Source: Orthodox Christian Laity
LAS VEGAS, April 21, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ — The Board of Directors of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) adopted the following Resolution at its recently-concluded Board meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada:
“OCL respectfully calls upon Archbishop Demetrios and the Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA) to publish the ‘Reports’ of the Archbishop, Metropolitans and Priests of the Archdiocese required by the ‘Archdiocesan Regulations as Amended June 2014‘ in Article 3, Section 1, Subsection C; Article 10, Section 2, Subsection B; and the following portion of Article 17, Section 1 [to wit: ‘…Priests are accountable to their respective Hierarch and will submit a report of their ministry to him at least annually. The Eparchial Synod shall determine the format for those reports.’].”
The OCL is a pan-Orthodox educational and advocacy ministry formed in 1987 whose purposes are:
“To advocate the restoration and strengthening of the historic role of the laity in the conciliar governance of the Orthodox Church in the United States: to support the spiritual renewal and regeneration of the Orthodox Christian Church in the United States in its Apostolic Mission; to advocate and promote transparency and accountability in the governance of the Orthodox Church in the United States; and to advocate and champion the establishment of an administratively and canonically unified self-governing autocephalous Orthodox Christian Church in the United States.”
The Board of Directors of OCL, in reviewing the “Regulations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America,” noted with approval the provisions calling for accountability on the part of Clergy, Hierarchs and the Archbishop, as set forth in its “Regulations.” It is unclear if the reports called for by the “Regulations” are actually made, but the lack of transparency results in the faithful not being informed of the contents of those reports. Calling for the publication of the required reports conforms with the Mission and Goals of OCL: to advocate and promote transparency and accountability in the governance of the Orthodox Church in the United States.
OCL will hold its 30th Annual Conference in Chicago, October 28-29, 2017. For more information contact, George E. Matsoukas, Executive Director: (561) 585-0245.