While this post is called “Orthodox Ed Day”, I’m not going to say much about the annual public event held here at St. Vlad’s with that name (which occurred yesterday). All I’ll say is that it went quite well, and I’m exhausted. You can, however, read more about the event at http://www.svots.edu/

I will, however, include a letter that I recently sent to my parish:

30 September 2008

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Hello from St. Vladimir’s Seminary! I returned to the States in August after spending two months in Poland with my mom and step-dad, taking a Polish language course and trying to prepare for seminary. Because of a scheduling change to accommodate the All-American Council, upon my return, I had to go immediately to New York for new student orientation. I was truly saddened to not be at St. Joe’s and see you all before heading East, but look forward to coming home soon.

My first month here has been both exciting and exhausting, but by your prayers and God’s grace, it’s been a great month! Here are a few highlights of my time here thus far:
• New Student Orientation. Fr. John Breck spoke to the incoming students during orientation, giving us some great pointers and encouragement for the beginning of our seminary studies. (Fr. John has written some really interesting books on topics such as ethics, Scripture, and living the Christian faith—really good stuff, and you can find some of them in the parish bookstore! (Hint, hint…)
• Chapel. We begin and end our days with prayer and worship to God, with Matins at 7:30am and Vespers at 5:00pm. Additionally, because of the particular environment of a seminary, we’re able to celebrate the lives of the saints and feasts in a way that would be difficult in a typical parish setting. Bishop Nikon presided at the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos and Bishop Maxim (Bishop of the Western Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Americas) presided over the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross along with a choir of seminarians from Belgrade! With two hierarchical Liturgies each with full Vigil, we had a busy week, especially as I’ve been singing in the choir! In addition to singing, I’ve also already begun reading and serving for daily services. I’m looking forward to seeing how having the gift of daily chapel services will shape me.
• Classes. I’ve got a full schedule of courses: Biblical Greek, Church Music, Old Testament, Patristics, Church History, Liturgics, and a weekly integrating seminar. It’s great to be back in an academic environment and study the Scriptures and the Fathers. It’s tough to be believe that we’re already starting to have midterms; I had my Greek exam last week and scored a 99.25%!
• Community Involvement. In addition to singing in the choir, I’m helping teach the 7- and 8-year-old Sunday School class. This is in addition to my required community service job as team captain for one of the meal crews in the kitchen (basic prep work, setting out food, washing dishes, mopping floors, etc.).
• Community Life. With everything that I’ve mentioned, it’s easy to see that seminary life is busy! There is a little bit of free time available to interact with others, though, and it’s been great meeting fellow students from different parts of the country and the world. I even knew several of the guys from Chicago, which has certainly helped transitioning into life here so far from home. My room is in the dorm right in the middle of campus, so it’s easy to get to chapel, class, and the library—as well as grabbing a snack from the kitchen between meals! (Speaking of dorm, did you know that I’m in the same dorm room that Fr. John was in when he was a seminarian at St. Vlad’s? God’s got a sense of humor.)
• Special Visit. I was so happy to have my sister Mariola come for a visit last week. (See photo.) Since our mom and step-dad are visiting from Poland, she was able to leave her two sons (Tyler’s two and a half and AJ’s one) in their care for the day and flew out to New York just for the day! (Our mom had some frequent flier miles from her annual trip to the States that she let Mariola use to fly out for the day.) I was able to show her around campus, have lunch with her, and drive down to New York to see Times Square, and go to Vespers all before needing to drive her back to the airport!

So, as you can see, it’s been a very rich time thus far! I’m so grateful for your prayers, encouragement, and financial support, which have all allowed me to be here and prepare for the role God has for me in the Church. I look forward to seeing you all as soon as I’m able.

In Christ,

Mark Klinski

p1000147.jpg