be called upon at some point to minister to oth-ers through liturgical music.

Students in introductory classes aim for competence insinging and chanting, but they primarily strive for excel-lence in these areas by preparing for and participating inthe divine services each day. By taking responsibility fortheir role in services at the seminary’s Three HierarchsChapel and in their parish assignments, SVS students take anessential step toward realizing their vocation during thisperiod of formation. Whether a seminarian will eventuallybe called by God to serve as a priest or deacon, chanter,choir director, composer, religious educator, or lay leader,there is a fundamental musical, liturgical, and pastoral qual-ity to each of these ministries that he or she may undertake.

“LET THE WORD OF CHRIST DWELL IN YOU RICHLY”

Even at the most basic level, the calling to communicate theGospel of Jesus Christ clearly and confidently through theliturgical worship of the Church bears the mark of a min-istry to others, and in liturgy, these texts are elevated throughmusic. Thus, reading texts and music clearly, finding one’splace in the service, and singing traditional melodies cor-rectly and in tune take on a ministerial quality which semi-narians must discover for “all things to be done decently, andin order” as the Apostle Paul writes (1 Cor 14:40).

Music has, and always will have, a great power to uniteand realize the ministry of the Church in this world. Tolead a community in prayer through music is by definitiona pastoral ministry: it draws strength from and participatesin the ministry of the pastor, or shepherd, of a churchcommunity.

One recognizable characteristic of a good pastor is the abil-ity to minister competently in liturgical services, standingbefore an assembly to lead them through prayer and music.In fact, a large proportion of the two or three years that aseminarian spends at SVS is given to exercising this abilityin the classroom, in the chapel, and through field work inarea parishes.

The cornerstone of daily life at SVS is the vibrant liturgicalworship that “frames the entire academic enterprise,” in thewords of one observer from the Carnegie Foundation,which actively supports higher education for ministry.Thewhole community is called to prayer each day to “com-mend ourselves, each other, and our whole life unto Christour God.” Those participating in this ministry include fac-ulty, staff, students, and their respective family memberswho chant, sing, conduct the choirs, and serve in the altar.The same observer adds, “This stands in contrast to manyother seminaries, where the congregation participates as‘audience’ to others’ performances.” By definition, studentsand members of the seminary community are answeringthe call to serve, and their service begins here, where wedaily learn the “ministry of the word of God” in the semi-nary chapel.

Music ministry at any level cannot be taught entirely “on thejob,” however, and classroom teaching provides support inthis area for every student, lay or ordained.Thus, to prepare

for the transition to ministry after seminary, each Master ofDivinity student spends two or more semesters learningcontemporary liturgical chants: Byzantine Chant, the Com-mon Chant of the Russian choral tradition, and others.Courses each year in liturgical theology and practical theol-ogy round out students’ liturgical training, opening up tofuture ministers not only the history and practice of Ortho-dox liturgical worship, but also the necessary pastoral

“The cornerstone of dailylife at SVS is the vibrantliturgical worship.”

Combined female voices (students and student-wives) sing abeautiful Eis Polla Eti Despota for one of the many hierarchs

that frequently visit St Vladimir’s Seminary.


“TEACH AND ADMONISH ONEANOTHER IN WISDOM”

Musical progress equips the seminarian for training in aliturgical ministry, which is to lead the people gathered forworship in the rites and songs of the divine services. At thispoint, simply “playing your own part” in liturgy gives wayto a higher function of coordinating the ministries of oth-ers, preparing the way for them to fulfill their roles properly.This liturgical ministry requires a higher degree of self-awareness and confidence. Consequently, courses and prac-tical training bring students into contact with Orthodoxliturgical tradition by research and engagement, studyingthe principles and history of liturgical theology, and apply-ing these principles through more direct, interpretive com-munication of the Gospel teaching.

“SING PSALMS, HYMNS, AND SPIRITUALSONGS WITH THANKFULNESS”

Some students, however, take a more intentional look atmusic as the primary mode of their pastoral ministry andpursue a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree specializing in litur-gical music. All our M.A. students in liturgical music arecalled to examine in great detail their own liturgical heritageas well as musical traditions outside their “comfort zone.”We note gladly that music ministry in North America isbecoming increasingly pan-Orthodox, if it is not yet trulyindigenous to this new home for the Church.

Thus, students taking M.A. courses or electives in liturgicalmusic first explore their own liturgical heritage, then search

out and elevate forms from outside their ethnic tradition,both musically and culturally. In this respect, students tracethe development of music and liturgy in many historical andcultural contexts: for example, the rich history of psalmantiphons such as the prokeimenon, or the flowering ofindigenous musical forms that occurred when Byzantinemissionaries carried their chant melodies into the Slaviclands.Then, ideally, students combine these principles withtraining in pastoral ministry in order to convey the Gospelof Jesus Christ through music in and through the Churchwhere God will call them to serve.The goal of the music pro-gram at SVS is for outstanding candidates to internalize thetraditions of chant and choral singing, composition, andconducting, in order to join the ranks of those who lead oth-ers to Christ by the content and demeanor of their liturgicalmusic ministry.

