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.

As we approach the end of our 75th anniversary year, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your continued support. Thank you for your unwavering commitment. Your past gifts have played a vital role in enabling Jordanville’s Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary to address the countless facets of pastoral formation, especially for the parishes in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

On Giving Tuesday 2023, as we approach the end of our 75th anniversary year, we want to begin by expressing our heartfelt gratitude for the unwavering commitment of our many supporters of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary! 

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.

It is with immense joy and deep gratitude to God that we share with all of you the recent ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood of students and graduates of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary.

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.

Orientation for the new students took place on Monday, September 5 and Tuesday, September 6. On Thursday, September 7, at the conclusion of the 6am daily Divine Liturgy, a Moleben was served by the seminary’s rector, His Grace, Bishop Luke, together with monastery clergy. The 7th annual convocation then took place on Tuesday, September 12 at 2:15pm in the PVL hall.

On the morning of Thursday, September 28, 2023, the Seminary administration discovered an anonymous electronic communication which made the claim that there was a bomb placed in the Seminary.

In the past month, three current or former HTOS seminarians have been ordained to the Diaconate to continue their service to the Orthodox Church.

The seminary administration is pleased to announce that, during this 75 th anniversary year, and on the eve of the celebration, by vote of the diocesan council and with the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas, the Eastern American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia has assisted in establishing a scholarship at Holy Trinity Seminary in memory of Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko), of blessed memory.

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.

We are now less than one month away from the Seminary’s 75th anniversary weekend celebration, which will kick off with the Anniversary Concert just four (4) weeks from today on September 15 in Cooperstown, NY.

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.

On May 28, 2023,  the 7th Sunday after Pascha -  the Sunday of the 318 Holy Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary held commencement exercises at the conclusion of its 75th academic year.

On Friday, June 16, Hieromonk Theodore (Stanway), Deputy Dean of Students and lecturer at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, NY, will deliver a lecture entitled "Living a Christ-Centered Life in a Secular World" at St. Tikhon Church in Blountville, TN.

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary is excited to host the second of two lectures by noted art historian Joachim Pissaro, Ph.D., the Bershad Professor of Art History and Director of the Hunter College Galleries, Hunter College, New York.

On Friday, March 10, Holy Trinity Seminary launched a new seminarian-run podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, and YouTube. Entitled Light of the World, this podcast aims to tackle topics ranging from theology and philosophy to liturgics, Church and ROCOR history, and daily life at the seminary.

Protodeacon Andrei Psarev returns to St. Nektarios of Aegina Parish in Lenoir City (Knoxville), Tennessee.

For more information, visit the rocor studies website...

On Cheesefare Saturday (12/25 February), a group of HTOS seminarians visited Saint Herman of Alaska Western Rite Orthodox mission in Bovina, New York.

The feast of the Three Hierarchs, the patronal feast of the seminary, was celebrated on Sunday February 12, 2023 at Holy Trinity Monastery Cathedral in Jordanville, NY.  With 2023 marking the 75th anniversary of the seminary, this feast day also began a year-long celebration that will include commencement 2023, as well as several feasts throughout the year, culminating in the main anniversary event from September 15-17, 2023.

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary’s administration, faculty, and students are excited to announce that this year marks the 75th anniversary or Diamond Jubilee of the seminary: 1948-2023! All alumni, friends, and benefactors of the seminary are encouraged to make a pilgrimage to Jordanville at least once during 2023.

Fr Joseph Farooq, priest from the Orthodox mission in Pakistan visited Jordanville from January 23 through February 8. During his visit, he participated in the divine services and in the daily life of the monastery and the seminary.

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
 

On Monday, December 19, the feast of Holy Hierarch Nicholas, Wonderworker of Myra in Lycia, His Grace Bishop Luke of Syracuse celebrated the festive hierarchical Divine Liturgy in Holy Trinity Monastery.