(AOB) - Archbishop Demetrios of America, Chairman of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, has issued the following statement in response to the temporary withdrawal of the Hierarchs of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America from their participation in the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America. The Synod of the Patriarchate of Antioch, in October 2013, decided to temporarily withdraw from all Assemblies of Canonical Orthodox Bishops around the world because of a jurisdictional issue in the Middle East.
The statement of Archbishop Demetrios is as follows:
“We are deeply grieved that this temporary withdrawal has occurred, and we pray for a swift resolution. We hope that the Antiochian faithful who are participating in the many good works under the aegis of the Assembly—the philanthropic activities of IOCC, the prison ministries of OCPM, the college work of OCF, the missionary efforts of OCMC and the work of other Assembly Agencies—will be encouraged to stay involved. While it is true that from time to time throughout the Church’s history jurisdictional issues have caused unintended consequences, we pray that the particulars of this matter, which have nothing to do with the situation here in North and Central America or in other global regions with Assemblies of Bishops, will quickly be resolved. Until such time, the Assembly, as established by a unanimous consent of all the Autocephalous Churches, will continue to serve the faithful and its mission to foster the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3), and we continue to pray that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, will guide the work of the Assembly and inspire unfeigned brotherly love among all Orthodox Christians.”
As this action has precipitated the temporary absence of the Secretary, the Chairman of the Assembly has named an interim Secretary, the Very Rev. Archimandrite Nathanael Symeonides, to ensure that the work of the Assembly continues uninterrupted.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Assembly of Bishops clarifies Antiochian position
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So glad that there has finally been a statement from someone about what is going on. What amazes me is that the Synod made this decision in October and the word from Met. Philip came in mid January and finally almost the beginning of February do we see some statement. One can only hope that those involved in many Pan Orthodox ministries will continue their involvement and support.
ReplyDeleteThe Holy Synod passed a decision in October that if the jurisdictional issue was not resolved it would suspend its membership globally in these dialogues. The decision of the synod was published on Antiocian.org. Two months have elapsed and the decision has been implemented. You just missed it or didn't read it well enough.
Deletehttp://www.antiochian.org/report-holy-synod-antiochs-october-meeting
I posted the statement a while back (and also this http://byztex.blogspot.com/2013/10/antioch-suspends-participation-in-all.html). What people were largely curious about was how far the suspension would go. Did it mean no more pan-Orthodox involvement at all? Did it mean a complete formal schism between the two? Etc. Etc. Even some priests within the Antiochian Archdiocese were unclear on some of these and other points.
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