On Tuesday, November 6, 2012 the third of four lectures being held in conjunction with the seminary’s 75th Anniversary Celebration featured the Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield Chancellor/CEO of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary and Adjunct Professor of Missiology.

Fr. Chad reminded us of some of the unsettling trends in the declining numbers of Orthodox Christians, not only in this country but throughout the world. He stressed how vital it is for the survival of our Church to recommit ourselves to becoming more “mission-minded” and that we are living in a day and age in which ignoring this subject as merely one subject among many is no longer an option for the health and longevity of our Church.

The instructions of Christ to, “Go forth to all nations” is no longer a call to the mission field that is experienced only by some but is a mandate by God to all that must be approached as if the survival of the Orthodox Tradition depended on our actions.