The feast of the Three Hierarchs, the patronal feast of the seminary, was celebrated on February 12th, 2025 at Holy Trinity Monastery Cathedral in Jordanville, NY.

With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas (Olhovsky), seminarians representing Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (HTOS) attended a retreat over the weekend of November 8-10, 2024, which was organized by the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM) at St. Tikhon’s Monastery and Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.

The seminary administration is pleased to share that Rev. Protodeacon Andrei Psarev, Ph.D., Professor of Canon Law and Russian Church History, and Seminarian John Kurr (3rd year B.Th. - undergraduate student - class of ‘26) attended the inaugural conference of the Orthodox Canon Law Society of North America (OCLSNA)

On the weekend of December 7-8, at the invitation of cathedral rector, Archpriest Serge Lukianov, His Grace Bishop Luke, bringing the Jordanville Pochaev Mother of God, led the seminary choir delegation to St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell (Lakewood), NJ. The seminary choir, under the direction of Deacon Nicholas Kotar, has made visits to the parish annually in December for 8 years in a row, beginning in 2017.

Our Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is multifaceted. Here one can see parishes consisting of the descendants of those who founded the ROCOR, parishes founded after the collapse of the USSR, and parishes consisting of those who, while living in their own native countries, have been converted to the Orthodox Faith. The vast majority of parishes of the Southern Deanery of the Eastern American Diocese fall into the latter category.

The Summer Youth Program at Holy Trinity Monastery was created to introduce young men to the deep spiritual traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

On the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, His Grace, Bishop LUKE of Syracuse, ordained Hierodeacon Ignacio (Matzschke-Brull) to the Holy Priesthood.

Rev. Hierodeacon Methodios (Pranić), Senior Lecturer in the Department of Liturgics, Sacred Arts, and Music at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Jordanville (NY), and a clergyman of the Diocese of Novi Sad-Bačka in Serbia, participated in the Ninth International Conference of the Society for Oriental Liturgy, held in Washington, DC from May 26-30, 2024. Father Methodios presented his insightful paper, “Temporal Harmony: Integrating Circadian Rhythm, Byzantine Timekeeping, and Eastern Orthodox Monastic Practices.”

The Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sitka and Alaska held its annual clergy retreat in Anchorage from Friday March 8th through Sunday, March 10th hosted by His Grace ALEXEI, Bishop of Sitka and Alaska. As a special guest, His Grace LUKE, Bishop of Syracuse and Abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, led our retreat meditations, speaking on the theme “Confessing Holy Orthodoxy.”  

Holy Trinity Seminary Dean, Nicholas Schidlovsky, M.F.A, Ph.D presented a scholarly talk at the 2024 COLLOQUIUM ON LITURGICAL MUSIC IN EASTERN ORTHODOX EDUCATION. This conference was held at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY on March 13 - 14, 2024.

Beloved fathers and brothers in the Lord!
Great Lent is approaching – a time set aside for delving into ourselves, for examining our lives, for repentance and correction. Great Lent is not only a time to refrain from certain types of food; it is a time for asceticism of the mind and senses, when we abstain from impure thoughts, separate ourselves from our habitual sins, entertainments, and harmful routines, when we fast, as St. John Chrysostom says, "with the mouth, the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies."

2023 marked the centenary of the founding of the monastery of St. Job of Pochaev in Ladomirová, Eastern Slovakia. I would not have known about this anniversary, had it not been for Dr. Daniil Černý, Director of the Slovak Institute in Rome, who invited me to speak at a conference dedicated to this centenary, an important cultural event for Slovakia.

On October 13th and 14th, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary’s own Canon Law professor, Rev. Protodeacon Andrei Psarev, along with one of his Canon Law students, John Keller, traveled to Boston, MA, to Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (HCHC) for the inaugural “Orthodox Canon Law Society of North America'' meeting.

This summer, from mid June through mid August, 2nd-year seminarian John Kurr followed through on an invitation to live in the St. Job of Pochaev monastery in Munich, availing himself of the chance, first, to get to know this Bavarian capital as well as numerous other parishes within the same ROCOR diocese, then to go farther afield and explore parts of ultimately six European countries.

This past summer, second year seminarian Aiden Harrington spent six weeks in the Western European Diocese of ROCOR, visiting numerous parishes in the United Kingdom and participating in the rich life of our church there.

Each year, the Byzantine Studies Byzantine Association of North America holds an interdisciplinary conference that attracts scholars from the United States, Canada, and Europe. On each occasion, the conference is held in a new location. This year’s conference was hosted
on October 26-29 by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC. A total of 63 papers were presented on topics in history, archaeology, paleography, art history, cultural studies, and theology.

A Pilgrimage to honor the memory of Brother Jose took place on Saturday-Sunday, October 28-29.

On the weekend of September 15-17, 2023, a three-day celebration took place between Cooperstown and Jordanville, NY to mark the 75th anniversary of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, having been founded in 1948 by Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko) of blessed memory.

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary is pleased to announce that Holy Trinity Publications through the Holy Trinity Seminary Press published the English translation of 'Foundations of Russian Culture.'

On Saturday, October 7th, the faculty and seminarians of Holy Triniy Orthodox Seminary hosted a group of pilgrims from Tennessee.

It has come to the attention of the administration that various social media sites and blogs are publishing mis-leading information about the status of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary’s accreditation. The following is intended to publicly set the record straight and to dispel false rumors that seem to now exist in the public domain.

This summer, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary sent some of its seminarians on placements in different parts of the world. Some were attached to parishes in the United States, some went to our parishes in England and Germany, while others went to our mission in Grenada. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be sharing their stories and reflections on the seminary website.

To mark the 15th anniversary of its foundation, Protodeacon Andrei Psarev’s website Historical Studies of the Russian Church Abroad (www.rocorstudies.org) is offering a subscription to daily reports about selected dates in Church history with an explanation of their significance. Besides ROCOR History these reports also cover general Church history and essential figures in it in an understandable and engaging manner.

Throughout the weekend of June 16th - 18th, HTOS Deputy Dean of Students, Hieromonk Theodore (Stanway), delivered a series of lectures at Saint Tikhon Orthodox Church in Blountville, TN.

We have recently been made aware of yet another attempt to build a windmill project in our backyard. While the previous plans were dismissed a few years back, now the companies involved are taking advantage of the New York State Energy Plan and its incentives to build renewables that will by-pass the environmental review and local input that put a halt to the previous windmill projects.

NATIVITY EPISTLE OF HIS EMINENCE NICHOLAS, METROPOLITAN OF EASTERN AMERICA & NEW YORK, FIRST HIERARCH OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA
 

The Russian Orthodox Youth Committee and ROCOR’s Fund for Assistance (FFA) are both assisting in and adding to the celebration of the seminary’s 75th anniversary by dedicating their annual calendars to Holy Trinity Seminary.

Why should you support the seminary? And in particular, why should you make it a priority today on November 29 (Giving Tuesday) 2022, since there are likely many other charities and not-for-profit organizations asking for your help today?

Reader Nicholas Chapman, Publications Director of Holy Trinity Publications, traveled to Ohio State University earlier this month to present a paper at a conference of the Association of Eastern Christian History and Culture. The conference took place from November 3-5. 

On October 7-9th, Jordanville seminarians participated in the Fall 2022 retreat of the Orthodox Inter-Seminary movement at St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.

Year-End appeal for the Jordanville Seminary Annual Fund is launched with the goal of raising $500,000 by December 31.

Seminary Professor travels to Belgrade to participate in the 25th International Congress of the Society for the Law of the Eastern Churches

Late July (28-29) this past summer, over a dozen educators gathered at St. Tikhon's Seminary in South Canaan, PA to discuss contemporary pastoral training in Orthodox educational institutions across the country. 

The seminary administration is pleased to announce that two recent alumni have begun teaching in the seminary this fall.

His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS of Manhattan (HTOS class '98) was elected on August 31/September 13 by the ROCOR Synod of Bishops to serve as the seventh First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. The First Hierarch also serves as the Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York (the EAD's ruling bishop). Axios Axios Axios to Metropolitan-Elect Nicholas!

With the arrival of the new academic year, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary is pleased to announce the beginning of its new AXIOS Program.

Jordanville’s Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary opened the 75th academic year 2022-2023 on Monday, September 5.

On June 5, 2022,  the 7th Sunday after Pascha -  the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council, Holy Trinity held commencement exercises at the conclusion of its 74th academic year. The day began with a Hierarchal Divine Liturgy celebrated by His Grace Bishop Luke of Syracuse, Abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery and Rector of the Seminary. During the sixth hour, His Grace tonsured undergraduate senior, Jorge Luque-Martin a Reader.