Those who serve the seminary’s music ministry—in theclassroom, chapel, and outreach ministries—engage con-stantly with the Orthodox tradition and principles of litur-gical music. In light of our contemporary calling to ministerto an increasingly diverse population within and outside the

Church, faculty and students constantly examine and criti-cally reassess current models of the “pastoral music minis-ter” in Orthodox liturgical communities. This has led us tofocus on how the ongoing personal, theological, and musi-cal formation we desire for ourselves and our students willconvey more and more the love of God and the Gospel ofJesus Christ through liturgical music ministry here and “inthe parishes.”

This is reflected in a long tradition of the seminary’s musi-cal outreach ministries, for many people their first intro-duction to the work of the seminary. In the past, musicbooks and liturgical recordings introduced Orthodox faith-ful to new and accessible models of singing and chanting inEnglish. A recent flurry of activity culminated in the recentrelease by SVS Press of two new compact discs, Chant andVigil, and two long-awaited liturgical music books, DivineLiturgy (rev. ed.) and Holy Week Volume III.These new releases areevidence of the fertile ground that continues to exist herethanks to the legacy of former professors Boris Ledkovsky,

“Music ministry in NorthAmerica is becomingincreasingly pan-Orthodox.”

Liturgical theology and music that is learned in the classroomis lived out in the seminary chapel, preparing all students forparish life.

continued on page 13


Serving Godin a New Way

Fr John H. Erickson, DeanI wish to share with you some personal news that affectsseminary life. For over three decades I have served theChurch and St Vladimir’s Seminary in a variety of lay roles. Iexpect to continue serving the Church and the seminary inthe future, but I shall be doing so in new ways and with newresponsibilities.With the blessing of my spiritual father, thesupport of my family, and the encouragement of manyfriends and colleagues, I was ordained to the Holy Diaconateby His Beatitude Metropolitan Herman on January 30, thepatronal feast of the seminary chapel, and to the Holy Priest-hood on May 7, 2006.

Over the years, I sometimes have been asked why I did notseek ordination. Now I am being asked why I decided to beordained. The answer in both cases isessentially the same. As an OrthodoxChristian, I believe that God calls eachone of us to serve Him in whateverways will best contribute to buildingup the Church as the Body of Christ, ata given time, in a given place. Anauthentic calling therefore has anecclesial and communal dimension.It is not a purely personal matter, amatter of “feeling called” without ref-erence to context or circum-stances. Rather, it is mediated inand through the Church. At thispoint in my life, as I look at myresponsibilities as Dean and—even more—as I look ahead to atime when I shall no longer beDean, I believe that God,through His Church, has calledme to ordained ministry withinthat Church.

For most of my years at theseminary, my principal respon-sibilities have been as a profes-sor—teaching classes, writingbooks and articles, presentingacademic papers, and servingin various advisory capacities.Reflecting Orthodoxy’s appre-

ciation for the role of all the faithful in building up the lifeof the Church, St Vladimir’s has a long and rich tradition of layservice in theological education. I was privileged to be part ofthat tradition. There was little need or reason for me to beordained, particularly during my early years at St Vladimir’s—

to become the fourth or fifth priest in the seminary chapel. Ididn’t want to tempt students into thinking that only ordainedpeople can serve the Church in a serious way.

Since becoming Dean, my academicresponsibilities have continued,though fortunately with a somewhatlighter teaching load. But at the sametime, I have had an opportunity torediscover many of the joys that drewme to the Orthodox Church and gotme involved in its life in the firstplace. This has been particularly truein my activities outside the immediateseminary community. I have had a

chance to share the hopes andconcerns of ordinary parish-ioners, to visit nursing homesand hospitals, to meet withOrthodox college students, tointeract with people of deepfaith who are involved in awide range of ministries to themarginalized of society. In suchsituations, as I have come torealize, people don’t really needa professor or official seminaryrepresentative.They need assur-ance of God’s love and con-cern—the kind of assurancethat a priest very often can givejust by his presence.

“No doubt I shall continue towrite papers and give lectures,but I also look forward toserving the Church in pastoralsituations.”

