Steve, the whole idea of “giving” South America to Antioch, North America to Istanbul, Europe to Moscow sounded like so much Dan Brown/DaVinci Code boilerplate nonsense in the first place.

If there had been a deal, then the OCA wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of electing bishops for Chicago and NYC (where there already exist at least 5 bishops). That also goes for the South and Alaska as well, who should have bishops within a year. (Also the Bulgarian diocese, it would be a great idea to merge the Bulgarian patriarchal parishes into these, of course this would deprive the Bulgarian patriarchate of one vote in the American episcopal assembly).

One way to decrease parallel dioceses is to simply not replace an ethnic bishop when he dies.

Well said. Our Eucharistic Lord is indeed all too often neglected.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the hierarchs exchanged gifts, while Archbishop Justinian offered greetings from His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus, expressing the Patriarch’s brotherly support for Metropolitan Jonah’s position as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America. He also congratulated Metropolitan Jonah on the feast of Saint Jonah of Moscow, the Metropolitan’s patron.

(emphasis mine)

So much for the conspiricy theory that the ROC was going to trade the OCA for the Ukraine.

Greg; Sadly, the “bigger picture” is too often neglected.
THE VERY REVEREND ATHANASIUS, FORMER BISHOP OF ZAHUMILJE AND HERZEGOVINA:
“Orthodoxy is not a great organization, a mighty force. You will hear many people ask: ‘What is the Church doing?’ I say: ‘It is doing nothing, it is serving the Divine Liturgy’. This was also said by a Russian priest at a meeting in Europe, when Russians were first allowed to leave their country, after Stalin’s horrific persecutions. He and others were met by Protestants and Catholics, the organizers of the meeting, and they asked him: ‘What is the Russian Church doing? What mission does it have in Russia today?’ And the priest said: ‘We serve the Liturgy’. The others laughed, not understanding that this is the greatest work that can be accomplished in this world and in this history, beyond which is God’s Eternity.

This is why Orthodoxy is that which holds on to the One Thing Needful, as the Lord said: Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful (Lk. 10, 41-42). The rest is needful also, Martha’s job was needful, to be the host, to serve – but Mary had chosen the better part… “

Thanks, Father and Michael.

Thank you.

Question #1: Some do, some don’t. There is an internal debate about it.

Question #2. Most people in the GOA are probably only vaguely aware of the debate in the GOA, only those who take in interest in such things are informed.

Some yes, some no– but ultimately it dosen’t really matter. What is not of God will wither away even if it is not in human time as quickly as we would like.

The realy question is, what is in our own heart that is not in acord with the Holy Spirit and the direction of the Church He has in mind?

Hi Eliot,

RE Why do you care? Really, you said you are not Orthodox?

I’m just trying to understand the various forces at play in the Orthodox Church in the Americas. I have found this site to be a wealth of information about Orthodoxy. I usually can read along and find that someone will have touched on the answer to a question that I have. Occasionally though, I don’t see a particular thing addressed – thus, my question.

Up to now I assumed it was OK for me to ask questions.

RE What do you do about your eternal salvation?

Thank you for your concern about the “bigger picture.” I don’t, however, think this is the proper place to discuss issues specific to individual posters (myself included).

So am I.

Steve, all I heard re Q%A was from people whom I trust who attended. I’m disappointed that the whole lecture hasn’t been released on videotape.

Hi All,

Would someone care to take a stab at my questions?

Thanks.

There is great wisdom in what the Saints said. They (St. Justin Popovich, St John Maximovich and many others) did criticize and/or foretold about the exorbitant love of power of some hierarchs, sometimes calling them wolves in sheepskin.

Christ is not “of present-day Orthodoxy”. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The non-Christian races should know about the Martyrs and Confessors, who laid down their lives for the Truth. Through their sacrifice the True faith was preserved to this day.

The Holy Spirit illumines our minds when we read the writings and the Lives of the Saints. The protestant leaders, while rightly upset by the abuses of the popes, went further into error. They embraced the devil’s suggestion and rejected the veneration of the Mother of God and the Saints. Thus, they deprived their flocks of valuable grace. More reasonable would have been a return to the origins, to the Orthodox roots.

Eliot, there is much wisdom that you impart to us in this passage. I wonder though, we in the Eastern Church, what are we imparting to the non-Christian races? Seating arrangments? Is Christ concerned with such frivolities? What would entice these people to the Christ of present-day Orthodoxy if that is all they see (which is all we are consumeed with at present)?