St. Vladimir’s Seminary to honor Metropolitans Tikhon and Joseph at Meyendorff Memorial Lecture September 14
Predrag Matejic, Ph. D., Associate Professor at Ohio State University’s Center for Slavic and East European Studies and Curator of the Hilandar Research Library, will present the third annual Father John Meyendorff Memorial Lecture on Monday, September 14, 2015 at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary here. Speaking on the topic “Byzantium, the Slavs, and the Rise of the Russian Orthodox Church,” he will focus on three historical periods: the conversion of the Slavs, the 10th–11th centuries, and the Russian Orthodox Church after the fall of Constantinople, including the Councils of the 16th century.
“These three moments reflect the changing interaction and relationship between Byzantium and the Slavs (Russia),” says Professor Matejic, “from complete acceptance, to refinement—that is, rejection of Byzantium’s pagan philosophies—and finally, to the renaissance of the Russian Orthodox Church.”
Prior to the lecture, the seminary will honor His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America and His Eminence, Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. The Board of Trustees and faculty will bestow Doctor of Divinity degrees, honoris causa, on both hierarchs at an Academic Convocation beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Metropolitan Tikhon serves as the seminary’s President and chairs its Board of Trustees, while Metropolitan Joseph serves as Vice Chair of the Board.
Archpriest Chad Hatfield, seminary Chancellor/CEO, noted the significance of the awards, saying, “Just the visual image of these two Metropolitans standing together should remind all of us of the important place that our seminary has had for generations in showing the visible unity of Orthodoxy in America. Now both of these great leaders will be alumni of Saint Vladimir’s.”
The Academic Convocation and lecture are open to the public and will be held in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building.