On December 10, 2009, the the following was posted on the web page of the Orthodox Church in America:

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, a New York religious corporation (the "OCA"), has concluded an investigation into the allegations made by Paul Sidebottom regarding actions by Archimandrite Isidore (Brittain) which took place in Kodiak, Alaska on May 16–17, 2007. While the OCA does not admit liability for any of the matters involved in Mr. Sidebottom's allegations of sexual harassment, those allegations have been found to be credible by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") in its investigation of Mr. Sidebottom’s allegations, and the Holy Synod recognizes that the consequences of the protracted investigation have been a source of much distress to Mr. Sidebottom. The Holy Synod regrets any adverse impact these circumstances have had on Mr. Sidebottom. The Holy Synod also regrets that Mr. Sidebottom was discharged from his position at St. Herman’s Seminary by the now-retired Bishop of Alaska, Nikolai, in retaliation for filing the complaint with the OCA, as found by the EEOC in its investigation of Mr. Sidebottom’s allegations. In bringing this unfortunate case to a conclusion, the Holy Synod prays that the parties hurt and affected will partake of the merciful love, healing and peace that Our Lord Jesus Christ grants to all. The Holy Synod willingly embraces its Christian duty to facilitate healing, forgiveness and reconciliation, and it prays that these and other steps taken will, by God’s grace, lead to that end.

The seminary computer lab was updated to a server based system over the last few weeks. Fr. Innocent used existing hardware to build a Ubuntu Linux based server which the students can access from the workstation computers. This upgrade cost the seminary nothing and runs exclusively open source software. Not only is the network easier to maintain but it is also more convenient for the seminarians and their families.

The 2008 academic school year came to a close with the ordination of Deacon John Larson to the Holy Priesthood. His Grace Bishop BENJAMIN presided over the hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Kodiak on Sunday June 1st.

Priest John Dunlop was also elevated to the rank of Archpriest and appointed the Dean of Saint Herman Seminary. He and Matushka Beague were awarded a gramota from the Holy Synod of Bishops in recognition for their faithful service to the seminary over the years.

Later that evening graduation ceremonies were celebrated and Father John Larson graduated, having completed his studies at St. Herman Seminary.

Also recognized were Ishmael Andrews and Methodios Nicori, having earned their Readers certificates.

His Grace Bishop BENJAMIN gave the commencement address. Mary Ann Khoury, administrator of Outreach Alaska was also present to personally present Father John with a new set of vestments and final support check from his Outreach Alaska sponsor.

We eagerly anticipate the 2009 graduation ceremonies at St. Herman Seminary. The Board of Trustees will meet on Saturday, May 30, followed by Resurrectional Vigil at Holy Resurrection Cathedral at 6 p.m. His Grace Bishop BENJAMIN will celebrate Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 31, with commencement exercises held at 5 p.m. The commencement speaker will be The Very Reverend David Lowell, executive director of Raphael House, located in San Francisco.

On February 13-14, 2009, St. Herman Seminary instructor Irenaios Anderson travelled to Napaskiak at the invitation of the Bethel Deanery to give a presentation to clergy and church school teachers, Topics discussed were what is an Orthodox Christian view of education, essential books for teaching both adults and children, an introduction to available curriculum, how to write lesson plans, and various on-line resources available to teachers. A point of emphasis was that the role of the seminary is to serve the Church in Alaska. At the teachers' request, this web page soon will provide more on-line sources for Church school teachers. We hope that this presentation is the first of many and that the seminary can help all the deaneries of our diocese to teach our people more about the Faith. Our heartfelt thanks go to Fr. Phillip Alexie, dean, Fr. Vasily Fisher and the community of St. James Church in Napaskiak who showered such hospitality on Subdeacon Irenaios, and our supporters who selflessly provided books, curriculum, and their continued prayers for the clergy, church school teachers, and faithful not only of the Bethel deanery but all of the Diocese of Alaska. May this be the beginning of a renewal of education for our people!  

On the Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, St. Herman Seminary celebrated the sending out of seminary graduate Fr. Gregory Parker to help guide people to the True Faith (from the troparion of the Feast). On Saturday, May 30, the St. Herman Seminary Board of Trustees met, and on Sunday His Grace BENJAMIN, Bishop of San Francisco and the West, whom also is the locum tenens of the Diocese of Alaska, celebrated a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. At the Liturgy His Grace tonsured two seminarians, James Sipary and Michael Heckman, as Readers. After the Liturgy His Grace blessed a mission team from Holy Resurrection Church in Kodiak that would travel to Old Harbor, Alaskans ministering to Alaskans. At the commencement later that evening, trustees, faculty, family, and friends of the seminary enjoyed the commencement, the address by seminary trustee The Very Reverend David Lowell of Raphael House in San Francisco, and the music and food provided by St. Innocent Academy. The community rejoiced at the graduation of Fr. Gregory, who will be serving at the historic parish of Three Saints Church in Old Harbor on Kodiak Island. In addition to graduating from seminary, Fr. Gregory received Chemical Dependency Counselor (CDC) I certification to help those in his community with substance abuse issues. Substance abuse training is an integral part of the curriculum at St. Herman Seminary and reflects our view of a holistic healing of the person in Christ.

At the reception following commencement exercises, Fr. Gregory received gifts of an icon of St. Nicholas and vestments from his sponsoring church, St. Nicholas Cathedral in Washington, D.C. This sponsorship program has been coordinated by Mary Ann Khoury of Outreach Alaska and provides opportunities for individuals and churches to support seminarians and churches in the Diocese of Alaska. His Grace called attention to Mary Ann's work for the Church in Alaska and led the people in applauding her, even though she was unable to attend this year's graduation personally.

Finally, Subdeacon Andre Tepper, Reader James Sipary, Reader Michael Heckman, and Ephrim Smith received their Reader's Certificate.

We celebrate with Fr. Gregory, Matushka Mary Magdalene, and sons Gabriel, Alexei, and Leo as they begin their ministry in Old Harbor. May God grant them many years!

The youth group from Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Anchorage came to Kodiak Island for a pilgrimage June 27th-July 1st.  They enjoyed beautiful weather while exploring the island, praying at Monk's Lagoon, and helping us out around campus.

