A Minor Seminary is attached to the Seminary and is under the administration of the Rector of the Drohobych Theological Seminary. Currently courses for the Minor Seminary take place once a week. There are three courses open to school boys in the 8th -11th grades from secondary schools or other educational institutions in Drohobych and other cities in the area. The teachers are senior students (4-6 year) of the Drohobych Seminary.

The idea of our Minor Seminary at the Drohobych Seminary, which is under the protection of the Priest-Martyrs Severyn, Yakym and Vitaliy, grew from the belief that young people should be able to deepen their knowledge, and experience spiritual and church life, and receive a grounding that serves as a preparation for entering the Seminary. In this sense, our Minor Seminary is close to Minor Seminary, referred to by the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (cf. can. 331 § 1 CCEO; 332 § 1, 334 § 1-3 CCEC).

Mainly students who show clear signs of a priestly vocation study in our Minor Seminary, in order to more easily and clearly recognize their vocation while nurturing and developing it. (cf. can. 331 § 1 CCEC). Students who do not show signs of a vocation to the clerical state, but who want to exercise some ministry in the Church or just want to get a deeper knowledge of Church discipline and deepen their own spiritual life, can also study here (cf. can. 331 § 1 CCEC). Study in the Minor Seminary does not mean that a graduate must necessarily join the Major Seminary. With adequate support from the leadership of the Minor Seminary, skills are cultivated in the pupils to help them make free and responsible personal decisions in the light of the Gospel.

The main objective of our Minor Seminary is to help a young man make a free choice for his future and to educate him to a life in the community, to lead him to prayer and the sacramental life, acquaint him with the Holy Scripture, the Catechism, the liturgy and Church history. After graduation a Certificate of completion of the Minor Seminary is issued.

The program of the Minor Seminary, in addition to the teaching section, contains spiritual, cultural and educational activities (visiting holy places, monasteries, churches, museums, excursions, meetings, common liturgical prayer, Camping, etc.).

During the month of June each year the Admissions Committee of the Seminary accepts from applicants the following documents which are required for admission:

1. Request
2. Certificate of Baptism and Confirmation
3. A recommendation from their pastor, certified by the signature and seal of the Rev. Dean and enclosed in an envelope
4. A certificate of secondary or higher education
5. Birth certificate
6. Autobiography
7. Medical certificate - Form 086U
8. Medical records
9. Four photos 3x 4
10. Certificate of family composition and residence


Note:

* All documents are accepted only in original;
* The seminary accepts only unmarried persons;
* Documents are accepted from all interested persons aged 17 to 30 years;
* Those admitted to the Seminary will undergo a medical examination;
* Military ID or registration certificate and passport must be presented to the Admission Committee. .


During exams the candidate will be required to show their knowledge of:

* Catechism of the Christian faith;
* Daily prayers and their understanding;
* Divine Liturgy and basic Liturgics;
* The New Testament;
* General facts of the history of the Ukrainian Church and State;
* Music theory and singing (elementary);
* Ukrainian language.

Some exams will be written. Entrance examinations will be held on 8-10 July.

Address: Drohobych Seminary
Vul. D. Halytskoho 2
82100 Drohobych, Lviv region .
Ukraine
Phone / fax: +380324421704
Tel.: +380324438649

Admissions open from 1 to June 30, except Saturday and Sunday, from 11.00 to 15.00 hours.

The field of activity of the Brotherhood of " The Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple" is extremely broad. It is very important that those brothers who feel an inner preparedness for a particular kind of ministry take it up and not simply try to follow “the will of the superior”. Of course, there is the element of obedience here, but to do something freely is preferable. Nevertheless, members of the Seminary Brotherhood have every possibility for creative self-determination. Anyone can offer their views on solving various problems, present his own plan for the development of the Brotherhood’s activities, point out openings for missionary work in places he considers appropriate. The leadership of this community in any case does not hamper brothers in their charitable initiatives and always helps turn their plans into reality.

The charity work, and the prayerful missionary activity of the Brotherhood of " The Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple" has a good impact not only on those people who have the opportunity to associate with its members, but also helps future priests who are Brotherhood members enter into a world where there is the most need for Christ, to understand their own role and to have the opportunity to cooperate with our Savior.
However, it remains for us only to pray for all of them, to help both morally and financially so that the plans of these to these bright apostles of today are realized.

