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.