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After ten years of meetings, the Assembly of Bishops still finds bishops communicating with each other difficult. The rules governing how to reach decisions are impossible. The Assembly needs to develop communication skills that enable each bishop to stay focused, to hear one another, and to debate and reach conclusions. In-service programs with guides that have communication skills would be a useful exercise. We are no closer to canonical unity of Orthodoxy in the USA and throughout the world where Orthodox Christians reside in pluralistic societies. The largest grouping in the USA is in financial difficulty caused by undertaking an…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA CHICAGO – The Board of Directors of the newly established Youth & Young Adult Ministry Agency concluded its first meeting on Friday, December 3. Established and blessed by the Assembly of Bishops at its October 2021 meeting as the capstone achievement of the “Year of the Youth,” the new Agency will cast a vision to unite and deepen the ministry efforts of parishes and families across the Church to serve all Orthodox youth and young adults in the United States. In November, the Assembly approved members of the new Board of…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Tuesday, November 16, 2021 BALTIMORE – At the invitation of His Excellency Archbishop José H. Gomez, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (“USCCB”), His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, chairman of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA, led a delegation to and presented remarks during the USCCB’s November General Assembly. This marks the first time in the history of USCCB that Orthodox hierarchs have participated in their plenary session. Introducing Archbishop Elpidophoros, Bishop David P. Talley, chair of the Bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs,…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA As Orthodox Christians, we are united in the sacraments and our teachings, but as human beings, we are also united in our solidarity and suffering. Therefore, during this period of intensive prayer and spiritual discipline of Great Lent, the pandemic that our communities are facing throughout our nation and throughout the world obliges us to slow down and reflect on the way that we glorify God as well as the way that we express compassion toward our brothers and sisters. As disciples of the Lord, Scripture and our faith inform us…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Detroit, October 5 – The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States began the 2nd day of its annual meeting with a special forum dedicated to the important subject of religious freedom. Three highly accomplished scholars presented: Dr. Charles Haynes, Director of the Religious Freedom Center and Vice President of the Newseum Institute, delivered an overview of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and its central role in protecting the free exercise of one’s faith in America’s public square. He encouraged the hierarchs to study how Orthodox…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA The Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America convened their 7thAnnual General Assembly Meeting in Detroit on October 4, 2016 with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Antiochian Basilica of Saint Mary in Livonia, Michigan. The Bishops commenced their work with an opening address by the Assembly Chairman, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, who greeted and welcomed the hierarchs, encouraging them that “…when we speak together as an Assembly of Bishops, we do so with the authority of the Church; we do not speak as jurisdictions or merely…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity by George Matsoukas The case for Unity among the Orthodox Jurisdictions is made more manifest by the sabotaging of the Assembly of Bishops by the Antiochian Archdiocese. The dispute between Old World Patriarchs undermines the establishment of canonical order in the USA. The dispute over Qatar appears to be the reason why the Patriarchate of Antioch changed its mind and negated its signature on the Chambésy Accord of 2008. The act and statement presented to the Assembly of Bishops are contrary to the integrity and history of the Antiochian Archdiocese that brought seekers home to the…
Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America Statement of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America to the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the United States Regarding the Draft Proposal of the Committee on Canonical Regional Planning Presented at the Meeting of the Assembly of Bishops Convened in Chicago, IL September 15-17, 2015 The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America has always prayed for and been committed to unity and cooperation of all of the Orthodox Christians in North America. The unity that we seek is true Orthodox unity based on mutual respect, love and cooperation…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Will Canonical Order – Orthodox Christian Unity in the USA – Emerge from the Sixth Meeting of the Assembly of Bishops? Canonical Orthodox Churches have always been Churches in specific geographical areas. Where the Bishop is, so too is the Church. The Church is not a colonial extension of bishops ruling or directing from other geographic areas. Canonical order is bishops in a geographic area meeting as a Synod, electing their own head and working with clergy and laity to build up the body of Christ. This is not true for the Churches outside the boundaries…
Source: Orthodox Church in America Dcn. Danilchick’s report on the Assembly of Bishops of the USA [OCA] The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America will hold its annual meeting in Chicago, IL September 15-17, 2015. The following report by Protodeacon Peter Danilchick was given during the fifth Plenary Session at the 18th All-American Council, GA July 20-24, 2015. It provides valuable insights into the Assembly’s work and accomplishments to date. An audio of the report, is available courtesy of Ancient Faith Radio. Protodeacon Peter’s report begins at 1:09.06 and runs through 1:27.00. REPORT ON THE…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The Assembly of Bishops has been meeting for six years. June 2015 is a critical month and time period in their efforts to develop a plan to make the administrative life of the Orthodox Church in the United States canonical. Orthodox ecclesiology dictates that the Church be organized in geographic areas with one bishop in one city. Overlapping jurisdictions weaken the Commandment of Christ to make disciples of All Nations. Bishops are not foreign agents. Governments of other countries have no place in directing the actions of Bishops in the USA. We need a single Synod…