Since fishing was closed for the day, Fr. Alexie Knagin and his boat crew spent the day working on campus and finished putting up dry wall at the back entrance of the married student dorms.  Thank you for your hard work!!

This week, the aging roofs of both the married student dormitory and the administration building were replaced with new steel roofs which should last about twenty years.

Metropolitan visits 39^th St. Herman pilgrimage
By Bradley Zint, Kodiak Daily Mirror writer

Monday, August 10, 2009

MONK’S LAGOON, Spruce Island — The sounds of ringing bells infused the misty Saturday morning air during the arrival of the skiff transporting His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah to the tiny corner of Spruce Island.

For Metropolitan Jonah and about 250 other attendees from throughout the world, the annual pilgrimage to the small corner of Alaska is made to honor and remember St. Herman, the canonized saint who was instrumental in establishing Orthodoxy in North America. St. Herman, who first arrived in Alaska in 1794, lived a monastic life on Spruce Island in the early 1800s. He often is considered the patron saint of the Americas.

St. Herman was canonized in 1970 and is now buried in Kodiak.

Saturday was the 39th anniversary of the pilgrimage and the first one for Metropolitan Jonah, who was elected metropolitan of all American and Canadian Russian Orthodox churches in 2008. The pilgrimage was only one event of the three-day schedule, which began Friday and ended Sunday.

Metropolitan Jonah was warmly greeted as he arrived on the shore of Spruce Island, where bells continued to ring until he led the procession inland toward the chapel where the Divine Liturgy is concelebrated.

The small chapel has a deck built outside its entrance to accommodate the modern-day crowds who come for the pilgrimage. The Divine Liturgy — which dates back to the fifth century — lasted about two hours and included chanting of Psalm verses, prayer petitions, the asking of peace for the world, reading of Scriptures, venerations, and a sermon by Metropolitan Jonah and communion.

“Coming to this place, I think we all feel the grace,” said Metropolitan Jonah during the sermon. “You feel the sanctity. This place was permeated by the prayers of St. Herman. This place was permeated by grace, by the very activity of the presence of God.”

The metropolitan reflected on the significance of St. Herman.

“St. Herman is the foundation of Orthodoxy in America because he heard the Gospel and he lived it,” he said. “The sanctity that dwells up in his relics, the sanctity of this place, it came through his prayer. It must be for us that wellspring of inspiration and hope where we, too, can fulfill the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

He offered advice to congregants.

“We have to come to that place where we can let go of all of the darkness that holds us down, all the darkness that keeps us imprisoned in our egos, all of the darkness that fuels our anger and our passions and our rage and our lust … this is just not the way of the monk. It certainly is the way for the monk and the nuns, but it’s the way for every Christian.”

After the Divine Liturgy, some attendees paid tribute to St. Herman by visiting his original gravesite underneath the chapel.

“Sometimes people take a small amount of dirt from the ground in there,” said the Very Rev. Gregory Safchuk. “They keep it in remembrance of St. Herman. In some cases, they believe that both the oil from the lamp over his grave or his relics and the dirt, coupled with prayer and faith, can even help a person who is sick to recover.”

The day also had a short memorial prayer service at the gravesites of the Very Rev. Archimandrite Gerasim Schmaltz and Father Peter Kreta. The two are buried on Spruce Island. Schmaltz is a disciple of St. Herman and lived as a monk for a time around Monk’s Lagoon.

After the services, attendees had a picnic on the beach before heading back to Kodiak. For many, it was their first time eating for about 12 hours because they began fasting Friday night, waiting to eat only after receiving communion.

Saturday was the sixth pilgrimage for Safchuk, who taught in Kodiak from 1982 to 1985 at St. Herman Theological Seminary. He now works in Bethesda, Md.

Safchuk said he was especially honored to help distribute the communion during the Divine Liturgy.

“I got to literally distribute it, as the metropolitan said (Friday) night, to the descendants of those Native peoples whom St. Herman ministered to,” he said. “For me, that was a tremendously significant, moving experience.”

He said the addition of the deck in recent years to the small chapel has been a big improvement for the service. It has added more of a sense of connectivity for attendees. Before, congregants had to stand around the chapel on the grass while the Divine Liturgy took place with only a handful of people inside.

Safchuk said throughout all the pilgrimages, he has been grateful for the help from the community.

“What’s always struck me, back even when I was here in the ’80s, was the tremendous cooperation of people in town — whether they be Orthodox Christians or not — who lend their boats and time to bring people over there,” Safchuk said. “I’ve always been tremendously impressed with that, especially when the price of boat fuel has been extremely high at times and it’s a tremendous sacrifice for them to fire up those big boats and take us over there.”

Filming Saturday’s pilgrimage was filmmaker Dave Kaplan, who also serves on the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly. Serving as producer was Alexander Safchuk, a student at Ohio State University who came to Kodiak from Bethesda with his church.

Alexander and his church colleagues raised money for the expensive flight to the Emerald Isle. They came for the pilgrimage and have also been helping with local church projects.

Saturday’s footage is for the North American Saints Project, through the Orthodox Church of America.

“It’s outlining a lot of lectures, but they’re all talking about the saints of North America and the Orthodox Church,” Alexander said. “It’s going to be more of an educational series … we wanted to get the perspective on St. Herman, especially, because of the pilgrimage up here. It was also an historical occasion having Metropolitan Jonah here on his first time on the pilgrimage.”

Alexander interviewed Metropolitan Jonah on the Sea Breeze, owned by Kodiak Harbormaster Marty Owen. Owen offered his vessel to transport the metropolitan and others to Spruce Island. The metropolitan answered questions about the significance of Spruce Island, the Alaskan saints, of venerating the saints and how they have impacted his life.

The Rev. Safchuk said St. Herman holds special significance because he is a saint more recent and closer to home for North Americans.

“He really resonates with people who live here now,” Safchuk said. “He’s not exactly contemporary, but he was canonized in 1970 … people feel a certain kinship over the fact that he was canonized in their lifetime and he worked here in North America. We’re not talking about someone who lived in the fourth century.”

Article may be found at http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=7850

 

MONK'S LAGOON, Spruce Island -- They say the sun has a way of shining on the celebration of St. Herman, patron saint of the Americas.