Holy Trinity Publications and Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary are excited to host noted patrologist and author Dr. Jean-Claude Larchet as part of a rare visit to the United States.

The Eastern American Diocese of ROCOR is holding its Northern Lenten Clergy Retreat at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville from March 28-30, followed in several weeks by the Southern retreat at St Mary of Egypt Church in Roswell, GA, which is scheduled to run from April 12-14. Protodeacon Andrei has been invited to give the main lecture at both retreats entitled; “Pivotal Points of the History of the Russian Church Abroad”.

Thanks to many of our wonderful benefactors, we are pleased to announce that the final amount raised for Giving Tuesday was $27,485.77!

And thanks to several other generous donors, we can now add to that the match of an additional $25,000, bringing the amount raised for Giving Tuesday overall to $52,485.77.

Therefore; for the Jordanville Annual Fund 2021 Year End Appeal, we have presently raised $70,000.00 on the way to the overall goal of $250,000.00 by 12/31/2021.

Many thanks to those who have already donated to this Year-End Appeal, and if you have not, please give generously! 

On the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary,two graduate students were ordained to the Holy Diaconate, and to the Subdeacon. AXIOS to Deacon Romanos and Subdeacon Peter!

Jordanville’s Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary opened the 2021-22 academic year on Wednesday, September 1, reaching the exciting milestone of having a total of 40 students on campus. This student body includes nine (9) new graduate, and five (5) new undergraduate students. Thirty-Two (32) of our students are from ROCOR, and eight (8) are from other Orthodox jurisdictions.

From May 26–28, 2021, a regular plenary session of the Inter-Conciliar Assembly of the Russian Orthodox Church took place in Moscow, in the Church Council Hall in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

By God’s ineffable goodness, we enter once more into the joyous days of the great feasts of Christ’s Nativity and Theophany. I sincerely greet you all with this world-saving joy! The feat of faith and its fruit in life must be this joy: from the triumph of the Theophany ‒ God’s manifestation and incarnation ‒ and the sound of the Heavenly doxology and otherworldly peace being sung over Bethlehem.

Holy Trinity Seminary announces the beginning of a brand-new initiative to invest time, resources, and energy into the creative teaching of music and liturgics.

The Administration of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary is pleased to announce the following promotions and appointments within our faculty.

On the weekend of December 5-6, His Grace Bishop Luke traveled with the Jordanville Pochaev Icon and the Seminary Choir, under the direction of Deacon Nicholas Kotar, to St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell (Lakewood), NJ at the invitation of the rector, Archpriest Serge Lukianov.

It is with deep respect and admiration that Holy Trinity Seminary acknowledges the transfer of an esteemed and beloved colleague to St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary this last fall.

Jordanville’s year-end goal is to raise $165,000 by Dec 31. Your donation on #GivingTuesday will go a long way… We urge you to help us now!

As you may recall, last July’s mailing for the Jordanville Annual Fund 2020 opened with the following wonderful words by Bishop Luke: “I greet each of you with great joy in the name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!”  —Yes, many things have continued to be difficult during these months, even to this very moment… But I’d really like to keep up the spirit and simply let you know: to complete this year successfully, we need to raise an additional $95,000 toward our goal of $200,000 by December 31. 

—Would you consider helping us get there as soon as possible?

Nicolas G. Schidlovsky Speaks with the HTS Alumni.

Holy Trinity Seminary Press is pleased to announce the publication of Healing Humanity: Confronting our Moral Crisis. This collection offers the perspectives of fifteen Orthodox Christian scholars and writers, drawn from their presentations at a conference hosted at Holy Trinity Seminary in March of 2019, Chastity, Purity, Integrity — Orthodox Anthropology and Secular Culture. The conference and this publication were spearheaded by Dean Emeritus of Holy Trinity Seminary, the V. Rev. Archpriest Alexander F.C. Webster.

As we eagerly approach the commemoration of Holy Trinity Seminary’s 75th Year (2023), we are planning an inspiring array of activities and forward-looking initiatives such as the creation of a new liturgical arts library and the rescheduling of the international conference entitled “Russian Ecclesial Identity in a Changing World: Pathways, Thresholds…Formative Encounters” (originally announced for October 2020). Successful completion of housing for our church’s future clergymen will provide a fitting start to this anniversary celebration! 

Jordanville’s Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary opened the 2020-21 academic year with a series of events which took place during the first two weeks of September.

Jordanville Annual Fund 2020 appeal has just launched

Seminary’s Associate Professor Deacon Andrei Psarev’s participated in the Inter-Council Assembly between Dec 2019 & March, 2020.

The Faculty and Staff of Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville regret to announce that the conference -- "Russian Ecclesial Identity in a Changing World: Pathways, Thresholds...Formative Encounters" -- will not take place this October 28-31 as originally planned. We look forward to announcing an alternative schedule just as soon as the conditions change for optimal accomplishment of this exciting public undertaking. Please stay tuned!

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary announces that on Sunday, May 31, 2020, Priest Daniel Franzen became the first candidate in the seventy-two-year history of the seminary to be awarded the graduate level degree of Master of Divinity, summa cum laude. Because of well-known restrictions, a limited format was used this year in place of the annual commencement.

Suggested reading during the Covid 19 Coronavirus Pandemic

On the weekend of February 22-23, the Sunday of the Last Judgement, and with the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Luke of Syracuse, seminary rector,  Jordanville’s Holy Trinity Seminary Choir traveled to St. Panteleimon’s Russian Orthodox Church in Hartford, Connecticut.

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.

Bishop Luke, Pochaev Icon and Seminary Choir visited St Alexander Nevsky Diocesan Cathedral

#GivingTuesday December 3, 2019, ‘Jordanville Annual Fund’ is the way our donors can support the mission of the Seminary.

On Saturday, November 9 and Sunday November 10, with the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Luke, and at the invitation of Archpriest Victor Potapov, cathedral rector, the Jordanville seminary choir, under the direction of Deacon Nicholas Kotar, sang the responses for the divine services at St John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, DC. 

The Jordanville Annual Fund is your opportunity to support all that we strive to accomplish daily. It is mainly the generosity of donors like you that makes it possible for us…

October 21-23: Holy Trinity Monastery & Seminary in Jordanville hosted the EAD’s annual fall clergy conference and a PaTRAM master class for male choir. These events coincided with the EAD’s celebration of the 35th anniversary of Metropolitan Hilarion’s consecration to the episcopate.

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.

Nicolas Schidlovsky, PhD, began his tenure as the new Dean of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary on August 15, succeeding Archpriest Alexander F.C. Webster, PhD, who has retired as Dean and Professor of Moral Theology (See his profile in a previous posting.)

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.

Seminary Rector, His Grace, Bishop Luke, the Seminary Dean, Archpriest Alexander FC Webster, and the Seminary Director of Admissions & Registrar, Priest Ephraim Willmarth joined the liturgical weekend at St Alexander Nevsky Diocesan Cathedral in Howell, NJ, on June 27-28, that also marked the conclusion of the “Summer Academy” of the PaTRAM (Patriarch Tikhon Russian American Music) organization.

In a meeting of the Episcopal Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which took place June 14/27, 2019, heard: a short report of Archbishop Gabriel about the current situation in Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville and in the seminary situated there.

It was decided:

1) To confirm as dean of the main theological school of the Russian Church Abroad N. G. Schidlovsky, elected by the Council of Trustees of the Holy Trinity Spiritual Seminary.

2) To call upon the parish priests of the parishes of the North American dioceses to buy candles from the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, pointing out the difficult financial situation of this monastery.

Professor Nicolas Schidlovsky, M.F.A., Ph.D., traveled from Princeton, New Jersey, on May 15 to present a public lecture in Seminary Hall to the Seminary’s students, faculty, and administration, as well as the monastics and members of the local community.

The two-day celebration of Pentecost and Holy Spirit Day at Holy Trinity Seminary & Monastery on June 15-17 (see the Holy Trinity Monastery website for liturgical details) included significant personal moments for one current seminarians and two alumni. 

With God's grace, Holy Trinity Seminary had the joy of graduating three seminarians in the Class of 2019:

Milan Dragisic- Valedictorian
Milos Bozic
Dragan Vujicic

May 25, 2019 marked the one-year anniversary of the repose of Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov, the beloved pastor of St. Alexander Nevsky Diocesan Cathedral in Howell, NJ.

