Official Nos. 466/467 n May/June 2006

ORDINATIONSASKOAK, Daniel was ordained to the Diacon-ate by Bishop Nikolai at St. Innocent Cathe-dral, Anchorage, AK. He is under the omophor-ion of Bishop Nikolai and attached to the Dio-cese of Alaska/ February 12, 2006.ASKOAK, Dn. Daniel was ordained to thePriesthood by Bishop Nikolai at St. InnocentCathedral, Anchorage, AK. He is under theomophorion of Bishop Nikolai and attachedto the Diocese of Alaska/ February 15, 2006.CANTRELL, Matthew [Brice] was ordainedto the Diaconate by Metropolitan Herman atThree Hierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir’s Semina-ry, Crestwood, NY. He is under the omophor-ion of Metropolitan Herman/ May 20, 2006.ERICKSON, Dn. John H. was ordained tothe Priesthood by Metropolitan Herman atThree Hierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir’s Semina-ry, Crestwood, NY. He is under the omophor-ion of Metropolitan Herman/ May 7, 2006.MILETKOV, Deacon Nikolay was ordainedto the Priesthood by Metropolitan Herman atThree Hierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir’s Semina-ry, Crestwood, NY. He is under the omophor-ion of Metropolitan Herman/ May 20, 2006.NEUMANN, William John was ordained tothe Diaconate by Bishop Benjamin on behalfof Metropolitan Herman at Three HierarchsChapel, St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood,NY. He is under the omophorion of Metropoli-tan Herman/ October 16, 2005.ROSTCHECK, David was ordained to theDiaconate by Archbishop Kyrill at the Nativityof the Virgin Mary Church, Monongahela, PA.He is under the omophorion of Archbishop Kyrilland attached to the Diocese of Western PA/April 30, 2006.RUIZ-GOMAR, Dn. Juan Pablo was ordainedto the Priesthood by Bishop Seraphim at SS.Peter and Paul Sobor, Montreal, QC, Canada.He is under the omophorion of Bishop Sera-phim and attached to the Archdiocese of Cana-da/ April 29, 2006.SARAFIN, Christopher was ordained to theDiaconate by Archbishop Job at the Protec-tion of the Virgin Mary Church, Merrillville, IN.He is under the omophorion of Archbishop Joband attached to the Diocese of the Midwest/March 11, 2006.TCHANTOURIDZE, Lasha was ordained tothe Diaconate by Bishop Seraphim at St. Nicho-las Church, Narol, MB, Canada. He is underthe omophorion of Bishop Seraphim and attach-ed to the Archdiocese of Canada/ May 14, 2006.VANSUCH, Dn. Jason was ordained to thePriesthood by Bishop Nikon at St. StephenCathedral, Philadelphia, PA. He is under theomophorion of Bishop Nikon and attached tothe Diocese of New England/ June 17, 2006.VERNAK, Stephen was ordained to the Dia-conate by Metropolitan Herman at Christ theSaviour Church, Paramus, NJ. He is under

2 VOLUME 42 7/8

InMemoriamEditorial request: Please inform the TOC editorial office byphone [630/668-3071] or e-mail [jjm@oca.org] when a death oc-curs so announcements may be made on the OCA web site andin TOC in a timely manner.

Protonica Ivanka TanaskoskiCROWN POINT, IN – Protonica Ivanka Tanaskoski,86, wife of the late Very Rev. Spiro Tanaskoski, fell asleepin the Lord on Monday, June 5, 2006.

Born and raised in Bitola, Macedonia, she came to theUS in 1961 with her husband, the Very Rev. Spiro Tanas-koski. Together they ministered to the faithful of SaintClement of Ohrid American Macedonian OrthodoxChurch, Merrillville, IN, until Father Spiros’ death in1995. The parish, within the Orthodox Church in Ameri-ca’s Diocese of the Midwest, was the first canonicalMacedonian parish in the US. During her more than 40years in the parish, she was a devout and most support-ive member.

She is survived by three children: Jovan [Cveta]Tanaskoski and Simeon [Ivanka] Tanaskoski, both ofCrown Point, IN, and Lupka [Vangel] Baloski, FortWayne, IN; eight grandchildren and four great grandchil-dren; one sister in Macedonia; and several nieces andnephews.

Funeral services were celebrated at Saint ClementChurch by His Eminence, Archbishop Job and the Rev.Elijah Mueller, rector, with interment in Calumet ParkCemetery.

May Protonica Ivanka’s memory be eternal!

Protodeacon Nicholas PolanskyEAST MEADOW, NY – Protodeacon Nicholas Polanskyfell asleep in the Lord here on Wednesday, July 5, 2006,after a lengthy illness.

Born in Minersville, PA, in 1919, Protodeacon Nicho-las began singing in the choir at Saints Peter and PaulChurch, his home parish, at a very young age. Aftercompleting a tour of duty in the US Army during WorldWar II, he and his wife, the former Paraskeva [Pearl]Polinsky, also a Minersville native, relocated to Farm-ingdale, NY, and joined Holy Trinity Church, EastMeadow, NY. Over the years, he faithfully served theparish as a singer, choir director, youth choir director,parish council member, and in other capacities.

In 1968, he was ordained to the diaconate by His Emi-nence, Metropolitan Ireney and assigned to Holy TrinityChurch. In 1986, he was elevated to the rank of Pro-todeacon by His Grace, Bishop Peter of New York andNew Jersey. In recognition of his many years of faith-ful service to the Church, he was awarded the Order ofSaint Innocent by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Hermanin 2003.

Protodeacon Nicholas is survived by his wife Paras-keva; his son Stefan and his wife Ellen; his daughter Su-san Ingretsen and her husband Bruce; and three grand-children. A second son, Cyril, preceded him in death.

Funeral services were celebrated at Holy TrinityChurch, with interment at Pine Lawn Cemetery, Farm-ingdale, NY.

May Protodeacon Nicholas’ memory be eternal!

the omophorion of Metropolitan Herman/ June24, 2006.

