Hellenes Abroad News<\/a>, one of the primary voices of the Greek lobby, reports that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will meet with SCOBA during his visit to the United States, which kicked off<\/a> yesterday. The article makes a startling assertion:<\/p>\n Under the leadership of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the worldwide Orthodox Church has moved significantly in the past year toward a canonical normalization of the Churches that exist in the so-called \u201cDiaspora.\u201d<\/strong> This opportunity for the Members of SCOBA to meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch comes at a fortuitous time in the process. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Considering that the newly constituted U.S. episcopal assembly is not scheduled to gather for its first meeting until May 2010, this is what we “barbarians” in America’s so-called “diaspora” refer to as jumping the gun<\/em>.<\/p>\n Recall, to cite just one example, Antiochian Metropolitan Philip’s critique<\/a> of Constantinople’s interpretation of Canon 28.<\/p>\n Met. Philip argues that Constantinople\u2019s interpretation of the canon is historically untenable, interferes with good order, hobbles efforts at jurisdictional unity and, most important, retards Orthodox missionary work in the United States.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n