An enthusiastic amateur historian from Michigan, Andrei Alekseevich Lyubimov, began compiling in 1996 an annotated database of the departed who are buried in the cemeteries of Holy Trinity Monastery.  The results of his research were published in the journal Letopis’ Russkogo zarhubezh’ia (no. 2, 1996 and no. 3 for 1997). ...Each video is accompanied by a reference to the book, Dzhordanvil’skii nekropol’, and may be viewed here: http://www.rocorstudies. org/jordanville/.

Christ is Risen! Христосъ воскресе!

With God's grace, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary has celebrated another glorious and joyous Pascha, this year for the first time with His Grace Bishop Luke (Murianka) officiating as a bishop!

The exhibition “Last Days of the Last Tsar” at Jordanville’s Russian History Museum closes in less than a month. The exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the tragic death of Tsar Martyr Nicholas II and his family. We encourage you to visit the “Last Days of the Last Tsar,” which has been extended until May 17 due to popular demand.

On March 14/27, 2019, 'The Divine and Holy Liturgy of St Gregory the Dialogist', more commonly known today as the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts, was celebrated by His Grace, Bishop Luke of Syracuse, in the Dormition (cemetery) Chapel at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY.

With Bishop Luke, Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary and abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery presiding and offering all prayers, distinguished Orthodox clergy and scholars from across the country gathered at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary from March 7 to March 9.

On behalf of our seminarians, faculty, and administration, I would like to thank each and every donor for your contribution, no matter the amount, to our fall/winter fundraiser, which concluded on 2/28/19.... - Bishop Luke (Murianka), Rector

On the seminary’s patronal Feast of the 3 Hierarchs; Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, our rector, Archimandrite Luke  (Murianka) was elevated to the dignity of the episcopate, and consecrated as the Bishop of Syracuse, Vicar of the President of  the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR. On Monday evening, February 11th, the eve of this feast, Our First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America & New York led the Rite of Nomination. Participating in these joyous services as co-consecrators were His Eminence, Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye & Melitopol, His Eminence, Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal & Canada, and His Grace, Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan.

The Seminary community congratulates Deacon Andrei Psarev for successfully defending his doctoral dissertation (“thesis” in Europe) titled, Chasing Canon 15 of the First and Second Council in Constantinople (861): A Study of the Limits of Communion in the Byzantine Church (861- c.1350), on November 21, 2018, at Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

A generous benefactor has, with God’s help, just pledged a dollar for dollar match until February 28. Just prior to this, we have surpassed the $100,000 mark, and are now 2/3 of the way to our goal of raising $150,000. Any monies donated to HTOS between now and February 28th will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $25,000.
Please spread the word and help us achieve our goal by raising an additional $25,000 over the course of the next six weeks. For those who have already contributed to this campaign, thank you once again for your generosity and continuing support, and may God bless each of you in this new year!”

We are grieved to announce the sudden repose of HTOS Alumnus (1998) and beloved professor Dmitry Pavlovich Anashkin on Thursday Dec. 27, 2018.  Dmitry Pavlovich died in his home of a sudden stroke in a Pushkino, a suburb of Moscow.  He is survived by his father Pavel, and his wife Irina. Please offer your prayerful support.  Dmitry Pavlovich taught Russian History, Byzantine History, and Church History.  A Facebook group has been established "to preserve memories of the great character and scholar..." https://www.facebook.com/groups/1930965326958973/

The Seminary choir travelled to Lakewood, NJ, during the weekend of December 15-16, with the blessing of Archimandrite Luke, Rector, and at the invitation of Mitred Archpriest Serge Lukianov, Dean of St Alexander Nevsky Diocesan Cathedral. The choir sang the responses for both the Hierarchal All-Night Vigil and Divine Liturgy under the direction of Deacon Nicholas Kotar, Seminary Choir Director and Lecturer in Church Music. Priest Ephraim Willmarth, Director of Admissions and Asst. Dean, and Deacon Michael Pavuk, Director of Development, led the delegation, which was accompanied by Hieromonk Felipe (Balingit), a first-year student in the Seminary’s new Master of Divinity degree program.

We left a dark and snowy Jordanville early in the morning to begin what would appear to the outside observer to be the most unlikeliest of journeys: one to the New York/New Jersey area to gain a greater understanding of the long history of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Deacon Photie Erdman became the first student in the new Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program to be ordained to the Holy Priesthood on Sunday, November 4, 2018. A poignant sign of divine providence, Father Photie’s ordination corresponded with the visit to Jordanville of the Wonderworking Myrrh-Streaming Iveron Icon from Hawaii.

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary welcomes two new faculty members who began teaching for this fall semester of 2018.

Fr John Boddecker is the part time Lecturer in Old Testament.

Miss Elizabeth Purdy has replaced Dr Elena Nelson, who has taken a fellowship position in Moscow, Russia, as the full time Instructor of Russian and Church Slavonic.

The entire community at HTOS welcomes Fr John and Miss Purdy.

On September 10, 2018, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary celebrated its Second Annual Fall Convocation as well as its 71st year of operation. The entire student body and all available faculty gathered together to launch the new school year and meet together for the first time. The sense of collegiality and fellowship resonated among all present.

It is with tremendous gratitude and joy that we announce that on Friday, August 24, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary successfully reached our most recent fundraising goal of $50,000 to fund 5 scholarships for our new Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree program.

An exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of the Holy Royal Martyr Tsar Nicholas II and his family opened on July 17, 2018, at the Russian History Museum housed in the Dean Nicholas N. Alexandrov Seminary building, co-located with Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. 

The three-week Summer Youth Program completed its most successful year at Holy Trinity Monastery on July 15. Twenty high school students from 15 to 18 years of age, the largest group in the camp's history, gathered from across the United States and Canada to experience a unique schedule of daily liturgies, lectures, work alongside the monastics, nightly reflections, and recreational activities in beautiful, rural upstate New York.

Archpriest Alexander F. C. Webster, PhD, Dean and Professor of Moral Theology at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, offered a multimedia presentation at the inaugural Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute (PaTRAM) “Summer Academy” for church choir conductors and singers. The conference sessions were hosted for four days on the campus of the Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ.

On June 3, 2018, the Sunday of All Saints, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2018.  The graduating class included six seminarians who received the degree of Bachelor of Theology and two recipients of the Certificate of Theological Studies.

Text from the article on the EA Diocese website: On Friday, May 25, the leave-taking of the feast of the Ascension of our Lord, senior-most cleric of the Russian Church Abroad, Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov, reposed in the Lord. Fr. Valery’s clerical service spanned 55 years. In the course of his service to the church, Fr. Valery designed and oversaw the construction of the magnificent St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, NJ where he served as rector for many years.

Once again, five seminarians (Milos Bozic, Milan Dragisic, George Luimes, Dragan Vujicic, Christian Watts) represented Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (HTOS) at the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM) hosted by St. Tikhon's Seminary during the weekend of May 11-13.  Promoting congeniality and fellowship, this event brings together students from all Orthodox jurisdictions to "commune from a single chalice," as fourth-year HTS seminarian George Luimes describes the spirit of his experience.

As the culmination of their first or second year at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (HTOS), students Ivan Gryaznov, Mykola Ivanchuk, Evan Nalitov, James Racz, and Lazarus Sparandera, accompanied by two professors, Deacon Andrei Psarev and Dr. Vitaly Permiakov, drove four hours to New York City on Friday May 11, for Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary's annual field trip. Always an eagerly anticipated excursion, this trip not only supplements our Seminary's history courses with a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but also extends our spiritual mission through an evening with Bishop Nicholas.

Deacon Michael Pavuk, Director of Development, traveled to the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign on April 26 for a presentation to the Synod of Bishops on the “State of the Seminary” on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Administration, Faculty, and students of Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville.

The HTOS choir traveled to Holy Trinity Cathedral, Toronto, on the weekend of April 21-22, 2018, at the invitation of the Cathedral’s rector, Mitred Archpriest Vladimir Malchenko, cathedral rector and with the blessing of Archimandrite Luke, Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary.

Jorge Luque Martin, our 2nd year seminarian from Spain, is dealing with an aggressive form of cancer. Please consider donating by following this link to his GoFundMe page.

An early Pascha and an unusually long winter combined this year to frame a snow-white Paschal celebration.

Beginning with Great and Holy Thursday's foot-washing service conducted by our Rector, Archimandrite Luke, the final days of Lent were filled with liturgical services, including Passion Matins (with the readings of the Twelve Gospels), Royal Hours, Great Friday Vespers (with the procession with the Holy Winding Sheet), Holy Saturday Lamentations at 2:00 a.m., the reading of the entire New Testament book of Acts of the Apostles on Holy Saturday evening followed by Midnight Office. Since heavy snow fell as a backdrop to these services, monks were clearing the snow as priests, other monastics, seminarians, and the faithful were processing around the Church for the 2:00 a.m. Lamentations!