ASSIGNMENTSASKOAK, Dn. Daniel is attached to HolyResurrection Cathedral, Kodiak, AK/ February12, 2006.ASKOAK, The Rev. Daniel is attached toHoly Resurrection Cathedral, Kodiak, AK/ Feb-ruary 15, 2006.ASKOAK, The Rev. Daniel is released fromHoly Resurrection Cathedral, Kodiak, AK andappointed Rector of St. Nicholas Church, Non-dalton, AK/ June 1, 2006.[BRITTAIN], Archimandrite Isidore is re-leased from St. Innocent Cathedral, Anchorage,AK and as dean of the Anchorage Deanery, butremains assigned to the cathedral and as chan-cellor of the Diocese of Alaska/ July 1, 2006.BROWNE, The Rev. Raymond Martin is re-leased from St. Tikhon Monastery Church, So.Canaan, PA and from the omophorion of Metro-politan Herman; transferred to the omophorion ofBishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern PA;and attached to the Diocese of Eastern PA, wherehe awaits assignment/ June 20, 2006.BRUM, The V. Rev. David is released asSecretary to the Metropolitan, from St. SergiusChapel, Oyster Bay Cove, NY, and from theomophorion of Metropolitan Herman; trans-ferred to the omophorion of Bishop Tikhon ofSan Francisco, Los Angeles, and the West; andattached to the Diocese of the West, where heawaits assignment/ July 1, 2006.CANTRELL, Dn. Matthew [Brice] is attachedto Three Hierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir’s Semi-nary, Crestwood, NY/ May 20, 2006.ERICKSON, The Rev. John H. is attached toThree Hierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir’s Semi-nary, Crestwood, NY/ May 7, 2006. He isfurther appointed chairperson of the Depart-ment of History and Archives/ June 22, 2006.GASSIOS, The Rev. Paul, who was attachedto St. Gregory of Nyssa Church, Columbus,OH, is appointed rector of Archangel MichaelChurch, St. Louis, MO and the Nativity of theVirgin Church, Desloge, MO/ June 1, 2006.HILL, The Rev. George is released from St.Tikhon Monastery Church, So. Canaan, PAand transferred to the Military Chaplaincy/ June20, 2006.JANNAKOS, Dn. Nicholas is attached to AllSaints of North America Mission, Albuquerque,NM/ March 25, 2006.KEDALA, The V. Rev. Samuel, in addition toduties at Holy Spirit Church, Wantage, NJ, isappointed dean of the New Jersey Deanery/June 16, 2006.KULIK, The Rev. Miroslaw is released fromSt. Mary Nativity Church, Masontown, PA/April 30, 2006.LARSON, The Rev. Alexander is releasedfrom Holy Resurrection Cathedral, Kodiak, AK,

Official to 28

DEPARTMENTS

18 History & Archives19 Christian Witness &

Service20 Evangelization22 Youth, Young Adult, &

Campus Ministry24 Christian Education

FEATURES

2 Official2 In Memoriam4 Editorial5 Wisdom21 Mission Possible31 Communities

Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church [ISSN 0048-2269] ispublished bimonthly by the Orthodox Church inAmerica, PO Box 675, Syosset, NY 11791-0675.

Periodical postage paid at Brentwood, NY andadditional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PO Box675, Syosset, NY 11791-0675.

His Beatitude, the Most Blessed HERMANArchbishop of Washington and New YorkMetropolitan of All America and Canada

Primate of the Orthodox Church in America

Archpriest John MatusiakManaging Editor

Archpriest Leonid KishkovskyEditor

Lydia LudemannCirculation Director

EDITORIAL OFFICEArticles and photos should be sent by e-mail toinfo@oca.org or by mail to the following address.

One Wheaton Center #912, Wheaton, IL 60187630.668.3071 • jjm@oca.org

SUBSCRIPTION/CIRCULATIONOFFICE

Subscriptions: $30.00/year US, $40.00/yearelsewhere. Subscription requests and changes ofaddress should be sent by e-mail to lydia@oca.org,by calling 516.922.0550, by sending a fax to516.922.0954, or be writing to the following address.

TOC Circulation OfficePO Box 675, Syosset, NY 11791-0675

The Orthodox Church clearly identifies official state-ments and positions of the Orthodox Church in America.All other materials represent the viewpoint of theirauthors and should not be interpreted as expressingthe policy of the Orthodox Church in America or TheOrthodox Church.

The InThisIssueVOLUME 42VOLUME 42VOLUME 42VOLUME 42VOLUME 42 7/87/87/87/87/8 JULY/AUGUST 2006JULY/AUGUST 2006JULY/AUGUST 2006JULY/AUGUST 2006JULY/AUGUST 2006

Our CoverRediscoveringAfrica’sancientChristianheritage wasthe theme oftwo separateconferencesin Newarkand Detroit inJune 2006.

5 Inspirers & MuckrakersAre we failing toinspire futuregenerations?

6 Beauty willsave the worldBridging the gulfbetween the worldand self.

7 What is this great mystery?Six giant steps we all need to take.

9 OCA News, Notes, Notices• Metropolitan Council reviews finances, investigation.• Acting treasurer issues memo on loan.• Metropolitan Council statement on finances, investigation.• Over 40 seminarians complete studies.• Missions: Now is the time to apply for a 2007 planting grant.• Chaplains to meet in November.• Pilgrimage to mark 40 years of monastic life at New Skete.• Bishop Nikon receives warm reception in Albania.• Metropolitan Herman meets visiting Indian hierarch.

14 Metropolitan Herman’s Metropolitan Council address15 The acting treasurer’s Metropolitan Council report

JULY/AUGUST 2006 3

29 North America• Court refuses to intervene in Greek Archdiocese dispute.• Clergy survey yields interesting results.• SVS opens search for new dean.

16 Rediscovering Africa’sancient Christian heritagetheme of NJ, Michigan conferences

22 Christian ed, youthdepartments plan skillsbuilding conference

28 World briefs• OCA represented at World

Summit of Religious Leaders.• Ecumenical Patriarch leads

ecological symposium.

Cover design by John Mindala

Father Leonid KishkovskyEditorial4 VOLUME 42 7/8

Seeing the “other” as a fellow human beings this is being written, we are observing with anguish theviolence in the Middle East. The military forces of IsraelA are in confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon and with

Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank. Cities in northern Israel arebeing hit by rockets fired by Hezbollah from southern Lebanon.Throughout Lebanon, cities are under aerial bombardment byIsraeli military airplanes. In Lebanon and Israel, the dead andwounded are civilians, women and men and children. Thereare now refugeesfleeing northfrom the warzone in southernLebanon. Citi-zens of the UnitedStates and othercountries are be-ing evacuatedfrom Lebanon.

When theMiddle East spi-raled into a newcycle of violencein early July, Iwas in Amman,Jordan, partici-pating in a con-ference hosted byPrince Hassan ofJordan (the brother of the late King Hussein, and uncle of thepresent King Abdullah). The theme of the conference was “Pro-moting Political Participation as an Alternative to Extremism.”My role was to represent the World Conference of Religions forPeace. The other participants were diplomats and representativesof foundations and institutions in Europe, Asia, and the MiddleEast.

It was my task to draw attention to the “religious factor” insocial and political life. Just the simple fact that the world’spopulation is approximately six billion, with approximately fivebillion holding membership in religious communities, suggeststhat the religious communities and religious values are unavoid-ably a serious factor, and either contribute to extremism or offeralternatives to extremism.

The violence in the Middle East is an urgent and alarmingreality, with no just resolution in sight. It is not right that thecitizens of Israel, both Jewish and Palestinian, are under threat ofbombardment and terrorist attacks. It is not right that the peopleof Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority are under threat of airstrikes. When violence is directed against Israel by Hamas andHezbollah, the innocent suffer. When violence is directed againstmilitants and extremists by Israel, the innocent suffer.

