Recruitment Conference Held at Seminary
The Seminary hosted a recruitment conference for prospective students.
Members of the faculty and administration of the Seminary with the students and conference attendees
During the week of February 16 through February 22, the Saint Photios Orthodox Theological Seminary hosted a recruitment conference for prospective students. The attendees, who included young people from various parishes of the American Eparchy of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece, were able to participate in the life of the Seminary by staying in student housing, by auditing classes, and by sharing meals with the students.
In addition to being able to experience the usual routine of the Seminary firsthand, the attendees also participated in several special events. On Sunday, February 16, the one-year memorial service for the Most Reverend Metropolitan Dr. Chrysostomos of Etna, the founding father of the Seminary, was held at his graveside, at the Saint Gregory Palamas Monastery, followed by a special memorial banquet hosted by the Sisterhood of the Convent of Saint Elizabeth the Grand Duchess of Russia, which was held in the dining hall of the Seminary.
On the evening of the following day, the Reverend Hierodeacon Father Photii, a graduate of the Seminary and now one of its Instructors, introduced the Patron Saint of the Seminary in a public lecture entitled, “Saint Photios the Great: Patriarch of Constantinople, Confessor, and Equal-to-the-Apostles.” Dr. John C. B. Petropoulos, an Adjunct Professor at the Seminary, also delivered a public lecture, on the evening of the following day, entitled, “The Reception of Aesop’s Fables in Ancient Greece and Byzantium.” Both lectures, which were held in the auditorium of the Seminary, were well received by their audiences.
On Wednesday, February 19 (that is, February 6 Old Style), the Most Reverend Bishop Dr. Auxentios of Etna and Portland, Rector of the Seminary, served a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in honor of the Seminary’s Patron, Saint Photios the Great, in the Church of the Convent of Saint Elizabeth the Grand Duchess of Russia. Before the commencement of the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence tonsured as Readers two of the seminarians, Mr. Timothy Granger and Mr. Uriah Lantzer. The Seminary community extends its heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to Timothy and Uriah, wishing them many years of service to the Church.
Following the Divine Liturgy, a festal banquet in honor of Saint Photios the Great, hosted, once again, by the Sisterhood of the Convent of Saint Elizabeth the Grand Duchess of Russia, was held in the dining hall of the Seminary. Later that evening, the students and the attendees were invited to join the Seminary administration in a discussion, held in the auditorium, about future plans for expanding the Seminary’s facilities. The final group activity was an informal dinner followed by a question-and-answer session, held in the dining hall on the evening of Thursday, February 20.
The Seminary sincerely thanks all of those whose participation in this recruitment conference made it such a wonderful success!
