Orientation of new students focuses on priestly vocation

Fr. John Breck, former faculty member at St. Vladimir’s, and guest speaker at Orientation 2008, greets incoming students (from left) Dustin Lyon of Minnesota, Clive Cabey of Michigan, and Courtney Jones of South Carolina.

“You have come to St. Vladimir’s to discover and develop the foundational call that you have already heard,” noted the Very Rev. John Breck, as he began the first of three talks he delivered to the incoming class of thirty-eight students during Orientation Week, August 21–24, 2008.

Fr. John, Professor of New Testament and Ethics at St. Vladimir’s from 1984–1996, returned to campus as a guest lecturer and focused his remarks on the priestly vocation of Jesus Christ as the model for both ordained and lay ministry. In particular, he defined priestly ministry as offering oneself and others in community to God.

“By coming to the seminary,” he said, “you have renewed an initial commitment to God in a very serious way. And, you have recognized that life is essentially made up of who we are because of what Christ has done for us. Everything changes with this realization.”

In his talks, which were interspersed among a variety of other activities related to orienting the new class to campus, Fr. John concentrated on three, deeply-interconnected themes: “Our Call to Ministry: Self-giving and Others,” “Dysfunctional Family Systems: Personal and Corporate,” and “Spiritual Growth: Life in Prayer.” Throughout, he addressed practical and pastoral concerns taken from his experience as a parish priest and from the classrooms of the three seminaries at which he has taught, St. Vladimir’s, St. Herman Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska, and presently, St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, Paris, France.

In particular, Fr. John emphasized that a seminarian’s academic work and success were functions of a spiritual orientation, and he stressed the inner, personal disciplines of prayer, Scripture reading, and the practice of silence as means to proper formation. “Seminary community life has as its goal the transformation of us into authentic priests, who imitate the love and holiness of Jesus,” he said.

Referring to the book Be My Priest, by Monk Lev (Gillet), which was given to incoming students as a gift from the seminary, Fr. John concluded his remarks with a sobering quotation: “Live a life of obscurity and silence; seeking no awards.”

The Very Rev. John Behr, Dean of St. Vladimir’s, welcomed the incoming class by presenting a history of the seminary, including a memorable quotation from one of the seminary’s earliest deans, Metropolitan Leonid Turkevich: “The Orthodox Church in America should be the avant-guard of Orthodoxy, and should be forced to assume a serious theological foundation. To carry out this role, there should be theological scholarship at the highest level. Otherwise, without [our priests] having proper theological answers to questions, we will end up as sectarians.” Fr. John urged the incoming students to continue in that tradition, which, he said, “has dramatically shaped ‘Orthodoxy’ as we know it today.”

The Dean further distinguished theology from other disciplines of study by defining it as “a confession of faith, a contemplation of who God has shown himself to be in the person of Jesus Christ.” He continued his powerful reflection by stating: “ ‘Theology’ is not ‘words about God,’ for God cannot be the subject of any study, such as history, or archeology, or social work. Theology is not abstract speculation, but rather a reflection on God’s revelation in Jesus Christ, and therefore the application of ‘theology’ is service. Christ showed his glory as Lord by death on the Cross, and if we—as broken, sinful, weak human beings—voluntarily ‘die’ to this life, all our brokenness will become our access to grace. Remember, there is ‘lordship’ [only] in ‘service.’ ”

Fr. John concluded by reminding the students that studying theology required an “ascetical struggle” of the mind, and that “renewal of the mind” through the daily cycle of services offered on campus was essential to spiritually shape the class, both individually and also collectively.

The Very Rev. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor of St. Vladimir’s, recognized the sacrifice the students and their families had made by enrolling at the seminary, and reminded them of the seriousness of their decision. “Ahead of you will be three years of intense spiritual warfare, and you will do battle with the Devil, who is not pleased that you have made this sacrifice,” he warned. He then outlined for them the administrative and communal organization of the campus, sharing practical wisdom to help students immerse themselves to the fullest in opportunities offered by St. Vladimir’s, which he termed “a venerable institution with a global reputation for excellence.”

Other activities of Orientation included informative talks by faculty and staff regarding campus procedures and policies; tours of the SVS Library and Bookstore; class registration; preliminary testing in writing competency and voice testing for choral assignments; campus cookouts; an introduction to the Spouses’ Program, directed by Presbytera Kerri Pappas, which took place at a welcoming reception for the wives of new students hosted by the Dean and the Chancellor; and a session with returning students, who number forty-seven.

To introduce them to the rich cultural resources of nearby New York City, the incoming class took a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with the Rev. Alexander Rentel, Assistant Professor of Canon Law and Byzantine Studies at St. Vladimir’s, acting as their guide in the Byzantine exhibit.

A concluding session regarding spiritual formation, including the practice of the Jesus Prayer and the discipline of confession, was conducted by Dr. Albert S. Rossi, Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology, and the Very Rev. Steven Belonick, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and organizer of the Orientation.

The new and returning students represent a multi-jurisdictional, multi-national presence, and statistically break down as follows: Orthodox Church in America, 29; Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, 19; Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 13; Armenian Apostolic Church, 6; Serbian Orthodox Church, 5; Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, 3; Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, 2; Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, 2; Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Canada, 2; the Bulgarian Patriarchal Orthodox Church, 1; and the Patriarchate of Moscow, 1. Additionally, three non-Orthodox students, of the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Evangelical faiths, attend the seminary.

Fr. Steven Belonick summed up the weeklong experience, by saying, “This very important week not only provides the chance for the seminary to share its goals and aspirations with the new students, but also allows us the delightful opportunity to meet the incoming class outside of the busy academic year. We are so pleased to have them, and we wish the incoming class growth in our Lord as they join us.”

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