In recent weeks two alumni of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Dns. Timothy Aznavourian and Michael Sabounjian, were ordained to the priesthood for the Armenian Church’s Eastern Diocese of America.
Deacon Timothy, now Priest Nigoghos (Nicolas), was ordained May 28 and 29, 2021 through the hand of His Grace, Bishop Daniel Findikyan at St. Mark Armenian Church, Springfield, MA. The occasion was a historic one, marking the first time an American-born deacon has been ordained to the Armenian priesthood by an American-born bishop.
Bishop Daniel also presided over the ordination of Dn. Michael, who was ordained to the priesthood June 4 and 5, 2021 at Holy Resurrection Church in New Britain, CT. Father Michael had been serving there as deacon-in-charge. His father, Fr. Krikor Sabounjian, served as sponsoring priest during the ceremonies.
After their ordinations, both new priests began the traditional forty days of seclusion and prayer that follows on the heels of a priestly ordination in the Armenian Church. Upon completion of the days of seclusion and prayer, the priests will serve as pastors at the parishes where they were ordained—Fr. Nigoghos at St. Mark and Fr. Michael at Holy Resurrection.
Father Nigoghos Aznavourian was born in Boston to parents David and Patricia Aznavourian. Baptized as Timothy, he grew up in Malden, MA, later moving to Rhode Island as a young adult. He is a 2020 graduate of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. He also received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Rhode Island College.
Father Michael Sabounjian, a native of the Holy Translators parish in Framingham, MA, is a graduate of Boston College, St. Nersess Seminary, and St. Vladimir’s (’18). Following graduation he served a pastoral internship at the Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church of Providence, RI, under the tutelage of Fr. Shnork Souin.
The community of St. Vladimir’s Seminary wishes the newly ordained Priests Nigoghos and Michael and their families many years!
Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Alumnus Dn. Anthony (Angelo) Niqula was ordained to the holy priesthood May 17, 2021, at his home parish, St. Mary Orthodox Church, Palos Heights, IL. His Grace, Bishop Anthony, a fellow St. Vladimir's alumnus, presided over the ordination.
Father Anthony graduated from St. Vladimir’s Seminary with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 2019, with a commendation for service to the community. He served as student council president at the Seminary and sang frequently with the St. Vladimir’s Seminary Octet and Chorale; he is one of the voices featured on Arise! Music of the Psalms, an album released earlier this year by SVS Press. He is also a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 2016.
As a deacon, Fr. Anthony had been serving as pastoral assistant at St. George Orthodox Church of Boston while Byzantine music at Hellenic College Holy Cross, Brookline, MA. He, Khouria Evangelia, and daughter Rafaela will return to serve at St. George following the ordination at St. Mary.
The community of St. Vladimir’s Seminary wishes them all many years!
During and shortly after St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s 2021 Spring Semester, six new priests and five new deacons were added to the ranks of our student body and alumni fellowship. Additionally, one alumnus was elevated in rank and another has been elected to the Holy Episcopacy.
We keep them all in prayer as they continue in their ministries. Axios!
Seminary graduate and current Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) student Priest Alessandro Margheritino has been appointed secretary of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). The Holy Synod confirmed the appointment Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
Father Alessandro was born and raised in Palermo, Italy. Raised in a Roman Catholic family, Fr. Alessandro was chrismated in the Orthodox Church at the age of 17. In Italy, he attended a linguistic lyceum where he studied Italian, English, and French literature for five years. He later studied at the University of Palermo where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and political science. Prior to enrolling at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in Yonkers, NY in 2011, he and his wife, Matushka Anna—who is currently the Seminary’s graphic designer—were members of St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church in Columbus, OH. Father Alessandro was an active student during his time at St. Vladimir’s, serving as student council president and graduating with a commendation for service to the community when he completed his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 2014. He was ordained to the priesthood by His Beatitude on the Feast of Ascension on May 29, 2014 at the Seminary’s Three Hierarchs Chapel. He was assigned to St. Innocent Church the same year. In recent years, Fr. Alessandro has also served as president of the Greater Cleveland Council of Orthodox Clergy and spiritual advisor for ZOE for Life!