To link the beginning with the end, Holy Saturday 2018 marked the rare correspondence of the Great Feast of the Annunciation with Holy Saturday, a juxtaposition inspiring mystical contemplation of the beginning of the Son of God’s economy of salvation in the womb of the Theotokos and the culmination of His earthly ministry His death on the Cross and Resurrection from the tomb.

The wintry weather made a poignant ending to Great Lent and a delightful Pasha!

After the rigors of Passion Week with its intense but prayerful focus on the sacrifice of Christ, Pascha broke forth into joyful triumph at precisely midnight on April 7. Following the procession around the church, we celebrated the Paschal Matins and Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Feasts, proclaiming “Hristos Voskrese!” and “Christ is risen,” and singing the Paschal troparion repeatedly. The Pascal breakfast that followed around 4:30 a.m. was festively complete with kulich, holodetz, and cheese paskha.

We thank the Risen Christ, and we thank you, our supporters, during this Bright Week!  

Hristos Voskrese!  Christ is Risen!  Christos Anesti!

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the repose of our beloved Met. Laurus (Škurla), clergy from across the United States and Canada joined Bishop Nicholas at Holy Trinity on Friday, March 16, 2018, for a Hierarchal Presanctified Liturgy & Pannikhida.

After the Liturgy, monastics, clergy, seminarians, and guests continued the commemoration with a shellfish feast in the trapeza. That special, festive meal was followed by a two-hour Pannikhida in the cathedral.

A decade ago, Vladyka Laurus reposed on the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, a symbol of his life-long struggle to preserve the true faith while maintaining harmony within the Church. That difficult and delicate work culminated with his successful efforts to bring ROCOR back into communion with the Moscow Patriarchate through the Act of Canonical Communion, which he and Patriarch Alexei II signed in Moscow.

Vladyka Laurus served as dean of our Seminary, as well as the First Hierarch of ROCOR and the abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery. In fact, he was so beloved by the students that a majority of the clergy who came to Jordanville for the weekend's festivities are Seminary alumni, ranging from the class of 1964 to the class of 2014.

Click here to read reflections on the life of Met. Laurus

Christ is in our midst!
 
I am delighted to announce that Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Jordanville, New York, has met our goal of raising a record $91,000 in contributions to our Giving Tuesday campaign! 

The Seminary choir travelled to Washington, DC, during the first weekend in March, with the blessing of Archimandrite Luke, Rector, and at the invitation of Mitred Archpriest Victor Potapov, Rector of St John the Baptist Cathedral in DC. The choir sang the responses during both the English and Church Slavonic Divine Liturgies under the direction of Deacon Nicholas Kotar, Seminary Choir Director and Lecturer in Church Music. Priest Ephraim Willmarth, Asst. Dean and Director of Admissions, and Deacon Michael Pavuk, Director of Development, led the delegation, which was accompanied by Dr. Vitaly Permiakov, Asst. Professor of Dogmatic and Liturgical Theology.

Elena Nelson’s recent book, Tradition and Innovation in Russian Church Slavonic Hymnography, was published by Academica Press in November 2017. The publisher designated it a Featured Book.  

A delegation from Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (HTOS) traveled to St Basil’s Orthodox Church (OCA) on February 25 to participate in a Pan-Orthodox Vespers to commemorate the Sunday of Orthodoxy. The delegation was led by Archpriest Alexander F. C. Webster, Dean and Professor of Moral Theology.

Following Russian tradition, monastics, faculty, seminarians, and staff began their Lenten purgation with an intensive week saturated with between 9 and 10 hours of church services each day, including Midnight Office, Matins, a Panikhida for all the names submitted to the Monastery for memorials, the four Canonical Hours, Vespers, Typica, and Great Compline with the Canon of St. Andrew, spiritual readings and councils.

With the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Basil (Essey), Deacon Michael Pavuk, the Seminary’s Director of Development traveled to Wichita Kansas in mid-February to address the attendees at the clergy retreat of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid America of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese.

With God's grace, the help of our generous benefactors, and the diligence of our faculty and staff, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary was once again blessed to celebrate our patronal feast day of the Three Hierarchs: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom. On February 11 and 12, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, the monastic community, the seminarians, faculty, staff, and friends gathered to praise God the Holy Trinity, honor those great saints of the fourth century, and extol the virtues of the Seminary.

Deacon Michael Pavuk, HTOS Director of Development, brought the Jordanville Pochaev Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, with the blessing of Archimandrite Luke and at the invitation of Archpriest Serge Lukianov, Rector, to the parish of the New Martyrs & Confessors of Russia on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, for their patronal feast, which occurred this year on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son.

WASHINGTON — Fifty-six Orthodox Christian clergymen and lay leaders, including the heads of two leading Orthodox seminaries in the U.S., have issued a public statement calling on church leaders to defend Orthodox teaching on the creation and calling of man as male and female by opposing the appointment of deaconesses in the Orthodox Church.

On Tuesday, December 27/January 9, 2018, the third day of the Feast of the Nativity of our Savior Jesus Christ and the Feast of the Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen, Bishop Nicholas (Olhovsky) of Manhattan paid an Archpastoral visit to Holy Trinity Monastery & Seminary.

On the weekend of December 16-17, 2017, the Feast Day of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, a large delegation from Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, Jordanville, NY, traveled to St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, NJ, to honor Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov on the occasion of his 90th birthday.

Fr. Deacon Andrei Psarev (Ph.D. Cand.), Holy Trinity Seminary's Assistant Professor of Russian History and Canon Law, traveled to Moscow again in October to share his academic research to local churches and conferences in the region.

The annual St. Herman’s Youth Conference began on Saturday, December 23, at Holy Dormition “New Divievo” Convent in Nanuet, NY, with a molieben, followed by a greeting from Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada.  His Eminence called attention to the two major commemorations in 2017: (1) the tenth anniversary of the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church, and (2) the 100th anniversary of the restoration of the Patriarchate in Russia and the subsequent election of St. Tikhon (Bellavin) as the first Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia after more than 200 years.

Schema-Archdeacon Ambrose, who graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary in 1982 and fell-asleep-in-the-Lord in San Francisco on Sunday, November 26, was buried in the Monastery cemetery on Friday, December 1.

November 18, 2017 marked the 100-year anniversary of St. Tikhon's elevation to Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia. Thus we remember the saint whose meekness and humility earned him the love and devotion of all. On that day 100 years ago, St. Tikhon (Bellavin) quoted the scroll eaten by the Prophet Ezekiel, on which was written "lamentations, mourning, and woe" (2:10).

Some Orthodox Christians today are trying to re-institute the ancient Church order of “deaconess,” despite the uneven history of that female office in the Church, as well as that of the male diaconate.

Deacon Andrei Psarev’s public lecture in Seminary Hall on Thursday, November 9, 2017, titled “The Inter-Council Presence: The Patriarch of Moscow's ‘Think Tank,’” generated vigorous discussion on a wide range of questions.  

On Wednesday, November 08, 2017, at 5:30 EST, Mitred Archpriest Wsewolod Drobot (HTOS 1965) reposed in the Lord. Fr. Wsewolod was the retired rector of the Nativity of the Mother of God parish in Albany, NY, and presided as the new church building was completed.  Fr. Wsewolod was born on April 1, 1930 in Zaporozhiye, Ukraine.  He was a clergyman for 57 years from the time of his ordination to the diaconate.  He was a graduate of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary and lived in a house near the monastery with his family.  Predeceased by his matushka Nadezhda in 2015, Fr. Wsewolod is survived by their seven children and seven grandchildren.  May God grant Fr. Wsewolod the Heavenly Kingdom!

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Director of Development.  Rev. Deacon Michael Pavuk will officially begin his service to the Seminary on November 1, 2017.  The Director of Development is in charge of the overall fundraising plan and coordinates all aspects of fundraising, particularly major gifts and planned giving, and public relations efforts at HTOS.

Traditionally, the Seminary’s academic year has commenced with the Divine Liturgy, followed by a molebin and a talk (beseda) by the HTOS Rector, currently V. Rev. Archimandrite Luke (Murianka).  This year, building upon our legacy, HTOS’ new dean, the V. Rev. Archpriest Alexander Webster, organized a more robust and definite beginning to the academic year with a convocation in Holy Trinity's mode of celebration. Thus, on the first day of classes, the entire Seminary administration, a number of faculty, and all students gathered in the Seminary Hall for presentations and fellowship.

Holy Trinity Seminary graduate, Nathan Williams (HTOS 2005), was ordained to the priesthood on September 10, 2017, the feast day of St. Alexander Nevsky Church in Richmond, Maine.

