OISM Symposium on St. John Chrysostom at Holy Cross Seminary

For the first time ever, students from five seminaries in North America gathered in a self-organized academic forum on Saturday, November 11, 2007. The topic was “The significance of the life and works of St. John Chrysostom for today.” Holy Cross Seminary in Brookline, MA hosted the event, which drew about forty seminarians from Holy Trinity Seminary, St. Tikhon’s, St. Vladimir’s and St. John’s (Greek Orthodox) Seminary in Toronto. The central event was a presentation by the V. Rev. Josiah Trenham, Ph.D. entitled “St. John Chrysostom for the Twenty-First Century” followed by student presentations. Fr. Josiah’s lecture was well received by the seminarians, who asked several questions. A group of visiting Protestant seminarians, which had come to observe an Orthodox liturgy, also listened to part of the lecture and asked questions. Holy Trinity Seminary presented two papers, one by seminarian Alexander Sandoval and the other by correspondence certificate student Matthew Long.

OISM conducted its usual business meeting. At this meeting however, the OISM student body voted to change the wording of its constitution to allow seminarians from Holy Trinity Seminary to become full voting members, which had been previously non-voting associate members. The change would also allow membership from other canonical Orthodox seminaries in North America should they be organized. Holy Trinity is pleased to be a full member of OISM and hopes for fruits pleasing to God.

Before the presentations, the seminarians attended a Byzantine liturgy commemorating St. Arsenios the Cappadocian and venerated his relics. The service was in Greek and English. The seminarians of Holy Cross chanted in the traditional Byzantine style.

In addition to the above, the seminarians found some time to socialize, take short tours of Holy Cross Seminary and downtown Boston, and to play an inter-seminary basketball game in the gymnasium at Holy Cross.

An anonymous donor and certain student members of OISM paid for most of Friday-night accommodations for the Holy Trinity Seminarians at a local hotel. Holy Trinity is grateful for this expense.

On Saturday evening and Sunday the Holy Trinity seminarians were warmly received by Fr. Victor Boldewskul and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Epiphany (ROCOR) parish in nearby Roslindale, NY. The seminarians attended the All-Night Vigil and Divine Liturgy, singing in the choir and reading parts of the service. Holy Trinity warmly thanks Fr. Victor, the sisterhood, and the parish for their hospitality and kindness.