St. Tikhon’s Seminary Commencement

St. Tikhon’s Seminary
South Canaan, Pennsylvania

May 24, 1997

St. Tikhon Seminary
South Canaan, Pennsylvania

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and Faculty of Saint Tikhon’s Seminary I welcome all of our guests this afternoon. As always it is a great joy for me to be here as we celebrate the radiant feast of our Lord’s resurrection and as we end the current academic year. The remarks I want to share today are aimed specifically at the students of Saint Tikhon’s Seminary. It is my sincere hope that my words will be received as an offering of love and encouragement for those who now prepare to leave this venerable school and those who will return in the Fall.

Unlike other students who study at schools of higher learning, seminarians find themselves in a unique category. This is so because each of you has become part of a school which seeks to prepare men for the building up of the body of Christ in America. The school you are a part of exists to serve our Lord. Therefore as graduates and students of an Orthodox theological school you have come here to discern how our Lord desires you to serve his Church. And even though not all of you will leave Saint Tikhon’s as a priest or deacon, the fact remains that each of you has been give the opportunity to receive the holy and priceless gift of theology. Therefore, each of you is responsible for making this gift your own. Each of you is responsible for sharing this gift with others.

Setting out to study at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary is much different than attending and studying at another type of institution. By being students of an Orthodox Seminary you have embarked on a course of study that demands not only academic excellence but an ongoing change of mind and heart. The study of Holy Scripture, Patristics, Liturgy, Church History and Canon Law are disciplines that are to be integrated with your lives. When properly studied and received into one’s very being they affect one’s behavior and outlook on life. Thus the study of theology is much more than the acquisition of data or information. The proper study of theology assists in the formation of your lives. It ultimately directs you to a life of righteousness—a life of union and communion with the living God.

When theology is understood and experienced as the path of divine ascent, you will find yourselves engaged in spiritual warfare. You will find yourselves standing against the powers of darkness. You will find yourselves battling to conform your wills to the Divine Will. This is what it means to be a spiritual athlete. This is what it means to be a true and faithful theologian.

The seeds of theology that have been planted in your minds and hearts need continuous attention so that they may bear much good fruit. By drawing your minds and hearts together you must struggle to expel all the confusing and destructive noises that impede hearing the voice of the crucified and resurrected Lord. Beware of these destructive noises, for from them have emerged discordant voices within the Church which proclaim themselves to be the authentic articulation of Orthodox thought and life. Guard carefully your mind and heart for these voices are polarizing the Church. They are dividing and weakening the body of Christ.

Dear graduates and students of Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, strive to produce the fruits of true theology which can only strengthen the body of Christ. Use what you have received to become humble servants who seek to bring all who are weary and burdened into the joy of the Master. Serve others, and as you mature in the Truth emulate Saint John the Baptist who empties himself so that the voice of the Bridegroom may increase (cf. Jn 3:30). Counter all confusion—all noise—with the hard won peace of divine illumination and sanctification.

Dear students—especially you who graduate today—cherish and nurture the seed you now carry. Allow it to grow so others may be drawn to the living Gospel by the words you speak and the lives you live. Be an example in your lives to all you come in contact with, and may God bless your diligent efforts.

Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen!