St. Tikhon’s Seminary to sponsor annual Clergy Continuing Ed Symposium June 16-18
Saint Tikhon’s Seminary here will host its annual Clergy Continuing Education Symposium June 16-18, 2015. The seminary is pleased to provide the symposium to assist priests and deacons of the Orthodox Church in America fulfill the 20 hours of continuing education studies mandated each year by the Holy Synod of Bishops.
This year’s program will focus extensively on the theological foundations for and the practice of pastoral care by parish clergy. The list of this year’s speakers and topics includes the following.
- “Practical Issues in the Life of an Orthodox Priest with Guidance from the Holy Fathers” by His Eminence, Archbishop Michael, Rector of Saint Tikhon’s Seminary and Professor of Scripture, will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16. Specific aspects of the Holy Priesthood, with direction gleaned from the writings of Saints Ambrose of Milan, Gregory the Great and John Chrysostom, will be explored.
- “The Concept of Healing as Found in the Dynamic of the Treatment Team Model” by Archpriest John Kowalczyk, Director of Field Education at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary and Chaplain at SCI Waymart, will be presented at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16. How various disciplines work together in a harmonious way to bring care for the total person will be examined. Also to be reviewed will be ways this treatment model can bring healing to the priest in his personal life and pastoral work.
- “Palliative Care” by Dr. George Giokas, a Schenectady, NY physician who specializes in Geriatric, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, will be presented at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 17. Palliative Care is a specialty of medicine caring for seriously ill people using an interdisciplinary team approach. Medical perspectives on current challenges to caring for adults with life-threatening illnesses will be discussed, as will issues related to advance care planning, including advanced directives.
- “Pastoral Care in the Lives of the Saints” by Archpriest Joseph Frawley, Saint Martin Chapel at West Point Academy, will be presented at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17. Pastoral Care will be examined from two perspectives—as reflected in the Lives of the saints (i.e. the various categories of saints) and as exemplified in the lives of more contemporary God-pleasers.
- “Caring for the Elderly and Disadvantaged” by Matushka Marion Swencki, Director of Long Term Care, Wayne Woodlands Manor, Waymart, PA, will be offered at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 18. Topics to be discussed include Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias; simple solutions to major problems; person centered care and the corresponding right to dignity and respect; multi-pharmacy and effects on well being; Medicare, Medicaid, Private insurance, Managed Care, and Supplemental Insurance; and elder abuse identification, prevention, and reporting.
- “Pastoral Counseling in the Parish” by Archpriest Steven Voytovich, Dean, Associate Professor of Pastoral Arts and Praxis, Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, will be presented at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 18. Among the topics to be considered are grief and loss, marriage, addictions, family system orientation helpful in family counseling, and other related topics.
All courses are available for Clergy Continuing Education credit, as approved by Archpriest Ian Pac-Urar. The cost, which includes lecture registration, room and board (in the Metropolitan Leonty Dormitory), is $100.00 per person. For an additional charge, a block of rooms has been reserved at the Pioneer Plaza Hotel, Carbondale, PA. Please contact the seminary directly at 570-561-1818 or by writing to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for questions and/or to make reservations.