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LOL Yes "byzantine" does indeed resonate. That said, I am not altogether sure about your view that most Orthodox are opposed to a single unified Orthodox Church in North America. I would agree that a majority of those on FR are certainly against it. But from what I have been able to discern there seems to be a solid majority in favor of it within the OCA and the AOC. The GOA seems much cooler to the idea with many of the smaller and more ethnic jurisdictions also leaning against it to varying degrees. In the case of the GOA it seems (from an outsiders perspective) that at least some of the coolness has been more of a top down attitude starting with the EP who has very real (and non-thelogical) reasons to worry about American Orthodoxy becoming independent.

Another aspect already noted in many posts are that many smaller jurisdictions (Bulgarian Romanian etc) are also concerned about loosing their ethnic identity. Here though is the rub from my point of view. Is it canonical for as many Orthodox jurisdictions with cumulatively somewhere close to 6 million or so faithful in N. America to be divided up this way? I was always under the impression that it was considered highly uncanonical for there to be more than one bishop with jurisdiction over the same piece of real estate.

What the majority of Orthodox are against isn't necessarily a united Orthodoxy Church in America, it is autocephally. And you are absolutely right that the multiple hierarchs of different jurisdictions running around this country is uncanonical. I don't think anyone would argue that one!