Next Semester's Schedule and Christmas Break

Christ is Born!

Thankfully I have a month off after a full fall semester. I've been told that the Spring semester of your freshman year is the most difficult. Not only will the schedule be more packed than the Fall's but the Great Fast (Lent) rests nicely in the middle of the semester.

Next Semester is packed with 24 hours of classes. My classes are as follows: Slavonic, Greek, Liturgics, Synoptic Gospels, Ethics, Byzantine Church History, Sacred Music, Choir, and Cosmology. I have already been assigned a Church Father for Cosmology. Over the break I will be doing some light reading from St. Dionysios the Areopagite.

For the break my family will be traveling. We will spend time in Massachusetts, Maine, and Michigan. We have a baptism to attend in Michigan; Elizabeth will be the godmother. We will also be catching up with old friends from Holy Ascension and spending time at the Dormition Monastery.

I will be posting more of my papers from the fall semester in January. Until then I will be enjoying all twelve days of Christmas.

Joyous Feast!

Two Writings from Fall Semester 2010

On Slander

Jewish Christianity and The Judeo-Greek Heritage of the Church

Bibliography for Jewish Christianity Essay

Nativity Pageant

Below are a few photos from the Nativity Pageant held on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day. The event was more fun than I thought it would be. All the younger children in Church school sang away in a manger. During the song Elias didn't feel the need to stay in line or sing along. Rather, he enjoyed walking around on the stage and stepping up to the microphone. He must have felt moved by the Spirit to sing a solo piece, unfortunately the song ended before he had his chance. A girl his same age has taken to mothering him (or bossing him around). Her name is Cassia; it is a fitting name for such a gregarious girl. She promptly escorted him off the stage.

Genevieve is raising a toast to the evening's performers

Elias is enjoying the company of our Dean Fr Alexander. 

St Nicholas himself!

Fall Photos of Elias and Genevieve

She's ready to cruise down the street

Teddy Grahams and a turkey hat, what else is there to be thankful for?

The bib was a gift from my parents

Genevieve Takes Her First Step

Last Monday two Genevieve took her first step! She took two steps to Matthew and then a few minutes later took two steps towards Elizabeth. She hasn't done much walking since then and is still hesitant .

St. Tikhon's and St. Vladimir's Choir

On the 13th and 14th of this month St. Tikhon's mission choir joined forces with the mission choir for our sister school, St. Vladimir's in New York City. The occasion was the visitation of the Relics of St. Vladimir to the campus of St. Vladimir's Seminary. Read his life here.

Below are a few videos of the choirs. Pardon the crying babies and some of the videos are rather dark, but the singing is well done. The third video is sung antiphonally.

Nativity Fast and the Kids

This past Monday the 15th of November marked the beginning of the Nativity Fast for the Church. The forty days preceding Christmas are set aside for fasting, more intense prayer, and alms giving. All this is done in preparation for the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Orthodox Christians prepare for Christmas exactly opposite from most in our society. We fast and soberly prepare our hearts to receive Christ, and then after Christmas feast and celebrate for 12 days (hence the twelve days of Christmas).

The Nativity Season is an exciting time for the children in the Church. Prior to Christmas two days that are particularly important holy days are St. Nicholas' day and St. Herman's day. Saint Nicholas was a Greek speaking bishop from modern day turkey who lived in the 300's AD in the Roman Empire. It is customary on St. Nicholas' day to attend services at Church in the morning. After the service and the communal meal the children are given gold coins. Well, not real gold, just those cheap chocolate ones. Though gold coins might be a good gift given the uncertain economy and the eroding value of the dollar. The gold coins are a remembrance of St. Nicholas' reputation of generosity and his special care given to children during his life. If you want to read his story follow this link: Life of Saint Nicholas

Elias is enjoying school. Right now his class is learning a different letter of the alphabet. Everyday he comes home and wants to tell us what letter he learned. At school they make the letter of the day out of some object that starts with that letter. So for the letter "A" they make the animal crackers in the shape of an "A". We've been taping all of the letters next to his bed. Elias is also very much "into" his toy cars and his train set. He has become a very imaginative boy and likes to make little villages out of his blocks and drive the cars around. Every house he makes is someone's house that he knows. He makes a house for Grandma and Grandpa, for Mimi and Pop, his house, and his friends houses. 