The sunlight came out dramatically for the 40th anniversary of Herman's canonization on Spruce Island Monday.

The light broke through the fog and spruce trees a few minutes before an international group of Orthodox Christian leaders in green vestments began preparing for communion. About 250 pilgrims stood in line to receive the communion, overflowing a wooden deck built around a small wooden chapel.

Among the visiting clergy was Metropolitan Jonah, head of the Orthodox Church in America and Canada, who led the celebration of the Divine Liturgy for the second year in a row.

Earlier in the service the metropolitan spoke about one of the lessons that can be learned from St. Herman's time living as a hermit on Spruce Island.

"Few places like this exist on earth," he said. "Very quickly in silence a person learns that you are not your thoughts, and this is one of the most incredible freeing things you can learn."

Saint Herman came to Kodiak in 1793 as part of the first Orthodox mission sent by the Russian empire to Alaska.

The church hagiography praises his ascetic life, his kindness to the Alutiiq people, and his miracles -- like a wildfire he stopped behind a piece of moss and a tsunami he halted by placing an icon of the Virgin Mary on the beach.

He died on Spruce Island in 1843 and was canonized in 1970. His relics are kept at the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Kodiak.

The celebration of Saint Herman's canonization is one of only a few Orthodox pilgrimages in America and might be the hardest to access.

Many pilgrims from the Railbelt arrived in Kodiak Saturday on the ferry Kennicott, where thy gathered together on the top deck. Other pilgrims came from the Lower 48 and Russia. Among Russian guests was Alexander P. Torshin, a senator in Russia.

Also among the pilgrims were Archbishop Justinian, the Russian Orthodox church's leader in the U.S., acting Bishop of Alaska Benjamin and Bishop Maxim, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Western U.S.

Monday did not begin with sunlight.

During the morning a fleet of skiff captains carrying pilgrims between Fort Abercrombie and Spruce Island called out to each other over radios in the pea soup fog.

Victoria Nielson, a Wasilla resident taking a break between college terms, called the entire day "ethereal." She had not expected such a big crowd.

"I was amazed by how helpful and happy everyone was," she said. "Everyone would be complaining if this was anything else except for a pilgrimage."

"It's funny, you get up at 6 a.m. and you wait at the beach for three hours, but you're happy."

Nielson has wanted to attend the pilgrimage since seeing St. Innocent's Academy perform in Homer. She said she hopes to teach the academy Irish dancing.

Father Deacon Samuel Woolums came from Santa Rosa, Calif. He said he was affected by both the presence of St. Herman and the isolation of the setting.

"It's incredibly easier to pray here," he said. "There's not as many people with evil thoughts polluting the airwaves."

Kera Dalton of Boston came to Spruce Island with her husband, three children and a friend of one of her children.

"One of the things I learned is how Father Herman treated the people," she said. "You hear terrible things about missionaries, but here is a man who cared for the Native people and stood up from them against the Russian American Company."

The trip was special, but she will probably not make the pilgrimage again because it was so expensive to travel from Boston.

After arriving at the beach on Spruce Island, pilgrims walked up a shallow hill to the chapel past mossy trees and icons of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

On the return trip the pilgrims stopped at the beach to eat a meal organized by the Holy Resurrection Church and the Nativity of Our Lord Church in Ouzinkie. Many had been fasting since the night before.

Most of the group left Spruce Island after the liturgy and lunch, but Spruce Island remains home to a group of monks who live in another part of the island. A group of nuns lives on nearby Nelson Island.

Footage from this year's pilgrimage may reach Russian-speaking audiences around the world through New York-based Russian Television International. A crew from the station filmed the service and interviewed church leaders.

"We loved it," said producer Sergey Shesthaov. "We hope to create a nice special and continue covering the pilgrimages."


This article was written by Sam Friedman and was published in the August 10, 2010, edition of the Kodiak Daily Mirror. St. Herman Seminary is not responsible for any errors that appear in the text of this article. 

On September 9-11th, Janet Carter, M.Ed, came to St. Herman Seminary from Anchorage to present Regional Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor Training, also known as RADACT. RADACT is the State of Alaska’s program to deliver behavioral health training to selected communities, and is a key component for the training required for becoming a certified Chemical Dependency Counselor. The seminarians and staff were joined by behavioral health workers and alcohol counselors from the local community for intense training in motivational interviewing and group counseling. Training in alcohol counseling is crucial for clergy in rural Alaska, and such training forms the core component of the fourth year of studies at St Herman’s. St. Herman’s would especially like to thank the Orthodox Christian Mission Center for their generous donation that helps make such training possible.

On Monday morning, a three-man Russian film crew came to Kodiak to write about the Russian influence on Alaska, specifically on Alaskan Orthodoxy.  They recorded vespers at the Cathederal, filmed the students singing in class, interviewed Fr. John about his own Russian heritage, and filmed some footage of the archives.

Hopefully in about two months, we'll see the seminary on "Russia Today!"

Earlier this month, Subdn. Michael Nicolai represented St. Herman Seminary at the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement held at St. Tikhon's Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.  He also was able to stay at St. Vladimir's Seminary in Crestwood, New York, for a night.

In late December, the students were treated to two excellent back-to-back lecture series.  The first, by acclaimed bioethicist Dr. H. Tristram Engelhardt, consisted of three lectures, centering on the post-Christianity of Western culture and the appropriate response by Christians.

The second was a single lecture by Kodiak-local Dr. Weston Fields, the Executive Director of The Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation.  It covered a bit of the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and included some detailed photographs of the scrolls.

Today the seminary celebrated our altar feast, the feast of All Saints of Alaska.  Last night, we had a full chapel for the vigil service, including friends from both Holy Resurrection Cathedral and St. Innocent’s Academy.  This morning, after a prayerful liturgy, Fr. John blessed the first-year men to wear the cassock, reminding them of the position and service expected of a seminarian.  Finally, everyone relaxed over a delicious brunch of eggs, sausage, waffles, and fruit served by our wonderful cook, Olga.

