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September 5, 2011
Howell, NJ: Metropolitan Hilarion led the summer session of the Diocesan Council

On Tuesday, August 30, a regular meeting of the Diocesan Council was held in Howell, NJ, chaired by His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York.

Taking part in the meeting were the following Council members:

His Grace George, Bishop of Mayfield
Archpriest Serge Lukianov, Diocesan Secretary
Archpriest John Moses
Priest Jonah Campbell, Diocesan Treasurer
Subdeacon George Schatiloff
George N. Nikolsky
George G. Temidis

The meeting opened with the singing of the troparion to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, after which the Council members began their work.

In his introductory remarks, His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, listed the essential elements of the day’s agenda and presented a report on the state of the Diocese. The Metropolitan reported that the Diocese continues to grow and thrive.

His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, informed the Council about the most recent ordinations and assignments:

- The Holy Protection of the Theotokos Spanish Mission in Kissimmee, FL, has been accepted into the Eastern American Diocese, along with its clergy: Archpriest Juan Carlos Rios, Archimandrite Nectarios (Harding), and Deacon Andrew Peralta. Divine services at Holy Protection Mission are served in English and Spanish.

- Priest Jonah Campbell is released from his obligations as a cleric at St. George’s Church in Howell, NJ, and is appointed rector of Christ the Savior Church in Wayne, WV.

- Deacon Nathan Mousselli is released from his obligations as a cleric at St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Lakewood, NJ, and attached to the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign in New York City.

- Deacon Christophe Lepoutre is released from his obligations as a cleric at Christ the Savior Church in Wayne, WV, and is attached to the Chapel of the Protection of the Mother of God in Chattanooga, TN.

- Having received a canonical release from His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, Archpriest Vladimir Danylevich is accepted into the Eastern American Diocese and assigned chaplain of the Entrance of the Theotokos Convent in Washington, DC.

- Deacon Valery Sukholobov (cleric of the Church of Our Lady, "Joy of All Who Sorrow," in Philadelphia, PA) was ordained a priest on July 31, 2011. Fr. Valery retains his prior assignment.

- Subdeacon Jason Dechenne was ordained a deacon on July 31, 2011, and then a priest on August 7, 2011. Fr. Jason is assigned to St. Joseph of Optina Church in Virginia Beach, VA.

- Subdeacon Seraphim Komleski was ordained a deacon and assigned to St. Elizabeth the New-Martyr Church in Rocky Hill, NJ, on July 18, 2011.

The Metropolitan also informed the Council about recent awards granted to diocesan clerics:

- Archpriest Alexander Fedorowski (cleric of Holy Dormition Convent "Novo-Diveevo") was awarded the second cross for his faithful 50-year service to the Holy Church (July 10, 2011).

- Archpriest Steven Ritter (cleric of St. Mary of Egypt Church in Atlanta, GA) was awarded the palitsa on July 18, 2011.

- Priest Onouphry Keith (rector of St. Nicholas Church in Fletcher, NC) was elevated to the rank of archpriest on August 9, 2011.

- Priest Dionysy Nalitov (rector of St. Panteleimon Church in Hartford, CT) was elevated to the rank of archpriest on August 14, 2011.

- Protodeacon Gregory Petrochko (cleric of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Mayfield, PA) was awarded the kamilavka on July 7, 2011.

- Hierodeacon Sergius (Wilson; cleric of Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, WV) was awarded the double orarion on August 9, 2011.

The First Hierarch also informed the Council that, with the help of the Fund for Assistance to ROCOR, Holy Trinity Seminary was able to send two of its seminarians to the Dominican Republic to teach local clergy and candidates for ordination.

The Council adopted a proposal to revise the dates of the pastoral conference in Jordanville. The conference will be held on October 18-20 of this year. Additional information will be published on the diocesan site shortly. At the conference, two presentations will be dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the repose of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Antony (Khrapovitsky), and the 35th anniversary of the repose of Archbishops Averky (Taushev) and Nikon (Rklitsky).

Council members also heard a report by Archpriest John Moses on the upcoming winter pastoral conference in Miami. Archimandrite Meletios (Webber; abbot of St. John the Wonderworker Monastery in Manton, WA – OCA) and Deacon Christophe Lepoutre will make presentations on the topic of "Pastoral Counseling & Orthodox Psychotherapy," as well as "Treating the Illness of Co-Dependency."

Diocesan secretary Archpriest Serge Lukianov presented a written proposal and three sketches for new diocesan gramotas (certificates) from iconographer Deacon Paul Drozdowski. After discussing Fr. Paul’s proposal, the Council adopted a resolution to create a new diocesan gramota. The diocesan secretary was tasked with preparing a protocol for the presentation of diocesan gramotas, which will be reviewed at the next Council meeting and published on the diocesan website.

The Diocesan Council also reviewed a financial report prepared by diocesan treasurer Priest Jonah Campbell. Currently a majority of parishes are making regular dues payments to the diocesan administration, while other parishes remain unresponsive.

Fr. Jonah presented a report by the Auditing Committee and the results of the most recent audit. The Council discussed a series of proposals by the Auditing Committee, and members expressed their thanks to the Committee for their excellent work.

Council members heard a report from Reader Peter Lukianov about the current state of affairs in the diocesan Media Office. Fr. Serge presented a series of proposals to the Diocesan Council concerning the expansion of Media Office activities to promote better communication between the diocesan administration and the clergy and faithful of the Eastern American Diocese. A proposal was made to hire Mrs. Alena Plavsic for the position of Editor of Russian Diocesan Publications to assist the Media Office with expanding the website and improving public relations for the Diocese. The second proposal was a comprehensive three-year plan to expand Media Office activities and included projects such as publishing a quarterly diocesan journal, printing informational brochures about diocesan programs for distribution in the parishes, creating an e-mail mailing list of parishioners in the Diocese, and expanding the diocesan website. The third proposal was a detailed plan to redesign the diocesan website by creating new graphics and reorganizing certain sections of the website. The plan also included a proposal to launch an online fundraising campaign to raise awareness of the broad spectrum of diocesan programs and initiatives which the faithful of the Diocese can support. Besides the technical aspect of the plan, a proposal was made to raise the standard of reporting and increase the amount of publications on the diocesan website. The projected date of completion for the redesigned website is November 1, 2011. All three proposals were unanimously approved and Metropolitan Hilarion invoked the Lord’s blessing on the staff of the diocesan Media Office to bring about the realization of these projects. His Eminence noted how important it is for the Diocese to utilize the latest technology in order to spread the Gospel of Christ and unite the faithful of our Diocese.

The Council also discussed a series of issues relating to the life and administration of the Diocese. The next meeting of the Council will be held in December of this year.

Republication of materials must include a reference to: 
"Eastern American Diocese www.eadiocese.org."

Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese