Posted on 10/26/2009 5:38:20 AM PDT by marshmallow
America's Orthodox Christians, divided for decades among about 10 churches based on Greek or Serb or other ancestry, soon may be moving toward the formation of a united American Orthodox church.
Many of them have dreamed of that for decades, especially as conversions to Orthodoxy have skyrocketed. But most church patriarchs have squelched such talk.
Now it appears that the patriarchs are not only supporting but demanding some sort of unity. To explore what this may mean for believers in the United States, the independent, pan-Orthodox group Orthodox Christian Laity will gather for three days, starting Thursday, at Antiochian Village in Ligonier.
In 1994 that retreat center hosted the first and only gathering of all Orthodox bishops in North America. Believing they had approval from church patriarchs overseas, those bishops called for a united church in which the faithful would not be treated as "scattered children" of ancestral homelands.
But the ecumenical patriarch in Constantinople -- the spiritual head of global Orthodoxy -- denounced it as a rebellion against the ancient church and replaced the Greek archbishop who had led it. The unity movement lay dormant for 15 years.
Then, in June, the 14 Old World patriarchs gathered in Chambesy, Switzerland, and declared that all Orthodox bishops outside of traditional Orthodox lands -- including North America -- will begin meeting to address their own issues in their own lands.
This week's lay conference will examine what it may take to achieve unity. There are significant questions about how ethnic traditions will continue to be honored and whether laity will have as much of a voice in a unified church as they have in some of the smaller ones.
The patriarchs "are asking the Orthodox Christians in the so-called lands beyond the ancient world to show that they can create a...........
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Indeed
Cool. Orthodoxy, for the most part, did not follow its ancient tradition of autonomy in newly evangelized territory, in North America. The Orthodox Church in America was a good first step. The American Orthodox Church is its logical next step.
Will keep this in my prayers.
Hope to see the Western and Eastern Churches eventually come back together; I think it will happen but maybe not in my lifetime. (I’m a Roman Catholic)
A fascinating development worthy of attention and reflection. My kudos and congrats to my Orthodox brethren.
-Theo
Intra-Orthodox unity!
This ought to be a sight to behold!
Even though my family came from an eastern European, traditionally Orthodox region, I strongly support an American Orthodox Church. I live in the Pittsburgh area, where there are an abundance of “ethnic” Orthodox parishes. I think this intimidates a lot of potential converts. The hierarchs of these various Orthodox churches need to swallow their pride and join together to form a united Orthodox Church in this country. Every other country has their own Orthodox Church. The only problem I see preventing this is that the “mother” churches in their original homeland will lose significant funding from the US based churches if we were independent from them.
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I think the Orthodox Church needs to get into agreement with it’s own people before we can attempt to get things together with the Roman Catholics.
I think they will unify as long as the money is divided the same.
This is akin to a college football vs NFL football, both are football with seperate bank accounts but similar rules.
“Did ya miss this one, boys?”
Not at all, its old news; the actions of the Patriarchs and the heads of the autocephallous churches at Switzerland have been posted on the Church websites since the meeting. Here’s a link to the GOA information:
http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/documents/chambesy
BTW, the OCL is an extra ecclesial group, often identified with extreme liberals, which has been condemned by the Patriarchs.
Old news where? Not around here!!
C'mon dude, you're supposed to keep us up to speed with this stuff.
So we'll be getting a newly unified Orthodox Church in America?
” Old news where? Not around here!!
C’mon dude, you’re supposed to keep us up to speed with this stuff.”
I am surprised that there is any general interest.
“So we’ll be getting a newly unified Orthodox Church in America?”
Perhaps, though not soon; not before any Pan Orthodox Council anyway. If and when we do, it is likely that the church will not be autocephallous, but rather will be under the omophorion of either Constantinople or Moscow, probably the former for some canonical reasons but either Patriarchate is in a position to assure continued Orthodoxy. An autocephallous church would probably end up like the OCA.
All of a sudden so modest!! Aren't you always assuring us that Orthodoxy is the answer? So make us interested!
How will the Serbs and the Greeks and the Armenians all take to this? Will they be happy? Are you? Will it be a good thing or a bad thing?
