Matsoukas comments on the Episcopal Assembly's work

Comments on the Episcopal Assembly

by  George Matsoukas

Executive Director

Orthodox Christian Laity

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”…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’ as we eagerly anticipate the Holy and Great Council.

MESSAGE:  Bishops attending First Episcopal Assembly

What are the immediate accomplishments of the Assembly?

The First Episcopal Assembly of the Canonical Bishops of North and Central America took place at the Helmsley Park Hotel NYC, May 26-28, 2010.  The 55 assembled bishops replaced the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops SCOBA and now all the bishops of all jurisdictions are the stewards of the Orthodox Church in the United States.  They are working in a conciliar manner to develop a foundation to build a unified local Church to meet the spiritual needs of the people living in this geographic area.    

The essential document to emerge from the historic Episcopal Assembly is the MESSAGE quoted in part as an introduction to my comments. The Message was collaboratively developed and approved by all the bishops. Further more the document enumerated long overdue actions including establishing:

1. A registry of canonical bishops
2. A committee to determine the canonical status of local communities in the region that have no reference to the Most Holy Autocephalous Churches.
3. A registry of canonical clergy
4. Committees to undertake the work of the Assembly, among others including liturgical, pastoral, financial, educational ecumenical and legal issues
5. A committee to plan for the organization of the Orthodox of the region on a canonical basis   
6. A directory of all canonical congregations in our region.

Study this MESSAGE for it is a primary source of information and contains the practical results of the meeting. 

Brotherhood and Unity are hallmarks of the first meeting

Another excellent primary source that gives us a feeling of the historical nature of this meeting was developed by Father Andrew S. Damick who was present in the meeting rooms.  His report has been transmitted on many Orthodox Christian internet sites and can be read at www.ocl.org. Father Damick states “There was not politicking going on in the halls and at meals.  There were just men working together.  It was all almost routine, not particularly energetic.  They were clearly comfortable with each other…. “Another priest present “interpreted this apparent brotherhood very positively, saying that this may represent another step in the formation of a mutual identity.”

Indeed the Holy Spirit is at work in this process of building up the foundation for a Unified Orthodox Christian Church in the United States through the common actions of our bishops to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful in this land and culture.   We are gratefully to Lord that the bishops took positive long overdue steps to develop the blueprint for the unified, self governing Orthodox Christian Church in the United States.   The bishops met in harmony and left in peace.  They established positive relationships.

 Leadership Noted and Commended

The work of the Holy Spirit is carried out though faithful Servants of the Lord and we commend all of our bishops who attended.   We especially note the leadership of Archbishop Demetrios, a man of prayer, who personifies the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.  He is wise and worthy! He successfully convened and brought to conclusion this First Assembly.  We note that much pressure was put on him before hand by the Patriarchate, special interests in the Archdiocese and foreign governments.  It seems he has to always be looking behind his back to get things done.  May God continue to grant him good health, strength and many years!  We also credit the success of the meeting to His Beatitude Jonah, born and nurtured in America, not a prisoner of Old World History and the Roman Empire, free of foreign domination.  He is an example of the servant Bishop and has through humility brought the bishops of the Orthodox Church in America OCA to the discussion as canonical bishops.  Archbishop Demetrios and His Beatitude Jonah, by their example of love=giving something up for the greater good, have made the assembly representative of the Bishops of America so that the first steps can be taken to develop the blueprint for a unified, multicultural Orthodox Church in America.    Despite the considerations of Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey (GOA) the seating of the OCA was a non issue.

Moving Forward

Now the work begins and the details need to be worked out. The Secretariat of the Assembly elected and is headed by Bishop Basil of Wichita, KS. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese AOCA.  The work of the Assembly is on a fast track especially if the Great and Holy Council will be convened as indicated by some as early as 2013. This Great Council is a meeting of all Orthodox Bishops throughout the world.  They are called together to make conciliar decisions concerning issues related to the faith.  The last such meeting was held over 1000 years ago.   We look forward to see how the committees developing the foundation for the unified and hopefully self-governing Orthodox Church in the United States will be organized.  How will the faithful People of God, clergy and laity, participate in developing the blueprint for a unified, self governing Orthodox Church in the United States?  We also would like to know how this process of continuing the work of the Assembly will be financed.  We also expect that the work of the Assembly will be transparent and accountable to the People of God as well as the ancient Patriarchs and all the participating local hierarchs.  We are prayerful that a transcript of the May 26-28 meeting in NYC will be released.

Communication with each other is necessary in this transitional period.

As we move ahead it is my hope that laypersons and clergy with courage will develop regional and local meetings and communicate with each other.  The success of building up the Church in the United States depends on the thoughtful and active communication and participation of mature faithful people. We hope that each region’s clergy associations and hierarchs of all jurisdictions will meet together regularly during this transition period.  The Pan Orthodox Meeting in Detroit in early May 2010 to discuss the conveying of the Episcopal Assembly is a model.  It was highly successful and informative.  Groups of laity such as OCL and others need to network and develop materials and regional forums to discuss WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A LOCAL CHURCH.  We must stay focused in this transitional period and keep our eye on the prize of Orthodox Christian Unity and self governance.  The grassroots faithful need to be actively involved in building up the church.  They have been involved.  They established all the SCOBA agencies and then when they were up and working successfully they were blessed.  They established many of the Churches here before the archdioceses of any jurisdiction were in place.  The faithful laity has always been as Archbishop Iakovos of blessed memory said “the wind beneath the wings” of the bishops.  It is time to bring them into the process.  Building the Church in the United States is the work of all the people of God in synergy with each other.