From June 21-25 the Seminary hosted the Vacation Church School of Holy Resurrection Cathedral. Area children learned about the feasts of the Theotokos from "Travelling on the Ark of Salvation" Vacation Church School program. They enjoyed praying in the seminary chapel, learning about the feasts of the Church, singing, playing, and making crafts. Teens from seminary families and the Cathedral community assisted the children as they learned. Pictures to follow. . . .

Your Grace Bishop Benjamin, Father John Dunlop, esteemed faculty, students and guests: it is a great pleasure for me to be here and to make an offering of words to those being honored today.

The theme of my address is theological education. It comes as no secret that for many outside of the seminary community, theological education is nothing more than a costly luxury, which the Church--particularly the Church in Alaska--can do without. For some, in and outside of Alaska, St. Herman’s Seminary has deviated from its intended path by striving to provide a quality theological education to its students, who will return to homes and villages to serve the faithful and to catechize those seeking to enter the new life in Christ.

Theological education is not a luxury, nor is it something the Seminary should abandon for some other curriculum that would deprive this diocese of educating and training leaders who will, in time, give their lives to the building up the local Church in Alaska.

Theological education is a necessity that originates in the parish and is further developed and honed through the seminary. My desire today is to speak about three aspects of theology: Theology and Life, Theology and Mission and Theology and Pastoral Care.

Theology and Life

Theological education is bound to life. It is necessary for life. It provides the means by which the relationship between God and humanity can be best articulated. Theological education, because it is nurtured and sustained by the Holy Spirit, is life giving and life forming. For this reason, it cannot be confined solely to the classroom. Here we can benefit from the wisdom of the venerable Father Georges Florovsky who, in an article on ecclesiology, stressed over fifty years ago that any discussion about the Church needed to move from the classroom and return back to the temple. We can use this advice as we discuss theological education and its spiritual and intellectual components. For it is in the temple or, more specifically, it is in the context of our liturgical worship that theology is best expressed and manifested as the celebration of new and eternal life. When theological education becomes separated from the temple and, therefore, from the life of the local Church, it becomes an artifact that has the elusive past as its only point of reference.

Theology is life and not archaeology. For us, the study of antiquity is but a starting point for discerning the interaction between God and humanity that leads to this very moment and continues into the future. In my experience as an instructor at this seminary and as a parish priest, one of the most dangerous reductions of a theological education that I have encountered has been its divorce from life. How easy it is to turn Orthodox theology into an academic discipline as an academic career without spiritual moorings. While our academies and seminaries must demand academic excellence, the curriculum each may offer must be based on the spiritual life. There is the need to instill in the professors and students the fundamental idea that the study of scripture, history, liturgy, patristics and dogmatics cannot be separated from seeking after the “kingdom of heaven and its righteousness.” Academic excellence cannot be allowed to stand apart from acquiring the Holy Spirit. Understanding theology or theological education as something parallel to the life in Christ inevitably generates its own dynamism that, in turn, manipulates the words proper to God into becoming a false theology. This false theology, resulting from an alien spirituality, abandons its evangelical thrust by replacing human salvation and transfiguration with the illusions of social and political utopias.

The spiritual and intellectual formation of the Orthodox theologian is grounded in the ascetical discipline of the Church. Asceticism seeks to counter a self-centered and self-serving life with one that seeks to love and serve Christ and neighbor. The ascetic ordeal rooted in repentance, prayer, fasting and the reordering of the passions is best summed up by Saint John the Baptist: Christ “must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30). These words capture so well the life of the ascetic theologian. They express a way of life that ultimately allows the mind and heart to participate in the creative activity of the Holy Spirit. The outcome of this creativity is a living and true theology that utilizes and responds to the new questions and challenges of the 21^st century. Science, technology, globalization, local, national and world politics, the suffering and termination of the unprotected and the innocent, human sexuality and the abuse of the environment are beckoning the Orthodox Church and, therefore, Orthodox theology to enter the fray of modernity.

Theology and Mission

Theology is evangelical. Unfortunately, the missionary responsibility of our Church continues to be undermined by ethnic chauvinism. Until it becomes clear to the Orthodox themselves that every local parish is, by definition, a missionary community and responsible for offering the Gospel to all people, theology will remain separated from life. Every parish must strive to be a center of spiritual and intellectual formation.

Because theology seeks to proclaim the Gospel in time and space, it has by its very nature a missionary and evangelical quality. This means that Orthodox theology cannot be the possession of a particular people. It is universal in scope, offering the saving and transforming power of Christ’s gospel to all nations. Our history teaches us that as the Church sojourned in time and space, it used the culture of empires and nations to articulate a living theology. This is certainly the method employed by the Church Fathers. Knowing the language, art, philosophy, literature, science and politics of their time, they were able to convey the gospel to people of varying intellectual and social backgrounds. They were able to proclaim Christ who is the “same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8), using the cultural tools that were at their disposal.

Today Orthodox schools of higher learning, especially our academies and seminaries, need to promote and develop the patristic method of using culture for the proclamation of the Gospel. Because they knew their culture well, the Fathers were able to interact with its prevailing ethos. They were able to draw the knowledge of their surroundings into a vibrant ascetical spirituality that enabled them to communicate the Gospel freely and openly.

A theology separated from the culture is ultimately a theology separated from the people. To respond to the culture, especially the challenges posed by the rapid development of science and technology, theology is compelled to creatively interact with its environment so as not to fall into a cultural vacuum. The voice of the Gospel and, therefore, the voice of Orthodox theology will be heard only when the theologian truly knows his audience.

While the missionary thrust of theology is directed toward the world, there is the ongoing need to educate the faithful. Sermons, Bible studies, church school curricula and publications are to raise the level of awareness--need to open the minds and hearts of all the faithful. Theological education has the task of instilling in those who would preach and teach the desire to challenge and elevate the minds and hearts of the faithful, regardless of social and educational backgrounds. Too often theology among the Orthodox is relegated to the ivory tower while what is offered the faithful is of the lowest common denominator. Here we need to remember that Holy Scripture and the subsequent writings of the Fathers were written for the education of the faithful. The high theological caliber of St. John’s Gospel, Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and the treatise On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius were and are for the building up of the local Church and not solely for the scientific analysis of academicians.

