![\"Participating](\"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/OCL-pic1.png\" "\\"Participating")
<\/a>Participating Hierarchs including (L to R): Bishop Melchisedek, Diocese of Pittsburgh, Bishop Thomas, Diocese of Charleston, Oakland and Mid Atlantic, His Beatitude Jonah Metropolitan of All America and Archbishop Nathaniel of Detroit.<\/p><\/div>\n
The end result of the 22nd Annual Meeting of Orthodox Christian Laity held at Ligonier, PA , October 28-31, 2009, including board meeting and program meeting, is that the work of creating a Unified Orthodox Christian Church in North America requires the time, talent and skills of hierarchy, clergy and laity. OCL is enthusiastic about helping all Orthodox Christians throughout North America know that the process is underway. It encourages discussion at the parish, clergy brotherhood and diocesan levels. It challenges the clergy and laity to become informed about all dimensions of the process. Creating a unifed North American Church which respects our history as a multicultural church with over 2,000 parishes will require the skills and input of theologians (lay and clerical), geographers, research personnel, merger professionals, attorneys, accountants, teachers and communicators, mediators, and archdiocesan administrators, just to outline a few disciplines. All of these skills will work together in harmony with the Episcopal Leadership that is open and fair. We should all be humbled by the opportunity afforded to Orthodox Christians living in North America at this time to build up the Church. The whole process is the work of the Holy Spirit, and everyone must be mindful that they are doing their work to build up the Church in synergy with each other and the Holy Spirit. <\/p>\n
<\/a>Bill Souvall accepts presidency of OCL at Annual Meeting. <\/p><\/div>\n
All of us, top-down and bottom-up, have a responsibility and duty to be informed about the process, committees, and meetings related to assisting the Assembly of Bishops.\u00a0The first Episcopal Assembly will take place the week after Pentecost 2010.\u00a0Working Committees need to be identified, and the clergy and laity should be informed about these committees and how they may provide time, talent and input into the working of the Committees.\u00a0Right now, the clergy and laity need to know that there is a process underway, with the charge from the Old World Patriarchates to the faithful who live beyond the borders of the ancient world, to show how we can work together to build a unified, multicultural Orthodox Christian Church. <\/p>\n
OCL will provide as much information as is possible related to the process of building up the Church on its websites: www.ocl.org and www.orthodoxnews.com.\u00a0A special feature is being developed devoted to the Countdown toward Unity that will organize the information and allow for feedback.\u00a0The two recently-published books, Orthodox Christianity at the Crossroad: A Great Council of the Church – When and Why and A Church in Captivity: The Greek Orthodox Church in America (available from Light and Life, Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble) are good primers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/a>Fr John Cassar, Princeton, New Jersey, pastor of The Mother of God: The Joy of All Who Sorrow Church, superb moderator of the OCL 22nd annual meeting pictured with George Pontikes, Chicago, a panelist and Susan Haikalis of California.<\/p><\/div>\n
The two-day interactive, conversation format hosted by OCL on \u201cThe Road to Unity \u2013 From Vision to Action\u201d left the 21 invited hierarchy, clergy and laity panelists\/presenters who set the foundation for the conversation on the topics and the audience who interacted with them, uplifted, excited and enthused about working together to build up the Unified American Orthodox Church.\u00a0The topics discussed are: New Faces of American Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century; Orthodox Unity at Work and in Service: Orthodoxy Reaches Maturity in America; Unity at Many Levels; An Accountable and Canonical Unified Orthodox Church of Tomorrow; Orthodoxy and American Culture; Youth; Orthodox Communication; The Great and Holy Council, What does it mean for a unified Church in America? You can hear the entire proceedings on Ancient Faith Radio at http:\/\/ancientfaith.com\/specials\/road_to_unity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the annual meeting, the board elected Bill Souvall, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, to serve as OCL\u2019s eleventh president.\u00a0Mr. Souvall has served on the parish council and Sunday School Staff of Holy Trinity and Prophet Elias Churches. He has been a member of the OCL board since 2004 and is enthusiastic about its mission. He would like to attract \u201c50 something\u201d board members like himself.\u00a0He is interested in working with all the hierarchs in North America to make the process of building up a unified North American Church a success.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The board also elected Mr. Nicholas Katich to its membership.\u00a0Mr. Katich helped mediate the union of the separate Serbian Archdioceses in America and assisted in writing the new constitution for the unified Church.\u00a0He has authored three essays that relate to Church Unity: \u201cReflections on Ravenna: Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here\u201d (2008); Chalcedonian Canon 28: Historic Truth or Greek Mythology\u201d\u00a0(2009) and \u201cA Call to Gather Together as a Church: Reflections on lV Chambesy\u201d 2009.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/a>His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, gives the keynote address<\/p><\/div>\n
The board and members of OCL are grateful to all the participants including: The Most Blessed Jonah, Metropolitan of All America and Canada – keynote speaker; His Eminence Archbishop Nathaniel, head of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America; His Grace Bishop Thomas, Diocese of Charleston, Oakland and the Mid-Atlantic; His Grace Melchisedek, Diocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania; Fr Antonio Perdoma, Fr Hans Jacobse, Fr Justin Mathews, Sister Sarah Elizabeth Oftedel, Deacon John Zarras, George Karcazes, George Pontikes, Peter J Petkas, Peter Marudas, Nicholas Katich, John Maddex, Fr Nicholas Apostola, Christopher Shadid, Fr Peter-Michael Preble, Teva Regule, Bryan Smith and Alexei Krindatch.\u00a0We especially thank Fr John Cassar, pastor of\u00a0Mother of God Joy of All Who Sorrow, Princeton, NJ, who moderated all the groups and participants with love, respect, and intelligence.\u00a0His communication skills are extraordinary.\u00a0<\/p>\n