In Loving Memory of Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko

The last of the “giants” of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) has reposed in the Lord, and the very sad news of his passing has captured my whole mind and entire being. I have had very fond memories of my Alma Mater, but none could have been more vivid than the times spent with its Dean during my 3 years of study in that theological school. It is hard even for me to believe that on the 15th Anniversary of my graduation from SVOTS, I look back at my theological school by means of reflecting on the death of Father Thomas. I consider Father Thomas the “last” of the “giants”, neither to undermine nor to degrade any of the present, past, or future faculty, but on the contrary, my consideration is contextual to Father Thomas Hopko’s own contemporaries, “giants” like Schmemann, Florovsky, Meyendorff, Verhovskoy, and Kesich, all of Blessed Memory, contemporaries of Hopko while here on this earth, and now he is their contemporary in God’s Hands, in the Kingdom of Heaven that is, where the Saints shine like the Stars in Heaven.

Father Thomas was in many ways like them – I admit, I did not know any of them personally, except for Professor Vasselin Kesich, but only through their literary works – and in a few ways he was different from all of the faculty and deans. Father Thomas, to my knowledge, was the only faculty and dean of SVOTS who truly labored as a Priest in Christ’s Vineyard, in the Church that is, for almost a quarter of a century, and then later returned to seminary to teach and be a Professor. Unlike many, he had rightly possessed a good amount of pastoral experience, which made him stand out among his peers. To some of my colleagues who did not appreciate this experience of Father Thomas, they considered his “off the subject discussions” during his class lectures as “boring.” These former colleagues were in no doubt the “scholarly” type, and could not appreciate this aspect of Father Thomas, perhaps, and this is my personal assumption, they had entered the seminary for academic purposes only, not ever desiring to be laborers in Christ’s Vineyard, whether as lay or clergy ministers. On the other hand, my other colleagues, who like myself ended up – by God’s purpose and design, and not ours – as ordained laborers in His Vineyard, we sincerely appreciated this aspect of Father Thomas. Those of us who entered seminary for the sole purpose to prepare for the Priesthood, in many ways thirsted for lectures that Father Thomas offered, because his lectures offered us a unique perspective and personal insight to the ministry.

Father Thomas was of the first a Humble Man: Although he was well-rounded in academics, possessing a vast knowledge of Holy Scriptures, Dogma, History, Hagiology, Linguistics, and Liturgics, his methodology and conduct in any of the classes he instructed were very humble. The “standard policy” during his tenure as Dean of SVOTS was very simple: “If you write any paper in any of my classes, you have to quote the Scripture, and do so correctly and contextually.” He used to instruct us by way of this reminder: “The Bible is the Most Important Book you will have to learn while you are here in seminary. When you go out into the world, you cannot discuss liturgics, or canons, or dogma with the average lay person; most likely these topics will be insignificant to him or her. On the other hand, the Bible is the only thing that constitutes a tangible reference to that person, because the Bible is the only Book that every lay person has access to.” To this day, I humbly admit, I have taken on Father Hopko’s advice, and it has served me well in my 15 years of ministry, both as lay and ordained minister.

Father Thomas was a Humorous Man: He had a real sense of humor. He did not go around quipping jokes all the time, but rather, his jokes were contextual to his lectures. He possessed a keen memory which always amazed me. During the discussion of any joke, he would remember the exact place and time of a real life incident. Whether the situational joke involving his presence took place in Lebanon, Greece, Spain, Russia, or anywhere in the world that he visited, he had a very keen memory of that incident, which brought a spark of joy and excitement to us in class. He did not joke with any of us outside of the classroom, but only in class, which made us appreciate the gentleman in him. One incident happened between me and him which I shall never forget as long as I live. It was during the last week of my third year at SVOTS, and I noticed him sitting at my table during every meal in the refectory, and smiling and having fun with us. I remarked to him my surprise, and told him that this “behavior” was somewhat strange and unseen before, to which he responded in front of my colleagues: “Well, pal, because you will be out of here next week” remarking that I would graduate from seminary.

Father Thomas was a Genuine Man: I say this as a Priest. Outside of the classroom, he possessed the great skill as a personal communicator. He always understood his audience, whether it was a few people, a lot of people, or just one person. I was always impressed by his keen memory of the names of the many people he encountered in his life, whether it was a year ago or decades ago. On one occasion, he showed me a picture taken of him and someone else during his seminary days, while the two were in Greece. He asked me: "Charles, who else do you see in this picture?" I looked intently and thought for a bit, then I responded: "My God, is this Elias Audi?" (now Metropolitan of Beirut). He then informed me that the two had been fellow classmates at SVOTS and spent one summer together in Greece.

