Seminary welcomes special guests - 08/08/10

The second day of the St. Herman pilgrimage, we welcomed the Russian delegation for a visit and tour of St. Herman Seminary. The delegation was headed by His Eminence Justinian, Archbishop of Naro-Fominsk and Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, and Archimandrite Zacchaeus, Representative of the OCA to the Moscow Patriarchate. Several Archpriests and lay members also were part of the Delegation. All were greeted by Archpriest John Dunlop and the seminarians. The first place the Delegation was invited to visit was the chapel for prayer followed by a welcoming talk by Archpriest John. Next all went to view some of St. Innocent’s letters and St. Yakov’s journals from the archives. Senator Alexander P. Torshin, Vice-Speaker and First Deputy of the Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, presented gifts to the clergy, professors and seminarians. We were honored to have His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah with us while the delegation asked many questions about the coursework, life and activities of the Seminary. At the end of this question and answer session, Metropolitan Jonah expressed his insights into the special mission St. Herman Seminary has in preparing native clergy to serve in Alaskan parishes, which have a unique life and culture different than any Russian or American parish. This visit culminated with photo taking and dinner at the Seminary.