St. Philaret Drozdov of Moscow reminded his flock that every Christian had the duty to learn. Those who preach, teach and write theology are challenged to stimulate all the baptized to know their faith well. St. Innocent Veniaminov, first ruling bishop in North America and later Metropolitan of Moscow emphasized that “it is the binding duty of every Christian, when he reaches maturity, to know his faith thoroughly, because anyone who does not have a solid knowledge of his faith is cold and indifferent to it and frequently falls either into superstition or unbelief” (Indication of the Way into the Heavenly Kingdom). This great missionary bishop helps us to see that theology belongs to everyone who is a Christian. Therefore, it is up to those who have the gift of a formal theological education to cultivate interest and enthusiasm among those seeking Christ. For God “desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). 

Just as theology must not be confined to the ivory tower, it also must not become a prisoner of sectarianism. It must not be strangled by an attitude or mind-set that understands and articulates the vision and life of the Church as it is seen though the cloudy lens of ignorance, fear and open antagonism to anything new, different or challenging to the status quo. We are Orthodox Christians living in the West in the 21^st century and have no right to pretend that we live in Byzantium or pre-Revolutionary Russia. Both of these worlds are gone. And lest we forget, each of these worlds was fraught with its own inherent problems, heresies and biases.

Theology and Pastoral Care

Throughout this address I have stressed that theology belongs to all the faithful. Yet, because it is the parish priest who potentially has the most influence when it comes to teaching in a local church, I will limit my remarks to his vocation.

Theology and pastoral care cannot be separated. The theologian is pastor and the pastor is theologian. By virtue of his place within the Eucharistic community, the pastor is compelled to share the theology of the Church with his flock. Because the pastor lives and works within a specific community he cannot--must not--limit theology to his archives or to his desk. The pastor-theologian is to convey to the community of the faithful that theology leads one to God’s kingdom. The pastor-theologian is to be perceived as a servant who, like the Lord himself, takes on the struggles and burdens of those in his care. In his Great Catechism, St. Theodore the Studite refers to the heavy responsibility he carries due to those in his care. “For your salvation I have to deliver my frail soul, even shed my blood. According to the works of the Lord, this is the special function of the good and true shepherd. Struggles arise from this, and sadness and anxieties, preoccupation, sleeplessness and despondency.”

These difficult words of the Studite remind us that the pastor is to love and serve the other as he seeks to heal and save the other. In the realm of pastoral care, theology offers comfort and hope. Theology brings the dead to life and prepares the living for death. Theology draws the wounded back to the context of the Church’s worship where, in the context of the Divine Liturgy, everyone and everything acquires its proper identity in relationship to the Triune God. In the context of the Eucharistic celebration we are “endowed” here and now “with the Kingdom which is to come” (Chrysostom Liturgy).

So long as theology is experienced and taught as that which brings us into the Church--into the saving and transfiguring life in Christ--the missionary mandate will not be ignored or compromised. So long as theology is received as a gift that draws us into the ascetical arena, it will continue to build up and fortify the body of Christ.

Finally, so long as theology is accepted with thanks and in a spirit of humility, the divine uncreated light of the Godhead will continue to transform and deify the human person and his surroundings.

Thank you.

Fr. Robert Arida is the dean at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Boston, MA.  He and his wife Susan also were teachers at the Seminary in the 1980s. Currently he serves on the Board of Trustees for the Seminary.

Graduate Ishmael Andrew learned basic fundamentals in seminary

By Mike Rostad

Special to the Kodiak Daily Mirror

Reprinted with permission

 

Father Deacon Ishamel Andrew loves basketball. He dribbles the ball down the court like he invented the game. Effortlessly he shoots from the middle of the floor. Swish.

 Undeniably, Andrew is crazy about basketball and knows the game. He loves God and the church even more. After studying four years at St. Herman’s Seminary, he is ready to move on.

 This year’s sole seminary graduate, Andrew will be ordained into the Orthodox priesthood during Divine Liturgy at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral Sunday, May 30, with Bishop Benjamin Peterson officiating.

 Andrew grew up on the Bering Sea coast in the Yup’ik Eskimo village of Kwigillingok where people survive off the land and water by hunting, gather plants, and preparing food. And they play basketball.

 In summer youngsters shoot hoops until dark. Andrew started playing basketball when he was a small guy.

 “If (the bigger guys) tried to get me off the court, I’d play anyway. I wasn’t going to let them bully me. I wanted to play just as much as they did.”

 Andrew continued to play basketball in high school.

 It would be nice that, once Andrew is assigned to a parish, he could continue to play this favorite sport or perhaps even coach a team. But that may present problems. Traveling wit ha team might mean foregoing services at home. That’s unacceptable. Perhaps he may have to let go of basketball, for a while at least.

 “Give up what you love the most,” is advice he gained by reading the lives of the saints. “A lot of saints…had to give up that which they loved in the secular world.”

 But somehow what they gave up was given back to them.

 When Andrew came to the seminary he knew little about the saints and the basic tenets of Christianity. The Holy Trinity was a mystery to him.

 He grew up learning about Ellam Yua, viewed as creator in traditional Yup’ik teachings. He requires that His creatures respect the land and its inhabitants.

 His creatures feared that Ellam Yua would punish them if they didn’t hunt, gather, and harvest properly.

 When the men hunted seals, they would butcher the animal, pour water through its mouth and throw the head back into the ocean, asking its spirit to return in the form of another seal. This was done to please Ellam Yua so that he would grant greater success in future hunting trips.

 Coming from a predominantly Moravian community, Andrew also learned about the Christian God and his Son, Jesus Christ – who is necessary for salvation. The Holy Spirit was another divine personage Andrew heard about.

 “I didn’t understand that the Holy Spirit could abide in a person and had anything to do with God and Jesus,” Andrew said.

 With two different views of the Creator and three disconnected persons of the Trinity, Andrew was confused. Which was more important and if in any way, were they the same, he wondered.

 When Andrew attended St. Herman’s Seminary he saw the connection between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, also known as the Holy Trinity.

 When he learned flowed from his hind to his heart and soul.

 Andrew sorts through his culture’s ancient beliefs through the prism of Orthodox Christianity. HE said he respects his culture, but there are things that need to be filtered out.