For more than three decades, John H. Erickson has served theChurch in a variety of roles, primarily as professor of churchhistory and canon law at St Vladimir’s Seminary. On January 30and May 7, 2006, respectively, he took on new roles: first asDeacon and now as Priest. continued on page 13


SYMPOSIUM ON THEPASSION OF CHRIST

The Symposium on the Passion ofChrist in April 2005 began with thekeynote speaker Bishop Kallistos(Ware), Bishop of Diokleia, to an over-flowing crowd of over 300 people.Bishop Kallistos discussed various“modes of salvation” and evaluatedthem in light of Patristic teachings andScripture.The following day, SVS faculty

members addressed different aspects ofthe topic. His Grace resided on campusfor the week while he spoke at Ford-ham University and other venues.

2005 SUMMER INSTITUTE

The 2005 Summer Institute, officiallyknown as the annual Institute of Litur-gical Music and Pastoral Practice washeld from June 19-24 with the theme“Church and World I: Church and Cul-ture.” Participants attended lecturesand discussion led by seminary facultyand visiting lecturers. The week washighlighted with the Liturgy for theFeast of the Nativity of St John the Bap-

tist, where His Grace Bishop Savas ofthe Greek Orthodox Church presidedand preached.

NEW STUDENTS

The seminary welcomed another largeentering class this year, with 32 newfull-time students. Together with 66returning full-time students and sev-eral part-timers, overall enrollment atthe seminary continues to be on theincrease.

ORTHODOX EDUCATIONDAY 2005

Under perfect weather conditions,hundreds attended the seminary’sannual Orthodox Education Day inOctober. The keynote speaker was HisGrace, Bishop Savas of Troas, Chancel-lor of the Greek Orthodox Archdio-cese, who spoke on the theme of the

day: “Icons and iPods: Finding God inPopular Culture.” Metropolitan Her-man (OCA) presided at the Liturgywith fellow bishops and clergy.A visit-ing choir from Holy Trinity Church,Parma, OH, along with the seminarychoir gave concerts and sang at theLiturgy. Workshops for clergy, laity,and youth; campus tours; exhibitors;and ethnic foods rounded out the day.

THE WONDERWORKING SITKAICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

The wonderworking Sitka Icon of theMother of God visited the seminaryduring its pilgrimage to the “lower48” in October 2005. His Grace,Bishop Nikolai, Bishop of Sitka,Anchorage, and Alaska presided at anAkathist Service in the chapel packedwith students, faculty, staff, visitors,and alumni. In the early 1800s, Saint

C A M P U S C H R O N I C L E


Innocent commissioned the icon forthe main iconostasis of Sitka’s Arch-angel Michael Cathedral.

ALUMNI REUNION

The second Alumni Reunion, heldOctober 17-19, remembered the 25thanniversary class of 1980 and the 50thanniversary class of 1955, and at thesame time honored Fr Thomas Hopko,Dean Emeritus, and his wife, Anne, fortheir dedicated work at St Vladimir’sSeminary. The Alumni Association pre-sented Fr Tom and Anne with an icon ofSt Vladimir. In addition, the AlumniBoard announced that an alumni schol-arship fund would be named The FatherThomas Hopko Scholarship Fund.

CHRISTMAS RETREAT

Over thirty high school and collegestudents attended this year’s ChristmasRetreat from December 27-29 on thecampus of SVS. Fr David (’87-’89)and Shari Garretson of South River, NJ,Fr John Shimchick (SVS ’80) of CherryHill, NJ, and Fr Steven Belonick (SVS’77) of SVS presented the theme of theretreat, “So, You’re Growing Up, ButAre You Mature in Christ,” to three dif-ferent age groups.

ORTHODOX-WESLEYANCONSULTATION

Orthodox and Wesleyan theologiansconvened from January 8-13, 2006.This fourth consultation was sponsoredby St Vladimir’s Seminary and TheGeneral Board of Global Ministries ofthe United Methodist Church and hadas its theme “One, Holy, Catholic, andApostolic Church: Ecclesiology andthe Gathered Community.” Orthodoxspeakers included Fr John Jillions (SVS’80), Prof Dimitar Kirov, Dr RichardSchneider (SVS Visiting Professor), FrJohn Behr, Dr Elizabeth Theokritoff, DrTamara Grdzelidze (’92-’93), FrSergius Halvorsen (SVS ‘86), Fr MichaelPlekon, Fr Leonid Kishkovsky (SVS’67), and Fr John H. Erickson.

SVS CHORALE

The SVS Chorale, an outgrowth of theformer seminary octets, visited OCA,Antiochian,Greek,and Serbian churchesin southern California from January 5-17. The mixed-choir of twelve singersled by Dn Kevin Smith, Lecturer in Litur-gical Music at the seminary, sang theresponses to daily services in parishesand acted as ambassadors of the semi-nary.One of the many highlights of theirtour was a visit to St Innocent Orphan-age at Project Mexico.

