Month: May 2010

By St. Andrew House, Center for Orthodox Christian Studies
www.standrewhouse.com
Board of Directors: Steve Lionas, Dean Calvert, Myke Jacobs, Warren David

Visit the St. Andrew House “Orthodox Episcopal Assembly” on Facebook

Sixteen years ago the bishops of the various jurisdictions of the Orthodox Churches in America met in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, to map out the road to a unified American Orthodox Church. Call it the “Ligonier Council” — the First Council of Orthodox Bishops in America.

The air was electric. Called by the two towering leaders of Orthodoxy in America — Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Church (GOA) and Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Church (AOCA) and courageously supported by representatives of Romanian, Serbian and Bulgarian jurisdictions, the bishops resolved to tackle head-on the vexing problems of Orthodox jurisdictional disunity in America. The Church in America had turned a corner.

It was not to last. The news upset many of the Old World patriarchates. Perhaps they saw the attempt at unity as moving too fast. Or maybe they didn’t understand the American “can-do” spirit and our native impatience with progress that moves too slowly.

Reaction against Ligonier was swift and the Ecumenical Patriarch took the lead in reversing it. The message was unequivocal: There will be no independent and autocephalous American Orthodox Church.
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HT: Orthodox News

By Matthew Namee

We’ve tried this before. Over the past century or so, there have been no fewer than five attempts to bring the various ethnic Orthodox jurisdictions in America into some measure of administrative unity. Next week, from May 26-28, we embark upon a sixth effort — an effort which, compared to its predecessors, seems remarkably promising.

First, of course, there were the Russians. In the early 20th century, the Russian Archdiocese envisioned itself as the platform for Orthodox unity in America. Its sainted archbishop, Tikhon Bellavin, articulated an innovative vision to deal with the unprecedented diversity of ethnic Orthodox Christians in the New World. He proposed that the Russian Archdiocese be organized, not along territorial lines, but according to ethnicity — a bishop for the Russians, another for the Syrians, another for the Serbs, still another for the Greeks. St. Tikhon realized that the different ethnic groups needed their own ethnic hierarchs, and his first step in implementing this plan was to consecrate St. Raphael Hawaweeny as bishop for the Syrians. Separate, overlapping administrative units were created for the Serbs, and later for other groups (e.g. the Albanians), but St. Tikhon’s overall plan was never fully enacted. The tenuous unity that existed among the Russians, Serbs, and Syrians soon fell apart, and by 1920, any notion of American Orthodox unity under the Russians was dead.

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Journey To Orthodoxy announces the launch of a new, content rich website for inquirers, newcomers and those looking into the Orthodox faith.

The launch of a new website at www.journeytoorthodoxy.com, fills a void in online material for inquirers and those struggling to find and enter the Orthodox Church.

“A lot of thought, research and time went into making it easy to use and filling this site with rich content, especially for the newcomer to our Orthodox faith,” said Fr. John A. Peck, designer and president of Journey To Orthodoxy.

This website is rich with content, notably a multitude of conversion stories by converts to the Orthodox faith from a multitude of traditions.

“For the inquirer, the journey home to the Orthodox faith can seem a lonely journey at first, but they will soon know that the path to Orthodoxy is a well worn road, and that there are many before them who can help,” Peck said.

“We’re hoping that it will quickly become into the ‘go-to’ site for inquirers and catechumens,” said Fr. Hans Jacobse, a partner in the creation of JTO. “We are confident that people will find the Journey To Orthodoxy website to be inspiring, and navigating the site a good experience, and the articles rich and rewarding to read.”
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