Father Alessandro and Mat. Anna have two sons, Luca and Nicolas.
The community of St. Vladimir’s Seminary wishes Fr. Alessandro, Mat. Anna, Luca, and Nicolas many years!
Archimandrite Gerasim has been serving as rector of St. Seraphim of Sarov Cathedral in Dallas, TX, administrator of the Diocese of the South Diocesan Council, and dean of the Diocese’s Southcentral Deanery.
Father Gerasim graduated from St. Vladimir’s Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree in 2012. He was the class valedictorian and also received commendations for contribution to community life and for his thesis, Russian Icons in a Native Church: Conflict in Culture in Western Alaska.
Details regarding Fr. Gerasim’s consecration as bishop will be announced at a later date.
May God grant the newly elected Archimandrite Gerasim many years! AXIOS!
Giving thanks to God, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary hosted Commencement Exercises for the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021. The ceremony was held outdoors in front of Three Hierarchs Chapel on a beautiful, sunny afternoon Saturday, May 15, 2021.
The Seminary hosted commencement for both classes this year, as last spring’s commencement exercises had to be postponed due to pandemic-related restrictions. The two classes were made up of fifty-one men and women from a multitude of Orthodox jurisdictions and other churches—thirty-three from the class of 2020, and twenty-two from the class of 2021 (four graduates obtained two degrees, one from each year).
The celebration of the graduating classes and the close of academic year 2020-2021 began with Divine Liturgy Saturday morning. His Beatitude Tikhon, archbishop of Washington, metropolitan of all America and Canada, and chairman of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, presided over the Liturgy. The community gathered at chapel again for a Moleben before the start of the commencement ceremony.
Words of Thanksgiving & Wisdom
Seminary President Archpriest Chad Hatfield began the ceremony by noting several highlights from St. Vladimir’s academic year.
“By the Grace of God, we were able to welcome this incoming class and our returning seminarians for in-person learning. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to everyone at the Seminary who worked hard to ensure we were able to remain open to offer residential theological education and spiritual formation—which is, of course, the ideal in training future priests and leaders of the Church,” said Fr. Chad. “It was not an easy year, but we did it,” he continued, as he and the crowd applauded.
Along with Seminary graduates, guests, faculty, and staff, the Commencement Exercises were especially blessed by the presence of Metropolitan Tikhon; His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, archbishop of New York and metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; His Eminence Mor Titus Yeldho, archbishop of the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in North America; His Eminence Mor Silvanus Ayub, archbishop of the America, Canada, and Europe region of the Knanaya Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church; His Grace Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, metropolitan of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church; His Grace Bishop Daniel Findikyan, primate of the Eastern Diocese of America of the Armenian Church; Archpriest John Parker, dean of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary; Priest Mardiros Chevian, dean of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary; and Priest M.P. George, professor of liturgics and liturgical music at Old Theological Seminary in Kottayam, Kerala, India.
Metropolitan Joseph offered words of wisdom and encouragement to the graduating classes.
“On behalf of our Antiochian Archdiocese, I congratulate all of you, as your years of study now come to a successful conclusion,” wrote His Eminence.
He also reminded graduates of the challenges they will face in service of the Church, including dealing with a variety of personalities and being aware of the devil’s attacks.
“When St. Anthony saw all the snares of the devil laid bare, he cried out, ‘How can anyone get through such snares?’ And a voice from heaven said one word: ‘humility.’ This our greatest need in ministry. Just as pride can rob our good deeds of any benefit, so humility has the power to make our weakest efforts bear much fruit.”
Words from the Graduating Classes
During the ceremony St. Vladimir’s Academic Dean Dr Ionut-Alexandru Tudorie invited Natalie Freeborg and Hieromonk Michel Mikhail to deliver the Salutatory and Valedictory Addresses, respectively.
Freeborg noted that, while unique and challenged by unprecedented circumstances, the seminary experiences of the classes of 2020 and 2021 were in no way defined by the pandemic. Instead, thanking the tireless efforts of the Seminary administration, faculty, and staff, Freeborg remarked that her and her colleagues’ theological education was “business as usual.”