It is obvious that offering political solutions or strategies isusually not in the competence of churches and religious commu-nities. It is in our competence, however, to insist on the value of

human life, on the importance of mercy and compassion, on theurgent need to see the “other” as a fellow human being. In otherwords, it is the task of churches and religious communities toconfront hatred and prejudice, to offer insistently the insight thatthe suffering of the “other” is not something to rejoice over, butsomething to grieve over.

And perhaps this is the spiritual strategy that will be the be-ginning of the road leading away from the cycle of violence,

whether in theMiddle East, orthe Balkans, orAfrica, or any-where in situa-tions of fear, sus-picion, and con-flict. Only therecognition ofour common hu-manity can showus the way to therecognition ofthe presence ofthe living Godamong us. With regardto the MiddleEast, there is an-other issue that is

of concern to Christians, and should be of concern to all. Thestory of the past fifty years has been the story of a declining Chris-tian population in the region, due to emigration. In the confron-tations between Israel and the Arab populations and states, thereis less and less space for Christians, since more and more of thespace is occupied by Muslims and Jews. The Christian presencein the Holy Land, therefore, is likely to become a custodianshipof holy sites, rather than the presence of living Christian commu-nities.

While this can appear to be a matter of concern for Christiansonly, it is in reality something which affects the future of theMiddle East region and its people, whether Jewish or Christian orMuslim. If the Christian population continues to dwindle, it willmean that the Jewish and Muslim communities will eventually beleft as the only religious communities in Israel and the Arab States,respectively. This is not promising for the creation and mainte-nance of societies in which alternatives to extremism are pro-moted. Two religious communities are likely to be in confronta-tion, while three communities have a greater possibility of inter-action.

We pray that all those who look to Abraham as their father –Jews, Christians, and Muslims – will offer the world a sign thattheir common spiritual origin is not a cause for conflict, but aninvitation to recognize in each other – and in every human being– the image and likeness of God.

&That’stheSpirit Father Vladimir Berzonsky

Saint Polycarpof SmyrnaThese things, concerning right-eousness, I write to you not at myown instance, but because you firstinvited me. For neither can I, noranyone like me, match the wisdomof the blessed and glorious Paul.When he was among you, face toface with the men of that time,he expounded the word of truthaccurately and authoritatively; andwhen he was absent, he wroteletters to you, the study of whichwill enable you to build yourselvesup in the faith that was given toyou – a faith that is the mother ofus all, when hope follows alongand the love of God and Christand neighbor goes before. If any-one be devoted to these, he hasfulfilled the commandment ofjustice: for whoever has love is farfrom every sin.

Saint Cyril of AlexandriaWe say emphatically that theknowledge of God is revealed tohuman nature, the Creator havinginvested that nature with theinnate knowledge of all that isuseful and necessary for salvation.And it was ever seemly that thatnature, for which such wonderfulthings had been prepared, shouldgo straight to the truth, as reason-ing from the creation of the world,from its order and beauty, andfrom its continuance in such, torecognize that the wisdom andpower of Him Who created all thisand brought it into existence farsurpasses every created mind.

Saint John of DamascusSince the Creator bestowed on usHis own image and His own Spirit,and we did not keep them secure,He Himself took a share in ourpoor and weak nature, so that Hemight cleanse us, make usincorruptible, and reinstate us asparticipants in His divinity.

W I S D O Mfrom the Fathers

JULY/AUGUST 2006 5

e members of an earlier generation were raised in a culture that lifted up thebest a person could be in life. We were inspired by greatness in all walks ofW life. Today’s generation will laugh at the myth of George Washington and

the cherry tree episode: “I chopped it down. I cannot tell a lie.”In athletics, we honored Jim Thorpe, part Sac and part Fox native American, who won

both decathlon and pentathlon gold medals in the 1912 Olympics and went on to playprofessional football and baseball. There were baseball players like Ted Williams, whocould have turned out like his alcoholic brother except for his strong will and determi-nation to succeed, his going to school hours before it opened just to escape his horridfamily life, and his enlistment in the military in World War II. And there was JesseOwens, who humiliated Adolph Hitler at the so-called 1936 Nazi Olympics by defeatingthe pride of the Aryan race in its own country. Even today, there are such as Pat Tillman,who abandoned professional football to serve his country and make the ultimate sacri-fice in Afghanistan. Such heroes were – and still are – offered to us so that we might beinspired to drive ourselves to our maximum potentials.

Saint Patrick of Ireland is famous as the great missionary bishop of Erin, but alsobecause in his youth, he had been captured by pirates, with whom he spent grueling

years before taking the opportunity to es-cape. Though he had little formal educa-tion, he worked his way through the ranks ofChristian clergy to convert the pagan dru-ids in the land and inspire many missionar-ies and simple Christians everywhere eversince. It may be that some of the lives of thesaints of the Church and those secularheroes of more recent times had been em-bellished somewhat, puffed up beyond theliteral truth in order to moti-vate the read-ers, despite their record- ers’ noble in-tentions. Their purpose was to inspirefuture generations to aspire to higherthings above mediocrity and materialgoals. They sought to create in their read-ers dissatisfaction with the mundanethings of life, to question the status quo,and to reach beyond our supposed limi-tations. Was that wrong of them? If wehad been taken in by their exaggerations,should not those storytellers be accused

of falsifying the facts or praised for theirintentions?

Spirit to 6

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever thingsare lovely... meditate on these things. – Philippians 4:8

InspirersMuckrakers

InSites

of getting very messy very often), or self-pity (“poor me!”), then Ibecome a slave to my self and my work will be exhausting. Evenif I work out of sense of pride (“I’ve got to make this place shine”)or some simple ethic of good behavior (“God expects me to be aresponsible wife and mother; this is how I become a good per-son”), I’m still a slave to my self. The only way to go about it withjoy, as a free person, is to work in the presence of God, in prayer.And this, I think, is how beauty will save the world. I felt this all day long. I started the day making blueberry

muffins; I finished the daymaking soup and pita bread,thinking all the while about thebeautiful gesture.

The paradigm for living thisway is the Liturgy. Every ac-tion that we perform in theLiturgy should be a beautifulgesture, from lighting candlesand reverencing icons to receiv-ing Holy Communion. It’s theschool in which we learn howto live from moment to moment.The climate of continual prayer,the entreaties of the choir, theattitude of attention all teach ushow to be grace-full people. But cleaning the bathroomas though you were standingat Liturgy? It sounds scandal-ous, but I think it’s true. Amonk once told my husbandthat one should wash the dishes

as though one were washing the baby Jesus – every gesture delib-erate, beautiful, and free.

Nancy Forest-Flier is a translator and editor and a memberof St. Nicholas Church, Amsterdam, Holland. Her husband, Jim,is general secretary of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship.

