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(OCA-DOW) - The first part of the official delegation of the Orthodox Church in America to the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia arrived in Prague this afternoon. Bishop BENJAMIN, Archpriest Eric George Tosi, Secretary of the Orthodox Church in America, and Mr. Barry Migyanko, the Administrative Assistant of the Diocese of the West were greeted by His Eminence Archbishop George (Juraj) of Michalovce and Kosice and three priests.
The Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia (CCLS) was granted autocephaly by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1951 and recognized as autocephalous by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1998. The CCLS has at once an ancient Orthodox heritage and a vibrant modern history. It was to Moravia, now part of the Czech Republic that Ss. Cyril and Methodius came in the 9th century beginning that great labor that would result in the translation of the services of the Orthodox Church into what would become the Church Slavonic language. And it is from this region that many immigrated to the United States, becoming an integral part of our own OCA. In fact, the Diocese of the West boasts a parish of Slovak ranchers in Calhan, Colorado.
His Beatitude Metropolitan JONAH was delayed in arriving due to the declining health of Archbishop DMITRI but is expected to join the rest of the delegation on Saturday to celebrate the Feast of the Dormition (old style) together with the Primate of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Metropolitan KRISTOF (Christopher).
Warmly greeted, Bishop BENJAMIN and the rest of the delegation look forward to strengthening the bond of unity between our two Orthodox Churches.
Posts
From the posts on oca.org, it looks like the delegation is only spending time in the Czech Republic. While they mention that many folks in the OCA trace their ancestry to that part of the globe, the part of the autocephalous church they should focus on during this trip is eastern Slovakia. Not visiting Slovakia is akin to someone from Europe wanting to visit the site of Ellis Island where their American-bound relatives landed, and spending the entire trip in Toronto.
ReplyDeleteAnd why is the term "Carpatho-Rusyn" not mentioned even once? If the novelty of "Slovak ranchers" can be mentioned, why not give a nod to the multitudes of Carpatho-Rusyns who were the backbone of the Russian Mission in America and later the Metropolia?
I do hope that these posts are simply incomplete and that they are going to Slovakia.