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OCA Treasurer Reports Small Surplus During First Quarter of 2012

By admin on June 7, 2012 Governance Top Stories

SYOSSET, NY In her report for the first quarter of 2012, Melanie Ringa, Treasurer of the Orthodox Church in America, notes that “operating results show a small surplus versus a budgeted deficit of $27,401.00.” It was also noted that an unrestricted bequest of $188,905.00 from the estate of Charles F. Morse had been received. The bequest, coupled with an IRA distribution of $22,000.00 from the same estate received in December 2011, was used to permanently reduce the principal balance on the Honesdale Bank Loan by $211,366.00, thus “reducing the outstanding loan balance to $436,661.00 as of March 31, 2012 while…

Assembly of Bishops Committee Chairmen to Meet in May

By admin on May 8, 2012 Governance Top Stories

Since much of the work of the Assembly of Bishops falls within the purview of its thirteen committees, the success of these committees is essential for the success of the Assembly as a whole. Therefore, the Secretariat’s Coordinator for Committees, Bishop Maxim, is organizing a face-to-face meeting of the Assembly’s thirteen committee chairmen, scheduled to meet on May 30. The chairmen will gather for the day at the Metropolia Center of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, where they will be hosted by Archbishop Antony, who currently serves as the Assembly’s Treasurer and the chairman of the Committee for…

Can a Fable of Pan-Orthodoxy in America Become Reality?

By admin on May 3, 2012 Governance & Unity Essays

Source: The National Herald My fable begins with four babies being born to four families, all Orthodox. Two live on one block, the others one block over. In fact, two were born on the same day, in the same hospital (this last part is true). Yet all four will be baptized in separate parishes and live their whole lives without ever taking Holy Communion together. Strangers at the Chalice. They will attend each other’s birthday parties; the same schools, sports teams, videogame groups, and school bands. They’ll double-date (or triple or quadruple date) and attend Homecoming and Prom dances together.…

Connecticut Pan-Orthodox Outreach: Father & Matushka Aleandro Minister to Turkana People of Kenya

By admin on April 30, 2012 Governance Top Stories

Source: Pravolavie This summer, Father Vladimir and Matushka Suzanne Aleandro of Christ the Savior Church in Southbury, Connecticut, will head back to Kenya for their fourth mission trip with the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC). Father says he and Matushka’s work with the people of Turkana has deepened their faith and expanded their horizons. “I grew up in an Italian household,” explains Father Vladimir. “My grandmother couldn’t read or write, but she could pray and I grew up watching her pray for missionaries who were all around the world. This stayed with me.” In 1991, Father founded Christ the Savior…

Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver

A Hierarchal Reflection: Smaller Parishes Need More Outreach in Order to Grow

By admin on April 30, 2012 Governance & Unity Essays

Source: Greek Orthodox Observer Looking across our vast nation, we can say that our Orthodox Church has seen incremental growth, especially in the developing urban areas. On the other hand, we realize that some of the smaller parishes of our Archdiocese are either not growing or are losing numbers of parishioners. For example, the once-thriving Holy Trinity parish in Grand Island, Nebraska, is no longer in existence. While it is an exception, unfortunately, Holy Trinity is not unique. In regard to those parishes which are not increasing in membership, there has been very little, if any, outreach by the Church,…

Holy Eparchial Synod Convenes Spring Meeting

By admin on April 26, 2012 Governance Top Stories

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese NEW YORK – The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America concluded its regularly scheduled spring meetings and issued the following communiqué: ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE HOLY EPARCHIAL SYNOD The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Holy Archdiocese of America convened its regular spring meeting on April 25 and 26, 2012 at the Synodal chamber of the Holy Archdiocese in New York, with His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America presiding and the participation of all its members. The day before the official convening of the Synod, April 24, the members of the Synod completed the…

Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops: Year in Review

By admin on April 20, 2012 Governance Top Stories

Source: Greek Orthodox Observer In today’s secular society, which is often filled with meaningless rhetoric, it is encouraging to report that the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America is progressing toward its stated goals. Recent achievements include the Assembly’s official incorporation on Oct. 18, 2011 as the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America (ACOB). (It was formerly known as the “Episcopal Assembly” of North and Central America.) In December, a historic teleconference of Assembly committee chairmen brought together representatives of all Orthodox jurisdictions in North America. The Secretariat– which holds monthly teleconferences…

Why Orthodox Hierarchs Should Not Get Involved With Politics

By admin on April 19, 2012 Governance & Unity Essays

On at least three occasions in recent years, hierarchs of various Orthodox Churches in the United States have publicly involved themselves in political discourse: first, in 2008 the California Orthodox Bishops issued a statement on Proposition 8 [i]; second, since 2009 Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America has officially participated in the annual March for Life in Washington DC [ii]; and third, in 2012 the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops published a statement of protest regarding the proposed mandatory insurance coverage of contraception by the Department of Health and Human Services. [iii] While individual Orthodox Christians most certainly…

Fr. Johannes L. Jacobse

Deconstructing the ‘Internal Contradiction’ in the GOA

By admin on March 27, 2012 Governance & Unity Essays

Source: American Orthodox Institute Blog The following essay was written in response to this question by a reader of the American Orthodox Institute Observer Question: The GOA has never addressed the moral and social underpinnings of the problems facing Greece. Is the GOA so captive to the fantasy narrative of the Greek Community in America that it is unable to engage on these issues? Athens burns but the party at the Ritz Carlton in Florida (Leadership 100) goes on. How do you celebrate Greek Independence day at the White House when your homeland is in the midst of a social…

Assembly of Bishops Committee for Canonical Regional Planning 2011 Annual Report

By admin on March 16, 2012 Governance Top Stories

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America Committee Members and Consultants Members: Archbishop Nicolae (Chairman), Archbishop Justinian, Metropolitan Iakovos, Metropolitan Nicholas, Metropolitan Jonah Consultants: Fr. Nicolas Apostola, Fr. Joseph Abud, Tatiana Veselkina, Jerry Dimitriou, Alexei Krindatch, Demetrios Moschus, Steve Radakovich Secretariat Liaison: Protodeacon Peter Danilchick Objective of the Committee The Committee for Canonical Regional Planning is charged with formulating a proposal for a plan to organize all the Orthodox faithful of every jurisdiction in the Region on a canonical basis, in accordance with the Rules of Operation, Article 5.e of the 4th Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference in…

Metropolitan Council Minutes, Reports Posted on OCA Web Site

By admin on March 13, 2012 Governance Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] The complete minutes and reports of the spring 2012 session of the Metropolitan Council of the Orthodox Church in America are now available and posted in PDF format on the OCA web site. Also posted are the report of the Strategic Planning Committee and working group powerpoints in PDF format. Minutes Committee Reports Officers’ Reports Additional Reports Working Groups PowerPoints