6 VOLUME 42 7/8

Nancy Forest-Flier

Beauty will save the worldBridging the gulf between the world and self

ostoevsky wrote, “Beauty will save the world.” I used tothink of this as a romantic idea, that we will be saved byD by the beautiful things

around us, that the world willbe saved if it can be made moreattractive. The idea seemedromantic, something expressedby such sentiments as “there’sbeauty in everything, if only wewould stop and smell the flow-ers.” This suggests there is agulf between the world and our-selves – we have to put on theright eyeglasses to see it prop-erly.

Today, I realized that whatDostoevsky meant is thatbeauty must be our principle oflife – that beauty is not a per-ception, an influence, to befound outside us; it is theprinciple that must characterizethe way we do everything. Ev-erything we do must be done inbeauty, with grace. The phrase,“the beautiful gesture,” kept coming back to me. Everything wedo, even digging a ditch or scrubbing the floor, must be done inbeauty. This does not mean that we are trying to make a beautifulditch or a beautiful floor. It doesn’t mean that we are trying tobecome beautiful ditch diggers or floor scrubbers. It doesn’t evenmean that we are trying to make a sort of ballet out of our ditchdigging or floor scrubbing. It has to do with the way in which weexecute the task, the way we live every minute as we do what wedo; it has to do with being attentive to the activity at hand, actingwithout being concerned with how we look as we act. It is aninnocent acting, not concerned with appearances or results orrewards; it is not concerned with being treated fairly, with gettingeven, with showing off, with making an impression, with gettingthe work out of the way, with wallowing in self-pity over one’smisfortune. I would think it is not even concerned with actingout of certainty that this is God’s will. I think it is simply makingthe beautiful gesture.

But why? Because this is the radical application of being atthe center, where God is.

As I was cleaning the bathroom today, I was suddenly over-come with this sense that I must do this work as a beautiful ges-ture. This is the only free action available to me. If I act out ofsense of resentment (because other people in the family are notdoing what I’m doing), or anger (because the bathroom has a way

Spirit from 5

Inspirers & muckrakersScholars and journalists today dredge up the worst in order

to expose the failings of the influential and prominent. They sniffabout for some odor coming from the great persons of past andpresent. Like Ham, Noah’s son who called his brothers to mockthe inebriated patriarch, they dig out the faults of the famousand consider themselves worthy of a reward. In fact, they play agame of exalting the victims and raising them high on theirverbal pillars, only to chop them off and chortle at their down-falls. In the end, we are left with the opposite of what Saint Paulcalls us to do in the verse above. Truth, dignity, honesty, purity,and beauty are treated as unattainable for humans, vapid Pla-tonic ideals that can never be met and, as such, are not worthstriving for. And our society is all the worse for fixating on thelowest aspects of human nature.

John Mindala“O Lord, how manifold are Thy works!” A proces-sion through the natural beauty of God’s creation to theoriginal grave site of St. Herman on Alaska’s Spruce Island.

JULY/AUGUST 2006 7

InSites

Father Alexis Vinogradov

What is this great mystery?Six giant steps we all need to take!

he Church as “mystery” – or the Church as embarrassmentand failure. The Church as the spotless Bride of Christ,T with neither wrinkle nor blemish – or the Church as Byzan-

tine pomp, juridical primacy, and self-justification. Already, inSaint Paul’s letters, we have local intimations of what was to comein the Church’s torturous historical journey from Golgotha toSyosset, for along with exalting this spotless and mysterious Brideof Christ, Saint Paul warns of and condemns conflicts and afflic-tions in Christ’s Body. Just recall his letters to the Corinthians.

The late Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann liked repeat-ing the old truth that the Church is not an institution that hasmysteries, but something exactly the opposite: she is herself aMystery that happens to have institutions that are, he would add,“more or less useful.” We have to pause on this simple yet revo-lutionary truth, already opened to us by Saint Paul as the para-digm of marriage [Ephesians 5:32], if we are to understand whowe are, ultimately, as the Bride of Christ. And this understandingis critical if we are to respond to our current OCA crisis, and allpast and future crises in the Church.

Today there is no shortage of solutions to “fix” or “save” theChurch. In a crisis, everyone becomes an expert, knowing whatthe leaders should do. For those experts, this article may provedisappointing, for it proposes no concrete solutions. It is, how-ever, one attempt to suggest what we may courageously and truth-fully begin to discuss, examine, and question in creative waysand without recrimination what all the recent fuss has taught us.

We might admit that sometimes wehave things upside down. If we think

the Church is an “institution,” then we may rightly think that wehave to “save” her. Again, Father Schmemann reminds us that weare not saving the Church; rather, the Church saves us. Surelythe failure to see this essential antinomy between the Mysteryand her institutions gets many folks riled up, particularly whenthey get angry at bishops and institutions in conflict. They seethe often ugly and seamy human face of the Church and want toflee. They might wonder what Christ meant when He affirmedthat Hell’s gates have no power over the Church!

However, Christ’s mysterious spotless Bride also is not a dis-embodied “spiritual reality” that somehow exists side-by-side withthe messed-up earthly Church. Christian spirituality derives fromthe Spirit of Christ, the same Spirit by Whom Christ received Hisfully human, sweaty, tired, and hungry body from a human virgin.In Christ, heaven and earth are reunited; the earth is renewed andsaved because heaven comes to dwell and infuse the earth’s lifeand materiality with Spirit. It is this unity and transformation ofthe earthly creation, this recreation through the incarnate Christ,that is most fully manifest in the Church. This is not a scientifictheorem; this is the Mystery of the Bride, who is saved and sanc-tified by the divine Bridegroom, Christ.

Step one. The first step toward finding solutions, then,might be to face, without surprise, the messiness of things, tobegin acknowledging and accepting that the human nature ofand in our institutions is flawed and imperfect. Our very surpriseand indignation at institutional failures reveals perhaps our ownmisguided pride in those institutions, our belief that these institu-tions should be above failure and reproach. When we say “Holy”Synod, we don’t mean it is a perfect organization; rather, we say“Holy” because the Synod is a synod of the Church, and theChurch in her essential nature as Christ’s body is Holy, as weaffirm in the Creed. Yet we discern that each member of the HolySynod is also a particular fallen and redeemed member of thehuman family who is not saving others, but is himself being saved by the Church. Through these and all other sinful

Giant steps to 8

8 VOLUME 42 7/8

InSitesGiant steps from 7members, it is always – and only – Christ Who is doing the savingwork, despite our individual sins.

Step two. Facing these crises, however, does not absolveus from taking steps towards repentance and change. Each crisisreveals some tear in the Church’s human cloth. To be preoccu-pied solely with the symptoms is to miss the disease. We fuss overinternet chat, unofficial web sites, irreverent and painful missives,but they are not the disease, only the outlets for the puss beneaththe boil. Here’s a question for discussion: is it possible, for ex-ample, that our financial failures today reveal an inordinate ob-session with financial success, status, and solvency in the firstplace? Do we not hear in the Gospel of the essential choice be-tween serving God or Mammon [Money]? Do we define “stew-ardship” solely in terms of money? If not, then why aren’t wespeaking of ecology, and why don’t our parishes grow vegetablesinstead of acres of lawn and live materially with more modesty inorder to share with the poor? Should not we explore all the pos-sible Christian service and outreach programs that can be accom-plished through fewer institutional resources and through greaterpersonal initiative, involvement, and commitment of time? Aresuch questions retrograde or “out of order”?

