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On Thursday, January 24, the Saint Tikhon’s Seminary community celebrated the opening of the new kitchen in conjunction with the Annual Saint Tatiana’s Day Luncheon. This event was graciously hosted by the Saint Tikhon’s Century Association. Traditionally, Seminary Trustee and Century Association Spiritual Advisor, the Very Reverend Archpriest Joseph Martin, of blessed memory, cooked sausage and peppers for the yearly luncheon. This year, his wife Matushka Gloria, a member of the St. Tikhon’s Century Association Executive Board, and their daughters, Mrs. Cathryn Haber, Mrs. Juliana Good, and Miss Marina Martin, prepared the sausage and peppers, which were thoroughly enjoyed. The rest of the Executive Board of St. Tikhon’s Century Association baked an abundance of scrumptious desserts. Mrs. Zena Parker, St. Tikhon’s Seminary Chef, provided the soup and side dishes.
The event was opened by Father John Parker, St. Tikhon’s Seminary Dean. He welcomed the 100+ guests, seminarian families, and administration members. He showed those in attendance a plaque from the former kitchen which was dated 1962. It was fun to know we salvaged this jewel from “back in the day”! Thank you to Holy Ghost Church, Ambridge, PA, for the first kitchen. It certainly served us very well for many decades!
His Eminence, Archbishop Michael, blessed the people and delivered heartwarming thank-you’s for generous donations. He thanked Mrs. Nancy Kohudic, a member of the St. Tikhon’s Seminary Board of Trustees, for spearheading the construction of the new kitchen project with her donations. He thanked Mr. John Babiak, also, a member of the St. Tikhon’s Board of Trustees, for his donations toward the new kitchen. And, he thanked Matushka Gloria for carrying on the tradition of her husband. In remembrance of Father Joseph, Archbishop Michael delighted us with the story of the special way that Father Joe would express his love through preparing and serving food. Archbishop Michael thanked Zena for her patience with the old kitchen and for having to traverse the “dungeon” to get to the dining room. He wished her much success with the new facility.
Another benefactor of the new kitchen project, Matushka Dr. Christine Hoeplinger, was unfortunately unable to be with us that day, but was thanked for her generous donations. Matushka Christine’s donations were made in memory of her grandfather and grandmother, Riste and Dosta Stefanovich, who were restaurant owners. Out of Christian love, they always made sure that homeless and poor persons were fed from their kitchen.
The new seminary kitchen was proudly ready for this special luncheon. The recent – and enormous – upgrade has been eagerly anticipated for many years. The honor of cutting the ribbon at the new kitchen doors was given to Mrs. Kohudic. Zena was very grateful for the new facility! She and the seminary community quickly put the kitchen into full functionality and beautified it with icons and curtains. The seminary community joyfully joins her in taking good care of this great gift. We pray that the food that comes out of this kitchen will continue to nourish our seminarians and guests for many years!
We greatly thank Saint Tikhon’s Century Association for hosting the luncheon and providing the delicious food! We also express gratitude to the Association for its gift of $6,500 to the Seminary General Fund that day; the check was presented to Father John by the organization’s vice-president, Mrs. Rosalie Luster.
The Seminary community continues to pray for Saint Tikhon’s Century Association, all of our contributors and benefactors, and the soul of the dearly beloved Father Joe. May his memory be eternal!
Article By Alexandra Zona
