Seminarians Attend OISM Meeting

With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Laurus, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary, three Jordanville seminarians - third-year student Monk Seraphim (Baltic), fourth-year student Felipe de Oliveira, and fifth-year student Alexis Pjawka - attended the spring 2006 meeting of the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM) at St. Tikhon's Monastery and Seminary.   This event, held February 17-19, was attended by representatives of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, NY), St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, PA), St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, NY), Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and Hellenic College (Brookline, MA), and St. Herman's Seminary (Kodiak, AK),  

His Grace, Bishop Basil of Wichita and Mid-America (Antiochian Archdiocese), delivered the keynote address on Friday, February 17. Saturday morning all participants attended the Divine Liturgy at the monastery church, at which Bishop Basil ordained two St. Tikhon's seminarians.   Before Vigil later the same evening there was free time to visit the bookstore and museum and to socialize with the other seminarians. Metropolitan Herman officiated at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, after which everyone returned to his home school.  

The goal of these meetings is to foster friendship between students from the various Orthodox seminaries in North America.   Although this is only the second OISM attended by students from Holy Trinity Seminary, this goal has already been partially realized. It is hoped that seminarians from all the Orthodox theological schools in North America will become personally acquainted with Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary.