St. Vladimir’s Seminary to host three September events
In addition to anticipating the opening of the 2017-2018 academic year, the faculty and staff of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary [SVOTS] are looking forward to hosting three major events during the month of September.
- Dr. Alice-Mary Talbot will present the Fourth Annual Father John Meyendorff Memorial Lecture on Friday, September 15, at 7:00 p.m. Dr. Talbot is the Director Emerita of Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, a prestigious research institute of Harvard University located in Washington, DC. She also serves as Editor of the Byzantine Greek Series, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library. Her presentation is titled after her forthcoming book, Varieties of Monastic Experience in Byzantium, 800–1453. During her lecture she will highlight some of the findings of her research in two areas—the many ways one could be a Byzantine monk, and the continuing tensions in Byzantium between the eremitic (solitary living) and coenobitic (community living) forms of monasticism.
- According to a 2017 Gallup Poll, the fastest growing new “religious group” in the US are the “Nones”—those who check “none of the above” when asked about their religious affiliation on surveys. They now make up nearly 25% of the US population. Moreover, one-third of the “Nones” never return to their former religious affiliations (if ever they had any) once they leave. Instead, they begin to constitute a new group, the “Dones” — done with Church and done with organized religion. To shed light upon the “Nones” and “Dones,” the seminary will be hosting a “Movie Night” on Sunday, September 24, at 7:00 p.m., featuring the newly released film, “Becoming Truly Human”. The documentary shares the stories of eight Millennials who journey from religious affiliation to non-affiliation and reveals not only their discouragement with “Church,” but also their thirst for “spirituality,” albeit disconnected from the “God” of their youth. See related story.
- The seminary will be the site of a Workshop for Readers and Musicians, sponsored by the Diocese of New York and New Jersey of the Orthodox Church in America, on Saturday, September 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The workshop will address the importance of liturgical reading as participants review the Church’s theology that guides and informs this ministry. They will also review rubrics and melodic patterns for reading, as well as methods for chanting the prokeimena and Alleluia verses in synergy with the choir. Participants also will receive vocal coaching and practice. Workshop activities will be taught within the framework of a supportive community of fellow readers and liturgical musicians. Archpriest J. Sergius Halvorsen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric at the seminary and an accomplished liturgical musician, will serve as Instructor for the workshop, which has been approved for six Continuing Clergy Education credits from the OCA. Pre-register by September 4, 2017.