The commencement address, delivered by the Rev. Dr. Roger Ferlo, associate dean and director of the Seminary's Institute for Christian Formation and Leadership, focused on making a commitment to furthering religious education after seminary.

"As some of you cross this stage," said Ferlo, "I suggest that all of us here try to regard these academic hoods not simply as the secular symbols of advanced degrees, but also as symbols of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, the outward and visible signs of our shared commitment to the way of the Torah that is the way of Christ, a commitment to the act of lernen…a commitment to the act of loving the Lord our God with all our minds as well as with all our hearts, and loving our neighbors as ourselves."

The recipient of the 2008 Virginia Seminary Ford Chair, a gift of Susan Ford to a member of the graduating class who has exhibited a strong commitment to the community life and mission of the Seminary, was Robin Gulick of the Diocese of Washington; recipients of the Harris Award, given each year to candidates for Holy Orders who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership ability, were Phoebe Roaf of the Diocese of Louisiana and John Wharton Newton IV of the Diocese of Texas; the recipient of the Dudley Speech Prize for excellence in public reading of Scripture and Liturgy was Mary Reese of the Diocese of East Carolina; the Jean B. Tachau Memorial Biblical Languages Prize, given in recognition of academic excellence and proficiency in the study of the Biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek, was awarded to Mitchell Bojarski of the Diocese of Central New York; and the St. George's College Prize for study at St. George’s College in Jerusalem was given to Chris Girata of the Diocese of Atlanta. Roaf, who exhibited excellence in biblical languages, also received the Armistead Boothe Award, for study at St. George's College in Jerusalem.

The Rev. Dr. Samuel T. Lloyd III, dean of Washington National Cathedral, awarded the first ever Martha Horne Award in Preaching to Anne Marie Harris of the Diocese of Southeast Florida, and Newton. The award, which was created to honor the outstanding ministry of Horne, former dean and president of VTS, recognizes VTS graduates who have demonstrated great promise in the ministry of proclamation.

This year, the seminary awarded three honorary degrees to acknowledge the service of a highly distinguished group of people. Doctors in Divinity, honoris causa were conferred upon Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori; the Most Rev. Daniel Deng Bul Yak, archbishop of the Episcopal Church in the Sudan; and Dr. Fredrica Harris Thompsett, the Mary Wolfe Professor of Historical Theology at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

For their class gift, the graduating students of 2008 are providing funding for automatic door openers throughout the campus, "Inviting into our community those who are in need of accessibility and [demonstrating] right hospitality and our deep conviction to preach the Gospel to all people."

Founded in 1823, VTS is the largest of the 11 seminaries of the Episcopal Church. The school prepares men and women for service in the Church worldwide, both as ordained and lay ministers, and offers a number of professional degree programs and diplomas. Currently, the Seminary represents more than 42 different dioceses and 5 different countries, for service in the Church.