Genevieve is sleep through night and is very close to walking. She just lacks the courage. But when it comes to climbing the stairs in our house, lack of courage is not wanting. She finds it funny to sneak up the stairs. When we notice how quiet it is and find her climbing the stairs she squeals and starts racing up the stairs. Some of you might have already seen this video. Genevieve has taken to drinking out of cups and thinks water is the coolest thing yet. Wait till she discovers juice! Genevieve Drinking Out of a Cup

The Crucible

After talking with Deacon Daniel, another seminarian, about what is the formidable aspect of the seminary experience at St. Tikhon's and thinking his conclusion over, I have to agree with him. It's the crucible.

Its not what you think might be the formative aspect, such as the academics. Yes, there are soul shaping moments from class discussions or some terribly relevant anetcdote shared by the professor (here I'm thinking of Father Alexander Atty's class on Spirituality). Nor is it the full liturgical cycle; though I might never again in my life get such an opportunity to participate in the corporate prayer services of the Church with such intensity. Already I have noticed the inner transformation done when standing in prayer for for hours twice a day, nearly everyday. The effect is cumulative. This amount of prayer compounds like a snow ball rolling down hill. No it is not merely the Divine Services, the shared life with fellow seminarians, or the presence of the monastery.

It is the overwhelming task of all the responsibilities set upon us at seminary. There really is not enough time in each week to get all our reading done, attend all our classes, write all our papers, attend all our services, meet with our spiritual director, fulfill our private prayer rule, complete our community service, spend time with our family, do chores around the house, and socialize with fellow seminarians. This vice of duties, blessings that they are, are a crucible. If anything I will learn humility by not being able to accomplish it all. The attempt to balance all these things and push ourselves beyond what we have done previously in our lives is, I think, what will be most transformational.

I could be wrong, but time will tell. My hope is the Lord.  

The History of the Monastery

Below is an excerpt of the history of St. Tikhon's monastery taken from the monastery's website. www.sttikhonsmonastery.org


By the dawn of the 20th century, Orthodox Christianity had been established on the North American continent for well over a century. Monasticism being indispensable for the healthy nourishing of an Orthodox Church, it was inevitable from the beginnings of Orthodoxy in America that a time would come when this form of spiritual endeavor would come into bloom.

The idea of founding a monastery in America was primarily that of the young Hieromonk Arseny (Chagovtsev), the future Archbishop Arseny of Winnipeg. Father Arseny had arrived in America only in 1902, and was rector of St. John the Baptist parish in Mayfield, Pa. His thought was that part of the monastery's function would be to serve as a "mother house" for the monastics serving as clergy in the Orthodox North American mission. He felt that the monks doing this work needed a monastery in which to be "acclimatized" to the American situation and where they could return periodically for spiritual renewal

Workers on the monastery grounds

With prophetic insight, Fr. Alexander wrote that "certainly a few monks with higher theological education could be found for this monastery, who would become professors of a pastoral seminary. For this, it seems, one could not find a more suitable place. Maintenance would be cheaper and the pupils would be shielded from temptations. Here the site itself of a seminary would find them immersed in studies and not distracted by exterior things." 


Not only for the purchase of the land, but for all their labors in bringing about the establishment of the holy monastery, the honor of being the cofounders belongs to them, to Father Arseny for generally conceiving the idea and promoting it, finding the land, and doing most of the on-site work; and to Archbishop Tikhon for providing the endeavor with the necessary episcopal oversight, embracing moral and spiritual leadership, vision, support, and guidance, along with financial support; later on, for crowning the work with the prayers of consecration and by appointing appropriate leadership to govern the holy community. Thus the two men -- their zeal and farsighted vision cooperating with divine grace at every step -- were able to turn dream into reality for the Orthodox Church in America.


While Fr. Arseny wrote "Rejoice!" in his letter to St. Alexander, the achievement involved trials and obstacles as well, to be overcome by the combined efforts of God and his servants. Fr. Arseny told of both the joys and difficulties in an article titled "Beginning of Joy." In the article he relates how he had occasion to take a stroll through the grounds shortly before their dedication by St. Raphael of Brooklyn on July 31, 1905, and he describes his thoughts and musings regarding the purpose of the soon-to-be monastery and orphanage. His reflections reveal how he indeed rejoiced in the selected site, and also provide insights on monasticism as a milieu in which to recover the proper communion between man and the natural world that God created.

