Dr. Leonid Turkevich among presenters at May 14 Symposium

SOUTH CANAAN, PA [STOTS Communications] – 9/3/15

Leonid Turkevich, Ph.D, grandson of the late beloved Metropolitan Leonty (1876-1965), will be among those offering presentations at the Academic Symposium devoted to the life and work of the late Metropolitan at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary here May 14, 2015.  [Seerelated story.]

“Most of the Symposium is devoted to the pastoral, ecclesiastical and administrative legacy of Metropolitan Leonty,” said Dr. Turkevich.  “Although appreciated during his lifetime, but less well known in the present day, is his literary legacy.  While it is not my intent or training to venture a definitive literary criticism of his corpus of works, I would like to revisit this aspect of his life.  He certainly viewed it as an important activity, so it is appropriate for us to attempt some understanding of these contributions.”

The Symposium, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of Metropolitan Leonty’s repose, will feature yet-to-be-published selections from Metropolitan Leonty’s 1917-1918 diary, as read and translated by his granddaughter Matushka Tamara Turkevich-Skvir, together with poems and anecdotes written during his life.

Harold M. Leich, Russian Area Specialist European Division of the Library of Congress, also will offer a presentation titled “The Papers of Leonty, Metropolitan of All America and Canada, at the Library of Congress.”

“The collection—generously donated by members of the Turkevich family in 1998 and housed in the Library’s Manuscript Division—has been cataloged and is open for use by all interested researchers,” said Mr. Leich.  “Most of Metropolitan Leonty’s papers, comprising eight linear feet of materials in archival boxes, are in bound volumes of correspondence records and diaries.  His poetry and financial notes are scattered throughout the diaries and correspondence records.”

One of the most significant holdings in the collection is the Metropolitan’s detailed record of the All-Russian Church Council, orSobor, held in Moscow in 1917-1918.  Many of his notes on the Sobor are in shorthand and have yet to be transcribed.

“The presentation will include the reading of a poem, heretofore unpublished, composed by Metropolitan Leonty in late October 1917, on the eve of the election of Patriarch Tikhon,” Mr. Leich added.  “These papers provide a rich source for the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, Orthodoxy in America, and the biography of Metropolitan Leonty himself.”

Saint Tikhon’s Seminary wishes to acknowledge the wonderful treasure offered by Archpriest Daniel Skvir, who has presented copies of Metropolitan Leonty’s lecture notes while he taught at the seminary.  These will be distributed as a one-of-a-kind, limited edition memento to Symposium attendees.

Registration is $60.00 per person if received by April 2, 2015, after which the fee will be $75.00.  Registration may be made by calling Saint Tikhon’s Seminary at 570-561-1818—dial “0” for the receptionist—or on-line.

In related news, Saint Tikhon’s Monastery has made available a variety of Lenten daily readings and devotional recommendations, including “Lenten Journey to the Passion,” which provides brief daily readings on the events in the life of Christ from His Entrance into Jerusalem to Holy Pascha.  The resource is available in two formats—as a printed guide and an on-line series.  Several books, including Unseen Warfare, The Ladder and The Way of a Pilgrim, have guides for daily devotional reading, as does the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete.  [Seewww.sttikhonsmonastery.org/news_150219_1.html.]

Archimandrite Sergius will be leading a retreat at Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers, NY, on Saturday, March 21.  Themes will include ‘Ten Minute Spirituality” and “Saved from What?”

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