Browsing: Governance & Unity News

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…

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…

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…

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…

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

In March 2012, His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah spoke at Holy Cross Orthodox Church in Linthicum, MD on the topic of Orthodox unity in America.

I. The Definition Phyletism is the name of an ecclesiological heresy which says that the Church can be territorially organized on an ethnic, racial, or cultural basis so that within a given geographic territory, there can exist several Church jurisdictions, directing their pastoral care only to the members of specific ethnic groups. A Church council in 1872 officially defined and condemned this heresy. It reacted to a proposition made by Bulgarians of the Patriarchate of Constantinople who wanted to establish a Church jurisdiction, sanctioned by the Turkish government, on the territory of the Patriarchate: The formation in the same place…

By George Matsoukas The Orthodox Christian Laity Winter Board Meeting took place in Columbus, Georgia the last week of February 2012 at the Hilton Gardens Inn. Advisory Board member and former mayor of Columbus, retired Colonel Robert S. Poydasheff, was the host of the productive meeting. President Bill Souvall from Salt Lake City, UT presided. The Orthodox Christian Laity Winter Board Meeting took place in Columbus, Georgia the last week of February 2012 at the Hilton Gardens Inn. Advisory Board member and former mayor of Columbus, retired Colonel Robert S. Poydasheff, was the host of the productive meeting. President Bill…

Source: The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America NEW YORK, NY As reported on the web site of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, a number of meetings were conducted at the end of January 2012. Members of the Assembly’s Secretariat held their annual “face-to-face” meeting at Saint Andrew Church, Riverside, CA, January 24-25. An overview of the work accomplished at the meeting will be included in a forthcoming Assembly media release, which will report to the Church-at-large on the work of the Assembly during 2011. The Secretariat, which also meets…

Source: The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America The Committee for Youth of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America held its semi-annual meeting on January 24th and 25th, 2012. The meeting convened at the Antiochian Village Heritage and Learning Center, Bolivar, PA, in conjunction with the Committee for Youth’s Consultants Meeting and was followed by the annual Camp and Youth Worker Conference (January 25-28, 2012). The Committee for Youth, consists of Bishop Thomas (Chairman of the Committee for Youth), Metropolitan Alexios, Bishop Irineu, Father Joseph Purpura (facilitator), Deacon Mark O’Dell, (secretary),…

Source: The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops’ Committee on Canonical Regional Planning met in-person on Friday, January 27, 2012, at the headquarters of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in Chicago, Illinois, hosted by Archbishop Nicolae, Chairman of the Committee. Committee members present in addition to His Eminence were Archbishop Justinian, Russian Orthodox Church in the USA; Metropolitan Jonah, Orthodox Church in America; and Bishop Demetrios representing Metropolitan Iakovos, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. Consultants to the Committee who participated in the all-day meeting were: Fr Nicholas Apostola, Fr Joseph Abud, Jerry Dimitriou,…

Hilton Garden Inn Columbus, Georgia Local Contact Person: Robert Poydasheff 706-317-3224 Thursday evening: Hilton Garden Inn. Board Meeting Overview – 6:30 pm in Dining Room. Friday morning: 9:00 am Board Meeting in Conference Room. 25th Anniversary Update. Principles of Charter for a Unified Orthodox Church. Friday evening: If a priest is available, Vesper at Holy Transfiguration Mission. Dinner at Local Club. Saturday morning: 10:00am Meet and Greet Faithful. OCL 25 Years of service. Holy Transfiguration Mission, 4612 Gilbert Avenue, Columbus, GA 31904. Interested faithful from Atlanta including: Annunciation Cathedral; St. Elias Church; St. John Wonderworker; Holy Transfiguration (Marietta); Holy Cross…