New dean, chancellor, installed at St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Saint Vladimir’s Seminary here celebrated the beginning of a new era with a myriad of events on September 14 and 15, 2007. The celebration included two hierarchical Divine Liturgies, a formal installation ceremony, an academic symposium, two community-wide brunches, a reception, two Vesper services, and a banquet.
At the center was the installation of the seminary’s new leadership, the Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield as chancellor, and the Rev. Dr John Behr as dean. Both of the new leaders addressed the community—Father John on Friday at the formal academic installation, and Father Chad, on Saturday at the banquet. The text of the addresses can be read at www.svots.edu.
The formal academic installation and convocation began with a Service of Thanksgiving in the seminary chapel. Both the chancellor and dean were vested with the crosses of their respective offices by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, President of the seminary and chairman of the board of trustees. The Mayor of Yonkers Mr. Philip A. Amicone, attended the event with several other city officials. The mayor commented on the beauty of the Orthodox service and the chapel.
Other hierarchs present for the installation included His Eminence, Archbishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada; His Grace, Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria of the Russian Orthodox Church, head of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European Institutions; His Grace, Bishop Maxim of the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, a member of the Theological Faculty of the University of Belgrade; His Grace, Bishop Savas, chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and classmate of Father John Behr at Oxford; and His Grace, Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania and rector of Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, South Canaan, PA.
Following the Service of Thanksgiving the installation ceremony was held in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the Rangos Building. The Very Rev. Yaroslav Sudick, rector of Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, member of the City of Yonkers Board of Education, member of the Middle States Accrediting Association, and distinguished professor of chemistry, served as Master of Ceremonies.
During the convocation, Father John Behr delivered his inaugural address, which was full of vision and substance, challenge and hope. At the end of the speech, the room erupted in applause, and the new dean stood three times in acknowledgement of the approval he received. A reception in the Rangos Building and the adjacent Boich Courtyard followed, and the day concluded with Great Vespers.
Both days began with a hierarchical Divine Liturgy in Three Hierarchs Chapel. On Friday, the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, Metropolitan Herman presided with Archbishop Seraphim, Bishop Hilarion, and Bishop Maxim concelebrating. At Saturday’s Liturgy, Archbishop Seraphim presided, with Bishops Hilarion and Maxim concelebrating.
During Friday’s Liturgy, the president of the SVS Alumni Association, the Rev. David Barr, preached on the Cross as “the weapon of peace.” Deacon Paul Brian Rivers was ordained to the holy priesthood, and seminarian Gregory Wassen was ordained to the holy diaconate. The Saint Basil Award for academic excellence and achievement was presented to third-year student Deacon Paul Coats and to second-year student Evan Freeman.
“The Challenges for Orthodox Theology and Theological Education in the 21st Century” was the theme of a significant symposium held Saturday afternoon. The symposium featured four distinguished and world-renown scholars: Bishop Hilarion; Bishop Maxim; the Rev. Andrew Louth, professor of Patristics and Byzantine Studies, Durham University UK; and the Rev. John McGuckin, professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Christian History at Union Theological Seminary and professor of Byzantine Christianity at Columbia University. A visiting theology professor from Canada commented that the symposium’s international panel reinforced Saint Vladimir’s important role in the world’s Orthodox theological community.
Following Great Vespers on Saturday evening, a festive banquet in the great hall of Christ the Saviour Greek Orthodox Church, Rye, NY, brought the two-day celebration to an end. The banquet was generously underwritten by many members of the board of trustees and other benefactors, allowing all students, spouses, staff and faculty members, and friends of the seminary to attend free of charge. Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, dean emeritus, served as the master of ceremonies.
At the banquet, executive chair Anne Glynn Mackoul expressed the board’s confidence in the seminary’s new leadership. The chancellor and dean presented her with a cross in recognition of the new role she has taken on for the good of the seminary. Father Chad Hatfield gave the keynote address, in which he repeated the phrase, “Think of the possibilities!” With this rallying cry, he challenged the audience to think of what the seminary can yet accomplish, not being limited by the past while building on its illustrious legacy. He concluded by drawing attention to the donation envelopes on the tables and announcing that all the evening’s gifts would be for the Father Thomas Hopko Alumni Scholarship Fund. Final thanks and applause were given to the immediate past dean and his wife, the Rev. John and Helen Erickson, for their efforts and contributions.
Looking back over the event, Anne Glynn Mackoul remarked, “Every element of this weekend was marked by the profound sense that Saint Vladimir’s Seminary has embarked upon a significant new chapter in its history.”
An editorial in The Orthodox Church by Fr. Leonid Kishkovsky discussing the events at St. Vladimir’s can be viewed on this web site.
Photographs and full coverage of the weekend can be found on the web site of St. Vladimir’s Seminary: www.svots.edu.