Step three. Maybe now, as an entire local Church, we canconscientiously meet regularly, locally and regionally, to genu-inely and creatively seek ways to move away from our preoccupa-tion with money, to recognize and identify those creative ways inwhich the Church’s work and mission can be accomplished with“no purse for the journey” [Luke 9:3]. These are questions, notsolutions. Perhaps to some this questioning might seem a stepbackwards – fine, then we will have exciting dialogue! But suchregional gatherings should also raise many other topics relevantto those striving to live the Gospel in our culture, in an effort todiscuss not ways of opposing the culture with some sectarian ideaof an “Orthodox culture,” but of infusing and transforming it withthe leaven of the Kingdom. Father Schmemann used to quip thatwe get much more excited when we hear “Caesarea in Cappadocia”than “Milwaukee,” because the mythical past has much more al-lure and cachet than the living present, in which our hands mustget dirty. But for that, we must understand and see ourselves asinextricable participants in the culture into which God has thrownus by birth or circumstance. Even in prison camps, the saintsloved and prayed for their captors [read Solzhenitsyn, or FatherArseny, or Mother Maria of Paris, or Father Roman Braga, wholives among us in the OCA). For that, we at times may have toleave the outward insignia of our Orthodoxy at home and, likeChrist, become ourselves hidden like leaven among the crowds,like one of the people whom Jesus came to love and serve.

Step four. One universal claim of Orthodoxy that stillbinds us together is our agreement that Christ’s Bride is revealedin her glory in two ways: when she is found bringing love to theweakest and poorest of God’s children, and when each day shecelebrates the Pascha of her Lord. In our gatherings, we cannot beafraid to speak of and argue about Baptismal and Vesperal Litur-gies, translations and texts, music and poetry, vestments and icons,architecture and time, rubrics and ordination. This is not theexclusive domain of bishops and seminary faculties, but the workof the entire Church. Again, most will agree that for all our claimsand despite much creative work, we have been polarized overissues of style and form. Open conversations on these themes can

only enrich our lives and help us discern what is living within thistradition, and what belongs in museums of religion.

Step five. None of these steps is possible without love andfreedom. As God is Love, so the Church is Love; as God is free, sothe Church is free. And, as the evangelist John reminds us, perfectlove casts out fear. Every member of the royal priesthood – thatmeans every member of the Church – must decide not to be frozenby unfounded fear. Orthodoxy is emphatically not one of theworld’s major religions that must be propped up by a show of pan-Orthodox solidarity or jurisdictional and hierarchical power. Or-thodoxy is the answer and solution to all religions, because she isnot at all a “religion,” but the great Mystery of God’s life andKingdom made present through the weakness of frail and feeblemen and women to the rich and poor, to the powerful and weak, toall cultures, in all places, at all historic times. This vision, then,becomes the very foundation of evangelical work, not becausewe have attractive programs for families and youth, not becausewe have achieved international Orthodox unity (on the level offaith we already have this, while on the institutional level weprobably never will), but because “we have seen the true Light,we have received the heavenly Spirit.” We must now ask our-selves in what ways this is to be transmitted, not by programs, butby the personal daily witness each of us must reveal in the world.

Step six. Finally, we might suggest a new asceticism – notthe kind that causes us to look like 18th century monks or to fretover the precise days on which oil and wine are permitted, but anasceticism of discernment, a critical and patient eye on every-thing of human provenance, a discernment not only of the “secu-lar” world, but especially of the world of the institutional Church,of all the little temptations and passions that color and distort ourchurchly lives. In her book, Talking About God can be Danger-ous, the Soviet Christian Tatiana Goricheva warns of the subtletransformation of American parishes from theocentric into an-thropocentric communities that eventually loose their focus andreference to God while “aiming to please” by every means inorder to multiply the financially contributing and all important“client”: the “member-in-good-standing.”

All these are not once-and-for-all projects that can be cata-logued in stewardship handbooks and replicated in parish growthseminars; these very steps are subject to the living and unpredict-able movements of the Holy Spirit, which blows where it wills.The important thing is that we plunge repeatedly, lovingly, andfearlessly together to seek the Spirit’s guidance; to ask that theFather’s will, not our own, be done; and to be thankful every dayfor the measure of that day’s “bread,” for that is not ordinarybread, but the bread of the Kingdom! Whenever institutional sinprecipitates the call for accountability, let everything in the com-mon trust be brought to light; yet, in the meantime, let the initia-tive and steps for the relentless mission of love, fellowship, dis-cernment, and service continue to flow from every responsiblemember of the Church, for truly we “are a chosen race, a royalpriesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, sothat [we] may proclaim the excellencies of Him Who has called[us] out of darkness into His marvelous light” [1 Peter 2:9].

Fr. Vinogradov is rector of St. Gregory the TheologianChurch, Wappingers Falls, NY, and a frequent contributor toThe Orthodox Church.

JULY/AUGUST 2006 9

OCANewsNotesNotices

embers of the Orthodox Churchin America’s Metropolitan Coun-M cil gathered at the Chancery in

Syosset, NY in mid-June for an intensetwo-day meeting that focused on past andpresent finances, the investigation beingconducted by the Church administration,and a number of related matters.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman,opened the meeting on Tuesday, June 13,2006, with a Service of Intercession inSaint Sergius Chapel, after which he de-livered his opening address. [The text ofMetropolitan Herman’s address is foundon page 14 of this issue.]

Metropolitan Herman especially notedthat the investigation being conducted bythe law firm of Proskauer Rose had yet tobe completed, adding that it would be pre-mature to offer an “interim report.” He alsoaffirmed that the services of Proskauer Rose

have been retained on behalf of the entireOrthodox Church in America.

Acting treasurer reports. TheVery Rev. Paul Kucynda, acting treasurer,presented his report, together with an up-dated financial report prepared by the VeryRev. Stavros Strikis, comptroller. [The textof the acting treasurer’s report is foundon page 15.]

Father Kucynda then introduced Mr.William Arnold, CPA, of Lambrides,Lamos, and Moulthrop, the accountingfirm that had been engaged by the Churchto undertake audits for the fiscal years2004-05. Mr. Arnold read the report pre-pared by Mr. Lamos, who was unable toattend the meeting.

Mr. Arnold reported that the account-ing firm had completed its review of allannual and special appeals for the yearsbetween 2001 and 2005, as requested by

the Holy Synod of Bishops. He reportedthat the 2004 audit was nearing comple-tion. Because it was necessary to checkall information against the compilationreports for fiscal years 1999, 2000, 2001,2002, and 2003 in order to establish accu-rate opening balances for 2004, the pro-cess took more time than expected.

