Annual Fr. Schmemann Lecture to Celebrate 50 Years of OCA Autocephaly

SVOTS – 21/11/2019

[SVOTS Communications / YONKERS, NY] A special edition of the Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture at St. Vladimir’s Seminary will commemorate fifty years of autocephaly for the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).

His Eminence, Archbishop Michael of New York and New Jersey will headline events on January 30, 2020, the Feast of the Three Hierarchs. As part of the special celebration, three more distinguished speakers will be featured in workshops throughout the day along with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, Mid-Year Commencement, the launch of a special 50^th anniversary commemorative book (published by SVS Press and edited by Academic Dean Dr. Alexandru Tudorie), and a reception.

Schedule of Events

• 9 a.m. – Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Three Hierarchs Chapel
• 1 p.m. – Rev. Anthony Roeber, “Autocephaly: The OCA, the Greek
  Archdiocese, and Antioch”
• 2 p.m. – Very Rev. John Parker, “Autocephaly & Evangelism”
• 3 p.m. – Coffee Break & Book Sale
• 4 p.m. – Right Rev. Daniel (Brum), “Autocephaly & New Saints”
• 7 p.m. – Most Rev. Michael (Dahulich), Fr. Alexander Schmemann
  Memorial Lecture, “The Gift of Autocephaly”
  – Mid-Year Commencement
  – Launch of 50^th Anniversary Commemorative Book
  (SVS Press)
  – Reception to follow

All the day’s events, except for the Divine Liturgy, will take place at the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building.

The special, day-long celebration is free to attend, and attendance counts toward the OCA’s Continuing Clergy Development (CCD) requirements.

About the Speakers:

The Rev. Anthony Roeber is professor of church history at St. Vladimir’s Seminary and professor emeritus of early modern history and religious studies at Penn State University, University Park where he served as department head for ten years. Father Anthony attended The Pontifical College Josephinum from 1963 to 1969 and earned his B.A. and M.A. at the University of Denver, a second M.A. and his Ph.D. at Brown University, and his M.A. in Applied Orthodox Theology from the Balamand University, Lebanon. In addition to St. Vladimir’s Seminary and Penn State University, Fr. Anthony has taught at the University of Denver, Princeton, Lawrence University, the University of Illinois-Chicago, and the Chicago-Kent Law College. He has authored some fifty articles, six books—including Mixed Marriage: an Orthodox History through St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) Press—and three edited volumes.

The Very Rev. John Parker is dean and chief operating officer of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and chair of the Department of Evangelization of the Orthodox Church in America. Father John also serves as a board member of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center and was pastor of Holy Ascension Church, Mount Pleasant, SC from 2003 until his appointment at St. Tikhon’s Seminary in 2018. He holds a B.A. in Spanish language and literature from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA; an M.Div. from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry (TESM), Ambridge, PA; and a Th.M. and D.Min. from St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY. Father John has written more than 170 essays on Orthodoxy for Charleston’s Post and Courier, the Carolina Compass, and the Moultrie News. For the past decade, he has offered bi-annual lectures on Orthodox Christianity at the College of Charleston.

The Right Rev. Daniel (Brum) is the bishop of Santa Rosa (OCA). He holds a B.A. in humanities, with specialization in history, philosophy, and English literature, from Saint Patrick’s College Seminary, Mountain View, CA; an M.Div. from Saint Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park, CA; and a degree in canon law (JCL) from the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. Bishop Daniel was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1981 and was received into the Orthodox Church in America in 1997. After his reception into the Orthodox Church, he served at Saint Nicholas Church, Saratoga, CA, Saint Paul the Apostle Church, Las Vegas, NV, St. Gregory Palamas Mission, Flemington, NJ, and Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Phoenix, AZ; as secretary to His Beatitude, Metropolitan Theodosius and, later, to His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman; and on several Church committees and commissions, including the Canons and Statute Commission, the Statute Revision Task Force, the Legal Advisory Board, and the Canonization Commission, and in numerous other capacities. In 2014, the Holy Synod elected him to serve as auxiliary to His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West as bishop of Santa Rosa, CA. He was consecrated to the episcopacy on January 24, 2015.

The Most Rev. Michael (Dahulich) is archbishop of New York and New York and New Jersey (OCA), secretary of the Holy Synod of Bishops, and rector and professor of New Testament and pastoral theology at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Archbishop Michael holds a B.Th. from Christ the Savior Seminary, Johnstown, PA; a B.A. from St. Vincent College, Latrobe, PA; and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. He served for many years as pastor of both Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Homer City, PA, and Holy Ghost Church in Phoenixville, PA. He was consecrated to the episcopacy in 2010 and was elevated to the rank of archbishop in 2015. Archbishop Michael has also served the Church in numerous other capacities, including as dean of the Mid-Atlantic Deanery parishes of the Carpatho-Russian Diocese; a member of the Study and Planning Commission and the Ecumenical Commission of SCOBA; a member of the Board of Theological Education of the Orthodox Church in America; OCA representative to the National Advisory Board of the American Bible Society; a member (and former national secretary) of the Orthodox Theological Society of America; and a member of the Advisory Board of the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology and Religion (OCAMPR). Additionally, Archbishop Michael has published a number of articles in theological journals, magazines, and newspapers, has presented several papers, delivered numerous talks, lectures, and keynote addresses, and led many seminars and retreats in schools and parishes throughout the United States and abroad.

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