In the 91^st year of his life, Subdeacon Evgenii Iosifovich Klar reposed in the Lord, surrounded by his family, at home in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he lived with his wife, Lidia Mikhailovna, after retiring from Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in 2005.

With God's grace, this year's Summer Youth Program has been the most successful yet, having grown to accommodate 20 pious Orthodox high schoolers. For three weeks, these young men participated in the rigorous Church life of the monastery, attended daily lectures and spiritual reflections, and engaged in recreational activities around the monastery and in the nearby communities. After this intensive regimen, everyone inevitably comes out transformed.

On March 11, 2017 Assistant Professor of Canon Law and Russian Church History, Deacon Andrei Psarev concelebrated at the All-Night Vigil with Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, rector of the Church of the the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem  (in the Briusov Pereulok) in Moscow, in the church’s main side chapel, and at the Divine Liturgy on the following day.  This was followed by a talk in the parish house on Pivotal Points in History of the Russian Church Outside Russia accompanied by infographics.  Fr. Nikolai, formerly secretary of the Commission on the Restoration of Unity in the Russian Church, added to the talk with living recollections of the process of restoring relations, of which he was a direct participant.  This was already the third appearance by Deacon Andrei before the hospitable parish family of the Voskresenie Slovushchego Church na Uspenskom vrazhke over the past year.

In January 2017, two Holy Trinity Seminary Professors, Deacon Andrei Psarev and Dr. Elena Nelson, were in Moscow, giving presentations and engaging in professional development. 

At Holy Trinity Seminary, we realize the necessity of travel beyond a classroom. Therefore, in the summer of 2015,students of Byzantine History went to Istanbul in the summer of 2015, and this spring, they joined students of Liturgical Theology to explore Byzantine liturgical art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City.

On Thursday, October 27th, 2016, Dr Alexis Klimoff, Emeritus Professor of Russian Studies, Vassar College, and one of the foremost experts on Alexander Solzhenitsyn, delivered an illustrated lecture titled "Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Overview of Life, Works and Influence." in the seminary hall.
Dr. Klimoff portrayed the life of Solzhenitsyn and his works in that context.  Of particular mention was how his work "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," which gave a vivid illustration of life in Stalinist prison labor camps, was actually published in the Soviet Union with the express approval of Communist Party Secretary Nikita Krushchev.  The lecture was recorded and is now available for viewing. 

This year marked the 25^th Anniversary of our Summer School of Liturgical Music, Holy Trinity Seminary's fully-accredited certificate program in liturgical music. Interested participants came from throughout the country to strengthen their musical skills and scholarship in pursuit of the art of directing choirs in the Russian Orthodox Church. They took courses in musicianship, singing, liturgics and Russian music history, learning such chants as Znamenniy and contemporary polyphony. This year's 25^th Anniversary was celebrated with a marvelous gala in Chicago's Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral, where the director of the music program, Archpriest Andre Papkov, serves and functions as dean of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska...

It was so successful that we filled our dormitory with 17 open-minded young men who made a commitment to learn the truths of God and to explore the life of the Church in the setting of Holy Trinity Monastery! There was so much interest that some applicants, unfortunately, had to be turned away. We are hopeful to be able to expand this unique program that incorporates liturgical life, religious education, service to the monastery, and fellowship. We are very excited about this development!...

           Edmund Louis Underwood                                               

                       James Racz

                       Michael Bell

Adding to the musicality of this past summer, Holy Trinity Monastery hosted the First Annual Patriarch Tikhon Russian American Music Institute (PaTRAM) Young Singers' Conference to coincide with its Labor Day Pilgrimage of St. Job of Pochaev. This three-day conference focused on two Hierarchical Divine Liturgies under the capable direction of Dr. Peter Jermikov and in conjunction with the combined Holy Trinity Monastery/Seminary choir. For the first time in many years, the antiphons of the Divine Liturgy were sung with two choirs with the mixed youth choir on the left and the Monastery male choir on the right. Participants also had time to enjoy a barbeque and late summer afternoon at the scenic Glimmerglass State Park on Lake Otsego.

From September 21 to 25, 2016 the solemn celebrations took place in Moscow, dedicated to the 1000-year anniversary of Russian monastic presence on Mount Athos. Our Rector and Associate Professor of Patrology, the Very Rev. Archimandrite Luke (Murianka), was invited to take part in the celebrations, which included an academic conference, as well as a meeting of all abbots and abbesses of the Russian Church. On September 29, Deacon Andrei Psarev, a member of our faculty, interviewed Fr. Luke in the abbot’s office in Jordanville, asking him to share with our readers his impressions from this solemn event...

On Friday, October 7, Deacon Andrei Psarev, Assistant Professor of Russian Church History and Canon Law at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, presented the results of his doctoral research at the 42nd Annual Byzantine Studies Conference, which took place this year at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY...

On June 30- July 1, 2016 the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) has gathered for its regular meeting in San Francisco, CA under the presidency of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad. The hierarchs were assembled in San Francisco on the occasion of the celebrations marking the 50^th anniversary since the repose of Holy Hierarch John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San Francisco. During the meeting, Archbishop Gabriel was added to the Holy Trinity Seminary Board of Trustees. The Synod also approved new seminary statutes.

On Sunday, May 29, 2016 Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary concluded the 2015-2016 academic year with the Commencement Ceremonies celebrating the achievements of the Class of 2016. His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, presided at the Hierarchal Vigil Saturday evening and at the Divine Liturgy on the Sunday of Samaritan Woman in concelebration with the clergy of Holy Trinity Monastery. ...

The spring 2016 HTOS exam sessions have begun.  Students are released from most obligations in order to study exclusively for exams.  In most cases, one exam per day is assigned.  Students in their final year will take comprehensive exams in the last week before graduation.

On May 10, 2016, Metropolitan Hilaron made his Paschal Visit to Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary. During the Hierarchical Liturgy, Metropolitan Hilarion tonsored first-year seminarian Michael Storozhev a reader, ordained him to the Sub-Diaconate, and then ordained him to the Diaconate after the Anaphora. We wish Fr. Michael and his wife many years!

On April 9-10, 2016, on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, a group of the second year seminarians attended the divine services at the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church of Nativity in Erie, Pennsylvania and enjoyed the hospitality of this unique community of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, led by the Very Rev. Archpriest Pimen Simon.

In the Orthodox Church bishops are not only required to defend canons, but they are the ones who decide how and when to apply them.  Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for Canon Law students to have an opportunity to meet with a proper canon law practitioner - a bishop.

During the two hour-Skype seminar on April 13 with His Eminence Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) students were able to learn about variety of pastoral questions related to canons, and not the least among them, "why do we need to study canons if at the end of the day a bishop will decide how to implement them?"

The Seminary administration, course instructor Deacon Andrei Psarev, and the students of Canon Law thank His Eminence for making himself available to share his expertise with the future priests and lay leaders of the Russian Church Abroad.

On Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1 a group of HTOS students travelled to New York City in order to view the Byzantine art collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The group included the seminarians enrolled in the courses of Byzantine History (B.Th. 2^nd year) and Liturgical Theology (C.P.S. 2^nd year), and was accompanied by Dr Vitaly Permiakov who teaches liturgical theology at the Seminary.

On Thursday, March 24, Dr Dimitri Korobeinikov, Assistant Professor at the Department of History at the University at Albany, SUNY, presented a lecture in the Seminary Hall entitled “The First Crusade (1096–1099) as observed through Byzantine and Muslim sources: Anna Comnena, Matthew of Edessa, Bar Hebraeus, Ibn al-Athir.” Dr Korobeinikov is a renowned specialist in the history of the Byzantine Empire, who recently published a monograph “Byzantium and the Turks in the Thirteenth Century” (Oxford UP, 2014) and more than thirty articles in books and scholarly journals. The lecture attracted seminarians, faculty, and the members of the community, interested in Byzantine history. The 45-minute presentation was followed by a lively Q & A session.

On Saturday, March 26, 2016, Dr Alexander Pavuk delivered a lecture on scientism and mythologies of progress in modern 'science-religion' debates...

On the weekend of February 26-28, 2016, six seminarians from Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary attended and participated in the Spring OISM (Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement) gathering hosted by St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY.

From February 10 -  12, Holy Trinity Seminary celebrated the Feast of the Three Hierarchs, the seminary's patronal feast day. On Wednesday evening, the celebrations began with a festive meal in the summer kitchen with visiting alumni. The meal was full of fond recollections about each alumni's time as a seminarian. On Thursday morning, alumni gathered in the seminary hall to hear about current programs at the seminary and meet with faculty. Rector Archimandrite Luke discussed the announcement of the now 4-year Bachelor of Theology program, the creation of an Alumni Association, and plans to implement an Masters program. On Wednesday night, all gathered in Holy Trinity Cathedral for a Hierarchical Vigil served by Archbishop Gabriel, Bishop George, and Bishop Nicholas.