Following Mr. Arnold’s report, FatherStrikis responded to a number of questions.

It was further noted that, according tothe financial guidelines established in thefall of 2005, the comptroller is directly re-sponsible to the treasurer, who in turn isresponsible to the Metropolitan. Prior tothis, the comptroller was directly respon-sible to the chancellor.

Teleconference meeting min-utes reviewed. Council members re-viewed the minutes of their May 18, 2006,teleconference meeting. It was noted thatthe Statute of the Orthodox Church inAmerica does not specifically provide forabsentee ballots in the MetropolitanCouncil’s voting process. Thus, the votetaken during the teleconference meetingcould be considered invalid by the NewYork State Attorney General’s Office,whose requirements must be satisfied.Upon the advice of the law firm of Sahn,Ward and Baker, PLLC, which representsthe Orthodox Church in America to theHonesdale National Bank, Honesdale,PA in the matter of the $1.7 million loancouncil members had voted to accept,Father Kucynda reported that the voteshould be recast during the Wednesdaymorning session.

FOS, development reports.The Very Rev. Eugene Vansuch, executivedirector of the Fellowship of OrthodoxStewards [FOS], offered a detailed reporton his work and distributed a packet of pro-motional materials that includes the cur-rent issue of The Steward and a newly de-veloped informational brochure. He alsoreported on his recent visits to dioceses andparishes.

The Very Rev. John Dresko, director ofdevelopment, reported that he is workingdiligently to develop relationships thatmay provide major gifts in the future. Hesuggested that a “Donor Bill of Rights” bedrafted as a part of the “Best Practices” docu-

Council to 10

Metropolitan Council reviewsfinances, investigationAudits, investigation, loan, and All-AmericanCouncil on agenda of two-day meeting

John Mindala

Metropolitan Herman opens the two-day meeting of the OCA’s MetropolitanCouncil by celebrating a Service of Intercession in St. Sergius Chapel.

VOLUME 42 7/8

Council from 9ment and volunteered to compose the bill.He also cited the need for additional up-dated software that would be applicable tohis work.

Presentation by Fr. Berzon-sky. On Tuesday evening, the Very Rev.Vladimir Berzonsky, rector of Holy Trin-ity Church, Parma, OH, and MetropolitanCouncil clergy representative of the Dio-cese of the Midwest, presented a talk titled“Learning from Our Current Situation.”

Loan acquisition. The secondday of the Metropolitan Council meetingopened with a review by Father Kucyndaof the process by which the MetropolitanCouncil approved acquisition of the $1.7million loan from the Honesdale NationalBank. The bank’s legal representative re-quested that the vote be recast. Thirteencouncil members voted in favor of the loan,while three members voted against it andtwo members abstained.

A discussion on various aspects of theloan, including repayment, ensued. It wasstated that there is no penalty for pre-pay-ment. It was also noted that the MartinDrive property could be sold, the proceedsof which could be used to pay down theprincipal of the loan. No action was takenin this regard.

Metropolitan Council respon-sibilities. Father Kucynda went on toinform council members that he had re-ceived a legal opinion concerning personalliability of Metropolitan Council memberswith regard to financial mismanagement ifsuch is found during the investigation andaudits. Though personal liability of Met-ropolitan Council members might be a le-gitimate issue, generally it is consideredas such when it is found that a member actedin a deliberately inappropriate way in re-gard to his or her duties. It was recom-mended that at this time, it would be pref-erable that Metropolitan Council membersnot attempt to answer any specific ques-tions about the investigation until it iscompleted. This is also true with regard tothe reviews or audits performed by the ac-counting firm of Lambrides, Lamos, andMoulthrop. The attorneys added, however,that Metropolitan Council members canaffirm that they have been made privy toinformation concerning the release of theformer chancellor, as well as the oral in-terim audit reports, without sharing spe-

cific details at this time.Presentation by Mat. Mary

Buletza Breton, CPA. MatushkaMary Buletza Breton, CPA, distributed ma-terials for review and presented a reporttitled “Best Practices Document andAmendments.”

Matushka Mary noted that she had beenasked to review the draft of “Best Practices”that had been discussed by the members ofthe Holy Synod of Bishops, the Metropoli-tan Council, and other groups within theChurch. She noted that “Best Practices” issimply the codification of common sense,and that good business practices shouldexist within the Church as the best way tosteward God’s gifts.

Matushka Mary offered a review of the“Best Practice Principles for Nonprofit Fi-nancial Accountability,” prepared byProtodeacon Peter Danilchick. She empha-sized that, while the working documentsare subject to revision, approval, and imple-mentation by the Metropolitan Council,the principles contained therein will beimplemented immediately. At their fall2006 meeting, members of the Metro-politan Council will review the implemen-tation process, make revisions, and adopta final document as the administrativeoperating policy of the Orthodox Churchin America. She emphasized that thisdoes not supplant hierarchical authority,but rather establishes a base line for opera-tions.

Highlights of “Best Practices” prin-ciples include (1) assurance of clear anddecisive financial accountability; (2) adop-tion of ethics and conflict-of-interest poli-cies; (3) implementation of appropriate fi-nancial controls; (4) the conducting ofregular independent financial audits; (5)assurance of the transparency of financialdata and performance; and (6) the mainte-nance of knowledge of emerging nonprofitissues. Also reviewed was the “EthicsPolicy” outline. This policy would beagreed upon and signed by all employeesand agents of the Church.

It was emphasized that reviews of “BestPractices” should take place on a regularbasis, and that revisions or amendmentsshould be made as necessary.

In reviewing and discussing the sum-mary of the “Conflict-of-Interest Policy,”Matushka Mary noted that those who might

n a memorandum dated July 6, 2006,I the Very Rev. Paul Kucynda, actingtreasurer, updated the Holy Synod, theMetropolitan Council, and the OCA’selected auditors on the status of the loanoffered to the OCA by the HonesdaleNational Bank, Honesdale, PA.

The text of the memorandum readsas follows.

“As you are aware, the HonesdaleNational Bank, located in Honesdale, PA,offered a Commitment Letter to the Or-thodox Church in America in the amountof $1,700,000.00 on May 3, 2006, with atermination/closing date of July 3, 2006.

“The Board of Directors of the Hones-dale National Bank offered an Extensionof Commitment Letter dated June 28,2006, with a termination/closing date ofAugust 3, 2006.

“Since the Orthodox Church in Ameri-ca is an institution located in the State ofNew York, while the Honesdale NationalBank is a banking association in theState of Pennsylvania, all relevant Penn-sylvania, New York, federal banking, andcivil law requirements were researchedand will be met. Since the loan will besecured by the two properties owned bythe Orthodox Church in America in theState of New York, County of Nassau, itwas necessary to affirm that the Ortho-dox Church in America complies with achecklist of 14 items. The following area few of the primary requirements: Havethe existing land surveys verified foraccuracy; clear titles to both propertiessearched and affirmed as belonging tothe Orthodox Church in America withoutmortgages or taxes due; and appraisethe properties in regard to current realestate values in Syosset, NY.