The Charitable Activities of the Brotherhood:
These activities consist basically in visiting various institutions, talking to the people there, sharing prayer with them and catechesis. Particularly helpful is the work with children, who from early childhood had been deprived of parental warmth and love. To this end, the brothers visit on a weekly basis Special schools. What will become of these young hearts in the future - it is in God’s hands and it is He who speaks to them through the mouth of a brother from the Seminary. Each year, members of the Brotherhood organize a St. Nicholas evening for these children, so that they are able to experience for themselves a kind look from a good father, his love, generosity, peace and warmth.
Brothers visit the boarding school for children with visual impairments in the village of Nahuievychi, as well as "Oranta" a Children's Home in Drohobych, the Children's Home "Oriana" and "Caritas" in Borislav. They also visit "Caritas" Drohobych, the orphanage "Liubystok" in Sambir and homes for the elderly in the village of Pidbuzh and the city of Sambir. Part of their actives also includes visits to the "Faith and Light" Communities in Truskavets and Sambir, the Rehabilitation Center of Alcoholics Anonymous AA, "Nazareth", in the village of Ryhtychi, and the Sanatorium "Dzherelo" in Truskavets.
The Brotherhood plans to expand its charitable activities and visit the № 40 Prison in Drohobych.

Documentary about charitable ministry of the Brotherhood
 {vimeo}21489252{/vimeo}

Missionary Activity of the Brotherhood.
The missionary activity of the Brotherhood of " The Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple" is also important. From the stories of our missionaries we learn how much the faithful in these areas need spiritual nourishment, support, and strengthening of faith. There are times when it is necessary to testify to Christ in circumstances of pressure from the different structures and the organs of local government. However, the words of the Savior "They persecuted me, and they will persecute you" (Jn 15:20) in those moments are like a call to more persistent service. The youthful ardor of the Brotherhood members, who in the Holy Spirit interacted with many young people, helps others to understand that faith in Christ and devotion to the Church is not a matter of past times but is really for today.
The Brotherhood helps with missions in the following places: Lugansk, Donetsk, Krasnoarmeysk in the villages of Petrovka, Barvinkove; the cities of Zugres, Dimitrov (Donetsk region); the cities of Odessa, Illichivsk, Yuzhne (Odessa region); the city of Evpatoriya, the villages of Skadovsk, Sonyachne, Antonivka, Ptahivka and Tarasivka (Kherson region). In the Kiev region - the city of Fastiv and the villages of Vradievka, Zhovtneve, Kotlareve. They also help in the city of Yuzhnoukrainsk (Mykolaiv region) and in the city of Znamenka (Kirovohrad region). They also visit Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad and Velyki Korovyntsi in the Zhytomyr region, as well as Nizhnyevartovsk and Surgut in Russia, and Karaganda and Astana in Kazakhstan.

Dear Brother! 

