Jordanville, New York, September 22, 2023
Photo: eadiocese.org
Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, New York, has trained hundreds of clerics for the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia since its founding in 1948.
And this year, the theological school is celebrating its 75th anniversary.
The main celebrations were held over the weekend of September 15-17, beginning with a concert entitled, “Bells, Choirs, and Resounding Virtuosity,” held a Christ Episcopal Church in Cooperstown, New York, on Friday evening, reports the Eastern American Diocese of ROCOR.
The concert was attended by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, His Grace Bishop Luke of Syracuse, the abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery and rector of Holy Trinity Seminary, and His Eminence Metropolitan Saba of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America.
On Saturday, the celebration continued with a theological conference at the seminary entitled, “The Orthodox Christian Seminary in the 21st Century.”
From the Sunday morning Liturgy. Photo: eadiocese.com
Bp. Luke of Syracuse opened the conference and offered the keynote address, “Holy Trinity Seminary and the Theological Schools of Pre-revolutionary Russia: Similarities and Differences.”
Various other lectures were presented by seminary faculty and guest lecturers.
Before the start of the All-Night Vigil that evening, the hierarchs, clergy, and faithful greeted the wonderworking Kursk Root and Hawaiian Iveron Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The weekend of anniversary festivities culminated in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, which brought together hierarchs of ROCOR, the Orthodox Church in America, and the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Joining Met. Nicholas were Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal, Bishop Irenei of London, Bishop Luke of Syracuse, Bishop Job of Stuttgart, and Bishop Jerome of ROCOR, as well as Archbishop Ireney of Ottawa of the OCA, and Bishop Isihije of Valjevo and Bishop Irinej of Eastern America of the Serbian Patriarchate.
The hierarchs were also joined by more than 50 diocesan and guest clergy, and the cathedral was filled to overflowing with Orthodox faithful of various jurisdictions.
Photo: eadiocese.org
The Liturgy was blessed with the presence of the Kursk Root and Hawaiian Iveron Icons. Following the service, a moleben was served to the Most Holy Theotokos.
In his remarks, Met. Nicholas spoke of the example of the elders of the seminary, including Archbishop Averky (Taushev; +1976), Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko; +1960), and Metropolitan Laurus (Škurla; +2008).
Bp. Isihije of Valjevo then read greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which emphasized the tight bond between the Russian Church Abroad and the Serbian Patriarchate.
Congratulations from Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, the Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, were also read.
Guests were then offered a fraternal meal in the monastery refectory, after which a photo was taken in front of the cathedral.
A festal banquet was held later that evening at Cooperstown’s historical Otesaga Hotel, during which a Synodal gramota was presented to Bp. Luke and the seminary faculty on the occasion of the jubilee.
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