“At this time, application is beingmade to the Superior Court of NassauCounty, as well as the New York StateAttorney General’s Office, to go forwardwith the loan as approved by the Metro-politan Council of the Orthodox Churchin America on June 14, 2006, during theCouncil’s meeting at the Church’s na-tional headquarters for its regular spring2006 session. Since these filings re-quire a minimum of 15 days’ notice, it isanticipated that approval from NassauCounty and the state of New York will bereceived near the end of this month ofJuly. The Honesdale National Bank isrepresented by Attorney Richard B. Henry,Honesdale, PA. The Orthodox Church inAmerica is represented by AttorneyMichael Sahn, Uniondale, NY.”

Acting treasurerissues memo on loan

embers of the Metropolitan Council of the Orthodox ChurchM in America, meeting under the chairmanship of His Beati-tude, Metropolitan Herman, at the Chancery on June 13-14, 2006,approved the following statement concerning the status of auditsand the ongoing investigation into the Church’s finances.

“The allegations of financial mismanagement leveled againstthe Church administration over the past year have provided aserious ‘wake-up’ call for the members of the MetropolitanCouncil of the Orthodox Church in America. Thus, we fully supportthe actions of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, and the HolySynod of Bishops in obtaining professional expertise to 1) deter-mine the nature of our financial activities from a legal perspec-tive, and to 2) obtain clear and independent audits of ourfinancial records, past and present.

“The year 2004 audit and the year 2001 to 2005 annual andspecial appeals audit will be delivered on or before August 30,2006.

“No date has been set for the completion of the investiga-tion, since it is ongoing at this time. With a significant amountof work yet to be done, the completion date for the investigationcannot be determined at this time.

“While awaiting the full and final report from the auditors,members of the Metropolitan Council received an interim report,through which some clear trends were detected and on whichwe wish to comment at this time:

“1. The operating budget of The Orthodox Church inAmerica has been in a deficit status for several years.

“2. As a result, money has been borrowed from earmarkedfunds to cover operating expenses.

“3. The lack of proper checks and balances on a financialadministrative level has created an atmosphere inconsistentwith best practices for a non-profit corporation.

“4. The lack of an independent audit since 1999 has pre-vented real scrutiny and oversight of our finances and financialpractices for many years. (The reports completed since 1999are not audits, but only compilations.)

“We are determined to take the steps that are necessary torestore good order, proper financial management, and trust.They are as follows:

“1. We are taking the necessary and difficult steps to have abalanced budget.

Statement to 26

Metropolitan Council statement on finances, investigation

JULY/AUGUST 2006 11

OCANewsNotesNotices

unanimously directed their representativesto ask the Metropolitan Council to urgethe Holy Synod to reconsider its decisionto extend the time between All-AmericanCouncils from three to five years and re-turn the periodicity to three years, [asksthat] the Metropolitan Council accept thisrecommendation for presentation to theHoly Synod.” The motion passed.

Concerning repayment of theloan. Matushka Mary Buletza Bretonspoke concerning the approved loan, thequestion of repayment, and the concernsthat were raised by members of the Metro-politan Council. She noted that it is im-portant is to create a strategy to repay theloan, since the Metropolitan Council is theresponsible body in this matter. She ex-pressed the thought that if we are going tobe committed as members of the Church,and if we want the Church to move for-ward, we need to work together and to moveon. She offered her services to assist withthe strategy process; Metropolitan Hermangladly accepted her offer.

Miscellaneous questions. Inresponse to a question as to the status ofownership of Saint Catherine the GreatMartyr Church, Moscow, Russia, Metro-politan Herman responded that the Rus-sian Orthodox Church owns the propertyand loans it to the Orthodox Church in

America for use as the OCA’s representa-tion church to the Moscow Patriarchate.

In answer to a question concerning theappointment of a new chancellor, Metro-politan Herman replied that the matter isunder review.

With regard to the Church lands inAlaska, Father Isidore, clergy representa-tive from the Diocese of Alaska, reportedthat three properties have been sold or trans-ferred since His Grace, Bishop Nikolai,became presiding hierarch of the diocese.Two sales involved properties that other-wise could have been taken through ad-verse possession. The third transaction in-volved an acre-for-acre land exchange, sothat a water system could be installed inone of the villages. Father Isidore also re-ferred to the land sale in Kodiak that wasentered into during the administration ofthe late Bishop Innocent, but completedafter the arrival of Bishop Nikolai.

Father Isidore further reported thatGrace Oakley had been hired to review theAlaska lands and was entrusted with de-veloping an extensive review of previousinventories and providing a definitive in-ventory of lands in the diocese’s posses-sion. She has assured the diocese that alltitles are now secure. He noted that theAlaska Lands Account commission was

Council to 30

have a conflict of interest, defined as “in-terested persons,” are understood to bethose persons, family members, or affili-ated organizations who might have exist-ing or potential financial or other intereststhat impair or might reasonably appear toimpair that person's independent and un-biased judgment in the discharging of his/her responsibilities to the OrthodoxChurch in America.

Matushka Mary also outlined the“Whistleblower Policy” and expressed thethought that the Church needs to go be-yond that for which such a policy provides.“Audit Committee Principles and Stan-dards” also was reviewed and discussed, aswas the “Document Retention Policy.”

A motion was passed by council mem-bers "to adopt the presented draft practices/policy documents as 'working documents'and that they be implemented immedi-ately. Further, the implementation of thedraft document will be reviewed by theMetropolitan Council at its 2006 fall meet-ing, which will also examine, revise, andadopt the final documents.”

The All-American Council. Dr.Richard West, lay representative fromthe Diocese of the Midwest, introduced amotion concerning the All-American Coun-cil that reads: “The Midwest DiocesanCouncil and Council of Deans, having

Giving of time, talent theme ofResource Handbook installment

new installment of the Orthodox Church in America’sA popular Resource Handbook for Lay Ministries is now avail-able on-line at http://www.oca.org/RHIndex.asp?SID=15.

“Giving” of one’s time and talents to help others is the themeof the installment’s five articles.

Two articles appear in the section “Witness and Mission.”“A Bridge That Goes Both Ways” by Elizabeth Perdomo and

Michael Price describes the ambitious outreach program under-taken by members of Saint George Church, Pharr, TX, on the US-Mexican border.

“FOCA Mission Hotline” by Betty Yanowsky Slanta outlinesa program conducted by the Fellowship of Orthodox Christiansin America that gathers unused liturgical items from establishedparishes and channels them to new missions. Originally estab-lished in 1948, the hotline was reactivated some two decades agoand continues to provide a valuable service to mission parishes.

In the “Family Life” section, Wendy Cwiklinski introducesthe term “invisible disabilities” in an article titled “The Churchand the Child with Invisible Disabilities.” She describes thestruggles families with such children face, offers suggestions onhow parishes and individuals can be of help to these families,and provides a list of internet resources. Additional informa-tion on this subject is provided by Michele Karabin, a formerstate rehabilitation counselor, who discusses various state re-sources.