In the morning, a hierarchical liturgy was served followed by a festive reception in the seminary hall with alumni, students, faculty, and brothers of Holy Trinity Monastery. During the reception, Assistant Dean Fr Ephraim Wilmarth handed out scholarships to students.

On Wednesday, November 18 at 5:00pm Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary presented a lecture by our abbot and rector, Archimandrite Luke (Murianka) titled "Material, The Soul, Relics, and the Transfer of the Remains of Bishop Konstantin From Texas to Jordanville." 

В среду, 18 ноября, в 17 часов, в Свято-Троицкой Духовной Семинарии состоился лекция наша настоятелья и ректора Архимандрита Луки о Епискорпе Константине.

From October 9 to 10, 2015, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary held its second annual academic symposium, entitled “Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow (1865-1925): His Life and Times.” The Symposium was dedicated to the Saint’s “double” anniversary this year: 150 years since his birth, and 90 years since his blessed repose.

Mr. Roman Shliakhtin delivered this presentation entitled "Representations of the Byzantine Empire in the Russian Popular Culture and the Problems of the Historical Perception in the Twenty-First century" on October 8, 2015 to the Byzantine History students.  Other members of faculty and administration also attended. 

Mr. Shliakhtin is a Junior Dumbarton Oaks Fellow (a Harvard-affiliated institute in Washington, D.C.).  Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary is pleased to have been given the privilege of hosting Mr. Shliakhtin's first presentation here in the United States.

Mr. Shliakhtin showed how Byzantine History has been used in public media in Russia and abroad, and gave perspective on the historical accuracy of those presentations.  Mr. Shliakhtin's work underscored the value of  Byzantine History in contemporary times, that the enormous contribution of the longest-running empire in history is still relevant today, and a proper understanding of it is valuable in many ways.  Students of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary study Byzantine History in preparation for Church History studies, in order to understand the basic historical framework and context of major Church events, such as the Ecumenical Councils.

On behalf of Archimandrite Luke (Murianka), the faculty, staff, and all at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, many of whom knew Fr. Deacon Nikolai personally, we would like to express our deepest sympathies to the Triantafillidis family and greater Russian Orthodox community of San Francisco and the Western American Diocese for the passing of the beloved and memorable Protodeacon Nikolai.  May his memory be eternal! 

From October 10-15, 2015, HTOS professor Deacon Andrei Psarev took part in the twenty-second Congress of the Society for the Law of the Eastern Churches, held in Thessaloniki. The SLEC academic forum was established in 1971 at the University of Vienna to study the canon law of both Orthodox churches and those allied with Rome. 

n appeal was made to Holy Trinity Monastery to assist with refurbishing the roof on the church in Ladomirova, Slovakia, where many of the monastics of our monastery resided before the advance of the Soviet Army. A donation was sent, and the reply was an invitation from His Beatitude Rastislav of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, to Archimandrite Luke to take part in their celebration of the feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. A large portion of the Holy Head is enshrined at the church. Father Luke arrived on the eve of the feast day itself and attended the services there, the celebration being transferred to the nearest Sunday. Immediately after the Liturgy, Father Luke began his extensive tour of all the local parish communities.

On Wednesday, September 23, 2015, The Right Reverend Bishop John (Abdalah) of Worcester and New England (Antiochian Archdiocese) visited Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary to give a lecture entitled “Pastoral Care in a Complex Time” for seminarians and faculty. Bishop John has both theological and psychological education, with a Master of Divinity and a doctorate in counseling.

On Thursday, September 17, 2015, Rector Archimandrite Luke (Murianka) gave his opening talk to the seminarians. He spoke about the importance of improving oneself spiritually and intellectually while at the seminary and throughout life. Following the talk, the seminary had its annual opening BBQ with the seminarians and faculty behind the dorm.

New and returning seminarians and faculty were greeted with a brand new welcome sign officially ushering in the new school year.

Выпускники Свято-Троицкой семинарии несут свое служение в разных условиях и качествах. Мы главным образом знаем о тех, кто служит в епископском и пресвитерском сане. Меньше о диаконах и совсем ничего знаем о тех кто не принял священный сан. К этой категории относятся те, кто трудится на приходах, в тюрьмах и просто на светских работах. Записанная по Скайпу беседа с Константином Сегргеевичем Ноговицыным (выпускником 2007 г.) должна послужить началу восполнения этого пробела.

Holy Trinity Seminary graduates carry out their ministry in a variety of places and capacities. The ones we know about the most tend to be our graduates in the episcopal and priestly ranks;  we know less about the deacons and hardly anything at all about those who have remained as laymen. These include both parish and prison workers and men in ordinary civil employment. This Skype interview with Constantine Sergeevich Nogovitsyn, our 2007 graduate should begin to redress this imbalance.

From July 14 to 21, 2015, two instructors from Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Jordanville, Rev. Deacon Andrei Psarev and Dr Vitaly Permiakov, and two second-year students, Hegumen Constantin (Churchin) and Novice Angelos Stanway visited historical sites in Istanbul (Constantinople) and Iznik (Nicaea). On July 18, the group from Jordanville paid a visit to the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Phanar district of Istanbul.

In the summer of 2015, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary Professor Deacon Andrei Psarev led an excursion to Istanbul with members of his Byzantine History Class. 

On May 24, 2015 Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary had its 67th Commencement and marked the end of the 2014-15 academic year and the conclusion to the years of seminary studies for the Graduating Class of 2015. Metropolitan Jonah (OCA) presided at the hierarchical vigil and liturgy.

The publishing work of Holy Trinity Monastery is expanding into the academic field with the creation of a new imprint. Under the editorship of Dr Vitaly Permiakov, Holy Trinity Seminary Press will publish studies of the theology, history, and liturgy of the Orthodox Church. Liturgical texts and guidance for the spiritual life will continue to be the mainstays of Holy Trinity Publications’ flagship imprint, the Printshop of St Job of Pochaev

On Friday, March 27^th, 2015, students of pastoral theology, along with HTOS assistant to the dean Rev. Ephraim Willmarth and instructors Rev. Deacon Andrei Psarev and Dr. Vitaly Permiakov made a three-day visit to the St. John the Baptist parish in Washington D.C. The trip, part of Holy Trinity Seminary’s pastoral theology curriculum, focused on the growth of the seminarians’ pastoral knowledge and exposure to parish life, events, and divine services.

For the second Sunday of Great Lent, the feast of St. Gregory Palamas, Holy Trinity Seminary Choir made a historical first visit to Holy Trinity Cathedral in Toronto, Ontario. The octet came at the invitation of Holy Trinity Cathedral rector and HTOS graduate Archpriest Vladimir Malchenko (1973). 

On March 7-8, the Russian Church history classes at Holy Trinity Seminary made a trip to the Russian Orthodox Old Rite parish of the Nativity of Christ in Erie, PA. After the visit, the faculty and students went to Niagara Falls.

For The Triumph of Orthodoxy, Bishop Jerome served the Hierarchical Vigil and Liturgy at Holy Trinity Monastery. The Rite of Orthodoxy service followed Sunday's Liturgy

For the First Week of Lent, Seminarians join Holy Trinity Monastery for the full cycle of services.

Archbishop Gabriel, a graduate of Holy Trinity Seminary, served the Hierarchical Vigil and Liturgy for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs. This is the patronal feast day for the seminary. After Liturgy, students, faculty, and alumni celebrated the feast with a reception in the Seminary Hall.

In May of 2010, Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary received an order from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that it is necessary to comply with new regulations, forcing HTM/HTS to remove and replace single-walled underground heating oil and fuel tanks, among other regulations

Nativity Troparion:

Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, hath shined the light of reason upon the world; for thereby they that worshipped the stars were instructed by a star to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know Thee, the Dayspring from on high. O Lord, glory be to Thee.

Donate today to help support Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary.

HTOS graduate and instructor Deacon Andrei Psarev took part in a meeting at the Department of External Relations in Moscow on November 19, 2014 with other reperentatives of ROCOR.  The discussions concerned newly-glorified saints who are celebrated in ROCOR and the possibilites of adding them to the menalogion for the whole ROC.

On Friday, November 14^th, and Saturday the 15^th, the St. Alexander Nevsky Diocesan Cathedral in Howell, New Jersey, celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the episcopal consecration of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, and the 80^th anniversary of the founding of the Eastern American Diocese.

