May
29,
2010
New York,
NY: The Meeting of the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America
is Brought to a Close
On Friday morning, May 28, the
Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Greek Cathedral of the Holy
Trinity in New York, thereby bringing to a close the meeting of the
Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America. The Assembly of
bishops of North and Central America was conducted according to the
decisions of the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference in Chambésy,
Switzerland, held June 7-13, 2009. There the decision was made to create regional Episcopal
Assemblies of every canonical Orthodox bishop. The region of North and
Central America includes Orthodox Church structures in the United
States, Canada, Mexico, and the countries of Central America.
As reported
by the official website of the Representation of the Moscow
Patriarchate in the USA, "The stated goal of creating the
Episcopal Assemblies was care for the unity of Orthodoxy and
development of mutual cooperation between representatives of the
various Orthodox Church jurisdictions active in the territories of one
or another region, in the areas of pastoral care of the faithful,
missionary work, the development of theological education, and
Orthodox witness in the face of heterodoxy. All of these issues were
discussed in New York at the meeting of the Episcopal Assembly of
North and Central America."
Photos: P. Lukianov
Message
of the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America
We glorify the name
of the Triune God for gathering us at this first Episcopal Assembly of
this region in New York City on May 26-28, 2010 in response to the
decisions of the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference held at
the Orthodox Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy,
Switzerland, from June 6-12, 2009, at the invitation of His
All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Gathered together
in the joy of the Feast of Pentecost, we humbly recognize our calling,
in our unworthiness, to serve as instruments and disciples of the
Paraclete, who "holds together the whole institution of the
Church" (Hymn of Vespers of Pentecost).
We honor and
express gratitude to the Primates and Representatives of the Orthodox
Autocephalous Churches who assembled at the Ecumenical Patriarchate
from October 10-12, 2008 to affirm their "unswerving position and
obligation to safeguard the unity of the Orthodox Church" (Chambésy
Rules of Operation, Article 5.1a) and emphasized their will and
"desire for the swift healing of every canonical anomaly that has
arisen from historical circumstances and pastoral requirements" (Message of the Primates 13.1-2).
We call to mind
those who envisioned this unity in this region and strove to transcend
the canonical irregularities resulting for many reasons, including
geographically overlapping jurisdictions. For, just as the Lord in the
Divine Eucharist is "broken and distributed, but not
divided" (Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom), so also His
Body comprises many members, while constituting His One Church.
We are grateful for
the gift of the doctrinal and liturgical unity that we already share,
and we are inspired by our leaders, the Heads of all the Orthodox
Churches throughout the world, who proposed that which we painfully
yearn for in this region, i.e., the "swift healing of every
canonical anomaly" (Message of the Primates 13.2). We are also grateful that they
established a fundamental process toward a canonical direction and
resolution.
We are thankful to
almighty God for the growth of Orthodoxy, for the preservation of our
traditions, and for the influence of our communities in this region.
This is indeed a miracle and a mystery.
During our
gathering, and in accordance with the rules of operation of Episcopal
Assemblies promulgated by the Fourth Pan-Orthodox Pre-Conciliar
Conference, we established:
1. A registry of
canonical bishops (Article 6.1).
2. A committee to
determine the canonical status of local communities in the region that
have no reference to the Most Holy Autocephalous Churches (Article
6.2).
3. A registry of
canonical clergy (Article 6.3).
4. Committees to
undertake the work of the Assembly, among others including liturgical,
pastoral, financial, educational, ecumenical, and legal issues
(Articles 11 and 12).
5. A committee to
plan for the organization of the Orthodox of the region on a canonical
basis (Article 5.1).
In addition to the
above, we agreed that a directory would be created and maintained by
the Assembly of all canonical congregations in our region.
We as the Episcopal
Assembly understand ourselves as being the successors of the Standing
Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA),
assuming its agencies, dialogues, and other ministries.
Moreover, at the
formal request of the Hierarchs who have jurisdiction in Canada, the
Assembly will submit to the Ecumenical Patriarch, in accordance with
the rules of operation (Article 13), a request to partition the
present region of North and Central America into two distinct regions
of the United States and Canada. Additionally, at the request of the
Hierarchs who have jurisdiction in Mexico and Central America, the
Assembly will likewise request to merge Mexico and Central America
with the Assembly of South America.
As Orthodox
Hierarchs in this blessed region, we express our resolve to adhere to
and adopt the regulations proposed by the Pan-Orthodox Conferences and
approved by the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches, and to do everything
in our power by the grace of God to advance actions that facilitate
canonical order in our region.
We confess our
fidelity to the Apostolic Orthodox faith and pledge to promote
"common action to address the pastoral needs of Orthodox living
in our region" (Chambésy, Decision 2c). We call upon our clergy and faithful to
join us in these efforts "to safeguard and contribute to the
unity of the Orthodox Church of the region in its theological,
ecclesiological, canonical, spiritual, philanthropic, educational and
missionary obligations" (Article 5.1) as we eagerly anticipate
the Holy and Great Council.
The Assembly
concluded with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on Friday, May
28, 2010 at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral in
New York City. During the Liturgy prayers were offered for the repose
of the eleven victims of the current ecological disaster in the Gulf
Coast, for the consolation of their families, for all those adversely
affected by this catastrophe, as well as for all people living under
conditions of war, persecution, violence, and oppression.
Of the sixty-six
hierarchs in the region, the following 55 were present at this
Assembly:
Archbishop
Demetrios, Chairman
Metropolitan Philip, Vice Chairman
Archbishop Justinian, Vice Chairman
Bishop Basil, Secretary
Archbishop Antony, Treasurer
Patriarchate of Constantinople
Metropolitan Iakovos
Metropolitan Constantine
Metropolitan Athenagoras
Metropolitan Methodios
Metropolitan Isaiah
Metropolitan Nicholas
Metropolitan Alexios
Metropolitan Nikitas
Metropolitan Nicholas
Metropolitan Gerasimos
Metropolitan Evangelos
Metropolitan Paisios
Archbishop Yurij
Bishop Christopher
Bishop Vikentios
Bishop Savas
Bishop Andonios
Bishop Ilia
Bishop Ilarion
Bishop Andriy
Bishop Demetrios
Bishop Daniel
Antiochian Archdiocese
Bishop Antoun
Bishop Joseph
Bishop Alexander
Bishop Thomas
Bishop Mark
Russian Church
Metropolitan Hilarion
Bishop Job
Bishop Gabriel
Bishop Peter
Bishop Theodosius
Bishop George
Bishop Jerome
Serbian Church
Metropolitan Christopher
Bishop Maxim
Romanian Church
Archbishop Nicolae
Bishop Ioan Casian
Bulgarian Church
Metropolitan Joseph
Orthodox Church in America
Metropolitan Jonah
Archbishop Nathaniel
Archbishop Seraphim
Bishop Nikon
Bishop Tikhon
Bishop Benjamin
Bishop Melchisedek
Bishop Alejo
Bishop Irineu
Bishop Irinee
Bishop Michael
Media
Office of the Eastern American Diocese
See
also
New
York, NY: The Episcopal Assembly through the eyes of Russian
Archpastors
New
York, NY: Address of Archbishop Justinian at the Episcopal Assembly of
North and Central America
New
York, NY: Hierarchs of the Eastern American Diocese participate in the
Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America
