A pan-Orthodox gathering of seminarians met on the weekend of March 23–25 at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts for the biannual meeting of the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement. Second-year students John Martin and Srdjan Puskar and first-year student Joseph Holman represented Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary.

The Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM) is an organization of students enrolled in Orthodox Christian schools of theological education of all jurisdictions who were part of, or in communion with the members of SCOBA . OISM strives to create a closer fellowship among students and affirm common Orthodox traditions in order to build a social network for present and future clerical and lay cooperation among the various local Orthodox Churches.

Representatives from Holy Cross, Holy Trinity, and Christ the Savior Seminaries participated at this meeting. They toured the campus grounds and attended divine services in the chapel at Holy Cross.

During the OISM general meeting on Saturday, the visiting seminarians worked on a proposal for the coming Fall meeting and voted on new officers. Two HTS students were elected to the board. Srdjan Puskar as Vice President and John Martin as Secretary will serve with incoming OISM President Chrysostom Arthur of Holy Cross. Officers are elected yearly. Since becoming a member school, the OISM body has consistently elected a representative from Holy Trinity Seminary in a show of both cooperation and respect.

A keynote address was given by Fr. Demetrios Costarakis, presiding priest of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Lexington, Massachusetts on the challenges he faced in his first years in the priesthood.

The next OISM general meeting will be in the Fall of 2012 at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.

Story: John Martin