SCHMEMANNMEMORIAL LECTURE

Avery Cardinal Dulles, an internation-ally known author and lecturer, the fea-tured speaker for the twenty-thirdannual Fr Alexander SchmemannMemorial Lecture, January 29, 2006,fell ill and was unable to present histalk on the “The Imperative of Ortho-doxy.” In his place Rev Joseph T. Lien-hard, SJ, professor of theology atFordham University read the cardinal’sprepared speech.

Downthe RoadJUNE 25-30, 2006

SVS Summer Institute:

Liturgical Institute of Music

and Pastoral Practice:

“A Christian Ending to Our Life:

The Mystery of Death”

JUNE 24-30, 2006

Youth Institute for High School

Juniors

JULY 15, 2006

Feast of Saint Vladimir

SEPTEMBER 7, 2006

Fall semester begins

OCTOBER 7, 2006

Orthodox Education Day


ORDINATIONSJoshua Lollar to the Holy Diaconate onJanuary 30, 2005, by His Grace, BishopSeraphim of Ottawa and Canada (OCA).

Dn Christopher Rigden-Briscall tothe Holy Priesthood on February 2, 2005,by His Grace, Bishop Seraphim of Ottawaand Canada.

Barnabas Powell to the Holy Diaconateon February 2 by His Grace, BishopSeraphim of Ottawa and Canada and tothe Holy Priesthood on May 21, 2005, byHis Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman ofthe Orthodox Church in America.

Peter Jon Gillquist to the Holy Dia-conate on August 21, 2005, by His Grace,Bishop Thomas of Oakland, PA, and theEast of the Antiochian Orthodox Christ-

ian Archdiocese of North America.

Dn Joshua Mosher to the Holy Priest-hood on September 25, 2005, by HisBeatitude, Metropolitan Herman of theOrthodox Church in America.

William John Neumann to the HolyDiaconate on October 15, 2005, by HisGrace, Bishop Benjamin, Auxiliary Bishopof the Diocese of the West of the Ortho-dox Church in America.

Joseph Matusiak to the Holy Diaconateon November 19, 2005, by His Beatitude,Metropolitan Herman of the OrthodoxChurch in America.

Dn Peter Jon Gillquist to the HolyPriesthood on February 2, 2006, by HisGrace, Bishop Mark of Toledo of the Anti-ochian Orthodox Christian Archdioceseof North America.

Dn David Bleam to the Holy Priest-hood on February 13, 2006, by His Grace,Bishop Thomas of Oakland, PA, and theEast of the Antiochian Orthodox Christ-ian Archdiocese of North America.

Dn Christopher Foley to the HolyPriesthood on February 22, 2006, by HisEminence, Archbishop Kyrill of Pittsburghand Western Pennsylvania, and the Bulgar-ian Archdiocese of the Orthodox Churchin America.

Nikolay Miletkov to the Holy Diaconateon February 22, 2006, by His Eminence,Archbishop Kyrill of Pittsburgh and West-ern Pennsylvania and the BulgarianArchdiocese of the Orthodox Church inAmerica.

AXIOS! God grant all of the above andtheir families many years!

CLASS NOTES� Rev Noah Bushelli (’04) and his wifeElizabeth had their third child, AmbroseMichael, on September 27, 2004. Fr Noahand his family are serving St Nicholas Anti-ochian Orthodox Church in Bridgeport,CT.

� Very Rev Basil Buchovecky (’53) fellasleep in the Lord just after December 25,2004. May his memory be eternal!

� Fr Vladimir Misijuk (MTh ’91) and hiswife Tania became parents of a little girl,Nina, on December 29, 2004.

� Fr Nicholas Fedetz (’53) fell asleep inthe Lord on January 1, 2005, at the age of81. He was pastor emeritus of Ss Peterand Paul Church, Bayonne, NJ.

� Deacon Richard Rene (’04) wasordained to the priesthood by His Grace,

Bishop Seraphim (OCA) onMarch 6, 2005 in Calgary,

Alberta, Canada. Manyyears!

� Fr John Platko(’73) fell asleep in

the Lord on April18, 2005. Fr John

was 57 and was

the pastor of Holy Trinity Church, Over-land Park, KS, for twenty-six years.

� Rev Alexander Rentel (’95) and hiswife,Nancy (’95) are parents of their thirdchild, Daniel George, born April 26, 2005.

� Alexander Cadman (’04), wasordained to the holy diaconate on July 30,2005, at Christ the Savior Church,Chicago, IL, by His Eminence, ArchbishopJob (OCA). Many years!

� Ann Bezzerides (’00) and her hus-band Vassilios are proud parents of theirfirst-born son Nicholas Panteleimon bornAugust 16, 2005. Nicholas was 9lbs, 6oz,and 21 inches.