Some of the orphans at the turn of the century

Clearly Father Arseny envisioned a monastic community in the classical sense, embodying the highest monastic ideals of prayer and spiritual struggle, which could only be of supreme value to the fledgling Orthodox mission in America and its faithful. And quickly he began to see the realization of his hopes and aspirations: for very soon after the purchase of the land, the first monks took up residence on the property and instituted monastic life. An orphan's home (orphanage) was also opened. There being at first no monastery church or residence, an existing frame house was used as a residence for the orphans, with a hallway serving as a makeshift chapel. 


Fr. Alexis Toth, who has been called the Father of the Russian Orthodox Church in America because of his great success in leading Uniates back to the Orthodox fold, was laid to rest in the monastery cemetery after his repose in 1909. Seven years later, his remains were transferred to a specially constructed tomb just back of the sanctuary of the Monastery Church.

In 1938 St. Tikhon's Seminary was established on the monastery grounds, through the efforts of Archbishop Arseny, the monastery's cofounder, who returned to St. Tikhon's in the 1930s. Since the founding of the seminary, the two institutions have mutually aided, enhanced, and nurtured each other.

To the far left, front row is St. Alexander
and to the far left back row is St. Alexis

In the 1950s a renowned Orthodox speaker, writer, leader, Saint Nicholai of Zicha, came to live at our monastery and also served as rector of the seminary from 1955-56. He reposed here in 1956. The news, in 1987, of St. Nicholai's glorification brought joy to our monastery. 1990 saw the glorification of the monastery's cofounder, Saint Patriarch Tikhon, by the Russian Orthodox Church, and in 1992 his well-hidden grave was miraculously discovered in Russia. In 1994, St. Alexander Hotovitsky, who was present as an inspired witness at the monastery's opening and on several later occasions, was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church as a hieromartyr (priestmartyr). Also in 1994, the service of glorification (canonization) of St. Alexis Toth took place at the Memorial Day pilgrimage. His relics now rest in the monastery Church.

In 2000, St. Raphael, who dedicated these grounds and served the first Divine Liturgy here in 1905, was glorified at St. Tikhon's Monastery by the Orthodox Church in America acting on the request of the Orthodox Church of Antioch.


Over the first century of our existence, changes have taken place in the population of our community and in outward features of our life. However, the inner life which is the heart of monasticism continues as before. The unchanging life and rhythm of an Orthodox monastery is centered around the unchanging cycles and seasons of worship, and the fixed nature of monastic community life, with its traditions, rules, and practices. The ideals expressed by St. Tikhon and St. Raphael at the birth of St. Tikhon's Monastery have guided the life of the monastery ever since that beginning, and illumining, like beacons, the path of the monastics who have life at St. Tikhon's throughout the first century of the monastery's existence. Even today, St. Tikhon's Monastery continues to walk by those ideals, in prayer life, in charitable works, in educational work, and in spiritual guidance and as a place of pilgrimage.

Photos of Genevieve Enjoying Autumn

All the photos were taken in our backyard

Our favorite

This is her model pose

Photos of the Monastery Grounds

The entrance to the monastery

A small hut used for prayer

A giant mosaic near the entrance of the monastery

A small pavilion with a mosaic of Christ

A engraved wooden cross at the base of the bell tower

The bell tower

The entrance to the church

The dormitory and refectory

The nave of the church looking toward the icon screen

A view of the ceiling of the church with the Pantocrator (Greek for Almighty God) overhead

An alcove where confessions are done

From Books I'm Reading

The History of the Church, Eusebius of Caesarea (Palestine)

Eusebius was the first historian of the Church. He wrote his famous History of the Church shortly after the Great and Last Persecution of the Church under Emperor Diocletian at the end of the 3^rd century and right after the conversion of Constantine and the freeing of the Church. It starts with the advent of Christ and continues up to his own day with the reign of Constantine. It is a fascinating read full of stories and facts that elaborate among other things on the events during the life of Christ and of his apostles. One such story is of King Agbar of Edessa.

Agbar was the king of Edessa in what is now the eastern part of Syria. He had heard of Jesus' ministry, of how he had healed the sick and raised the dead. Agbar was himself suffering from a terrible disease and sent a letter to Jesus Christ requesting that he come and heal him. Jesus did not travel to Edessa, but he did write the king a letter. Eusebius includes that letter in his History. He says that he traveled to Edessa itself and located this very letter in the Record Office of the city and translated it from Syriac to Greek. Jesus would have spoken Syriac, or rather a dialect of Syriac called Aramaic. 

