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St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary - Faculty

Veselin Kesich

 

Books & Publications Essays in Books Articles
Church Activities
Professional Experience
Biographical Note

Russia Travelog, Summer 2003

Professor of New Testament, Emeritus

kesich@juno.com

  • B.S., Columbia University, 1952

  • M.A., Columbia University, 1953

  • Diploma of Graduate Studies, St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1953, (Changed to M.Div. in 1967)

  • Ph.D., Columbia University, 1959

Books & Publications

  • With Lydia W. Kesich, The Treasures of the Holy Land (Crestwood: SVS Press, 1985)

  • The First Day of the New Creation (Crestwood: SVS Press, 1982)

  • The Gospel Image of Christ. The Church and Modern Criticism (Crestwood: SVS Press, 1972; second enlarged edition, 1991)

  • The Passion of Christ (Crestwood: SVS Press, 1965)

Essays in Books

  • "Conflict and Diversity in the Earliest Christian Community, 30-35 AD" in P. A. Chamberas, ed., Agape and Diakonia: Essays in Memory of Bishop Gerasimos (Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Theological Press, 1998) 63-72

  • "Bosnia: History and Religion" in B. Nassif, ed., New Perspectives on Historical Theology (In Memory of John Meyendorff) (Grand Rapids, MI & Cambridge: W.B. Eerdman, 1996) 70-94

  • "Peter's Primacy in the New Testament and Early Tradition" in J. Meyendorff, ed., The Primacy of Peter, (Crestwood: SVS Press, 2d ed. 1992) 35-66

  • Introduction: "St Sava and Bishop Nicholas," pp. 9-19 in N. Velimirovich, Life of St. Sava, (Crestwood, SVS Press, 1989)

  • "Orthodoxy in America: Continuity, Discontinuity, Newness" in T. Stylianopoulos, ed., Orthodox Perspectives on Pastoral Praxis (Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Press, 1988) 31-39

  • "The Early Serbian Church as Described in the Earliest Serbian Biography," in D. Constantelos, ed., Orthodox Theology and Diakonia [In Honor of Archbishop Iakovos], 1981, 249-259

  • "I Peter and the Doctrines of Primitive Christianity," in Joseph Allen, ed., Orthodox Synthesis (Crestwood, SVS Press, 1981) 129-148

  • Introductions & Prefaces:

    • "Preface" to Fr. John Meyendorff, Christ in Eastern Christian Thought (in Serbian), (Mt Athos: Hilandar Monastery, 1994)
    • "Preface" to Daniel Rogich, Serbian Patericon, (St Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1994)

Articles

  • "Kosovo in the History of the Serbian Church", SVTQ 44:3-4 (2000) 279-308

  • "The Church before Paul," SVTQ 43:1 (1999) 3-36

  • "Leslie W. Barnard, St Justin Martyr: First and Second Apologies" (review article), SVTQ 42:1 (1998) 85-97.

  • "Is the New Testament Anti-Semitic?" Jacob's Well, Spring/Summer 1998, 4-8.

  • "Bishop Nicholai: Writings and Theology," Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St Sava in New York: 50 years 1944-1994

  • "The Orthodox Church and Biblical Interpretation," SVTQ 37:4 (1993) 343-351.

  • "The Martyrdom of the Serbs: The Church in the Ustashe State, 1941-45," Calendar, Serbian Church in the USA and Canada (1991), 97-108.

  • "Seminary Recollections of the Fifties," A Legacy of Excellence, St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary 1938-1988 (Crestwood: St Vladimir's Seminary, 1988)

  • "The Historical Jesus: A Challenge from Jerusalem," SVTQ 30:l (1986) 17-43

  • "Resurrection, Ascension, and the Giving of the Spirit," GOTR 25 (1980) 249-259

  • "The Resurrection and Its Meaning," [in honor of Nicholas Arseniev], Transactions of the Association of Russian American Scholars [Transactions] 12 (1979)

  • "St Paul: Anti-Feminist or Liberator?" SVTQ 21:3 (1977) 123-147

  • "Spiritual Heritage of the Serbian Church," GOTR 21:1 (1976), 1-18

  • "Unity and Diversity in New Testament Ecclesiology," SVTQ 19/2 (1975) 109-127

  • "The Biblical Understanding of Man," GOTR 20:1-2 (1975) 9-18

  • "Biblical Studies in Orthodox Theology: A Response," Greek Orthodox Theological Review [GOTR] 17 (1972) 63-68.