We welcome your desire to serve God and His people through the priestly ministry. We also hope that this desire comes to you through God's inspiration. To test the depth and maturity of your desire, and your own strengths and capabilities, we invite you to participate in our entrance examinations. We look forward to seeing you after you have successfully passed these examinations, as a student of the Drohobych Seminary of the Blessed Martyrs Severyn, Yakym and Vitaliy, Priest-Monks of Drohobych, of the Sambir-Drohobych Eparchy.
To facilitate your preparation we would like to present our Admission Requirements. We want to see in a candidate for the Seminary several key features:
a) Spirituality. Our understanding of this is that the candidate leads an intense Christian life, which consists of prayer, Church attendance and reading spiritual literature. The first part of the interview, as an preliminary to the exam, will be devoted to these issues. There may be questions about certain prayers in terms of not only knowing how to recite them but also how to understand them. Questions also cover the importance and meaning of various Church services and the Church building itself. Based on the literature given below you may be asked about some famous saints of the Ukrainian Church or about some episode from the Bible, Church History or contemporary issues of church life. In order to prepare yourself well in all these areas we recommend you read:
The Bible, the Catechism, “History of the Ukrainian Church” by Fr. Fedoriv, and the church magazines «Meta», «Viruju», «Zhyva Voda»
b) Intelligence. The second part of the interview is devoted to clarifying your intellectual level. Our questions may be about the so-called humanities: the history of Ukraine, literature, national culture, as well as your opinions about current socio-political, economic and international issues. We will base out questions on the knowledge that you should have gained while studying in high school, as well as information on current problems, received from the media. Therefore, read newspapers, watch news on television or listen to it on the radio, use the Internet - in short, be an interested, concerned person. And then you will have no problems during this interview.
The oral exam will also include an examination in music, designed to discover your listening and vocal capabilities. Singing and chanting occupy an important place in the liturgical celebrations of our Church. Therefore we have a separate music exam. If you love to sing and you have sung in a church choir before, you need not be afraid of this exam.
There are two written exams or tests - the Catechism and Liturgics.
Each test contains fifty questions, the final mark will be based on the number of correct answers. To pass these tests requires a good knowledge of the Catechism (study the appropriate book and ask your priest to explain to you anything you don’t understand). For an in-depth understanding of the liturgy a good book is Fr. Fedoriv’s "Rites of the Ukrainian Church". Use these two books as textbooks (work through them and make notes) - and you will be ready to take the tests.
Besides these tests, there are two more marks that you will be given on a piece of written work chosen from three proposed topics set for the exam. One of the marks will be given for literacy, and the second - for theme development. We will never ascribe to the idea that a priest in the Church may not be able to competently write and speak his own native language and we believe that the education received in secondary school is absolutely sufficient for the elimination of this problem. We hope that you have already solved the problem of literacy at school.
To summarize the examination; to the seven marks you have been awarded, we add one more - the so-called average rating school performance mark (5 points maximum).
Therefore, your perfect total score can be 40 (5 points x 7 exams plus average rating point).
We will accept 10-15 students into our Seminary. We hope that the level of your preparation will be enough to get into the top group.
If you do not succeed this year, do not consider it to be a tragedy. The grace of God’s calling in conjunction with your hard work might bring the desired result at the exams next year.
We wish God's blessing with the prayer, "Thy will be done."

The role of church singing deserves special consideration. I want to draw attention only to the fact that music and singing unite people, positively influence the formation of character, the development of aesthetic taste, as well as abstract and logical thinking.
Seminarians of the Drohobych Seminary have every opportunity to develop their musical abilities. In the Singing Course are found such activities as: voice production, Church singing, listening to music.
The brothers have the opportunity to sing in the Seminary Choir "Oranta". This group was founded in 1998 at the initiative of the students, to accompany worship at the Seminary. It was then in the Cathedral of Drohobych that the Choir sang its first Holy Liturgy (to the music of Smerechanskyy).
The name of the choir came into existence in 2000 when the group took part in the anniversary concert dedicated to 2000 years of Christianity in the Palace of Culture "Ukraine" in Kyiv. Together with the popular singer Nina Matvienko and other leading groups, they performed in the cantata-prayer "Come you also into this Cathedral" of the composer Havrilets, dedicated to the "Oranta" (The “Praying Virgin” image of Byzantine iconography). The choir members were so impressed by the study of the cantata, and by the joint rehearsals of this work, that they decided to name their group - "Oranta".
In pursuing the development of the musical abilities of the choir members, the crucial role of the teacher is important for voice production. It should be emphasized that in each different age of life, musical training has an effect on the individuality of each human voice. Therefore, the main form of training for voice performance is individual classes. Their contents, methods and techniques are subject to the task of the vocal and technical development of future priests.
The choir fundamentally performs four part music, mostly spiritual: Divine Liturgy, Vespers, concert works from different periods. They also sing secular music: works with the words of Ukrainian poets and Ukrainian folk songs. Today, the Choir is adding works of foreign classical music and modern composers to its repertoire.
The first audio recording was made in 2006 - Divine Liturgy by the Ternopil composer Smerechanskyy (Celebrating priest - Fr. Taras Koberynko. Sound - Vasyl’ Pryriz). Also, the choir has a lot of material ready to make new recordings.
Choir class, where rehearsals take place is a creative workshop, where great works of art come alive. Here you can immerse yourself in the music of the 18th century (The choral concert in three parts, "Hospody, syloyu tvojeju (O Lord, by Thy power…)" by Bortnyanskyy), the choir attempts to reproduce the images of Zaporizhzhya Cossacks under the Turkish captivity ("Zakuvala Syla Zozolja (Called the Gray Cuckoo)" - chorus number 5 of the "Vechornytsi (Evenings)" by Nischinskyy to the words of Taras Shevchenko) You can also hear the Ukrainian lyrical song or the funny “kolomyika”. The Choir sings at solemn Liturgies, occasionally participates in various events held in the Church and in the social activities of the city.
In November 2009 at the invitation of the Ukrainian diaspora of Koszalin, the Choir made a concert tour of Ukrainian shrines in Poland. There are plans also to take part in choir festivals and competitions of sacred music.
It can be recalled that some time ago in Lviv at the Lviv Theological Academy a conference was convened for scholars of Church music and choral conductors. At this conference the question was discussed as to how to improve the development of Ukrainian Church music at the present moment. There were several approaches.
And one leading conductor of Lviv said: "The best way today to improve the development of choral Church music is to instill the love of the choir into the student while in the Seminary. And then when he comes as a priest to the parish, he will already appreciate the choir, and want to nurture, to educate, to develop it. In this way choral church culture will develop"... Therefore our work with the Choir is devoted to this end. It is good to hear at the Divine Liturgy a priest with correct well-formed diction, a steady sound, beautiful in tone and in harmony with the choir, the faithful and God. This is achieved through hard work.
We have hope in God and we hope that He will give our Seminary ringing youthful voices that freely, loudly and beautifully will praise His Holy Name.

