On February 21-22, four representatives of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary attended the conference Byzantine Monasticism Past and Present, hosted by the Institute for the Study of Eastern Christianity at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.

 

Dr Vitaly Permiakov (Assoc. Professor of Dogmatic and Liturgical Theology) and three 2nd year MDiv students - Hieromonk Felipe (Balingit), Monk Subdeacon Theodore (Stanway) (HTOS '17), and Rassophore Monk Silouan (Brown) - attended lectures by a mixture of clergy, monastics, and scholars, including three Orthodox bishops, visiting hieromonks from Mount Athos and Mount Sinai, and others. In between lectures, the group was able to interact with the speakers and other attendees, with many interesting and edifying conversations taking place.

 

In addition to participating in the conference, the HTOS group was able to engage in some sightseeing in the nation's capital, as well as attending divine services at local ROCOR parishes - Saint John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington D.C. and Saint Herman of Alaska in Stafford, Virginia - where they shared in the fellowship of the communities there.

 

Prof. Permiakov and the graduate students of HTOS express their gratitude to our Rector, His Grace Bishop Luke, for his support of this edifying trip, as well as to the parish of St John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington D.C. for their hospitality.