“For us, this ‘business as usual’ has meant forging connections, building up a truly Christian community; it has meant pursuing academic excellence, reading the works of our forbearers, and writing papers of our own in response; most importantly, this business as usual is best defined by the liturgical prayers and traditions that have trained us to direct our minds, bodies, and hearts more fully towards Christ.”
Bringing to mind God’s call to the prophet Jeremiah, Fr. Michel offered insightful words of encouragement to his fellow graduates.
“God called Jeremiah to remind the people of their first love, when they first discovered God and their faith. Our Lord Jesus Christ warned us that the love of many will grow cold,” he said. “So we are the ministers of God, sent out into the world to be burning coals. We are called to rekindle the fire in the hearts of the faithful.”
The St Macrina Award
Another member of the graduating class of 2021, Student Council President Patrick Russell, presented this year’s St. Macrina Award for Excellence in Teaching, selected each year by student vote, to Professor Rev. Dr. Bogdan Bucur.
“I cannot count the number of times I have heard people in the refectory excited to go to class to learn from Fr. Bogdan, or comment that three hours [in class with him] seemed like a class that had only started,” said Russell.
Closing Remarks from His Beatitude
Following a performance of the Exapostilarion of Pascha by the St. Vladimir’s Seminary Chorale, Metropolitan Tikhon offered a final reflection to close the Commencement Exercises.
“I would encourage you to take a lesson from your experience of seminary life, the blessed experience you have had of living in a Christ-centered community, and take it with you, wherever you go,” said His Beatitude. “It will help you to build new Christ-centered communities and to graft new branches onto the one Vine. It will help you to bear fruit, so that others may bear even greater fruit….
“The world will offer you images of virtual community and fake friendship. But it is better to devote your energy to creating genuine community and true friendship through sacrifice, kindness, and selflessness. For this, you have the example of Christ Himself. May He inspire you in this manner and bless all of you, and keep you in all that you do for the Glory of God.”
May God grant the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021 many years!
Like many of our committed longtime St. Vladimir’s donors, Dr. Asimoula Julia Alissandratos of Charleston, SC has led an interesting life. A two-time Fulbright scholar and graduate of Swarthmore College and University of Chicago (with a B.A. in Russian and an M.A. in Russian Literature, respectively), Asimoula is a published author on the topic of medieval Slavic and Patristic eulogies and has traveled widely in Eastern Europe.
“If you studied Russian when I did,” Dr. Alissandratos notes, “you had a narrow range of options. So instead of joining the CIA,” she laughs, “I taught at MIT for seven years!”
During the Cold War, scholars of Soviet medieval texts were forbidden to deal with them as “religious literature,” so they welcomed Western scholars who could. Eventually, Asimoula moved from academia at MIT to finance in New York while obtaining an M.B.A. degree from New York University. She worked as a bond analyst and trader, portfolio and risk manager, for over twenty years.
“It was during those New York years that I first became acquainted with St. Vladimir’s Seminary,” Asimoula says. “The Seminary reached out in many ways to the laity. I knew the professors during those years, more than the students—they were world-renowned scholars. Father John Meyendorff even wrote a letter of recommendation for me,” she remembers.
In this, The Year of Schmemann, Asimoula recalls that even during the years of the blackout of information from the West to the USSR, Fr. Alexander Schmemann was known and respected in Russia as “Father Alexander.” (A Voice for Our Time, Vol. 1 features English translations of Fr. Alexander’s Radio Liberty broadcasts into the Soviet Union, and is now available from SVS Press here.)
“Over the years, I enjoyed attending outstanding lectures and retreats at St. Vladimir’s, and of course browsing through the wonderful campus bookstore, where you find SVS Press publications respected by scholars in the United States and throughout the world.
"As a former academic I’ve appreciated the high level of the content St. Vladimir’s produces through seminars, lectures, podcasts, recordings, and books," explains Asimoula. "And as a financial person I have great respect for the fact that they are self-supporting. Yet while the Seminary excels in these things, their greatest ‘product,’ to put it that way, is their graduates, and I have come to appreciate this more over the years. It’s not that the Seminary is unique in its mission of educating students—other schools are doing this—but at St. Vladimir’s they do it so well.”
