In Memoriam: Frs. Boris Bobrinskoy & Joseph Allen
SVOTS – 9/8/2020
+Memory Eternal+
With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share news of the repose of two members of the Seminary’s extended family: Protopresbyter Boris Bobrinskoy, 95, and Archpriest Joseph Allen, 77. Father Boris fell asleep in the Lord Thursday, August 6 and Fr. Joseph the following day, on August 7.
The Very Rev. Joseph Allen, Th.D., was an alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary and SVS Press author. In 1966, he had the distinction of being the first man ordained by His Eminence, Metropolitan Philip of thrice-blessed memory. For several years, Fr. Joseph guided the pastoral theology programs at St. Vladimir’s and Holy Cross School of Theology while serving as director of Theological and Pastoral Education of the Antiochian Archdiocese. He also founded the Antiochian House of Studies and served as pastor of St. Anthony Church in Bergenfield, NJ for more than fifty years. Father Joseph retired from all of his ministries in 2019.
The Very Rev. Boris Bobrinskoy, a fellow SVS Press author, was one of the towering figures of twentieth-century Orthodox theology. He was also a frequent visitor and lecturer at St. Vladimir’s and delivered a Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture. Born in 1925 to Russian parents who migrated to France after the 1917 Revolution, Fr. Boris was one of the last of the generation of great Russian émigré theologians—of the era of Frs. Georges Florovsky, John Meyendorff, and Alexander Schmemann. He served as dean and professor at his alma mater, St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris. Father Boris was also rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Paris for many years before retiring from active ministry.
Funeral and burial information for Frs. Boris and Joseph have not yet been announced.
May their memories be eternal!