The letter is as follows:

Blessed are those who believed in me without having seen me. For it is written of me that those who have seen me will not believe in me, and those who have not seen me will believe and live. As to your request that I come to you, I must complete all that I was sent to do here, and on completing it must at once be taken up to the One who sent me. When I have been taken up I will send to you one of my disciples to cure your disorder and bring life to you and to those with you.

After Christ's Ascension Thaddeus one of the Seventy Apostles was sent to King Agbar. He was healed. Subsequently Edessa became the first Christian kingdom in around the year 30 AD. Edessa was at this time outside the bounds of the Roman Empire.

Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece, Herman A. Middleton

This is an excellent devotional book. It contains brief accounts of the lives of holy men from Greece who lived and died during the 20^th century. It also contains a collection of their advice and consul given to others. All of these men are what are considered in the Orthodox Church, Holy Elders; men who excel in peering into the souls of others and spiritually directing those who come to them to advice and confession. Here are a few of their quotes:

My children I don't want Paradise without you. - Elder Amphilochios of Patmos

When someone opens your heart I would like him to find nothing else but Christ. - Elder Amphilocios of Patmos

I was born to love people. It doesn't matter if he is a Turk, black or white. I see in the face of each person the image of God. And for this image I am willing to sacrifice everything. - Elder Amphilocios of Patmos

True love is like the flame of a candle. However many candles you light from the flame the initial flame remains unaffected. It doesn't lessen at all. And every freshly lit candle has as much flame as the others do. - Elder Epiphanios of Athens

I want whoever is near me to feel that he has room to breathe, not that he is suffocated. I don't call anyone to me. I don't hold on to anyone. I don't chase anyone away. Who ever wants comes, whoever wants stays, whoever wants leaves. - Elder Epiphanios of Athens

I not afraid of death. Not, of course, because of my works, but because I believe in God's mercy. - Elder Epiphanios of Athens

Speak more to God about your children than to your children about God. The soul of the teenager is in a state of an explosion of freedom. This is why it is hard for them to accept counsel. Rather than counseling then continuously and reproaching them again and again. Leave the situation to Christ, to the Panagia (Mary), and to the Saints. Asking that they bring them to reason. - Elder Epiphanios of Athens

For the Life of the World and Its Salvation

It occurred to me that I ought to explain the title of this blog: For the Life of the World and Its Salvation. The phrase comes from a special service of the Church called the Proskomedia, translated as the Service of Preparation. The Proskomedia is a service done by the priest, and deacon prior to the beginning of the Divine Liturgy (The Orthodox equivalent of the Catholic Mass). In this service the celebrant (priest) prepares the bread and wine that are to be used in the Divine Liturgy.

The priest with a tiny spear cuts out pieces from the Prosphora (the name for the bread that is consumed by those partaking of Holy Communion, it literally means offering) to commemorate: 1) Mary the Mother of God, 2) All the nine ranks of angles, 3) the living, 4) the dead.. The Prosphora is baked according the very strict guidelines. It is really two loaves pressed together and stamped with a wooden seal. The two halves represent the two natures of Christ. The seal imprints a cross that has the initials IC XC NI KA. These Greek letters stands for, Jesus Christ Victor. Then the priest stabs the side of the bread with the spear and then proceeds to pour forth into the chalice water and wine. This is to represent the piercing of Christ's side which poured forth water and blood.

During the service the words “For the life of the world and its salvation” is prayed which refers to the offering that Christ made on the cross. He is the sacrifice for the life of the world and its salvation.

This same prayer is also the motto of St. Tikhon's Seminary, for likewise the priest both offers Christ who is and in obeying Christ's command to imitate him is himself also a sacrifice “For the Life of the World and Its Salvation.”  

The Dean

There's a new dean at St. Tikhon's; Father Alexander Atty. He graduated from St. Vladimir's Seminary, another Orthodox Seminary located in New York City, over 30 years ago. Back then there were only half a dozen or so Orthodox books in English. Seriously. It is easy to forget for us younger generations but it is a reminder how young Orthodoxy still is on this continent. And how much the Church here in America has changed in the past few decades.

Father Alexander is from the Antiochian Archdiocese (an archdiocese Arab in origin, but today encompassing those of many ethnic backgrounds) He is Lebanese in ethnicity and is married to a woman of Russian heritage, Khouria Olga. Khouria jokes that when she was young no one else was named Olga except old ladies, and now she is an old lady! Father has only served in one parish in his priesthood, St. Michael's in Louisville Kentucky.