� Ksenia Babich (’05) and CharlesBruner (’07) were united in the sacramentof Holy Matrimony on Sunday,August 21,2005, at the Holy Resurrection Church,Hermitage, PA.

� Michael Azar (’05) was married toErin Major at St Elias Orthodox Church inArvada, CO, on August 21, 2005.

� We are sad to pass on the news thatNathan Schroeder,husband of SVS alumnaRachel (Ellison) Schroeder (M.A., 2005),fell asleep in the Lord on October 17,2005 in an automobile accident. May hismemory be eternal!

� Peter Stromberg (’76) fell asleep inthe Lord on December 20, 2005. May hismemory be eternal!

� Abuna Yesehaq Mandefro (Arch-bishop Isaac) (’65) of the EthiopianOrthodox Church in the Western Hemi-sphere fell asleep in the Lord on Decem-ber 29, 2005. He is credited with leadingthousands of Rastafarians, including reg-gae great Bob Marley, toward OrthodoxChristianity. May his memory be eternal!

� Fr Joseph Bittle (’03) and Kh Joannaare proud parents of their first-born child,Michael Augustine, born on January 15,2006.

� Anthony Ishido (’74) fell asleep in theLord on February 8, 2006. May his mem-ory be eternal!

� Mark Zeremsky (’82) fell asleep in theLord on February 23, 2006. May his mem-ory be eternal!

Do you have news to share? Please contactFr Steven Belonick at [email protected] comprehensive alumni news, visit AlumniWeb News on the seminary’s website athttp://www.svots.edu/Alumni/Web-News/index.html.


ALUMNUS PROFILE

BishopBenjamin

of BerkeleyHIS GRACE, BISHOP BENJAMIN,

AUXILIARY BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE

OF THE WEST OF THE ORTHODOX

CHURCH IN AMERICA, SHARES HIS

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF

THE CHURCH, THE IMPORTANCE OF

LITURGICAL MUSIC AND HIS PAST

AT ST VLADIMIR’S SEMINARY.

SVS News: Thank you for meeting with us today, Your Grace. So, Iunderstand you are a graduate of St Vladimir’s Seminary.

Bishop Benjamin:Yes, class of 1981.

SVS News: How would you say that your time at St Vladimir’s helpedprepare you for service as a bishop?

Bishop Benjamin: Well, the diversity of the community atthe seminary played a big part of my life as a student andtaught me a lot. All the different people and personalities ina small setting helped me to practice the art of “giving ofmyself” in a sacrificial way.We were like rocks bumping intoeach other that eventually became smooth. My time heretaught me not to be focused on myself. I made the bestfriends of my life.They were some of my best years and mostdifficult years.

While I was here, I learned an important lesson from Fr.Alexander Schmemann, Dean from 1962-1983. He taughtus to look at what was “good” and redeemable in cultureand society, not to be afraid of it, but to see the good in it. Icarry this outlook of the Church and world with me todayin all that I do.

An important characteristic of St Vladimir’s seminary is thatit is pan-Orthodox because friendships that develop inschool help facilitate pan-Orthodox relationships in theparishes and local communities. For example, when hierar-chs speak together, are friendly, brotherly, and supportivewith each other, they demonstrate the importance of pan-Orthodox relationships.

SVS News: Who were some of your classmates, and do you continue tohave relationships with them that influence your ministry?

Bishop Benjamin:There are many priests who are graduatesof St Vladimir’s, and even if we weren’t classmates togetherwe share a bond. These personal connections build bridgesthat facilitate institutional connections and cooperation.When I was a student, Bishop Seraphim of Ottawa andCanada and I were on the Octet together and now we areboth bishops.

In fact, when I was a student I participated in two Octets.Music was an important part of my life at seminary and hasbeen ever since. While I was here, I regularly directed thechoir and worked on compositions. After I left, I served as achoir director for almost ten years.


SVS News: Then, in 2004,you were consecrated as a bishop and you nowlive in California.Tell us a little about life in the Diocese of the West.

Bishop Benjamin: Our diocese has doubled both in thenumber of parishes and the size of the average parish in thelast 18 years. The Diocese of the West takes seriously theOCA’s mission to America, our mission to indigenous peo-ple, which has taken place since the beginning.

His Grace Tikhon, Bishop of San Francisco, Los Angeles andthe West, and our diocesan council are committed to evan-gelism, and their efforts are bearing fruit.They have becomea group of people who specialize in planting churches. Forexample, a portion of the diocesan budget is set aside fornew mission parishes and clergy working in these missionparishes within the diocese. These dedicated funds havemade a tremendous impact. Believe it or not, there are stillsome states within the Diocese of the West that have little tono Orthodox presence.There is more work to be done.

