Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Roy Snyder, George Matsoukas and George Karcazes at the OCL Display Booth. They attended the opening session of the 19th All American Council in St. Louis, Missouri on July 24, and were inspired by the tribute to Fr Alexander Schmemmen and the theme of the conference: “For the Life of the World”. Metropoliam Tihkon presented his vision of the Four Pillars as a guide for the future of the OCA.
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Source: Orthodox Christian Laity “He who only England knows, knows not England.” – Rudyard Kipling The month of July 1992 brought me into contact with two events in the life of Eastern Orthodoxy in the United States that provided me with the opportunity to reflect and pray. As Executive Vice President of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL), I was privileged to be an observer and provide OCL workshops at the 31st Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Church in New Orleans (July 3-9, 1992), and then to be an observer and exhibition participant at the 10th All American Council of the…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity I served on my Parish Council for more than twenty years; three as President. I also represented my Parish as a lay delegate to ten Clergy-Laity Congresses. I no longer serve on our Parish Council. Although I was removed from a volunteer position on our Stewardship Committee for sending an entirely truthful and accurate “Letter to the Editor” of The National Herald, I was still asked to come back and advise our Parish Delegates about what they should say and do at the Boston Congress as delegates to the Congress. In summary, the following was my…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity We are entering the month of May, and we are about 9 to 12 weeks away from the National Assemblies of three different Orthodox Christian Groups in the USA. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOA) will hold its 44th Clergy-Laity Congress in Boston on July 1-5. The 19th All- American Council of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) will take place in St. Louis on July 23-27. The 93rd Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America (FOCA) will take place in conjunction with the All-American Council. If in fact, as Jesus Christ said, “all things are possible to…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Saturday of Lazarus The Saturday of Lazarus and Palm Sunday precede and foreshadow the events of Holy Week. In addition to showing Christ’s divinity, the feast of the Resurrection of Lazarus is a prophecy of the resurrection of Christ and all the dead for all time. The events of Holy Week are overwhelming, but in the end, the light of Christ prevails. There is hope! It is in this Season of Hope that I reflect upon my experience of witnessing the Enthronement of the Metropolitan of Chicago, Nathanael, on March 24, 2018. I am hopeful, because…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity On March 25, 2018, George Karcazes (President) and George Matsoukas (Executive Director) visited the Orthodox Christian Laity Archives housed in the Special Collections Community Archives of Richardson Library located on the main downtown campus of DePaul University, Chicago, IL. They discussed the contents of the 34 boxes of materials and how emails and digital media can become part of the collection. An overview of the collection can be accessed at: https://libguides.depaul.edu/ld.php?content_id=10135894.
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity OCL President, George Karcazes and Executive Director, George Matsoukas, along with other members, attended the Enthronement of Metropolitan Nathanael at Annunciation Cathedral in Chicago on Saturday, March 23, 2018, and received the new Metropolitan’s blessing of the congregation.
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The OCL winter board meeting is taking place at the Franciscan Retreat Center, 5802 E Lincoln Drive Scottsdale AZ. Feb 8-10. In addition to to discussions of the agenda board members will learn more about the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA) from its Director, Dr. Paul Gavrilyuk.
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity For thirty-one years, Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) has been the voice crying in the wilderness. The cry has been for renewal of our ancient, apostolic faith within our pluralistic, American, cultural context. The hallmarks of this renewal are characterized by the de-tribalization of the separate Orthodox Christian jurisdictions that evolved here, so that they could work in canonical unity; administer the Church in ways that are accountable and transparent; and respect and include the input of the laity in matters of administration, governance and our journey together as a community of faithful. OCL has not wavered…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity State of Orthodoxy in the U.S.A. Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) completed its 30 years of service calling for transparency, accountability, unity and advocating to maintain the voice of the laity as an equal in the administrative life of the Orthodox Church, thereby contributing to Church renewal. As we have seen and experienced in 2017, disrespect and disregard for this principle has contributed to the disorder, financial mismanagement and disunity that has furthered the decline of Orthodoxy in the USA. The census statistics, surveys, research on the status of growth, retention and development confirm this decline. Since…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Nick peacefully departed this life at 10:00 am Saturday, December 9, 2017, after a long and brave struggle with several increasingly debilitating strokes. The funeral was held on Friday, December 15th, at Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, Palos Hills, IL, his home parish which he served selflessly in so many capacities: Altar Boy captain; Parish Council member; Youth Advisor; Sunday School teacher; Festival assistant, etc. Nick was a U.S. Army Veteran having served in Korea during the Korean War. An ardent supporter of OCL, he served as an early editor of OCL’s Forum newsletter…
Here we are at year end, ready to celebrate Christmas, a New Year and the Epiphany Season. A glorious and busy time. A time of celebration! It is also the time to begin looking ahead, preparing to organize our personal affairs for the income tax season. This is the time of year when non-profit, tax-exempt groups like Orthodox Christian Laity ask their supporters to consider a year-end gift to help us plan for 2018. Next year will be our 31st year advocating for a strong voice of the laity in the administrative and spiritual life of the Church. 2017 has…