 “Sometimes I feel like there’s battle and confusion between the traditional way of living and Christian way of living.” Some of the traditions, such as giving the first catch to those in need, respect for people and Elders, animals and the land, properly caring for food and avoiding waste, are very Christian.

 “We learn that the Orthodox Christian way of life fulfills the traditional way of life. But the traditional way of living is limited. The Church completes it.”

 Through his seminary training Andrew has been able to see how the environment is affected by sin – a violation of humanity which separates one from God, his fellow human beings, the animals, and the earth and sea.

 Subsistence hunting resources are declining because of the lack of respect for Yup’ik and Christian ways of living, Andrew said. The decline is a result of unhealthy social relationships, domestic violence and substance abuse.

 People fail to see that their sinful living may be possible reasons for a decline in their resources, which their subsistence lifestyle ultimately depends on for survival, Andrew said.

 Andrew is cut to the heart when he realizes that much work needs to be done in his and other Alaskan villages.

 “When I look back it stabs my heart. There was no priest in my village (currently there is.) There was no catechizing. There is so much work that needs to be done.”

 Much of that work must be done by the priest whose job is to “teach in a caring and loving way,” Andrew said. “He must make sure there is a stable and steady liturgical cycle going on in the parish. How else are parishioners going to be able to participate in the sacraments?”

 As Andrew reflects over his adolescent and early adult years, which were relatively recent, he concludes that “it is very important to work with the youth. They’re the next leaders. We must give them the tools.”

 They are vulnerable to the influences of secular culture.

 When he was a teenager, Andrew was enamored with sports heroes. (He loved basketball.)

 Now he has new criteria.

 “The Gospel says we should not worry about what we’re wearing, what we’re going to eat. Let God take care of that. Trust and faith in God are what the people should be learning.”

 Father John Dunlop, Seminary dean, professor and mentor, said Andrew represents young Native priest who are able to reflect on their culture, asking “What is in it that is Christian, and what do I need to filter out?”

 Andrew is able to bridge his traditional way with the Orthodox way, he said. “Ishmael will do well. He is a gifted person. In time, he will be a good pastor.

 “He is an inspiration for younger people (who, through his example) see that they can serve in leadership positions in the church. We are blessed to know him and see his growth and maturing in the faith.”

 Andrew said that, even though he will be graduating in a few days, he is still learning.

 “I’ve learned some very important things, such as the purpose of life, why I was created. We owe our whole life to God.

 “I love being in the seminary – the lifestyle, the constant services.

 “Seminary is just a pinch of what there is to be learned, “ Andrew said. “I’m at the beginning. They give us the tools. Now I will be on my own.”

 Andrew faces his impending ordination with a sober realization that “This is serious business I’m getting myself into. I start to get the feeling, ‘What am I doing here? Why am I doing this?’”

 He takes a deep breath and, just like the skillful basketball players who is planning his next move, sees his part in the game.

 “This is the kind of life I should be living, serving God. Life is no our own. We owe our lives to God.”

 On Sunday, third-year student Andrei Tepper will be ordained into the diaconate.

 The St. Herman’s Seminary graduation and banquet will take place at St. Mary’s gymnasium at 5 P.M. The keynote speaker will be Fr. Robert Arida, dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Boston, and former St. Herman’s professor.

If you look at a St. Herman’s Seminary catalog you’re not going to find course descriptions on stuffing envelopes or seal hunting. But students and staff of the Orthodox school know that the mind and heart immersed in heady topics such as patristics and church doctrine must be attached to feet planted firmly on the earth. Such a mundane activity as stuffing envelopes with seminary appeal letters is not looked at as a waste of time, but an exercise that fosters public relations. Also, as students lick envelopes, they have a chance to discuss the principles and doctrines they came to study.

One of the envelope stuffers that met in the seminary classroom was Father Timothy Kozaki. With his long, black hair and scraggly dark beard, he looks like he could have come from one of the Yup’ik Eskimo villages that have the greatest representation at St. Herman’s. Kozaki is from Japan.

"Native Alaskans" faces are very familiar to me,” Kozaki said. "They remind me of the Asian people. This makes me feel very much at home. I miss Japan. I have hardship to study in a second language. Before I didn’t imagine that I’d come to the United States. I never imagined to come abroad."

Kozaki lived in Tokyo—which is now famous for Tokyo Disneyland, he said—and Hokkaido, where he served as a Protestant missionary for three years.

Then he discovered Orthodoxy.

He came to the United States to study the monastic way of life at St. Herman’s Brotherhood monastery at Platina, California.

"That monastery was desirable, an ideal place for me to start," Kozaki said. "A small part of our brotherhood lives on Spruce Island at St. Michael’s Skete. My abbot told me to come here to the seminary."

Kozaki desires to evangelize and spread Orthodox spirituality in Japan. He would like to establish an Orthodox monastery there as well.

Deacon Innocent Philo, who came to St. Herman’s with his wife, Susan, from Walla Walla, Washington, grew up on a dairy farm near Wasilla. The farm was converted into an airport.

Aviation or farming was not on Philo’s list of objectives. He attended Whitman College and, after graduation, entered various fields of work that have given him a "varied resume," he said.

He was a juvenile probation officer, an independent sculptor, an in-house artist at a foundry and manager of his own foundry. He cast bells for Orthodox churches throughout the country. He also was a chaplain at a Catholic hospital in Walla Walla.

A Presbyterian, Philo came into the Orthodox faith in 2000 through the influence of a former associate pastor who left the Presbyterians to explore the Orthodox faith. "I explored with him."

Philo is thrilled to be back in his homeland.

"I’ve been trying to come home since I finished college."

But "home" requires difficult adjustments.

"It’s been kind of hard for Susan and me to leave behind our children and grandchildren. Most of them live in Walla Walla. One is a nun in a monastery. We both feel the pain of leaving something behind."

There are many consolations here.

A huge one is the holiness of Kodiak Island, a peaceful "unique spot" which was sanctified by the presence of holy men such as St. Herman of Alaska, who lived on Spruce Island, Philo said.

"I don’t think people in Kodiak realize that this is America’s holy land. They grew up here and it seems normal. I’ve been to many places in
the U.S. It feels different here."

Another consolation is being exposed to the Alaska Native culture.