Taking part in the celebrations was the Holy Trinity Seminary choir, consisting of an octet that included the seminary choir’s conductor, Reader Nicholas Kotar. After singing at the Panichida and All-Night Vigil, the choir was joined at the following morning by the church community to partake in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. All of the festal divine services took place under the protection of the highly venerated icons of the Russian Diaspora – the wonderworking Kursk Root and myrrh-streaming Iveron-Montreal "Hawaiian" Icons of the Mother of God.

For further information, please access the following link to the Eastern American Diocese’s article: http://www.eadiocese.org/News/2014/nov/mh30.en.htm

On Wednesday, November 5, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary marked the feast of St James the Brother of the Lord and the first bishop of Jerusalem with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy attributed to the apostle at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. On Friday, November 14, on the feast of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, the Rector of the Seminary, Archimandrite Luke, celebrated the Liturgy of St James in English at the Dormition cemetery church

On Sunday, November 9, 2014  Rev. Deacon Andrei Psarev, HTOS Instructor in Canon Law and Russian and Byzantine History, delivered a lecture at Holy New Martyrs and Confessors Orthodox Church in Norwich, CT, a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.    

From October 25 - 26, 2014, Holy Trinity Seminary graduate Archpriest Victor Potapov and about 100 parishioners from St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, DC made an annual pilgrimage to Holy Trinity Monastery to visit the grave of Jose Muñoz-Cortes, keeper of the myrrh-streaming “Montreal” Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. Joining the pilgrims for their annual pilgrimage was His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah (retired-OCA), and the myrrh-streaming "Hawaiian" Iveron Icon of the Mother of God.

On Friday and Saturday, October 10–11, 2014, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary hosted an academic conference entitled “The Brightest Luminary of the Russian Land”: The Life and Legacy of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. 

On October 8, Holy Trinity Monastery celebrated the feast day of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The Feast Day is the official beginning of the St. Sergius Conference hosted at Holy Trinity Seminary. 

On October 7, Archimandrite Luke, Rector of the Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, together with seminary professors, Deacon Andrei Psarev and Vitaly Permiakov, met with Jelisei Heikkilä, an Orthodox canon law scholar from Finland.

On September 30, Holy Trinity Seminary held its first monthly informal faculty luncheon with the Rector of the Seminary. The luncheon was held in the newly renovated monastery summer kitchen. All faculty were invited to enjoy a seasonal Fall meal with Rector Archimandrite Luke (Murianka). Fr. Luke Murianka helped in the preperation of the meal by cooking the butternut squash soup.

On Sunday Septemeber 28, Holy Trinity Seminary had a BBQ for the students to kick off the 2014 - 2015 school year. The BBQ was held in the back of the Seminary dorm. Seminarians led the BBQ by cooking sausages and hamburgers. Rector Archimandrite Luke (Murianka) and the Student Inspector Fr. Cyprian were both at the BBQ to celebrate the new school year.

Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada served the Hierarchical Vigil for the the Exaltation of the Cross. After the Great Doxology, the Cross was brought out and Archbishop Gabriel led the service of the Exaltation of the Cross. On Saturday morning, Archbishop Gabriel led the Hierarchichal Liturgy for the Feast Day.

September 15, 2014, was the first day of the school year at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary. After the morning's Liturgy, Rector Archimandrite Luke (Murianka) led a moleben for the students and faculty. Following the Liturgy, Fr. Luke spoke to the students and faculty about the upcoming school year and blessed the new seminarians to wear the cassock and belt.

On September 1^st, 2014 Holy Trinity Publications released a new translation of spiritual talks delivered by the ever-memorable Archbishop Averky of Syracuse and Holy Trinity Monastery.

On July 26, students in the Summer School of Liturgical Music at Holy Trinity Seminary finished their final exams. Five graduates of the program were required to lead the choir in a few selected pieces of music. The Summer School is a three year long program that takes place for two weeks each year at Holy Trinity Seminary. Gaduates are certified as church choir directors and/or readers. Academic credit is given after successful completion of the third summer. For more information about the school click here.

May 25, 2014 was graduation day at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary. Bishop George of Mayfield served a Hierarchel Vigil and Liturgy and offered opening remarks at the Seminary's Commencement. The Commencement Speaker was Archpriest Serge Kotar. The Foundation of Russian History Museum also officially opened to the public during Commencement. Following the Liturgy, Archpriest Vladimir Tsurikov was given a citation from Metropolitan Hilarion for his work with the new museum at Holy Trinity Monastery.

On May 18, 2014, the Foundation of Russian History hosted a rededication of the Foundation, and a preview of a new exhibit entitled "The Russian Word and Image: Four centuries of books and art." At the event, the Foundation also unveiled the new Russian Nobility Association Reading Room. The museum and reading room are located at Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary in Jordanville, New York.

From May 17-18, Metropolitan Jonah lead a Hierarchal Vigil and Liturgy at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary. Metropolitan Jonah visited the Monastery and Seminary to take part in a preview of The Foundation for Russian History Museum. The museum official opens to the public on May 25 on Holy Trinity Seminary's graduation day.

"On May 6, 2014 Archimandrite Luke delivered a lecture at St. Mary's Cathedral (OCA) in Minneapolis, MN. The talk was part of an annual Saint Alexis (Toth) lecture series sponsored by the St. Mary's Boriss-Hansen Committee. St. Alexis is one of the great missionary confessors of the Orthodox Church and was lauded as such in Father Luke's talk."

For Radonitsa, Seminarians joined the brethern of Holy Trinity Monastery and the community to pray for the departed including those buried in Holy Trinity Monastery Cemetery.

It is the day of Resurrection; let us be radiant, o ye peoples; Pascha, the Lord's Pascha; for Christ God hath brought us from death to life, and from earth to Heaven, as we sing the triumphal hymn.

He who closed the abyss lies before us dead; and as a corpse the Immortal is wrapped in linen with sweet spices and laid in a tomb. The women came to anoint Him with myrrh, weeping bitterly and crying: "This is the most blessed Sabbath on which Christ sleeps, but on the third day He shall rise again."

​"Noble Joseph, taking down Thy most pure Body from the Tree, and having wrapped It in clean linen and covered It with spices, laid It in a new tomb."

"O Lord, Thou hast vouchsafed the wise thief Paradise in one moment. Enlighten me also by the Tree of the Cross, and save me."

The Icon of the Mother of God "Softener of Evil Hearts" will be visiting Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary from Wednesday, April 16 to Sunday, April 20.

On April 15, 2014, an Unction Service was served at Holy Trinity Monastery. Abbot Fr. Luke (Murianka) led the service with six other priests to administer the Sacrament to the faithful.

"O Christ God, enthroned in Heaven and on earth riding a donkey's colt, You have accepted the praise of the angels and the hymns of the children who were crying out to You: "Blessed are You who come to restore Adam."

Today is the beginning of our salvation, The revelation of the eternal mystery! The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin As Gabriel announces the coming of Grace. Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos: Rejoice, O Full of Grace, The Lord is with You!

On Friday, April 4, 2014, following a matins service and akathist to the Mother of God, Holy Trinity Seminary graduate Priest Nicholas Olhovsky was tonsured a Monk by Abbot Fr. Luke (Murianka). Fr. Nicholas has been elected to be the next Bishop of Manhattan. 

From March 24 -26, 2014, the clergy of the Canadian Diocese held their Lenten retreat at Holy Trinity Monastery. On Tuesday, clergy met in the Holy Trinity Seminary Hall with discussions lead by His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada. Archbishop Gabriel is a graduate from Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary. Following supper, clergy and seminarians attended Great Compline together.

On Wednesday morning, clergy attended all the Lenten services including a Hierarchal Presanctified Liturgy. Seminarians participated in various aspects of the Hierarchal Presanctified Liturgy.

From March 12 -14, the Northern Lenten Retreat for the Eastern American Diocese was hosted at Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary. On March 13, Metropolitan Hilarion opened the retreat by speaking about the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Eastern American Diocese. In the afternoon, a round-table discussion was held for clergy and seminarians. On March 14, a Hierarchal Presanctified Liturgy was celebrated by Metropolitan Hilarion and Bishop George.

On the first Sunday of Great Lent, Bishop Jerome celebrated the Triumph of Orthodoxy Vigil and Liturgy at Holy Trinity Monastery. Seminarians were involved in many aspects of the service.

For the first week of Great Lent, Seminarians join the brethren of Holy Trinity Monastery in attending all of the services. Services include Midnight Office, Matins, Vespers, and Great Compline with the Canon of St. Andrew.

