On Tuesday, April 9, 2013 our Seminary community had the honor and blessing to hear the practical wisdom and experience the calm presence of Fr. Theodore Petrides, the Greek Orthodox priest of Holy Cross Church in Stroudsburg, PA, as he spoke in two classes and at lunch.  

 

At the invitation of Dr. David Ford, in the America and Orthodoxy course, Fr. Theodore spoke about his experiences growing up in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in the 1960s and '70s, attending Holy Cross Seminary in the '80s, and serving as the parish priest in Stroudsburg for the past 17 years.

 

Then in the Parish Administration/Canon Law, Fr. Theodore spoke about how the canons of the Church have impacted his priestly ministry, and how he sees them as highly beneficial in pastoral ministry when their spirit is followed therapeutically on a case by case basis.

 

Then at lunch, at the invitation of our Interim Dean, Fr. Sergius, Fr. Theodore spoke about prayer as being "a mirror of the soul."  He encouraged us to let God's light and truth illumine our inner being, to help us to see our sins more clearly and to be cleansed of them through forthright, thorough confession.

 

We thank Fr. Theodore for the wisdom he shared and for the grace of his presence among us, and we look forward to his next visit to St. Tikhon's.

 

(Article By Dr. David Ford Proffessor of Church History, St. Tikhon's Seminary)