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Newsletter
- 25/09 Семінаристи помолилися Вечірню з Литією напередодні свята Переставлення Йоана Богослова
- 25/09 У семінарії освятили пожертвувані комплекти літургійних риз
- 24/09 Студенти VI-го курсу ДДС поспілкувались з військовим капеланом
- 14/09 Семінаристи помолилися Вечірню та Утреню з нагоди празника Воздвиження Хреста Господнього
- 10/09 Шестикурсники відвідали єпархіальний Карітас
Traditions |
Our academic year begins with Liturgy celebrated by our Bishop in which we pray for the health of all the brothers and ask blessings for the year. According to our tradition we elect the Dean of Students for the Seminary. All the seminarians gather in the auditorium and consider who might be worthy candidates for this office. Having considered everything, the brothers fill in the name of one of their number on specially prepared sheets of paper and then put them into an urn (made especially for this purpose). Once all the names have been collected, the Central Election Commission is organized consisting of all the “seniors” of the different years and the votes are counted to determine who will be the Dean of Students. The newly elected Dean asks the blessing of the administration, and then he undergoes the traditional inauguration ceremony that consists of his “enthronement” on a special tree-stump. Then he proceeds to take up his duties. After some months of study the winter feast days arrive, one of which is the feast of St. Nicholas. On this day, we traditionally hold two events: the Seminary celebration of the feast of St. Nicholas and a celebration of St. Nicholas together with the Youth Choir "Vidlunnia (Echoes)” and the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity Cathedral. Both these celebrations are very similar and yet different. The celebration of the feast inside the Seminary is always organized by students of the third course and this allows them to show their creativity. You may ask why? Because on this evening they present episodes of everyday life in the Seminary in a rather comic light. Parallel with the third year coures’ organization of the celebration of the feast of St. Nicholas, the second year course, organizes theirs for the choir "Echoes" and the Brotherhood of the Cathedral. Here, both sides try to show the shortcomings of the other side through pointed jokes but as everything must be based on real events that have actually taken place, there can be no exaggerating or inventing situations, After these two nights there is always a good atmosphere and good memories. In October, for the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God we organize the Pokrovsky celebrations with a “Strong Men Competition”. In these competitions each course tries to show their abilities both physical and intellectual. Naturally, as in any competition there is a jury, which evaluates all stages of the contest and who in the end makes a decision. Although this is a contest and, of course, places are awarded in the end, as people like to say “friendship is the ultimate winner.” The month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. At this time we have special devotions to the Mother of God in our Chapel. But this is not all. In this month we have the annual pilgrimage to Hrushiv (a center of Marian devotion near Drohobych), which involves a large number of people not only from Drohobych, but also from other cities and villages, as well as our seminarians. This has become a tradition not only for the Seminary but for everyone. But, we do not limit ourselves only to the Hrushiv pilgrimage and every year there are also pilgrimages to Univ, Krekhiv, Zarvanytsia, Bylychi and other holy places. Twice a year we have a “Carnevale”: before the Christmas and Easter fasts. A large number of young people gather at these events because on the next day we begin our ascent of the spiritual “ladder of perfection” so that we may adequately meet these two great feasts. Our summer camps have a slightly different character. After a long year of study young people want to relax and, with this in mind, we organize our summer camps “Zarephath”. However, the goal of the summer camp is not just to have a good time, it is also an opportunity to work with youth on their spiritual growth and introduce them to a deeper understanding of Christianity. Each year these camps take place in different places, mainly in the mountains and they attract young people from almost all over Ukraine.
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