ST VLADIMIR’S AND ST NERSESS MARK COLLABORATIVE PUBLISHING EFFORT

St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, NY
Jan 9 2007

Deans Rev. John H. Erickson and V. Rev. Daniel M. Findikyan marked
decades of continued collaboration between their respective seminaries,
St Vladimir’s and St Nersess Armenian Seminary, at a book launch
December 6, 2006. The launch announced a newly released title,
Worship Traditions in Armenia and the Neighboring Christian East, ed.

Roberta R. Ervine, and previewed a stunning upcoming release by Abraham
Terian: a translation of an early fourth-century letter from Macarius
I, Patriarch of Jerusalem, to the son of St Gregory the Illuminator,
founder of the Armenian church.

At the celebration, Worship Traditions was feted as the third book
published within the AVANT series, a cooperative effort begun in
2004 between St Vladimir’s Seminary Press and St Nersess Armenian
Seminary, which provides Armenian patristic, dogmatic, liturgical,
and other early religious literature to the English-speaking world.

Worship Traditions is a collection of articles dedicated exclusively
to the liturgical traditions of the Eastern Christian churches,
gleaned from a scholarly symposium connected with the commemoration
of the fortieth anniversary of St Nersess Seminary’s establishment.

Dr Paul Meyendorff, the Father Alexander Schmemann Professor of
Liturgical Theology at St Vladimir’s, who spoke about the content of
the book and its place in contemporary liturgical studies, noted, "The
importance of Armenian liturgy has heretofore been largely ignored,
because churches using those traditions are relatively small and their
languages were not accessible to Western scholars in the vanguard
of liturgical scholarship. However, within the last 50 years, the
field has taken a turn toward comparative liturgy, and the Armenian
rite-which was tremendously influenced by, and influenced as well,
all major liturgical traditions-has gained importance. With this book,
the Armenian rite enters into the mainstream of liturgical studies."

He further noted that the first article in the book, by leading
liturgical scholar Robert F. Taft, SJ, "Was the Eucharistic Anaphora
Recited Secretly or Aloud? The Ancient Tradition and What Became of
It," addressed a "burning issue in most living churches that live
the liturgy," and quipped, "It alone is worth the price of the book."

Dr Roberta R. Ervine, editor of Worship Traditions, characterized the
book as a "panoramic snapshot of liturgical thinking" that encompassed
both renowned scholars and newcomers and captured the past, present,
and future in the field of liturgical studies. She acknowledged her
colleagues at St Nersess as those always ready to serve the church
and those always on the cutting edge of scholarship and visionary
initiative, saying, "I work with people willing to jump off a cliff
and be caught by the wings of the unseen Spirit." Dr Ervine, Associate
Professor of Armenian Studies at St Nersess, is a graduate of Columbia
University, with extensive teaching experience at all levels, lately
at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1995-2001), where she taught
a wide spectrum of courses in Armenian Studies and developed graduate
and undergraduate curricula.

Dr Abraham Terian, series editor and Professor of Armenian Patristics
and Academic Dean at St Nersess Armenian Seminary, announced the
upcoming fourth AVANT title, of which he is the author: a translation
of and commentary on a letter by Macarius I, dated AD 335. He noted
that the "very significant" letter can be situated chronologically
between two other texts of great importance for our understanding
of the liturgy: the Didaskalia and the Apostolic Constitutions-and
is among the handful of primary sources dealing with liturgy in the
early fourth century.

The letter, which describes how the rites of Baptism and Eucharist were
performed in the early church, along with various rites of anointing,
could be considered a companion to St Cyril of Jerusalem’s Catechetical
Lectures, which explains the theological meaning of these two major
sacraments without describing how they were carried out. "This upcoming
book is for all those interested in the Old Jerusalem sacramental
tradition," said Dr Terian.

Fr Findikyan, Master of Ceremonies for the event, also acknowledged
honored members of the audience: the family of Armen Jerejian
(1916-1994), in whose memory the book is dedicated, and other
contributors to the volume, Dr Edward G. Mathews, Jr., Brother Stavros
of New Skete, and Dr Terian.

Rev. Dr. Alexander Rentel, Assistant Professor of Canon Law and
Byzantine Studies at St Vladimir’s, gave the final benediction: an
evening dismissal from the Old Constantinopolitan Euchologion, a prayer
whose history and tone served as a link between the two seminaries.

Photos:

Theodore Bazil, Managing Director of St Vladimir’s Seminary
Press,(left) and V. Rev. Daniel M. Findikyan, Dean of St Nersess
Armenian Seminary, celebrated their collaborative publishing effort
at a book launch held on St Vladimir’s campus December 6.

Roberta R. Ervine, Associate Professor of Armenian Studies at St
Nersess Armenian seminary, holds a copy of the newest release from
SVS Press’s AVANT series, "Worship Traditions in Armenia," which
she edited.

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