When he arrived at the parish 30 years ago there were less than 100 in attendance on a Sunday (at one point the church had had hundreds of members) and had been through 20 some priests in its already 40 year history. Today its has over 900 in Sunday attendance and built a free standing chapel (in an Anthonite style) in which the parish conducts daily services; matins in the morning and vespers at night.

So far Father Alexander has brought some welcomed order and improvement of facilities. For example, the seminary is in the process of purchasing some much needed married student housing less than a mile from campus. I think St. Tikhon's has a bright future. I look forward to seeing where the school is in three-years time.

I think I am fortunate, as is all the student body, to have a man with so much pastoral experience. It will be good to learn from someone who has labored and suffered for many years, who knows how to build a community, and Shepard souls.

If you want to check out Father Alexander's old church in Louisville go to www.stmichaelorthodoxchurch.org  

What it Looks Like on My Way to Seminary

Praying with Elias and Playing with Genevieve

Every night we pray with Elias. He is a creature of habit and loves routine. If you deviate from the norm he lets you know. Part of his bedtime routine is nightly prayer. We say the Lord's prayer and St. Symeon's prayer (Lord now let thy servant depart in peace... Luke 2:29-32). Then we pray for family by name, but recently Elias has been in the habit of praying for things, like snack, the car, the school bus. Lord have mercy on snack, lord have mercy on the car, lord have mercy on the school bus. Somehow praying for others has turned into a litany of his favorite things.

Genevieve has been crawling, climbing, and chewing on everything. She is now nine months old and is still bald, but with five chompers in her mouth. Because of a lack of space her room is a bedroom/pantry/exercise room. O the joy of living in a small house!

A Visit to St. Vladimir's for Fr. Maximus' Ordination

Left to Right: Matthew, Abraham, Fr. Maximus, Dn. John

Left to Right: Jessi, Matushka Photini, Stephani, Elizabeth, Genevieve

Elias saying cheese for the camera

 Father Joshua in the center

Fr. Maximus as a Deacon. He had not yet been ordained in the service. 

Fr. Maximus crossing himself and Bishop Maxim giving the blessing

The newly ordained Father Maximus reading the dismissal prayers

Photos of New Home

The road in front of our house.

The barn in our side yard. Built in the 1930s, moved to its current location in the 1960s.

The Student Body

There is great variety among the student body. In total there are about 60 to 70 students at the seminary and they come from a variety of nations and ethnicity. There are Canadians, Mexicans, English, Ukrainians, Russians, and Kuwaites. There are those of Jewish ancestry, Palestinian, Lebanese, European, Greek, Romanian, and Indian ancestry. Those from India are from a region in the sub-continent known as Kerala. Kerala was evangelized by Saint Thomas in the 1^st Century. Therefore they are sometimes known as St. Thomas Christians.

Most of the students attending were not born into the Orthodox Church. Rather the majority have entered the Church from other Christian traditions. They are as follows: Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and all varieties of Protestants.

About half of the students are married and the other half are single. Of those married nearly all have children. It makes for very full, and lively services on Sunday. Imagine it. 60 seminarian students, their wives, about 40 kids, plus the faculty and staff of the seminary, and lastly the monks from the monastery. And I can't forget the regular presence of pilgrims who are visiting the monastery.

The student body is of all ages too. There are some that are fresh out of college and some who are in their 40's and have teenagers. But most are in their late 20's to early 30's. It is only men. Except, the one nun who is attending from a nearby woman's monastery.

No less diverse are the educational backgrounds. Some students already have a master's in something else such as engineering and one student has his doctorate in English. But most just have their Bachelors. There are students with geology degrees, mathematics, engineering, English, music, and philosophy degrees. In short a broad selection from the humanities and the sciences.

Almost everyone attending has abandoned their previous careers; some with very lucrative jobs in corporate America. It has been more than a few times that I have heard the story from fellow seminarians that they heard the Gospel reading on Sunday which says, “What does it prophet a man if he gains the whole earth, but looses his soul.” One seminarian described his soul as shriveling up in his comfortable corporate finance job and decided leave it all for the priesthood.

Labor Day Seminary BBQ

I am in the orange hat. To my left is Fr. Nilus the Dean of Students and to his left is Bishop Tikhon.

Video from Seminary Retreat

Below is a video link from last Friday. After three days of orientation, the new seminarians were joined by the Middlers and Seniors for a two day retreat. At the end of the retreat, all the new seminarians were blessed to wear the cassock by Bishop Tikhon. There are about 60 to 70 seminarians in total; 20 from our class.