"It has a different richness. There are people in this school who have connections to holiness in the villages," he said, noting that the late Olga Michael of Kwethluk is soon to be canonized. It’s a blessing to be around students that have been influenced by Mother Olga and other godly elders, Philo said. "That’s a living Orthodox tradition. You don’t have that anywhere else in America."

Third-year student Deacon Andrew (Anders) Wasillie, who grew up in the Kuskokwim village of Napaskiak not far from Kwethluk, is learning more about the saints of Alaska. One is St. Yakov Netsvetov, who is a distant relative, he said.

Wasillie said he finds Kodiak a little too metropolitan compared to the rural setting he came from.

Moving to Kodiak was hard on the kids, Wasillie said. "They are used to living in a small setting where they would be able to play outside. Now we have to keep an eye out for them because of the traffic." Mission Road, where the seminary is located, can be a busy street at times.

Before moving to Kodiak, Wasillie worked for the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel as a computer technician. "I like to work with my hands. Slowly I’m learning to do carpentry."

And he’s also learning how to swing the censer, which is a common exercise for priests and deacons in the Orthodox Church.

But life at St. Herman’s isn’t only liturgies, feast days, theology courses and deep pontification.

Wasillie has been able to fish octopus and salmon, hunt seals and play basketball with the seminary’s team, the St. Herman's Hermits.

Wasillie said he started considering seminary about five years ago. He decided to wait at least a year because his wife, Olga, was pregnant with their son Nicolai at the time. His decision to come to the seminary was shared with his wife. "We both knew what we’re getting into."

When asked if there was a particular person who influenced him to consider the priesthood, Wasillie said he was inspired by his priest, Fr. Phillip Alexie, who lives in Napaskiak. "I always admired what he did in the church."

Subdeacon Michael Trefon, originally from Newhalen, was eight years old when he considered attending seminary. He practically grew up in the church.

His father, Fr. Michael Trefon, is a priest, now serving the parish in Ninilchik. His older sister, Stephanida (Wood), graduated from St. Herman’s in 2007.

"I always admired what the priests do, what the (altar) servers do, especially the deacons," Trefon said. "I’m impressed by (how they) throw the censer around, (shouting) out litanies. Kids like to holler in church, so why not do it proper?"

Before coming to seminary, Trefon was a fuel truck driver and heavy equipment operator in Newhalen.

He hopes that the Seminary will give him a deeper understanding of Orthodoxy.

That understanding comes through classes and frequent vespers, matins and liturgical services.

"There’s church every day here," he said. "That’s good practice."

For Kozaki, the monastic, there’s a shortage of services.

"As a monk, it is a very severe situation to live here, to keep my spiritual silence. At the same time, it is good. Other people can learn from me how the ascetic monk lives."

Learning is what seminary is all about. Learning through services, lectures, field trips, doing mundane things such as stuffing envelopes and taking challenging courses.

Homiletics, which is the study of the composition and delivery of a sermon, is a very challenging course, especially to the one, such as Kozaki, who is just learning the language he is to preach in. At first Kozaki was "uncertain about giving a talk," he said. But finally, when he got up to speak, he discovered he could do it effectively, even in a second language.

Philo, who rarely spoke publicly before enrolling in the seminary, discovered that he was up to the task when he gave homilies at services in Kodiak and Ouzinkie. "I’m grateful for that class."

When his professor instructed him to fast and pray before giving the homily, he realized that it was a sacramental act. "I always thought a homily was an optional inspirational commentary by the priest. But it is sacramental, a unique illumination from the Gospel. It’s a word from God for the day. Knowing that gave me a new perspective."

Church history is another course in St. Herman’s core curriculum.

When Kozaki studied church history at a lay vocational Protestant school, he was confused about the "lost years," he said. “After the era of the Apostles, we studied about the Crusades and right after that we jumped to the Protestant Reformation. What happened in between that period?” As he sought an answer to that question, he found Orthodoxy.

Kozaki said that all Orthodox Christians should study church history as well as dogmatics, patristics and other courses.

That is to say that theology is inescapable, Kozaki inferred. It is the air we breathe, the ground we walk upon. With that realization, even something as "unspiritual" as stuffing envelopes has a spiritual aspect.

An edited version of this article, written by Mike Rostad, first appeared in the November 26, 2010, edition of the Kodiak Daily Mirror.

St. Herman Seminary is pleased to be partners with the Orthodox Christian Network through a series of interviews of seminary administration and faculty by Rev. Dr. Christopher Metropulos and the staff of "Come Receive the Light."

OCN strengthens our Orthodox communities, encourages the faithful, and provides a media witness to the eternal truth of Orthodox Church by the use of radio, the Internet, podcasts, etc.. "Come Receive the Light" is heard in over 100 cities as well as on the OCN website at www.myocn.net.

Archimandrite Juvenaly (Repass) has been interviewed about the life of St. Juvenaly, who was one of the original missionaries who brought the Orthodox faith to Alaska in 1794. This missionary travelled from Kodiak to the Kenai, Lake Iliamna, and finally the shores of the Kuskokwim River, where he suffered martyrdom.

For the past year Dn. Irenaios Anderson has been interviewed concerning the lives and messages of the Old Testament prophets. This coming year we hope to focus on some of the stories and personalities of the Old Testament and their meaning for our lives today.

Seminary dean Fr. John Dunlop recently was interviewed about St. Herman Seminary and our ministry in Alaska. This interview should be available on the Come Receive the Light web page the week of January 21. More interviews should follow.

We are glad to be involved with the ministry of Come Receive the Light and the Orthodox Christian Network. "Tune in" and discover this rich resource! 

Recently we received notification from Rev. Protopresbyter Martin Ritsi, executive director of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), that St. Herman Seminary has been awarded a Theological Training grant to continue our work of training indigenous Orthodox Christian leadership in Alaska.

OCMC's Theological Training program is dedicated to training and equipping indigenous clergy around the world. With this training, both clergy and laity are able to proclaim the Gospel vibrantly, evangelize those around them, and minister to their people. Through the Theological Training Program, grants are awarded to seminaries in countries active in missionary work. In addition, various individual scholarships may be awarded toward theological correspondence studies or for further education of the clergy at local universities.