In most of our parishes we have a large percentage of con-verts to the Faith.All our parishes are unique from our parishof Slovak cowboys in Colorado to our urbane parish in SanFrancisco.The regional differences of the country are evidentin our parishes and therefore the diocese.We work to reachpeople where they are.

SVS News: Some people think that our Church is more divided than unitedbecause of all our regional and cultural differences.What would you say tothem?

Bishop Benjamin: It’s true that as North Americans we area society of many different cultures, but that just means wehave a richly laden table full of delicacies from all over theworld. In North America we have so much to choose fromand we move in and out of different expressions of culturevery easily. For example, when we sit down for a meal wedecide whether it will be Thai, Mexican, or Italian tonight.In Italy they just eat dinner without thinking what “kind” ofcultural fare it will be. For them it is what it always is andwhat it has been for hundreds of years. I think that as theAmerican Orthodox Church continues to evolve and comeinto its own this ability to select from different expressionsof culture will be its defining characteristic.We will all bringour gifts to the fully-laden table, to the altar table, and offerthem to God in the Liturgy.

I think that this is especially true with our liturgical musictraditions. For example, the second edition of The DivineLiturgy just released by SVS Press reflects where we are today,with Serbian, Byzantine, Russian, and new American com-positions. What it reflects is who we are as a Church as awhole on this continent. St Vladimir’s does a good job ofbringing all our cultures together.

REVISED EDITION

The DivineLiturgy

pnowavailablefromSVS Press

Bishop Benjamin was a student at St Vladimir’s Seminary whoembraced the Faith as an adult.Twenty-five years later on HisGrace’s most recent visit he ordained Caleb Abetti, anotherconvert to Orthodox Christianity, to the Holy Diaconate.

“Music was an importantpart of my life at seminaryand has been ever since.”


Fr Sergei Glagolev, David Drillock, and others, whoembraced the best of the Orthodox tradition while makingspace for new compositions of chant and choral music.Thisdual approach continues to inform the work of faculty andstudents at SVS, elevating the best from within the Orthodoxmusical tradition, and encouraging a missionary approachto liturgical singing.

These are exciting days for the seminary’s music ministryand academic programs.Through its strategic planning pro-gram, SVS2010, the seminary established a series of chal-lenges for faculty and staff engaged in service to God in HisChurch through theological education and research, and tostudents through their academic and personal formation forfuture ministry. Earlier SVSNews articles have enumerated thechallenges related to the seminary’s vision of training a“Good Pastor,” but SVS2010 also spelled out challenges forthe music program, directing attention to the “primarilypastoral” quality of music ministry envisioned for all SVSgraduates, especially those who pursue the Master of Arts inliturgical music.

As stated in SVS2010, “Singing and listening to the music atthe liturgical services provides a unique kind of formation,a formation into a vibrant member of the living communityof Jesus Christ.” This guides the musical training of pastorsand teachers, as well as the pastoral training of musicians.With this understanding, training for ministry bears a dis-tinctively musical, liturgical, and pastoral quality at StVladimir’s Seminary, where we prepare all students for aministry of communicating the love of God and the Gospelof Jesus Christ in ways appropriate to their calling, at alltimes and to all people.

TransitionsChris Chichura has been StVladimir's Seminary BookstoreOperations Manager since February2005. He brings with him over tenyears of operations managementexperience and is an alumnus of theseminary, class of 1998.

Sofia Lopoukhine, theCommunications and Public RelationsOfficer, began working at St Vladimir’sSeminary in September 2005. Sheserved as the CommunicationsDirector for the Orthodox ChristianMission Center (OCMC) for three

years before joining SVS. SVS sends thanks to Julia Wickes(SVS ‘02) who worked in Communications since 2003.

Max Goldenko joined theTechnology Department in September2005 as the new Systems SupportSpecialist. He has a Bachelor’s Degreein Computer Science from BrooklynCollege.

Timothy Clark is the newestmember of SVS Faculty as aLecturer in Biblical Languages. He isan alumnus of St Vladimir’s Seminary,class of 2000, and began teaching infall 2005.

Dorothy Aurisy, St Vladimir’sSeminary’s Receptionist andAdministrative Assistant, beganworking with SVS in November 2005.SVS sends out great thanks toDanielle Eaton for thir teen yearsof work at the seminary.

Yuri Pugachev is now workingfull-time for SVS in the Press/Bookstore packing and mailroom.Many thanks to Adriel van Drimmelenfor his three years of service to theseminary.

Thank you to Randa Aoun, who served as St Vladimir’sevents planner and director of food services and resignedin June 2005.

Dr Nicholas Pandelidis is the newest member of theBoard of Trustees. He and his family are members of StJohn Chrysostom Church in York, PA, in the AntiochianOrthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.