More importantly, will it work?
Doesn't the word "unity" make Orthodox nervous??
God bless you Heather. They will see it one day, but I hope it won’t be too late. Islam is always in motion.
Trust in the Lord; he said the Gates of Hell will not prevail against His Church.
I dind’t miss it. I have a life besides looking up waht bishops will come up with next...
“Aren’t you always assuring us that Orthodoxy is the answer?”
Not me. WE are what we are. If someone wants what we have, they can have it. If not, that’s OK too. Generally we offer another cup of cafe and another piece of baklava.
“How will the Serbs and the Greeks and the Armenians all take to this? Will they be happy? Are you? Will it be a good thing or a bad thing?”
You mean with the protocols that the Patriarchs and other primates came up with? I suppose people will sort of shrug and move on. At this point what they are proposing has little effect on the people in the pews. In my own opinion, this is a good idea. It was discussed among a group of us recently along with our Metropolitan. The fact is that the present plethora of churches functioning in the same geographic area, while understandable in terms of the history of the Orthodox diaspora, is uncanonical. I can’t see where this is a bad thing. The Armenians, being Monophysites, will likely have little to say one way or the other.
“More importantly, will it work?”
Oh, I think so, yes.
“Doesn’t the word “unity” make Orthodox nervous??”
Not at all. The Church is united, m.
“The keynote speaker at Ligonier will be Metropolitan Jonah, leader of the Orthodox Church in America, a self-governing offshoot of the Russian Orthodox Church. Although it is one of the most Americanized bodies — and he is a Chicago-born convert — it potentially has much to lose in the formation of a new American church.”
This man is probably the worst Orthodox hierarch in the entire history of the diaspora. He is an incompetent, presumptuous fool. I’m not in the least surprised that OCL has asked him to speak. He is almost as scorned by canonical Orthodoxy as they are.
“No one from America attended the gathering in Switzerland. So no one from churches here knows why the patriarchs chose to call for unity now.”
That’s simply untrue. A number of us know why.
Amen Sister....Amen
Why should it? We are already united in Communion to every "right thinking" and "right worshiping" Christian Church?
As a Catholic, i know I’m sticking my foot in it, but here goes. Why a need for an American Orthodox Church? Each of the Orthodox Churchs that do exist have their own unique tradition, is there really a need to merge them into a melting pot?
“Why a need for an American Orthodox Church?”
The ecclesiology of the Orthodox Church works best in “national” (I use that word for lack of a better term) units simply from an administrative stand point. An American Orthodox Church, disconnected from say Moscow or Constantinople, however, would be a disaster. Orthodoxy is simply too young here to have developed the sort of “genetic” Orthodox consciousness among the people to guarantee fidelity to the Faith. We could end up with a sort of Orthodox Episcopalianism run by groups like the OCL. Being strongly attached to Constantinople or Moscow is a defense against that.
“American Orthodoxy” has been a dismal failure. The OCA is down to 25,000 pledging members and is flirting with the Anglicans here while insulting every other hierarch who crosses its path. Its seminary will likely close within the next few years. My prediction is that it will collapse or become a quasi protestant group of some sort. The Antiochians have trouble with their convert from protestantism bishops. I think that will work itself out, but the influence of evangelical protestantism in the American Antiochian Archdiocese is troibling. There are other very small jurisdictions, but at base what’s left are the Russians and the Greeks, mostly the Greeks. We’ll stick with Constantinople and this new system the hierarchs have developed will be headed up by the GOA’s Archbishop so eventually I think we’ll see all Orthodoxy in America under the EP in an autonomous church.
“Armenians aren’t Eastern Orthodox — they’re more properly part of the Oriental Churchs including the Copts and Ethiopian Church.”
They may, however, receive communion at our Divine Liturgies and we in theirs if one of their or our churches isn’t readily available. Armenians, Copts, Ethiopian Copts, and others may be members of Orthodox parishes. This is done by economia but such de facto communion is the nearest thing I have ever seen to de jure communion without it having actually been declared.
This is very interesting. I’m getting quite an education about my Eastern Orthodox Christian brothers and sisters here. Thank you :)
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