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HT: St. Andrews Orthodox Forum
By Fr. John Erickson
Orthodox Christian Laity Annual Meeting
Salt Lake City, Utah
October 15-16, 2010
In June 2009 representatives of the fourteen universally recognized Orthodox churches gathered at the Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy, near Geneva, Switzerland. This Fourth Preconciliar Commission meeting issued an official decision concerning the so-called diaspora, which – among other things – affirmed the churches’ desire “to resolve the problem of the diaspora as quickly as possible… in accordance with Orthodox ecclesiology and the canonical tradition and practice of the Orthodox Church.” The decision deemed “an immediate transition to the strictly canonical order” impossible “for historical and pastoral reasons.” Instead, to “prepare the ground for a strictly canonical solution of the problem,” it mandated the creation of Episcopal Assemblies in various regions of the diaspora. As a supplement to this decision, the Preconciliar Commission also issued a set of “Rules of Operation for Episcopal Assemblies in the Diaspora.” (For the documents in question see http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/documents/chambesy.)