In his communication with others, he always realized his context: I remember seeing him with elderly people, communicating to them on their level; and likewise with little children doing the same. But with his students he neither tolerated failure nor “academic condescension.” You see, to Father Thomas, it did not matter whether you were the “scholarly type” or any other type. What mattered to him the most was that you were a human person, a hypostasis in Greek. God put you on this earth for a reason, and whatever that reason is, only God knows it, and only God will show you that reason. When it comes to this understanding, according to Father Thomas, every person has a purpose to fulfill in life. His property of genuineness brings to mind this fact that I vividly remember: Of the 20 or so instructors I had at SVOTS, Father Thomas was the only one who wept in class, more than once, for the right reasons and at the right time, not to make a point, but for the sole purpose to show us that we are only human. As I look back to 15 years ago, I reflect on the shortest verse in the New Testament (“And Jesus Wept” John 11:35), and the only significant person to me who made sense of this verse was in the person of Father Thomas.

He was also genuine in the matter of something that many Americans appreciated the least – speaking in reverse that is – and that had to do with human sexuality. You see, sadly, most of our American sitcom programs use sexuality as a means for comedy, and many Americans, whether knowingly or not, pay attention to these “jokes” and make light of them. Father Thomas, on the contrary, did not like this aspect of modern society. This brings to mind an incident that happened during my first year at SVOTS, 18 years ago. I forgot the exact context, because I was neither present nor involved, but what happened was the following: Some students, on some occasion unknown to me, decided to imitate an American sitcom, and they apparently joked about something that was sexual in nature in some play they did. The next morning the entire student body – we were a large student body back then, amounting to almost a 100 students – was called to an “Important Meeting” to take place in the Hall beneath the Three Hierarchs Chapel. Once we were all assembled, Father Thomas had a grilling to deliver, and he said: “God created sex for a reason, and that is to be glorified in the household of marriage. Sex is not to be made fun of in simile to many of the sitcoms. I am ashamed of the fact that what happened recently constituted a joke on sex. As long as I am the Dean of this seminary, this will never take place again.” And we all left, wondering at what had happened previously, that is, those of us who were absent from that event. In essence, we all got the message.

Father Thomas was also genuine as a Dean of a respected Theological School. He did not tolerate cheating, failure, or misbehavior. I remember that during my 3 years of study (1997-2000) a few students disappeared from campus, only to find out years later that they were expelled from school. Father Thomas was very adamant about Forgiveness Vespers: Each year he boldly and bluntly instructed the entire student body, at the Three Hierarchs Chapel, that all must be present during that evening service, in order to ask for and accept the forgiveness of others. No excuses were ever accepted. Anyone who avoided that service would suffer the consequences from being expelled from seminary.

Father Thomas was a Personal Friend: Last but not least, I shall always remember and cherish this fact. During my first birthday while in seminary, and upon his discovery that our birthdays were on the same day (March 28), the friendship between Father Thomas and me somewhat grew exponentially. He always used to say to me, on our birthdays: “You see, Charlie, God never makes any mistakes. He designed to have our birthdays on the same day so that we can have a special relationship.” It was indeed a special relationship: Every year, for 3 years, I would go to my mailbox on March 28th and find an envelope in there addressed to me. Every envelope had the Dean’s Stationary Card enclosed with a sweet and personal Birthday message. He would always address it as “our birthday” and not “your birthday.” That made me feel very special, and I shall always remember and cherish these 3 birthdays I had at SVOTS. To this day I have preserved these cards inside the Bible case, containing the Bible I possessed while in seminary (Picture of Cards included). On the date of my graduation, I received a final gift from Father Thomas Hopko: I saw a small white box in my mailbox with my name on it. As I opened it, tears started to roll down on my face. It contained a beautiful Russian Hand-Engraved Cross. With it was a small note saying: “Charles: May this Cross be the Only Joy in your life!”

What shall I say to you my Friend, Brother of the Altar, Teacher, and Dean? Is it easy for me to accept this reality? Absolutely not, because I feel like I have lost a father. To say that I will miss you would be a very small thing. I have missed you for the past 15 years, and now I shall miss you the more, but in a different way. You have taught me many things; you have instructed me in many ways; and you have loved me more than I deserve. Before 1997, I was ignorant in theology. All that I know now, and for the rest of my life, I had a good foundation to build on through your labor of love. The culmination of your life, my dear Father Thomas, was “Speaking the Truth in Love.” I shall humbly dare to do so at your passing:

You have paralleled Saint Paul, my dear Father Thomas: You have “fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have preserved the faith. Finally, there is laid up for you the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to you on that Day, and not to you only but also to all who have loved His manifestation (i.e. His Epiphany).” You have followed in the footsteps of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, and He, not any of us, will tell you today: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” 

In Arabic, we Orthodox Christians do not say "Good-bye" but "Ela-lliqa" (إلى اللقاء) which means: "Until we meet again."

God be with you, Father Thomas, pray for us at the Throne of Mercy.