Our Logo
CHRIST CENTERED
At the center of the logo is a cross. It represents OCL’s commitment to keep the gospel of Christ and His Church at the center of the organization’s ministry efforts. The cross is the compass for the organization, steering it toward ministry opportunities that elevate the gospel and strengthen the Church.
UNITY
The silhouette of the circle reiterates that the church is and must be one, just as Christ has one body, undivided. The concept of oneness permeates every part of the organization’s mission and ministry. Most explicitly, the organization’s promotion of jurisdictional unity in North America focuses on our common faith and experience.
DIVERSITY
Some understand unity and diversity to be in opposition to one another. To the contrary, the body of Christ has “many members” that possess great diversity yet still maintain a unity. The Orthodox Church’s conciliar model of governance allows for a diversity of cultural and liturgical expression yet still preserves one faith. The bands of blue that surround the cross represent the many jurisdictions of the Orthodox Church, each maintaining its own particular shade, shape and position, but resembling the other bands in color and relationship to the central cross.
COOPERATION
The bands of blue also form a sort of tapestry pattern that represents cooperation among the jurisdictions. None of the bands are off axis or in opposition to the other, but rather, in their ordered unity support and elevate the cross they surround.
AMERICAN
The tapestry is also a symbol associated with the American identity. It represents the aforementioned themes of unity, diversity, and cooperation that are central to the American democratic system, but also the idea of something homemade, industrious and durable. The OCL effort is a grass roots one based on the belief that the laity, or “the people”, can and should hold their government accountable and effect important change. To make this association more explicit and to identify itself with the country where it operates, the tapestry in the OCL logo is colored red, white and blue.