We also are pleased that of the 13 OCMC mission teams being sent out this summer, 3 will be coming to Alaska. A construction team will be sent to Bethel on July 22 to assist the local community complete the building of St. Sophia Orthodox Church. A youth ministry team will be sent on July 29 to Old Harbor on Kodiak Island, continuing the great work done by the mission team who travelled there last summer. Finally, an outreach team will be sent to the southeast region on August 11 to help with renovations and work on general maintenance for the community of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Hoonah, near Juneau.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer for missionary service to help the Church in Alaska, please visit www.ocmc.org, send email to missions@ocmc.org, or call 1-877-463-6784.

Since Starring is such a central part of the Nativity celebration in Alaska, a few of the first-year seminarians have written about what this tradition is like in their villages.


Starring in Marshall
by Seminarian Jason Isaac

We begin Starring on January 7 around 2 p.m. We start at the Church singing Nativity Church songs and various carols. In Marshall we have a Star that represents the Star that the three wise men followed to the manger where Jesus was born in Bethlehem. We also use a bucket. This is a wooden bucket with a stick going through the center with a Cross on top and it also spins like the Star. It also represents the world spinning. We also have a Flag. The flag represents Christ's victory over death. I remember as a little child there would be so many people following the Star and they would go all day and night 'til the 13th day of January.

After the service in the Church we then go to where the Priest stays. In Marshall we don't have a Parish Priest so if a visiting Priest is there we go to the house where he is staying , then to the Subdeacons', Readers', 1st and 2nd Chiefs' homes and then to the Parisioners' homes.

After singing in a home the 1st or 2nd Chief or even the Reader gives a homily. Then the hosts give out candy, soda, juice and cake. Soetimes they even have a feast with all kinds of food and goodies. Some families give out gloves to the men and pass out all sorts of lady stuff to the women.

The Star stays in the home till the last table is done, so that everyone would not miss on the singing in the next house. When the Star is moving to the next house a bellboy rings a small hand bell leading the way to the next home. After the very last house the Star goes and we sing at the graves and also sing "Memory Eternal"" for all those that had fallen asleep.


Starring
by Subdeacon Michael Trefon

The word starring or slaaviq means to give glory to God, for He has set His Only-begotten Son for our sakes. The Master is born, so we sing joyous songs to greet Him. At least a couple weeks before, people in the village come together and practice songs since Christ is born. If the village has a resident priest the priest will appoint someone, usually the reader of the church, to help with or lead the practice. Then when it's time to start starring on Christmas Day (which is Jan. 7th) the people would all know what to sing together. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, young boys spin the stars that represent the Star of the East. The boys spin and the choir sings. They leave the church and head to the priest's house. There are four types of jobs to do when starring. One is the candle bearer, representing the Light of Christ, he leads the faithful. Second is the icon bearer and he carries an icon of the Nativity of Christ. Third is the star representing the Star of the East that helped the wise men find the new King. Fourth are the faithful who sing all night long with love. So all these people gather just at the front door singing "Glory to God in the Highest." After they are done, the candle bearer with the icon and the Star with the faithful following go into the house. The candle bearer finds a place to help set the icon down. Once they do that the star faces the people and they start singing. After they are done the family members of the house go and venerate the icon. If they want, they give a donation to the church. Then the people that came in with the star follow and venerate also and greet the family or give a kiss of peace. If the family has cooked food they pray and eat. When they are done and are ready to leave, the candle, icon and star depart first and the rest follow. And they do it all over again at the next house.


Starring in Russian Mission
by Subdeacon John Askoak

A few days before starring the people of the village of Russian Mission are getting ready, hitting the store stocking up on gifts to pass out and making a list of what to cook. But the people of the church have others things to worry about. The order of whose house to hit up, getting through the service of the evening of the 6th and morning of the 7th. The fast is over! The morning of the 7th people are just about to star.

After the star is blessed and the star starts in the church, everyone heads up to Fr. Peter's house. When we arrive there, oh man, there are lots and lots of good foods--moose soup, cooked bear, and geese. What a place to break the fast! Everyone is there holding the song book in front of them. Then the 20 to 30 minutes of singing begins. Everyone waits to get stuffed with good food.

After the songs the star is hung on the ceiling, and "Our Father" is sung and the priest blesses the food. Mainly the Elders and Clergy sit at the first table. While everyone waits to get stuffed, gifts are passed around and candy is given to the youngsters.

Amongst all the talk you can hear the choir saying how they are going to lose their voices. After everyone is fed and the star has been there for about two hours, it goes on to the next house.

Recently we discovered that former faculty member Dr. Jeffrey Macdonald and his family have been accepted as missionary candidates with the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC). Continuing his teaching ministry, Dr. Macdonald will be ministering at Holy Resurrection Seminary near Durres, Albania, training clergy and workers for the Church in Albania, even as he did here in Kodiak.

Dr. Macdonald taught Church History and Old Testament here at St. Herman Seminary, holds an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies and Archaeology, studied at St. Vladimir's Seminary, and completed a Ph.D. In Early Christian Studies.

The Macdonalds and their five children now are arranging to speak with parishes and individuals who might be interested in supporting their future ministry, both in prayer and financially. Those interested may contact the Macdonalds by sending a message to j.macdonald@ocmc.org. To learn more about missions in the Orthodox Church, visit www.ocmc.org. 

As July is coming to a close, preparations are being finalized for the 2011 St. Herman Pilgrimage, which will be held August 7-9. Visit www.dioceseofalaska.org for general information about the Pilgrimage. Here's the general schedule of events:

Sunday, August 7
2:00 p.m. St. Yakov Tea at the Sun'aq Tribal Center
6:00 p.m. Akathist to St. Herman at Holy Resurrection Cathedral

Monday, August 8
8:00 a.m. Meet at Oscar's Dock to depart for Spruce Island
9:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy at Holy Resurrection Cathedral for those staying in Kodiak
10:00 a.m. Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Spruce Island, with lunch to follow at Monk's Lagoon
4 p.m. Soup dinner at Cathedral
6 p.m. Vigil for the Feast of St. Herman

Tuesday, August 9
9 a.m. Hierarchical Divine Liturgy
Grand Banquet to follow