Blessing of New Seminarians

Elias' First Day of School

This past Wednesday Elias started his second year of pre-school. We met the teacher prior to the start of the year and were impressed by the school. They have their act together.

We've been talking with Elias for the past month about his 'new school' and his 'new house'. In fact he is still calling them his 'new school' and his 'new house'. I wonder when he will drop the adjective? Up till now he has shown an excitement about his new school. All that excitement came to a culmination when his school bus came cruising over the hill to pick him up on his first day. Elias performed a little dance wiggling his arms, twisting his hands and marching in place; his typical 'I'm so excited I don't know what to do but move all around.' Its as if his little body is filled to the rim with expectation and he has to shake it all out.

When he got home I asked him what he did. He sang songs, ate snack, and colored; at least that's his account. That same evening I heard him singing some song. I couldn't quite make out the words, but it was clear he had memorized whatever song they sang that day in school. When I asked him about it he stopped and wouldn't sing the words for me. You have to catch him in the moment, he's a true artist and doesn't perform lest when the muse invokes.

Betsy was home when Elias was dropped off. He walked to the steps of the bus and wouldn't get off. Instead he shouted “Go back to school!” Apparently he likes school. The next day he wouldn't get out of his seat and said he wanted to stay at school. I hope its that the school is so wonderful and not that home is so boring!

Seminary Schedule

Classes haven't started yet but I've been busy. We have ended an intense week of orientation and a retreat. All the new students showed up on Monday and spent the next three days in morning and evening prayer, in individual meetings with the dean, in registration of classes, and various talk on seminary life.

Though it is an academic institution the priority or as the Greeks say, the protos, is the spiritual life; worship services, private prayer, the communal life of the seminary. I was reminded in one of the talks that the Masters of Divinity is a 'professional' degree not an academic one. It is preparation for work, a sacred work.

This week has been as follows: prayer every morning at 6:30 am, breakfast at 8:30am, meetings and talks until the evening prayer with the day ending at 5:30pm. It would be modest to say the week has been busy; its been intense. I've been thrown into a drastically different lifestyle than I'm used to. I think it would be better to describe seminary as spiritual boot camp. In one of the talks the dean said, “you are in training to be the militia Christi (military of Christ).” Orthodox seminary is more like training for the Marines than it is mere scholarship.

Classes start next week; I've registered for: Early Church History, Dogmatic Theology, Sacred Music, Spirituality, Greek (though I will likely be able to test out of it), Old Testament Scriptures, and Liturgics (the 'how to' of performing the worship services).

Going forward a typical week will consist of the following:

• 
  
  15 hours a week of Divine Services (the Orthodox term for our liturgical worship services) and my own private prayer rule.
• 
  
  20 hours a week of instruction plus whatever study is needed for homework.
• 
  
  4 hours a week of community service around the seminary such as cleaning bathrooms or working in the library.
• 
  
  Field work, such as hospital visitations, and prison ministry. That doesn't start until our Middler year.
• 
  
  Finally, confession at least once a month.

In short seminary will consume no less than 60 hours a week of my life. Bring it on!

From South Canaan

At the suggestion of my godfather I am writing a blog about my time at Saint Tikhon's Seminary. I hope it will be a way to share news from my life and keep in touch with so many loved ones that my family and I have left behind when we moved to to Pennsylvania. The seminary is located in a very small town in Northeastern Pennsylvania named South Canaan nestled in the Pocono mountains. You really will miss it if you blink. There is a post office, gas station, and a phone company; that's it. The Seminary is located adjacent to the oldest orthodox monastery in North America, founded in 1905. The Seminary was founded in 1938. It is beautiful country. We can see the mountains from our home and at night the stars are brilliant. We live on a road called Jubinksy. I find the name funny. The home is over a hundred years old and has a dungeon for a basement. After exploring the property a bit I found a spring coming up out of the ground in our back yard! Apparently it is the same spring that feeds our well. So looks like will be selling bottled spring water to pay for seminary. Elizabeth's father, Tim, met us at our new home to help unpack. Thank the Lord! We had plenty of help packing up, but I didn't consider how much work unpacking would be; and more stressful. Our new landlords the McCormicks are hospitable; they even helped us unpack. They also have a seven year old son whom Elias already loves to play with. Elias thinks he is so cool having an older boy to play with. I will post pictures soon.