Asimoula reflects on the qualities of a good priest. “What makes for a great priest? He’s humble, gentle, sensitive, kind, loving, and pastoral—and he doesn’t confine himself to just visiting the Orthodox person in the hospital. I have been a part of communities who have been traumatized by priests and have seen firsthand the difference made by a good pastor. My current priest, just by his loving presence in our midst, has steadied the parish. As a result, all of a sudden non-Orthodox spouses are converting, we are growing, and we are in the process of building a new church center.
“Saint Vladimir’s turns out great graduates,” concludes Asimoula, reflecting on her many years of support for the Seminary. “They are well-trained and well-grounded, yes, but the Seminary knows that priests don’t always have to be scholars. The priest just needs to have his sense of calling nurtured, and then lead by example. More than anything, people need his loving presence. This kind of priest is one of the best gifts St. Vladimir’s gives to parishes.”
Seminarians, faculty, staff, and community members celebrated Holy Week and Pascha together at St. Vladimir’s Seminary April 25–May 2, 2021. The Seminary community participated in services at Three Hierarchs Chapel throughout the week and came together for an outdoor picnic following the Resurrection service.
Saint Vladimir’s President Very Rev. Dr. Chad delivered a powerful homily on Holy Friday before the community gathered at Three Hierarchs.
“If this had not been so, what would become of us? What would become of you and me?” he asked. “If the cross had not been taken up by our Blessed Lord, what must we have borne?”
Listen to Fr. Chad’s sermon in its entirety below.
With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share news of the repose of St. Vladimir’s Trustee Emeritus Albert P. Foundos (Garden City Park, NY), who fell asleep in the Lord on April 23, 2021 at the age of 85.
Albert Foundos was born on May 23, 1935, the oldest son of Lambi and Orthodoxia Fundo in Korçë, Albania, and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1948 at the young age of 13. In the United States, he completed high school and went on to The City College of New York for a degree in chemical engineering. After serving as a captain in the U.S. Army, he returned to City College where he earned an MBA.
In 1959, he married Joan Malasko. They were blessed with a beautiful marriage and three children, Phillip, Donna, and Christine, and later with nine grandchildren.
Foundos was an accomplished inventor, engineer, and academic, a successful entrepreneur, and a person of great generosity and compassion. He was a general partner of TFF Limited Partnership; president of Cigar Oasis, Inc.; founder, chairman, and CEO of Fluid Data, Inc; and founder and chairman of Lamsia Corporation, a company that aided Albanian workers after the fall of communism in his native country. Foundos also built an incredibly close relationship to Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Albania, and worked together with His Eminence to promote the positive growth of the Orthodox Church there. His philanthropic activities extended to a number of charities and included serving on the Board of International Orthodox Christian Charities and the Board of the National Albanian American Council.
Foundos spent many years in faithful service to St. Vladimir’s Seminary, first becoming a trustee in 1982 under the tenure of Fr. Alexander Schmemann. He would later serve as treasurer and chairman of the Finance Committee, a position he held for many years. Foundos’s leadership talents were put to brilliant use as the co-chair of the Seminary’s first major capital campaign, successfully resulting in a tremendous expansion of the facilities and programs at St. Vladimir’s. The Seminary would later bestow upon Foundos the title of Trustee Emeritus following his retirement from its Board of Trustees, as well as the degree Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.), honoris causa, in 2010, when Foundos also delivered the commencement address to the Seminary’s graduating class.
Throughout his life, Foundos was a devoted member of St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church in Queens, NY, serving on the parish council and holding a variety of leadership positions. He always worked tirelessly to deepen his faith and share it with others.
He was loved and cherished by many, including his wife Joan; his siblings, Louis Ilia Foundos and Viola; his children, Phillip Foundos, Donna Oswald, and Christine Beno; his grandchildren, Matthew, Christina, Andrew, Nicholas, Kimberly, Daniel, Alex, James, and Daniela; and his parents, Llambi and Orthodoxia. He was also cherished by nieces, nephews, and godchildren.
