The following is what I submitted as partial fulfillment for the St. Nersess Armenian Seminary application.
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St. Nersess Seminary Application
Fall Semester – 2011
Eric J. Vozzy
Give a brief autobiographical sketch and describe your own sense of calling to serve the Church, your understanding of the mission of the Armenian Church, and how you envision your calling being realized in and through St. Nersess Seminary.
As early as I can remember, God has been central in my life. I was baptized in the Armenian Orthodox Church, and raised in a devout Christian home. Although I was raised as a Protestant, I only thought of myself as a Christian, and it was Christian spirituality that was modeled in our home. Thus, my first teacher and largest influence was my parents. The Christian faith was taught to be the center of my life, not just a category, and although I would struggle and fall short, the goal of my life was to love and glorify God, even through trials. I was taught to voice what I believed to others, and to stand in the face of opposition for what I believed. Since my late teenage years, I have served in various Church ministries, and pursued personal study of the Bible and theology. In my late twenties I enrolled at an Evangelical seminary in Charlotte, NC and graduated in 2009 with an M.A. in philosophy. My time in Charlotte has been very formative, and upon graduation I began to look into the Orthodox Church, because by that time I did label myself as a Protestant. After a year of prayer and research, I committed to the Armenian Orthodox Church, and from that moment to the present, I have been serving and participating in the life of St. Sarkis Armenian Church.
The Church has always served as an important role in my life, and I believe that my specific calling has been nurtured by my parents, who taught and modeled the importance of serving in the Church. I believe that specific calling is still being nurtured, renewed, and redefined as I am rediscovering my faith in the Armenian Orthodox Church. Several years ago my passion became the study of theology, and since joining the Armenian Church, my passion has become the practice of theology. My desire to study and practice the theology of the Church has never been merely for my own benefit, but to give to others through teaching and through example. That being said, there are a few ways in which I have discovered a calling in my own life to serve the Church.
First, every Christian is called to be a disciple of Christ, ever pursuing union with Him. As a professing Christian, this calling obviously applies to me, and needs to be lived out through the Church.
The second way in which I have discovered my calling was to look at my past to see how God has used me. Since 1996, I have served as a leader within various local Church ministries, such as Bible studies (youth and adult), a college campus Christian group, a Church audio/visual team, two youth groups, and most recently the ACYOA. I taught an adult Sunday school class, helped initiate a weekly evening service, and lead a theology book club. I wrote articles for a monthly Church newsletter, and most recently I write for the St. Peter (Watervliet) Loosaper. I served on a Church leadership team, was a minstrel on a Church worship team, and most recently I serve on the Parish Council. I have also conducted teachings in various small group settings, as well as on a weekly radio show. I have conducted an entire Lutheran liturgy for Sunday morning worship, and preached on two different occasions for their Sunday morning service. None of this is an attempt to give an impressive resume, but to point out a certain theme, or themes I have noticed in my own life – leadership, teaching, and shepherding. I do not credit myself with what I have accomplished, but understand that any results of ministry experience will flow out of who I am in Christ, as a member of His body. It is my attitude, character, and integrity that people will recognize as leadership.
The third way in which I am discovering my calling is to look at my present life, and ask whether or not I am leading and directing people to God. This does happen, not only within the Church, but also without the Church. There exist various relationships in which God has allowed me to be an influence and exhibit God’s truth.
Fourthly, I do my best to remain open to what God has for me, and also to what the leadership of the Armenian Church has for me. I am drawn to the priesthood, but I am willing to let the Church identify any calling on my life, rather than have it just be an internal and subjective experience. If I do have a calling, I would only see it as legitimate if that calling were confirmed by the Church. I trust that the Church can and will identify the gifts, talents, and any qualities required for Church service regardless of my past experience and personal opinion.
Lastly, through the Holy Spirit, I have developed a heart for the people of the Armenian Orthodox Church, and my desire, whether or not I become a priest, is to do my best to lead them to a deeper spiritual level of the Christian faith, and help them know what it means to be an Armenian Orthodox Christian. That is, how to connect their faith in Christ to their Church tradition.
The mission of the Armenian Orthodox Church is simply to continue the earthly mission of Jesus Christ. It is to represent the people of God on earth, to draw people to Him, and to direct them toward salvation. Through the Church and her Divine Mysteries, most importantly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, faithful Christians attain union with God, and with each other. Through apostolic teaching, the Church is to create disciples, and to aid them in conforming to the image of God. The Church is the vehicle by which we realize the end for which we were created, that being communion with our Creator. The priest, as the representative of the people, is to shepherd his flock, teaching them to pray, and, as Eucharistic beings, to participate in a life of worship, prayer, and asceticism. The clergy and laity together are to teach, express, and live out the love of Christ so that we become more like Him. Thus, the mission of the Church can be summed up in the Great Commission as well as the greatest commandment – to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them His commandments, the greatest of which is to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and body, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
I envision my calling being realized through St. Nersess Seminary as much needed preparation. As I focus on and learn Armenian Orthodox Christianity, I hope and pray that my experience at the seminary, shared with the staff, students, and Armenian community, will confirm any calling I may have on my life and ministry. I hope to further develop a heart for the Armenian faithful, in order to best lead, guide, and shepherd them toward salvation. I believe St. Nersess will help me cultivate a voice with which I can speak to and for the Armenian Orthodox Church, and to spread her teachings within and without the Armenian Orthodox community. I hope to take the time spent at St. Nersess to hone the gifts and talents given to me by God, and I especially hope to utilize this time to learn to live a life of prayer and service. I also hope that my leadership skills will be further developed, so that as a leader in the Church, I will be able to develop other leaders, so in turn they can do the same. Thus, aside from learning the language, rubric, and theology of the Church, I hope to gain a holistic spiritual experience, grounded in the love and humility of Christ.
I acknowledge my shortcomings, past and present, knowing that if I am called, it is only by the grace of God, and not of my own merit, accomplishments, or inherent righteousness. A calling is not always certain, or at least not always consistently certain, and it’s not always as strong as one may want it to be, so I hope that St. Nersess will be a place where my calling will be further discovered, brought out into the open, and shared with others.
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