From Monday, February 24 to Thursday, February 28, a group of church singers and directors gathered in Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary to rehearse and study with Maestro Vladimir Gorbik, choirmaster of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra Dependency in Moscow.  This was an official event of the newly-formed Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute (PaTRAM), which is dedicated to training the next generation of Russian Orthodox Church musicians as well as enhancing the ability of the current generation to “positively improve the prayerful sound and quality of Orthodox Church singing.”  This particular event created a male-voice choir to pray in Holy Trinity Cathedral.  

From February 21-23, Holy Trinity Seminary hosted the Spring Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement Conference. Many Orthodox seminaries from around North America came to Holy Trinity Monastery to participate in lectures and attend services together. The keynote speaker Rev. Kevin Kalish, Ph.D. on “The Language of the King James Bible.” Seminarian Nicholas Kotar also gave a lecture about Orthodoxy and culture.

From February 11-12, Holy Trinity Seminary celebrated The Feast of the Three Hierarchs with Metropolitan Hilarion, Metropolitan Jonah (OCA) and Archbishop Gabriel. The Seminary had a reception following Wednesday's Liturgy.

From February 1 - 2, a few seminarians and instructors visited the Nativity of Christ parish in Erie, Pennsylvania. Seminarians were given the opportunity to see services performed according to pre-Nikonian liturgical regulations. 

This new, well-illustrated book studies the life and works of the first First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, the Blessed Metropolitan Antonii (Khrapovitsky).

On December 23, 2013, four seminarians gave a presentation at the Saint Herman’s Youth Conference in Sea Cliff, New York. The Saint Herman’s Conference is a yearly conference which began at Holy Trinity Monastery, where Orthodox youth come together for a few days at the time of the Julian Calendar feast of St. Herman of Alaska, which falls on the Gregorian Dec. 25, in order to attend relevant lectures, enjoy the Divine Services together and meet other Orthodox youth. The presentation was attended by a large audience and included His Eminence, the Very Reverend Gabriel, Archbishop of Montreal and Canada.

On December 9 (Nov. 26 OS), Holy Trinity Monastery celebrated an All-Night-Vigil for the Kursk-Root Icon.  On the following day, (Dec.10/Nov.27) the Divine Liturgy was followed by a pannykhida for all of the reposed Romanov family. 

At 1:00pm in the Holy Trinity Seminary hall there was a special presentation, including a lecture with PowerPoint presentation and a choir concert in honor of the Romanovs.  Refreshments were provided.

On Monday December 2 at 5 PM in the Seminary Hall, author, professor, and еntrepreneur Alexis Sukharev met with the students of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary to speak about his book “Life and Death of Priest Ilya Popov”. The book was published in Russia in 2013 with the blessing of The Most Rev. Mercury, Metropolitan of Rostov and Novocherkassk.

On October 15, Holy Trinity Seminary’s library was awarded a donation of books from the House of Russian emigre Alexander Solzhenitsyn which is part of the State Institution of Culture in Moscow.  HTS was represented by His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, first Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Rev. Archimandrite Luke (Murianka), the rector of Holy Trinity Seminary, and Rev. Archpriest Vladimir Tsurikov, director and curator of the Russian History Foundation as well as HTS trustee. All three are graduates of HTS.  Fr. Luke officially signed the papers for the donation of the books at the Russian Consulate in New York City.

On September 24, 2013, His Grace, Bishop Mstislav of Tikhvin, Russia, visited Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary as part of a tour of Orthodox Christian churches, monasteries and holy sites in the United States. At six o’clock that morning, a Hierarchal liturgy was served in the Holy Trinity Monastery Cathedral, in which students served in the the altar and sang in the choir.

On Tuesday, September 17,  Nicholas Chapman, director of Holy Trinity Publications, interviewed priest John Strickland concerning his own work and HTP’s latest publication titled “The Making of Holy Russia: The Orthodox Church and Russian Nationalism before the Revolution” This book is a critical study of the interaction between Russian Church and society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

The Society for the Study of Canon Law of the Eastern Churches was established at the University of Vienna in 1971. It is a purely academic and non-ecclesiastical body that aims to gather into one place the academic research of those Catholics who have a special sui juris (non-Western) Canon law focus and the Eastern Orthodox. There is currently no other comparable academic conference concerning canon law. The Congress is held every two years.

On September 13, 2013, Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), spoke to students and visitors about his role serving as the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. Fr. Roman is a graduate of Holy Trinity Seminary (Class of 1984) and lived at Holy Trinity Monastery for 30 years as a hieromonk, conducting the monastery choir, and teaching classes in Liturgics, Church Music and Typikon at the seminary.

The new academic year began on Monday, September 9, 2013 with a service of intercession (moleben) after the 6 a.m. Divine Liturgy. Archimandrite Luke (Murianka), HTS rector and acting dean, and the Monastery clergy served the moleben. Recent graduate (HTS 2013) Deacon Peter Markevich, now also teaching Liturgics, also served. Before the moleben, Fr. Luke gave some brief remarks: “Today we’re just planting the seeds, but they need to be watered and cared for. This is done by going to church every day, and throughout the day, and praying, ‘God, help me.’”

On Sunday, May 26, 2013, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary celebrated its 65th annual commencement. Candidates who had successfully completed all requirements were awarded Diplomas of the Bachelor of Theology Degree and the right to wear the seminary ”znachok,” or badge. These together signify the culmination of years of successful study, examinations, participation in Holy Trinity Monastery’s Divine Services, and labor at monastery obediences.

From April 1–3, the Eastern American Diocese sponsored a Northern Lenten Retreat at Holy Trinity Monastery. Clergy from both the diocese and the Moscow Patriarchate parishes participated in the retreat. His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion (HTS 1972) and His Grace Bishop George of Mayfield (HTS 1980) came for the conference, and there were over eighty attendees.

The focal point of the Holy Trinity Seminary course “History of the Russian Church-326” is the study of the tragic events connected with the liturgical reforms of the seventeenth century and the subsequent split. Therefore, it has almost become a tradition to visit the Nativity of Christ parish, a former Priestless Old-Believer parish which was received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in 1983.  The parish is located in Erie, PA, and services are performed according to pre-Nikonian liturgical regulations.

On Monday, March 24, His Grace Bishop Jerome of Manhattan met with instructors and students of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Jordanville. The meeting took place within the coursework of Canon Law, the subject that strongly demands guidance from an Orthodox bishop. 

On Saturday, March 16, on the feast of the Commemoration of all our God-bearing Fathers who shone forth in asceticism, the fifth anniversary of the repose of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Laurus -- fifth First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad -- was prayerfully commemorated at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY.

On March 3, 2013, singers from Holy Trinity, St. Tikhon’s, and St. Vladimir’s Seminaries joined together for the first time to sing a concert under the direction of Vladimir Gorbik, the choir director at the Moscow Representation Church of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra. The concert commemorated the 75th anniversary of St. Tikhon’s and St. Vladimir’s, and well as the 65th anniversary of Holy Trinity Seminary.

St. Jonah Orthodox Church, a parish of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America, sponsored an exhibit of historic Russian icons and a Liturgical Choral Concert in the English language, March 1-3, 2013 in Spring, Texas. Guest speakers were the Archimandrite Luke (Murianka), Dean of Holy Trinity Seminary and Abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery, along with Dr. Kurt Sander, composer of Orthodox Liturgical Music and Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition and Music Department Chair at Northern Kentucky University. 

On the weekend of February 22–24, 2013, four students from Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary attended the Spring General Assembly of the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM) hosted by Christ the Savior Seminary (Carpatho-Russian Diocese) in Mercer, Pennsylvania. OISM is composed of representatives of Orthodox seminaries in the United States who meet twice a year for inter-jurisdictional fellowship and pastoral education. The delegates from Jordanville this semester were third-year students John Martin and Srdjan Puskar and second-year students Stanislav Matveev and Stefan Stoyanov. John Martin and Srdjan Puskar also serve as this year’s OISM Secretary and Vice-President, respectively.

On the eve and day of February 12 (Jan. 30 by the Old Calendar), the students and faculty of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary gathered for a hierarchical All-Night-Vigil and Divine Liturgy to commemorate the feast of the Three Hierarchs, St’s Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom. Metropolitan Hilarion, primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, officiated. 

On Tuesday, November 19, Holy Trinity Publications launched a new book under its academic imprint, Holy Trinity Seminary Press entitled ‘Tsarist Russia in Greater Syria: Defending Orthodox Interests 1825-1917”

The fall 2017 Eastern American Diocesan clergy conference was held in the Holy Trinity Monastery from October 23-26. The Hawaiian Myrrh-streaming icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was present from October 26 through the weekend, when the annual pilgrimage from Washington, D.C. took place.