Music Ministry...continued from page 6

In the future, no doubt I shall continue to write papers andgive lectures, but I also look forward to serving the Churchin pastoral situations—situations in which I may touch peo-ples’ lives simply by being present and by being as fullytransparent as possible to God’s grace. I hope that in such sit-uations, whether at the seminary or elsewhere, people willbe able to see me not just as someone who knows a lot aboutchurch history, canon law, and seminary life. I hope that theywill be able to see in me an assuring sign of God’s unfailingcare for His people and for all His creation.

Serving God in a New Waycontinued from page 7


GLORY TO GOD FOR THE GENEROSITY OF ST GEORGE CATHEDRAL

An exemplary and thriving parish, StGeorge Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas,is a faithful participant in the missionof St Vladimir’s Seminary. The Cathe-dral of the Diocese of Wichita andMid-America of the AntiochianOrthodox Christian Archdiocese ofNorth America has financially andspiritually supported the seminary formany years. St George Cathedral is theseat of His Grace, Bishop Basil, analumnus of SVS, class of 1973.

Dr Glenn Kubina, a parishioner of thecathedral with his wife Nancy, hasserved on the seminary’s Board ofTrustees since 1988. Dr Kubina said,“We at St George are appreciative of StVladimir’s role in preparing ourclergy, educating our laity through SVSPress, and being a resource for Ortho-doxy in America.”

This parish has frequently invited andhosted seminarian singers and faculty,including Fr John H. Erickson and FrThomas Hopko. St George Cathedralhas an active youth ministry, whichhas helped produce several studentswho have pursued theological educa-tion, including Jeremy Davis (SVS’04), ordained to the Holy Diaconatein January 2006. St Vladimir’s Semi-nary is grateful for the years of friend-ship and mutual support with StGeorge Cathedral and the many othercommunities for whom we exist toserve, and upon whom we depend for

support to continue educating pastorsfor Christ’s church.

SVS THANKSMATUSHKA EVA ANDPROTODEACON BASIL HUBIAK

Matushka Eva Hubiak and her hus-band Protodeacon Basil of blessedmemory have been friends of StVladimir’s Seminary for over 40 years.Every October throughout the 1960s,they were regular attendees of Ortho-dox Education Day. Matushka says,“We’ve really watched the seminarygrow over the years.”

Matushka Eva and Protodeacon Basilwere both born in Akron, Ohio. Theymet as children when she attendedRussian lessons at the church where hisfather was a priest. Many years later,they were reunited at a wedding whereshe was the maid of honor and he wasthe best man. Only a year later, in 1956,they were at another wedding, but thistime as bride and groom. Two yearsinto their marriage, he was ordained adeacon at Holy Trinity Cathedral inChicago by Archbishop John. Theyspent many happy years in Ohio wheretheir son Gregory and daughter Dariawere born, and Deacon Basil was ele-vated to Protodeacon.

The Hubiaks later moved to Pennsyl-vania, where Protodeacon Basil fre-quently traveled with ArchbishopCyprian. “About once or twice amonth my husband served in parishesacross Pennsylvania, New York, NewJersey, and Connecticut, serving inSlavonic and in English,” Matushkasays, putting particular emphasis onthe word “English.”

Protodeacon Basil became a full-timechoir director at Christ the SaviorChurch in Harrisburg, PA, the firstparish in the region conceived as a pan-Orthodox, multi-ethnic, and English-serving community. Here, his love of

liturgical music blossomed and grew.

In 2002, Protodeacon Basil fell asleepin the Lord. To honor his memory,Matushka Eva established a scholar-ship fund to assist students studyingliturgical music. “When I lost my hus-band, it seemed that a liturgical musicscholarship at St Vladimir’s Seminaryin his name would be a wonderfulway to remember him.”

Matushka Eva has been an active servantof the Lord in a number of ways.Todayshe is involved in different ministries ather parish,Holy Resurrection Church inPalatine, IL. “We visit shut-ins and illparishioners and we pray regularly in agroup for the sick.We pray not just forparishioners, but for anyone who issick.” She sums up her servant’s attitudein the simple phrase, “I try to help outwherever I can.”

The Hubiaks have faithfully “helpedout” St Vladimir’s Seminary in manyways. They were members of the StVladimir’s Theological Foundationand active ambassadors of the semi-nary. They organized groups of sup-porters and friends of the seminary,hosted SVS Octet members, and estab-lished the Hubiak scholarship fund.“I’ve seen the caliber of priests that aregraduates of St Vladimir’s Seminary.My husband and I believed in StVladimir’s dedication to excellentpriestly formation.”

