March 20, 2012
Howell, NJ: Diocesan Media Office staff complete week-long filming
process for the Pastoral Resources Program
During
the second week of Great Lent, March 5-10, with the blessing of His
Grace George, Bishop of Mayfield, chairman of the Pastoral Resources
Program Committee, staff members of the diocesan Media Office filmed
a series of seminars and interviews for the first series of PRP
videos. The week-long filming process, which took place in the NY-NJ
area, was made possible through the generous support of the
Fund for Assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
In the words of
PRP Committee member
Archpriest Mark Mancuso, the PRP was formed
to think of creative ways to use technology in the realm of
continuing education for clergy.
“There are so many arenas in which a clergyman must work that it is
almost impossible for him to keep up on his own considering the
constant demands on his time. The goal of the PRP is to address so
many of the issues that directly impact a clergyman and present them
in a way that it is easy for him to assimilate and make a part of
his active ministry.”
The first four topics chosen by the PRP committee were liturgics,
homiletics, diaconal service, and pastoral work with addicts. When
it came time to select the speakers, committee members decided to
start locally.
"In
the Eastern American Diocese, we are blessed with so many
experienced priests and deacons that have so much to offer the rest
of the clergy, that one of our intentions is to start our program by
interviewing them and putting their collective wisdom in a video
format," explained Fr. Mark.
The filming week began on Tuesday, March 6, at
St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Lakewood, NJ, where
Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov hosted a seminar on the topics of
liturgics and homiletics. In the first lecture, he gave practical
advice for clergy on a variety of liturgical issues, explaining the
origins of many liturgical practices in the Russian Church Abroad.
The second lecture was on homiletics. Fr. Valery analyzed the
different parts of a sermon and gave detailed, step-by-step
instructions on how to prepare a sermon in seven days. Both lectures
were followed by an interactive discussion with the audience, during
which Fr. Valery answered many questions, including those that were
sent in through Facebook. The seminars on liturgics and homiletics
will be produced separately in Russian and English (each video will
be approximately 70 minutes).
In addition to the abovementioned lectures, Fr. Valery held a
40-minute discussion about the life and legacy of Archbishop Averky
(Taushev). He shared his personal memories of this great hierarch,
and explained the main principles by which he lived and served. This
discussion, along with several others, will be produced as part of a
video series of historical portraits.
According to Priest Vadim Arefiev, one of the members of the live
audience during the filming of the first seminar, videos of these
and similar lectures are an invaluable addition to the spiritual
life of ROCOR.
"The
fact that we in the Diocese now have this opportunity to record
pastoral resources is impossible to overestimate, since many
wonderful pastors are departing this life who otherwise would be
unable to share their experience. Fr. Valery Lukianov, the
senior-most cleric in the whole Church Abroad and someone possessed
of great liturgical and homiletical experience, shared the wealth of
his spiritual knowledge with us. May God grant that our Diocese
continue this blessed undertaking, preserving and expanding our
legacy."
On Wednesday, March 7, an interview with Archbishop Justinian of
Naro-Fominsk was held in the office of the Administrator of the
Patriarchal Parishes in the USA in New York City. His Eminence
answered questions about his childhood and explained what led him to
monastic tonsure, which he received at Holy Trinity-St. Sergius
Larva. A large portion of the interview was dedicated to diaconal
service in the Church, and His Eminence offered practical and
spiritual advice for young deacons. He also commented on the current
state of relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR
parishes in America.
On
Thursday, March 8, diocesan secretary Archpriest Serge Lukianov met
with Archdeacon Eugene Burbelo for an interview at his residence in
Freehold, NJ. Fr. Eugene is the senior-most deacon in ROCOR, and
during his 57 years of service, he has served under Metropolitans
Anastassy, Philaret, Vitaly, Laurus, and Hilarion. During the
60-minute interview, Fr. Serge spoke with Fr. Eugene about his many
years of service and his memories of reposed hierarchs and clergy
who impacted his life in a significant way. The Archdeacon also
spoke of his family life and gave invaluable advice for deacons on
how they should conduct themselves during and outside of the divine
services.
The PRP Committee chose to focus on diaconal service because, as Fr.
Serge explained, the Diocese has a record amount of newly ordained
deacons.
"One of the first projects is a video with several interview clips
from bishops and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, discussing
the significance of the deacon’s role in the divine services. The
speakers give advice to deacons based on their personal experiences
and the advice that was given to them by their mentors. We hope to
produce several films like this before moving on to produce a
training video that will show deacons exactly what to do during the
Liturgy and other services."
The interviews with Archbishop Justinian and Archdeacon Eugene will
be produced in a special video series, along with interviews from
Protodeacon Leonid Mickle (cleric of St. John the Baptist
Cathedral), Protodeacon Igor Panachev (cleric of St. Nicholas
Patriarchal Cathedral in New York City), and others.
The
week of filming ended in Brooklyn, NY on March 9, at the
Church of Our Lady "The Inexhaustible Chalice," where parish
rector Priest Vadim Arefiev led a seminar on the topic of pastoral
work with addicts. Fr. Vadim is the director of St. John’s Mercy
House, the only Orthodox rehabilitation center in ROCOR for the
homeless and alcoholics. The seminar was filmed using an educational
format with no live audience, so that Fr. Vadim could speak directly
into the camera and address the online audience. He outlined
different pastoral approaches to working with addicts, offered
practical advice to the average pastor, and explained the challenges
of Orthodox psychotherapy by referencing the works of well-known
Orthodox therapists. Throughout the lecture, interviews were
conducted with former alcoholics who shared personal stories of
their experiences with alcohol addiction and how they were able to
start new lives through repentance, prayer and constant struggle in
the Church.
Having completed the filming for the first stage of the PRP, Media
Office staff are focused on the post production process.
"Now that filming is complete, we move on to the more challenging
postproduction phase, which requires the coordinated and combined
effort of all of our staff," said Reader Peter Lukianov (director of
the Diocesan Media Office). "Our videographer, Reader Inocencio
Correa, is editing footage from 3-4 cameras into one video, while
editors are composing and translating transcripts of the interviews
so that both Russian and English speakers can benefit from the
material. We hope to produce and publish four bilingual 60 minute
videos in the next 4-6 weeks."
In order to keep up with the demand for PRP video lectures and
seminars, Media Office staff hope to gather in different parts of
the diocese every 6-8 weeks to arrange similar filming weeks with
different speakers and audiences.
Republication of materials must include a reference to:
"Eastern American Diocese www.eadiocese.org."
Media
Office of the Eastern American Diocese
