The 28 th annual ROCM (Russian Orthodox Church Musicians’) Conference took place this year from October 2-6 at Holy Epiphany Parish in Boston, MA. The theme of this year’s conference was “Continuity and Growth: Ensuring the Future of Liturgical Chant in Our Parishes”.

From August 19 to 24, 2019 many patristics scholars from around the world gathered at the University of Oxford (Oxford, UK) for the 18 th International Conference on Patristic Studies. Created in 1951, this conference meets every four years and assembles hundreds of scholars from Europe, North America, Australia, Russia and other countries who present papers and communications on various aspects of the study of the Fathers of the Church. This year, aside from a few plenary papers, the conference featured more than five hundred scholarly communications and more than three hundred workshop papers. The conference traditionally includes many Orthodox participants, including the faculty members of Orthodox seminaries.

Rev. Demetrios Harper, Ph.D, is Holy Trinity Seminary's newest faculty member, hired as Assistant Professor of Church History and Moral Theology. Although occupying that position, Fr. Demetrios' talents are much more far-reaching, including Byzantine & contemporary philosophy, patristics and dogmatics. Therefore, the Holy Trinity community is thankful to God for this addition.

On Saturday, September 28 and Sunday September 29, with the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Luke, and at the invitation of Fr Valery Sukholobov, parish rector, the seminary choir, under the direction of Fr. Deacon Nicholas Kotar, sang the responses for the divine services at Our Lady "Joy of All Who Sorrow" parish in Philadelphia, PA.

The 2019-20 academic year opened at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary with a series of events during the first two weeks in September.

From June 18th to the 19th, 2019 Deacon Andrei Psarev, Associate Professor of Canon Law and Russian Church History at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Jordanville, participated in two sessions of the Inter-Council Assembly held in Moscow. An Inter-Council Assembly was founded in 2009 to develop position papers on a wide range of topics from the participation of the faithful in the Eucharist to the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception.

After two whirlwind years as Dean of Holy Trinity Seminary, Archpriest Alexander F. C. Webster, PhD, has retired and returned to his home and family in Virginia. During the annual Commencement exercises on June 2, the Seminary’s Faculty Council bestowed upon Fr. Alexander the title of Dean and Professor of Moral Theology Emeritus effective August 15, 2019.