PILLARS


J A R O S L A V P E L I K A N

I like to say that I was born into a fam-ily that was rich in everything exceptmoney—good food in abundance,music, books, languages, and above alltradition and faith. My parents bothcame from Slovak families and wereborn in Slavic Europe—my father inwhat was to become Czechoslovakia(and now Slovakia), my mother inVojvodina, which eventually became(and still is, at least as of this writing) aprovince of Yugoslavia, polyglot butchiefly Serbian-speaking. The geneticdistribution of labor that Goethedescribed in his autobiographical verses,

Vom Vater hab’ ich die StaturDes Lebens ernstes Führen,Von Mütterchen die FrohnaturUnd Lust zu fabulieren[From my father I inherited my

statureAnd my seriousness about the

conduct of life,From my dear mother my happy

dispositionAnd a delight in telling stories],

worked out rather differently in mycase. Not only am I a couple of inchesshorter than my father was; but my“seriousness about the conduct of life”acquired some of its special qualitiesfrom my mother, with her iron sense ofduty and her loving determination that

I must not, as she often put it to me,“get by on brains and glibness.” The“happy disposition and delight intelling stories” that I have had sincechildhood and still (thank God) pos-sess, on the other hand, is a reflectionof the magical and positive view of theworld for which my father was widelyknown throughout his life. It includeda deep and all-but pantheistic sense ofaffinity with Nature, which I inheritedfrom him, together with a high energylevel and a capacity for sustained effortfor long stretches of time, followed bythe ability to fall asleep instantly—which has proven to be just the rightcombination for a scholar.

As his father had been before him, from1895 to 1930, my father was a Luther-an pastor, from 1919 to 1963, and apreacher of great eloquence and power,both in his native Slovak and in hisadopted English. He and my mother,who was a parochial school teacherbefore their marriage, were thereforemy first teachers of theology, whichtook the form of Luther’s Small Catechism,of the Lutheran chorales in the Czechtranslations of Jiri Tranovsky, and ofmany tomes in my father’s library that Iread or skimmed long before I wasready for them. (My late friend, theBenedictine Godfrey Diekmann, inintroducing me for a lecture at SaintJohn’s Abbey, claimed to have discov-ered that when, as a little boy, I couldnot reach the dining room table, myparents had me sit on volumes of thePatrologia, with the result that I absorbedthe church fathers a posteriori.) For what-ever reason, their teaching stuck, so thatI have had to admit, sometimes with abit of chagrin, that I was quite out ofstep with many in my generation, espe-cially among theological scholars atuniversities, in never having had funda-

mental doubts about the essentialrightness of the Christian faith, but hav-ing retained a continuing, if often quiteunsophisticated, Slavic piety. The kindof orthodox confessional Lutheranism Iimbibed from that source may havebeen slightly tinged with pietism, but ittended to sit rather loosely to ecclesias-tical institutions and structures. Havingemigrated to the United States withtheir parents in the opening years of thetwentieth century, both of my parentsattended German-speaking Lutheranschools: my mother, the first and onlymember of her family to go to college,Doctor Martin Luther College in NewUlm, Minnesota (1920); my father,Concordia [Junior] College in FortWayne, Indiana (1916) and ConcordiaTheological Seminary in Saint Louis(1919). After they married in 1921,my father was drafted by his father toserve as a pastor in the (unsuccessful)experiment at a Lutheran church in-dependent of the state in the newCzechoslovakia.

During their two years there, a son whohad my name (or, rather, I was given hisname) was born to them and died aftera few days; I have long had the deepsense that I grew up carrying responsi-bility for Jaroslav Ivan as well as formyself, which could be seen as anunfair burden to lay on a young child,but which may well have helped to pro-vide some of the extra motivating forcethat a scholar needs.

Taken from the memoir of Dr Jaroslav Pelikan,the foremost churchhistorian of thetwentieth centuryand a Trustee of StVladimir’s Seminary,in Orthodoxy andWestern Culture: ACollection of EssaysHonoring JaroslavPelikan on His Eighti-eth Birthday, availablefrom SVS Press.

R E A D E R ’ S C O R N E R

Fragments

of a Scholar’s

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ChantCHANT TRADITIONS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHSung by the Choirs of St Vladimir’s Seminary. Arranged forEnglish-language liturgical use, these chants draw from variousmusical traditions of the Orthodox Church.

$16.95

VigilSELECTIONS FROM THE ALL-NIGHT VIGIL OF THEORTHODOX CHURCHSung by the Choirs of St Vladimir’s Seminary. Jubilant anti-phonal singing and responsorial psalmody, chants, and anthems.

$16.95

Praying with Icons Thomas HopkoAre icons necessary for prayer? Fr Thomas Hopko speaks about theicon as the presence of the living God and dispels prejudices anderroneous practices regarding images and prayer.

single CD • $11.95

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Documents

music at · place in the service, and singing traditional melodies cor-rectly and in tune take on a ministerial quality which semi-narians must discover for “all things to be done