+++

"I have known the Choir of the Drohobych Seminary, ever since my unforgettable work at the Lviv Holy Spirit Seminary, where in June 2000, there were held the first trials for a consolidated choir under my supervision to participate in the festive Liturgy to commemorate the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Our Lord in Zarvanytsia.
Also I often heard the Choir on separate occasions in Lviv, Drohobych, Ivano-Frankivsk and at other schools. I always felt that in this seminary the choir works systematically because of the caring support of the administration and their good, professional choir leaders.

From a musical point of view this group stands out for its good choral sonority, its ensemble formation, the purity of intonation, and by a subtle, convincing performance of spiritual works. Clearly this is a good school for the education of future priests, for the development of their musical, vocal, and auditory gifts. I also believe that the Choir should continue to constantly consolidate good vocal material, and place greater emphasis on the vocal education of young singers as future priests.

I wish the Choir and its leaders continuing fruitful work, for the spiritual progress of others in joy and in the praise of God. "

Oleh Tsyhylyk,
Artistic Director and Conductor of the Lviv Municipal Male Choir "Homin (Hum)" Honored Artist of Ukraine

+++
"Drohobych is one of the smaller cities in Ukraine, but with a great cultural heritage. Evidence of this is the fact that there is a Seminary in the city. It is headed by a man who along with his deep spiritual purpose is also a talented musician.

Regarding the Seminary Choir, which I was able to hear during my stay in Drohobych what then drew my attention was the intonation of the collective sound. Of course, there is always a lot of work to do. However, as a youthful choir, in their sound you can hear a "spring-water purity". And I still remember the very well organized sound of the harmony.
In my opinion, it is precisely through music, through art that high spiritual ideals enter the heart more deeply.
Given that Drohobych Seminary celebrates its anniversary, I would like to wish her, her leadership of the Choir and many wonderful, creative years. "

Lesia Dychko,
Secretary of the Composers' Union, winner of the Taras Shevchenko Prize, Professor of the National Music Academy of Ukraine

+++
"I have a special liking for the genre of the male choir as such, not any particular choir, but generally. For me personally, I prefer an equally mixed choir, but I do respect a male choir. Unfortunately, today in Ukraine there are few male choirs. What I heard in the performance of the male choir of the Seminary, "Oranta", has been pleasantly surprising. The first interesting thing is that this is a youth choir, it is fresh, and so to speak, has a young man’s sound.
Speaking in the long term of what the choir should do, the group should fully grow and develop, so to speak, in artistic terms, it certainly could have brighter first tenors and second basses, because in the male choir this is the atmosphere, and the first fiddle, so to speak, is the bass.
The first impression made on me was that here is an artistic level of a professional hue, a culture of sound, intonation, stability in the performance, etc. That is generally speaking, all the components of choral sonority that we can enumerate, know, understand, and this made a positive impression on me.
Hopefully, this group will often perform in our city and we will enjoy their art, that it will not only limit itself to devotional music, but develop its activities in a secular direction and will add to our artistic life".

