Eastern Church Seminar Discusses Marriage

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio—23 September 2008—Notre Dame College’s Center for Pastoral Theology and Ministry, along with the College’s Eastern Church Resource Center, presents the 24th annual Eleanor Malburg Seminar, “Marriage in Society: East and West, or Nowhere” Friday evening October 10 and Saturday, October 11. The program examines the theology, ritual, and realities of marriage in a secular society through the lenses of the Eastern and Roman Catholic Churches.

The opening program takes place at St. Gregory of Narek Armenian Orthodox Church, 678 Richmond Road in Richmond Heights. Registration is at 6:30 p.m., followed by a prayer service at 7:00 and keynote address at 7:30. “Marriage: Mystery of Crowning, Sacrament of Love,” is presented by Rev. Vladimir Berzonsky, D. Min., a well-known author, teacher and lecturer who has represented the Orthodox Church in America in ecumenical circles, including the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. Rev. Berzonsky is pastor of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Parma.

The Saturday program at Notre Dame College, 4545 College Road, begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 2:45 p.m. The program, which presents three speakers throughout the day, will be moderated by Msgr. George Appleyard, pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.

Speakers include Valerie Zahirsky, M.A., M.Div., who will address, “Educating for Christian Marriage: Challenge of Formation for the Vocation of Marriage.” Ms. Zahirsky writes church school curricula and offers teacher training for Orthodox parishes in North America and churches in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Notre Dame College Eastern Churches Seminar Father Peter Galadze, Ph.D., will discuss “Marriage in Society: East and West or Nowhere.” He is the Kule Family Professor of Liturgy at the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario.

Bill Boomer, M.A., will speak on “Marriage, Sacrament of Vowed Love: Contract and Covenant.” Boomer is director of the Department for Marriage and Family Ministry in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

Cost for the program, including lunch, is $35.00. For more information, or reservations, contact Sr. Mary Ann Baran, director of Notre Dame College’s Center for Pastoral Theology and Ministry, 216.373.5389 or mbaran@ndc.edu.