  • "Research and Prejudice," SVTQ 14:1-2 (1970) 28-47.

  • "N. Berdyaev on Freedom," Concern 2/1 (1967) 11-12

  • "The Antiocheans and the Temptation Story," Studia Patristica 7 (1966)

  • "Criticism, the Gospels, and the Church," SVTQ 10:3 (1966) 134-62

  • "Hypostatic and Prosopic Union in the Exegesis of Christ's Temptation," SVTQ 9:3 (1965) 118-37

  • "Some Religious Aspects of Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov," SVTQ 9:2 (1965) 83-99

  • "Nicholas Arseniev : An Appreciation," SVTQ 8:2 (1964) 64-66

  • "The Apostolic Council at Jerusalem." SVTQ 6:3 (1962) 108-17

  • "Empire-Church Relations and the Third Temptation," Studia Patristica 4 (1961) 465-471

  • "The Orthodox Church in America," Russian Review 20:3 (1961) 185-93

  • "Christ's Temptation in Apocryphal Gospels and Acts." SVTQ 5:4 (1961) pp. 3-9

  • "The Problem of Peter's Primacy in the New Testament and Early Christian Exegesis" SVTQ 4:2-3 (1960) 2-25

  • Encyclopedia Entries:
    • "Via Negativa" in Encyclopedia of Religions, 1987
    • 14 entries on Orthodox and Uniate churches in Abingdon Dictionary on Living Religions, 1981
    • 90 entries on Eastern churches and leaders in Grolier Encyclopedia, 1960

  • In Memoriam:

    • "Edward Nason West, SVTQ 34:2-3 (1990) 237-239
    • "The Right Reverend Firmilian Ocokoljich" Calendar 1993, Serbian Orthodox Church of U.S. and Canada, 127-129
    • "Rev. John Meyendorff" Transactions 25 (1992/3), 347-8.
    • "Professor Georges Barrois, 1898-1987" The Orthodox Church November 1987
    • "Serge Sergeevich Verhovskoy: A Reminiscence" SVTQ 30:4 (1986) 288-290.
    • "Freedom and Joy (Fr. Alexander Schmemann)" SVTQ 28:1 (1984) 41-42.
    • "The Right Reverend Alexander Schmemann (Sept. 13, 1921-Dec. 13, 1983)" GOTR 28 (1983), 398-400
    • Georges Florovsky, Transactions 13 (1980)
    • Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich, SVTQ 1:1 (1957) 31-32

Church Activities

  • Member, Ecumenical Orthodox Dialogues with Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics
  • Lectures, Panel discussions, retreat leader to college groups, church meetings, retreats throughout the country
  • President, Orthodox Theological Society

Professional Experience

  • 1966-86: Faculty Member, Comparative Religion, Sarah Lawrence College. Now Faculty Emeritus.
  • 1953-91: Faculty member, St. Vladimir's Seminary.
  • 1983-84: Acting Dean. 1965-74: Adjunct Professor, Serbo-Croatian Literature, New York University.
  • 1962-63: Visiting Associate professor, Dept. of Slavic Languages, University of California, Berkeley.
  • 1959-63: Visiting Faculty, Comparative Religion, Hofstra University.

Biographical Note

Born in Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Veselin Kesich finished the gymnasium in Banja Luka and started studies at Belgrade University.

At the end of the Second World War he lived in a Displaced Persons Camp in Italy until he was selected to study theology at Dorchester College in England.

In 1949 he came to New York to continue his studies at Columbia University, St Vladimir's Seminary, and Union Theological Seminary.

Since retirement he was a guest lecturer at the University of Thessaloniki in 1991, at the Summer Institute, Eagle River, Alaska (1997), and in Wells-Next-the-Sea, Norfolk, England (1998).