Seminary Benefactor Honored

In 2015, St. Nersess and Dr. Lucy Balian Rorke-Adams established a Planned Giving Society to encourage donations to the seminary through estate planning. As the founder of the Society, Dr. Rorke-Adams has included the seminary in her will with a most generous gift.

Last month, Dr. Rorke-Adams, a world-renowned Pediatric Neuropathologist, was honored at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia with an unveiling of her portrait, where she has been a Fellow of the College for 50 years. Her portrait will hang alongside the “bearded greats of American Medicine” dating back to 1787 when the The College of Physicians was established.

There will be a second unveiling of her portrait at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in March 2022, where she was on staff for 50 years. Dr. Rorke-Adams leaves a legacy of important medical findings on the development of the infant brain, the origin and classification of childhood brain tumors, shaken baby syndrome, and central nervous system disorders unique to children.

“I have had a good life and want to repay God and give back to the Armenian Church,” commented Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams. “My parents were both devout Christians and attended the Armenian Church before the Armenian Genocide. I decided to donate to St. Nersess Armenian Seminary and establish a Chair in Theology in memory of and honor of my parents. I am doing this to perpetuate the training of Armenian men to become priests…and to continue the legacy of the church.”

We congratulate Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams on her recent honor and wish her continued health!