Visitation will be held on Monday, April 26 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Park Funeral Chapel (2175 Jericho Turnpike, Garden City Park, NY 11040). Services will be held on Tuesday, April 27 beginning at 10 a.m. at St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church (181-14 Midland Pkwy, Jamaica, NY 11432).
With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share news of the repose of Archpriest Peter Pawlack, who fell asleep in the Lord on April 19, 2021.
Father Peter was born in Mayfield, PA the son of the late Julia (Hadginske) and Peter J. Pawlack. A younger sister and only sibling recently fell asleep in the Lord.
He graduated from (Eastside) New Jersey High School, attended Rollins College in Winter Park, FL and subsequently transferred to Rider College (now Rider University) in Lawrenceville, NJ to continue his undergraduate studies. He received his undergraduate degree in Commerce and Industrial Management from Rider College. In the fall of 1962 he entered St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.
In June of 1964 he and the former Barbara Rugala were married by the late Archpriest Dimitri Ressetar, Archpriest John Meyendorff and Archpriest Paul Shafran at St. John’s Orthodox Church, Mayfield, PA.
On October 10, 1964 Fr. Peter was ordained to the Holy Diaconate at St. Vladimir’s Seminary Chapel by the late Archbishop John of San Francisco. Four months later on February 15th he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood at Protection of the Holy Virgin Mary in New York City by the late Archbishop Ireney of Boston. Upon completion of his Bachelor of Divinity degree from St. Vladimir’s Seminary in the spring of 1965 he was assigned to St. Mary’s Church in Waterbury, CT.
While serving as pastor of St. Mary’s Church, Fr. Peter advocated the use of the English language in an era when Church Slavonic was still quite prevalent. He served as spiritual advisor to the Atlantic District Eastern Orthodox Christian Education Association and the Atlantic District FROC, secretary of the Diocese of New England, and university Chaplain for the New England Diocese.
He returned to St. Vladimir’s Seminary in 1967-68 and completed requirements for the Master of Divinity degree which was awarded in May of 1968.
In June of 1968, Fr. Peter was assigned to St. John the Baptist Church, Warren, OH, where he served as pastor for 38 years.
During his pastorate at St. John’s Church, Fr. Peter has served as chairman of the Department of Church School Programs for the Chicago-Minneapolis Diocese, member of the Midwest Diocesan Council, member of St. Joseph Hospital’s Pastoral Advisory Council, member of the Warren Police/Clergy Crisis Intervention Team and vice-president of the Warren Clergy Association.
He has also served as secretary of the OCA Pension Board, chairman of the Cleveland Deanery Publications Committee, and was a member of the Howland Clergy Association.
Father Peter was elevated to archpriest in 1977 and awarded the Jeweled Cross by the Synod of Bishops in 1990.
Prior to his retirement Fr. Peter served as dean of the Ohio Deanery from 2004 to 2006. He retired from St. John the Baptist Church in August of 2006. During his retirement years he was a substitute priest as needed in parishes of the Ohio Deanery and for the last six years served Sunday Liturgy at the Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration in Ellwood City, PA.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Barbara, two sons, Peter III and Gregory (Ruth Ann Bowers), and two grandchildren. His parents and only sister preceded him in death.
Final arrangements are by Peter Rossi & Son Memorial Chapel, 1884 North Road, Warren, OH. All services will be held at the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration with the committal service at the Monastery Cemetery.
The nuns will receive Fr Peter’s earthly body at the monastery Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. He will lie in state in the monastery chapel from Tuesday evening until his burial on Friday.
Public services and visitation times are as follows:
Wednesday, April 21
10 a.m. - Pre-Sanctified Liturgy with visitations until 2 p.m.
Thursday, April 22
6:30 p.m. - Panikhida, served by the clergy, choir, and faithful of St. John’s Parish, with visitations until 8 p.m.
Friday, April 23
9 a.m. - Pre-Sanctified Liturgy
12 p.m. - Funeral Service and committal
Clergy and faithful who wish to attend any of the above services should call the monastery to make a reservation, at 724-758-4002. Attendance will be limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. Masks and distancing will be required.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations to be sent to the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration, 321 Monastery Lane, Ellwood City, PA 16117.
