Orthodox Christian Laity

The Road to Unity; From Vision to Action was the title of the conference that just wrapped up this evening in Ligonier, PA. You can see the topics discussed here, and read some of the day to day activity on Fr. Peter-Michael Preble’s website.

Presentations were very good. Many of the people who spoke were first timers to an event like this although they are very active in their fields but largely unknown in the larger Orthodox world. They represent the new leadership that is emerging and will carry Orthodoxy into American society as we move closer to unity. They include people such as Fr. Antonio Perdomo, Bryan Smith who is the headmaster of an Orthodox School, Sister Elizabeth Oftedehl who runs a home for unwed mothers, Fr. Justin Matthews, Executive Director of FOCUS, and more.

This is ground up work and very exciting and very encouraging to see. It gives you a clearer sense of what can be accomplished if we put out minds to it.

Met. Jonah, Bp. Nathaniel, Bp. Thomas (who has a great sense of humor), and Bp. Melchizedek were the hierarchs present. Met. Jonah in particular stressed that unity among the Orthodox in America is also a function of spiritual maturity.

Nick Katich, occasional contributor to AOI blog, gave a thoughtful and and nuanced summary of his take on the Chambesy Protocols. One thing he mentioned that stood out was that the movement towards Chambesy seems to have come out of nowhere. Asked what he thought might have started it, Nick said that no one really knows.

OCL particpants, many of them veterans of twenty years of action, report a renewed sense of hope and accomplishment at this conference. Some of them were desparing that anything might change. Here they saw new faces, some considerably younger and all accomplished who clearly take their Orthodox faith seriously and see what Orthodox Christianity can contribute to the larger culture and are working out ways to do so.

Two quick points. First, Antiochian Village, the site where the conference was held treated us superbly. The food was very good too. Great choice as a site. Second, conference organizers did a great job planning it.

Fr. Peter-Michael Preble is blogging from the Road to Unity conference here.

Ann Rodgers of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette covers day one with “Orthodox Christians in U.S. face obstacles before unifying.”

Sister Sara Elisabet Oftedal, co-founder of Martha and Mary House in Escondido, Calif., a small home for women who choose adoption over abortion, said her board has members from the Serbian, Antiochian, and Greek jurisdictions and is incorporated in the Orthodox Church in America.

“As a convert, I’m blind to the differences. But I do think it would be wonderful if we were all together because it would be a much more powerful witness,” she said.

The Rev. Justin Mathews, director of FOCUS North America, a pan-Orthodox ministry to aid poor Americans with food, shelter and employment, said global Orthodoxy has a long tradition of social service, but it has been neglected in America.

Ministry to the poor “is the responsibility of our church and perhaps the beginning of the tangible fabric of unity,” he said. Paying homage to food festivals, he said Orthodox churches in America are ideally suited for soup kitchens because “our churches are full of these commercial kitchens that are used primarily to serve ourselves.”

Achieving administrative unity would benefit social service ministries because they wouldn’t have to approach a half-dozen ethnic bishops for permission each time they wanted to start a project in a given city, he said.

Get info on the OCL Conference here: www.ocl.org/roadtounity

Contact: George Matsoukas, Executive Director, Orthodox Christian Laity, 877-585-0245, ocladmin@ocl.org

LIGONIER, Penn., Sept. 11 /Christian Newswire/ — Orthodox Christianity in America stands at the threshold of a new era of renewal. As the ancient faith lays down new and dynamic roots in America, new and indigenous leadership is emerging as the Church engages American culture. Meeting in Ligonier, Pennsylvania on October 20-31, 2009 for “The Road to Unity: From Vision to Action” conference, leaders and participants will develop ideas on how the American Orthodox Church can achieve unity in America.

The meeting takes on greater significance as world church leaders challenge the American Orthodox jurisdictions to work together to present a nuts and bolts plan for a unified North American Church. The process toward unity was established at the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference of Orthodox Patriarchates in Chambesy, Switzerland, June 2009, and will be guided by an Episcopal Assembly that is inclusive of all canonical jurisdictions, chaired by Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Newly-elected Metropolitan Jonah, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, will present the keynote address. His unique vision for establishing Orthodox unity in America has stimulated much discussion in national Orthodox circles. Other hierarchs joining him include: Archbishop Nathaniel, Ruling Hierarch of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America; Bishop Thomas, Diocese of Charleston, Oakland and the Mid-Atlantic, Bishop Melchisedek, Diocese of Pittsburgh and Western PA and others (confirmation pending).

“Orthodox unification in America is more than an administrative project – it is a spiritual imperative,” said George Matsoukas, Executive Director of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) that is sponsoring the conference. “If we don’t unify, we risk losing our faith and the opportunity to share it with our fellow Americans who are seeking the roots of Christianity.” Continue reading →