Contrary to what you might think from my Slavic name, I was born and raised in the United States, in Concord, Massachusetts, and did not speak Russian growing up. My mother is half-German and half-Costa Rican, which balances out my father’s Russian side very nicely, by providing it with order and a love for spicy food. I am the youngest of 4 siblings, with Katya the oldest, Alexei, the next oldest, Andrei my immediate senior, and then the baby: Me.
We grew up in the Holy Epiphany Parish in Roslindale of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, a church that served the Russian-speaking community of the Boston area. There I gained a deep respect for the holy services as an altar-boy from the example of Fr. Roman Lukianov, our parish priest, and the other faithful parishioners. When I was about 15, our family switched over to attending the English-speaking parish of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg in Methuen, MA. While at first I missed the old parish, the move was actually a blessing in disguise as I soon began to sing in the choir, and gain a better understanding of the structure of services, as well as Orthodoxy as a whole, as a result of the more accessible English texts.
At Harvard, I began as a Physics concentrator, but soon switched over to Russian Studies after a summer of study abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia. I think continued my study of Russian language, literature, culture, history, and government for the next 3 years, while also minoring in Economics. Each summer between semesters I traveled to St. Petersburg to work on my language skills, interning in the summer of 2008 for an American real estate company located there.
My interest in Youth Activities grew from my love for events such as St. Seraphim Orthodox Summer Camp, and the St. Herman’s Youth Conference, which brought together in one place Orthodox Youth from different parishes from all over the country. If perhaps isolated from other Orthodox youth of the same age at those parishes, these events provided an opportunity to meet new friends, reconnect with old friends, and provide mutual support for each other as Orthodox Christians. As I got older, I worked as a Junior Counselor at St. Seraphim’s Camp in charge of Sports and Activities, and about two years ago, I was elected as a Youth Representative for the St. Herman’s Executive Committee. In this capacity I worked hard to try to help make the Montreal St. Herman’s Conference a success, and help plan the next year’s (2009) conference at my home parish of St. Xenia’s in Methuen, MA. In the past year, I have helped organize a Youth Choir for the Northeast, which has sung the Divine Services at several local parishes. Gathering from various parts of the Eastern Seaboard, the choir meets in one location for a brief rehearsal, and then sings the Vigil and Liturgy at the parish. This has been a wonderful thing, as it is not only great for the parish to get a sense of the activity of the youth, but also for the youth to come together to sing and pray together in one place.
I believe that in many ways my background has prepared me well for this trip. While I have a connection to Russian culture and speak the language, I am equally American, and know what it feels like to be left out on account of language. While I grew up in a Slavonic church and love the inexpressible power of the old-world churches, I equally appreciate the importance of understanding the services in a vernacular language. Finally, while aware of the nationalistic tinge that Orthodoxy can sometimes acquire, I believe that Orthodoxy at its core principles, as a living example of True Christianity, has the potential to be a force of unification, rather than division. I believe that this is possible not only amongst Russians, Georgians, Ukrainians, Serbs, and Greeks, but also between these nations, and the nations of the West.
