This year, in the month of October in the United States of America, in parallel with the changing of seasons in the natural world comes the convergence of Orthodox Christian hierarchs to form a constellation in the ecclesiastical world. At the beginning of the month, bishops are meeting in the nation’s capital at the 10th meeting of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA, the body formed for the purpose of manifesting “…the unity of the Orthodox Church…” and to prepare “…a plan to organize the Orthodox of the Region on a canonical basis” (Articles 2 and 5…
Browsing: Assembly of Bishops
Source: The Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, meeting under the presidency of His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon via teleconference, on Tuesday, September 28, 2021, issued the following communique: At numerous points in recent years, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America has reiterated its commitment to the unity of Orthodox Christians in North America, in fulfillment of the charge given to the Orthodox Church in America in the Tomos of Autocephaly, the witness of the canonical tradition, and the command of the Lord Himself, who wills that…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Assembly of Bishops’ 2021 Paschal Message The Resurrection of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ signifies the triumph of life over death, of salvation over condemnation. It provides the hope that transcends all despair, the comfort that overcomes all turbulence, and brings light to the people sitting in darkness. (Mt. 4.16) The Lord’s Resurrection raises us out of our darkest, most difficult circumstances. It promises eternal life in His most sacred body and blood. It illumines and purifies human nature, reinstating it from its fallen condition to its restored relationship…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA The Assembly of Bishops needs your input! The Mental Health Needs Assessment Survey, designed by experts on the Mental Health Task Force, takes only 15 minutes and consists of approximately 30 questions. All information you provide is completely anonymous, and the aggregate data will help the Task Force better understand the mental health needs and experiences of the faithful in order to develop resources and programs for enhanced ministry in your community. Please take the survey below and encourage others in your community to take it as well. In order to help…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Originally posted on October 08, 2020 After a second day of productive deliberations, the Assembly of Bishops agreed on a Common Vision that commits themselves to work together toward Orthodox Christian Unity and Outreach, Common Orthodox Witness, Ministries and Initiatives, and Organizational Excellence. Read the full document here. The collaborative process, initiated by the Executive Committee, acknowledges the spiritual needs of the collective Orthodox faithful in the United States of America. The Bishops look forward to working with the clergy and laity to implement their Common Vision. Metropolitan Joseph, Vice-Chair of the…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Did you know May is mental health awareness month? The Assembly of Bishops’ Mental Health Task Force presents a 6-episode miniseries on Mental Health and Orthodox Christianity. Check out the flyer below for more details!
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA NEW YORK – The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA announces a resource center for clergy and faithful during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Resource Center includes updated news from the various jurisdictions as well as practical guidelines and resources for families, ministry leaders, parish leadership, and everyone. The Center can be accessed at http://www.assemblyofbishops.org/covid19 and will be updated regularly with new materials and expanded selections.
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Musing from OCL Board Member, George Karcazes As we consider the upcoming visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the United States, we who live our faith as Americans in this multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, religiously diverse country are called to ponder the future of Orthodoxy in America. What have we learned about the state of Orthodoxy in the World and in our own home from recent events? We have learned that at the highest Patriarchal levels, Orthodoxy in the world is hopelessly divided. After decades of planning for a Holy and Great Council, unanimously agreeing on a date…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The Synaxis of Patriarchs in 2008 decided that the Orthodox Church in the USA is uncanonical. How many more years can this situation fester? The Synaxis developed an Assembly of Bishops of all the canonical bishops in the USA to address the issue. They have been meeting for ten years and have reached an impasse. It is now up to the Patriarchs to act either in a synodical conciliar meeting with the 14 Self Ruling Patriarchs/Hierarchs, or if that cannot happen, the Ecumenical Patriarch needs to act as he did in Ukraine. On his visit to…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity It is our right and duty to communicate with each other across Orthodox Christian jurisdictional groupings. Every month, we must celebrate and report the ministry and outreach programs and activities we do by joining together in unity. Thank you, Baltimore, for sharing your Bible Learning program. We are disappointed that the Greek Orthodox parishes did not participate. We are also disappointed to read the Greek Orthodox response to a request to inform parishioners in Naples, Florida, of the OCL Open Forum which was held on March 29 in neighboring Bonita Springs, Florida. The presenter was Dr Gayle Woloschak, and the…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Editor’s Note: Pan-Orthodox Cleveland is the setting for the 9th meeting of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops charged with bringing the separate Orthodox ethnic divisions together. They meet the first week in October. They are really meeting under the radar. Many faithful people actively involved in the life of the church in Cleveland do not even know that the meeting is taking place. What a shame! Over fifty bishops meet and the church faithful at large do not have access to their discussions. Why are not the minutes, results of surveys and discussions made public? If the bishops got out into the…
Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America The Executive Committee of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America met Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The meeting was chaired by His Eminence Archbishop DEMETRIOS. Those present were First Vice-Chairman, His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH (AOCA), His Eminence, Secretary, Metropolitan GREGORY (American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA) and Treasurer, His Eminence Archbishop MICHAEL (OCA). Also attending were His Beatitude, Metropolitan TIKHON (OCA) and His Grace Bishop SABA (Georgian Orthodox Church). Other guests included Archpriest Thomas Zain, (AOCA) and Nicholas Anton (GOA).…