St. Vladimir’s Seminary to Dedicate New Library

St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary will dedicate the John G. Rangos Family Foundation Building housing the seminary’s library, administrative offices and auditorium on May 10-11, 2002. The 28,000 square foot building is the fruit of the Capital Campaign inaugurated in 1991 under the deanship of the late Fr. John Meyendorff.

Besides the resources of its faculty and its press, the seminary has long been recognized for the value of its library. The Librarian of Congress, Dr. James Billington, has called it “the richest library of Eastern Christian holdings in the Western Hemisphere.”

Dedication ceremonies will begin with a banquet on Friday evening, May 10, at the Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle. Seminary president, Metropolitan Theodosius of the Orthodox Church in America, along with Mr. John G. Rangos, seminary benefactor and philanthropist, for whom the building is named, will share the rostrum with other dignitaries.

Metropolitan Theodosius will also preside at the Divine Liturgy in the Seminary Chapel beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 11.

Dedication ceremonies on Saturday will begin at 1:00 p.m. with a prayer service and the blessing of the building by Metropolitan Theodosius and concelebrating hierarchs. The public is welcome. Following the service, Dr. Jaroslav Pelikan, who holds the John W. Kluge Chair, Library of Congress, and is the Sterling Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University, will deliver the main address. Tours of the new building will be conducted throughout the afternoon.

St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary is a graduate school of theology whose programs are registered by the New York State Education Department. The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada also accredits it nationally. It offers the degrees of Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, Master of Theology, and Doctor of Ministry in Orthodox Theology.

Founded in 1938, the school counts among its alumni more than 30 Orthodox bishops, some of who act as heads of their respective churches, along with more than 800 ordained clergy, and more than 700 lay men and women. The seminary was first located on the campus of General Theological Seminary in New York City and then moved to more adequate facilities at Union Theological Seminary. In 1962, the seminary acquired its present property.

Since its inception, the school’s mission has been to educate future priests and church leaders and to contribute to Orthodox Christian theology through the scholarly activities of its faculty. Further, the seminary has become a center for theological research and reflection. It has long served as a forum for inter-Orthodox cooperation and unity.

Throughout the decades, the seminary has boasted an esteemed faculty. The deans who are part of its heritage, Fathers Georges Florovsky, Alexander Schmemann, and John Meyendorff, were among the foremost Orthodox theologians in the world. The present dean, Father Thomas Hopko, and faculty are comprised of dynamic Orthodox scholars who are continuing this legacy of excellence. They have translated, edited or written more than 40 books and are leading contributors to scholarly journals, encyclopedias, and dictionaries regarding Orthodox theology and history. The seminary is also the largest publisher of books in English on Orthodoxy in the world. More than 250 titles have been published, and the list increases yearly.

Further information about the dedication ceremonies is available on the seminary website www.svots.edu or by calling the seminary at 914-961-8313.