Elizabeth, I heard Bishop Basil’s comments in OKC. They were accurate as far as they went, but I’m afraid I detected a little too much “gee whizz” type of adolescent optimism. Even giving this wonderful man’s speech the benefit of the doubt, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding, that there was going to be something negative come down the pike to puncture this optimism. I personally thought it would be something ridiculous from some titular “metropolitan” in the Phanar or perhaps from the GOA. Instead, it was within Bishop Basil’s own jurisdiction that the other shoe dropped.

Quite simply, the demotion of the AOCNA bishops to auxiliary status (“chorespiscopoi” is the locution of the moment) vindicated my suspicions, that the Old World patriarchates have absolutely no intention of giving up their American colonies. As disappointing as the OCA can be at times (and certainly was under the two previous metropolitans) I think we have to come to the conclusion that among the “big three,” it’s the only canonical game in town. At least our bishops can never be anything but what they are: diocesan ordinaries presiding over real and autonomous dioceses.

http://www.antiochian.org/BishopBasilAssemblyVideo

With Love in Christ
Elizabeth Riggs, PhD, the sinner
and Perennial Student
Lawrenceville GA

I think you’ve hit the problem square on the head. That’s why I don’t think nothing much is going to come out of this. What I liked about it was that it demolished the absolutist claims that were stated at HC on Mar 16. Again, this is a recommendation only and without any North American bishops there, I just don’t know how it’s ever going to be accepted. at least in N America. I could be wrong.

‘Yes, well our bishop is in a synod along ethnic lines and he’s appointed by or has his choices handed down to him from a foreign center that either recently was under communist influence or a center that is presently part of remnant community in Turkey or Syria smaller than a large US parish. But after 150 or so years here in the USA they overseas have announced a new initiative! Besides reporting abroad and keeping those money and decision making channels inviolate, the various local bishops also go, as conferees, to a new local ‘conference’ of other bishops who all cover the same towns and who are part of the other various overseas groups.

Now we’ve been in the USA between 100 to 150 years and we really would like to reach out to our neighbors to show how our faith really takes a wholistic, organic approach, de-emphasizing petty legalisms and ethnic/ancestral divisions as our faith history teaches us properly to live in national entirely locally self-governing sister churches.

Also none of our bishops has ever been married, many of them are caught up or covering gay scandals, and though at one time it was otherwise presently no married priest can be a bishop. Please join and please give generously.’

Could the response to such an invitation be anything except : ‘You must be completely mental’ ?

Do these overseas bishops cooking up their idea of our future show even the barest sign of thinking about how their choices affect our possibility to retain our people and attract the next generation here? Accepting this means accepting to dwindle. Is the Great Commission nothing to them? Are we okay with that, with them? Seriously.

“The Conference decided to create new episcopal assemblies in some regions of the world to order the question of the Diaspora, i.e. the Orthodox faithful installed in areas beyond the traditional boundaries of the local Orthodox Churches.”

Will details be released?

I don’t know but my guess is that you’ve got it pegged. There’s something about feminine intuition that I defer to when all else fails. BTW, I’m being serious here. Nothing else makes sense so in such a situation, I’ll defer to your judgment.

I agree with your assessment. Did these hierarchs get scared and back down when Metropolitan Jonah took a hard stance in Texas? I wonder?

If that is the case, I would encourage Metropolitan Jonah to keep moving in the same direction. People will recognize his spiritually courageous and manly leadership and will follow.

As such, this would be a face-saving way for the EP to have his bishops be the primate in all other regions of the world but not America where there is already an autocephalous church.

This is all just a guess however. I’m not even sure if these rulings are binding. I guess not because these were recommendations to the upcoming (but probably never to be held) Great Council.