But more than 40 years down the pike, we are less unified and more ethnic, as American Exceptionalism including the ‘Melting Pot’ metaphor expires under the massed assault of class war, indifferent leadership and plain straight-up phyletism. We are a church in search of a vision of unity. Elders seem to have abdicated their leadership role and the youth feel it acutely, and walk out. That’s the way I see it from here. I hope there are stories to the contrary to read here.

Thanks for the clarification.

the unintelligibility of liturgical languages…

I thought that Orthodox worship services in America were in English?