Ihor Tsyklinskyy,
Artistic Director and Conductor, Drohobych Municipal Choir "Lehenda (Legend)" Honored Artist of Ukraine

The desire to learn something new is found in all people. However, the individual chooses their own path to knowledge. Some sit in the library every day, working through tons of books and defending a dissertation, for others a weekly newspaper is enough, a third type lives online looking for important and not so important information.

It might be to the point to mention here the famous saying: "It's never too late to learn." And in the process of their studies, in their formation for the priesthood, Drohobych Seminary students work on publishing a seminary magazine, "Word". The number of Church publications, compared with previous years, has increased greatly, and perhaps many graduates of seminaries will have to undertake publishing or journalistic activities, especially when they begin their pastoral ministry.

In 1998 the magazine "Word" was released with a small number of copies for our Seminary only, but in 2003 a group of like-minded students decided to distribute the magazine to a wider readership, so that the magazine reached beyond the Seminary.

The magazine is of interest not only to students of the Seminary, its subjects are always relevant for young people, and for lay people and priests and monks. So we can say that it has grown beyond a “home made and consumed” product. It is no exaggeration to say that the editorial board of the magazine "Word" consists of everyone at the Drohobych Seminary, and that all seminarians are the original generators of the ideas that are successfully implemented.

In the Seminary, editing the magazine has became an important educational activity. Here students acquire journalistic skills, editorial and organizational practice, and deal with the difficult problems that arise in Church life. Many of those who have worked on the student magazine, are now actively involved in the life of the Church.

Members of the current editorial board are: Roman Andriyovskyy (Editor), Rostislav Pryriz (deputy editor), Roman Hrom, Roman Ilnytskyy, Roman Kich, Andriy Hladkyy

For individual issues of the magazine "Word" - see here.

We are sincerely grateful to all who help finance the "Word". Please contact us at:

Magazine "Slovo (Word)"
Duhovna Seminaria
vul. D. Halytsjkoho 2
82100 m. Drohobych
Lvivsjka obl.
Ukraine
Tel/Fax: +380324421704
Tel.: +380324438649

E-mail: slovo@dds.edu.ua

In this section are published the most interesting articles from the Seminary magazine "Word". To consult its printed version, please contact the library of the Seminary or the editorial staff of "The Word".

Address:

Magazine "Slovo"
vul. D. Halytsjkoho 2
82100 m. Drohobych
Lvivsjka obl.
Ukraine
Tel/Fax: +380324421704
Tel.: +380324438649

E-mail: slovo@dds.edu.ua

Father Isydor Dolnytskyi was born on February 21, 1830 into a priestly family in the town of Zaliztsi (Brody region), where his father Ivan was the pastor.

At the end of 1845 when he was in the first class of the Ternopil gymnasium, Metropolitan Myikhaylo Levytskyy sent him to study at the Greek College of St. Athanasius in Rome. After returning to Galicia in 1856, Isydor was ordained a priest and assigned as an assistant at the Church of St. George in Lviv. In 1857 the Metropolitan named Fr. Isydor chaplain for the students at the College of St.. Athanasius in Rome. He defended his Doctorate in Theology, and from 1863 worked in the Committee, which prepared materials for the canonization of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych. Then Pope Pius IX named him his deacon, and on all feast days Isydor read the Gospel in Greek.

In 1877, Metropolitan Josyf Sembratovych recalled Fr. Isydor to Lviv and appointed him Spiritual Director and Professor of Liturgy and Church Music at the Lviv Theological Seminary. In 1885, Fr. Isydor founded there the Brotherhood of the "Entry of the Blessed Virgin into the Temple." He was also the Spiritual Guardian of the Basilian Sisters.

Isydor made a significant contribution to resolving ritual questions at the Lviv Synod in 1891. He wrote several tracts, which the Synod later adopted in its decision. He is the author of several Akathists, services and hymns, but definitely the greatest of his scholarly achievements was the publication of his "Liturgical Typikon" (Typyka, 1899), which is the liturgical ordo of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

His contemporaries said the following about Fr. Isydor: : “Well he was - “Dzyadzo”, Father Prelate - a man from a fairy tale almost, rather an eternal poet - happy, enthusiastic, always delighting in the creative effort , hard working, kind, affectionate, and above all forgiving, and self-sacrificial beyond measure, and unbelievably warm, soft - a saint, his whole life was just”.

When Fr Isydor died on March 22 1924 he was believed to be a saint. He is buried in the Lychakivskyy cemetery in the tomb of the Cathedral Chapter.