In the “Youth/College” section, an article titled “The St. Mary’s‘Rent-A-Saint’ Project” by Debbie Manzoni describes a success-

Chaplains to meet in Novemberhe Very Rev. Theodore Boback, dean of OCA mili-Ttary and VA chaplains, recently announced that a

comprehensive chaplain conference will be held at St.Tikhon Monastery and Seminary November 2-4, 2006.

All Orthodox military, VA, and institutional chaplainsare encouraged to attend.

Military and VA chaplains wishing further info shouldcontact the Very Rev. Joseph Gallick at JGall41080@aol.com or 508/626-1312. Institutional chaplains may ob-tain additional info from the Rev. Steven Voytovich atSVoytovic@srhs.org or 203/789-3248.

ful youth fund-raiser conducted at Saint Mary Cathedral, Minne-apolis, MN, by which parish teens offered themselves in serviceto others to earn money for a worthy cause.

In the “Seniors” section, retirement years and how they arespent is the subject of an article by Kitty Vitko, titled “GivingBack to the Community.” She relates the story of a retired engi-neer who thoughtfully seeks ways to help others. She also invitesindividuals and parishes to share their stories of this phase of theirlives.

Resource Handbook installments now appear only on the OCAweb site. Hard copies of back installments are still available fromthe Orthodox Christian Publication Center at https://secure.oca.org/ocpc/scripts/prodList.asp.

Funding for the Resource Handbook is provided by free-willdonations to the Fellowship of Orthodox Stewards/ FOS.

Over 40 seminarianscomplete studies

ommencement ceremonies were heldC in May 2006 at the Orthodox Churchin America’s seminaries. Metropolitan Her-man, presided at graduation exercises atSaint Tikhon’s Seminary, South Canaan,PA [right] and Saint Vladimir’s Seminary,Crestwood, NY [below]. Bishop Nikolaiof Sitka, Anchorage, and Alaska presidedat commencement at Saint Herman’s Semi-nary, Kodiak, AK [bottom, right].

Metropolitan Herman meetsvisiting Indian hierarch

is Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, attended a reception inHBayside, NY, marking the first US visit of His Holiness,Baselios Mar Thoma Didymus I, Catholicos of the MalankaraSyrian Church. Metropolitan Herman addressed the gatheringand presented the Catholicos with a gift on behalf of the Ortho-dox Church in America.

Based at Kottayam, Kerala, India, the Malankara Syrian Churchtraces its roots tothe Apostle Tho-mas, who accord-ing to traditionestablished theChurch there in52 AD. In recentyears, the numberof Indian parishesin the US has in-creased signifi-cantly. The Catholicoswas enthroned inOctober 2005.

Metropolitan Herman presents giftto the visiting Indian Primate.

Pilgrimage to mark 40 years ofmonastic life at New Skete

n celebration of fortyI years of monastic wit-ness, the New Skete mo-nastic communities, Cam-bridge, NY, will host theirannual pilgrimage on Fri-day and Saturday, August11-12, 2006.

A presentation on thehistory of New Skete willbe given on Friday at 3:45p.m., followed by Vespersat 5:00. Saturday’s events begin with Matins at 8:30 a.m., fol-lowed by the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at 9:30.

On Saturday afternoon, the Very Rev. Alexis Vinogradov willoffer a talk on “Alexander Schmemann and New Skete: Road toOrthodoxy.” Dr. Roberta Ervine and New Skete monastics willspeak on “Liturgy at New Skete.”

Exhibits, tours, demonstrations, and youth activities areplanned throughout the day. An array of delicious foods, thenuns’ cheesecakes, and baked goods from the chapel communitywill be available for purchase on Saturday.

The pilgrimage will end with the celebration of the Vigil at5:00 p.m. Saturday. All visitors are welcome.

For more information, contact Vera Beecroft at 518/753-4877or Anna Chapman at editorinvt@aol.com.

JULY/AUGUST 2006 13

OCANewsNotesNotices

Bishop Nikon receives warmreception in Albania

or the first time, His Grace, Bishop Nikon of Boston, NewF England, and the Albanian Archdiocese of the OrthodoxChurch in America visited Albania May 2-11, 2006.

During his visit, Bishop Nikon met with His Beatitude, Arch-bishop Anastasios, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Albania,and conveyed greetings from His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman.The two hierarchs concelebrated the Divine Liturgy at Tirana’sAnnunciation Cathedral on Sunday, May 7.

His Excellency, Albanian President Alfred Moisiu, also re-ceived Bishop Nikon at the Presidium of the Republic.

Bishop Nikon also visited the Resurrection Orthodox Semi-nary and the Monastery of Saint Blaise near Durres, where he washosted by His Grace, Bishop Ilia of Aneaion, director of the semi-nary, and met with the faculty and students.

Albania to 29

AlbanianPresidentAlfred Moisiureceives BishopNikon at thePresidium of theRepublic [below].

Bishop Nikon blesseschildren at the Home ofHope orphanage [above], acharitable institution of theAlbanian Church.

ArchbishopAnastasios, BishopNikon concelebrate theDivine Liturgy at Tirana’s An-nunciation Cathedral [below].

14 VOLUME 42 7/8

OCANewsNotesNoticesM E T R O P O L I T A N H E R M A N

Address to Metropolitan Councilt is with the joy of the Holy Spirit, Whose de-scent we just celebrated, that I welcome youI to the 2006 spring session of the Metropoli-

tan Council. Surely, it is the Holy Spirit, Who is“everywhere present, filling all things,” Whoguides us as the People of God, the Church; Whoinspires us as we struggle to build up the Body ofChrist; and Who fills us with His very presenceas Orthodox Christians called to proclaim thefullness of truth, despite our sins and flaws, toany and all who would receive it. It is in thiscontext that we gather today, relying on the HolySpirit’s direction in our deliberations and seek-ing to do, not our own will, but the will of HimWho brings us together.

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is discern-ment – the ability to differentiate and distinguishbetween that which is true from that which is nottrue. This is not an easy task, and it is sometimesthe case that we stumble in the process. But theHoly Spirit always abides in us, correcting oursteps when we stray, lifting us up when we fall,and granting us the ability to refocus on that whichis essential in the life of the Church from thatwhich is of no benefit or spiritual importance.In striving to discern – and to do – the Lord’swill, it is the Holy Spirit upon Whom we rely, inWhom we place our faith and hope, and by Whomwe ultimately experience the love of the God Whois Love Itself.

We invoke the Holy Spirit to fill us as wegather once again to consider where we havebeen and are as the Church, and where we aregoing. Much has transpired in the life of ourChurch in recent months. New missions con-tinue to be planted. Young men continue to beordained to the holy diaconate and holy priest-hood. Our Church-wide departments andoffices, in most cases staffed by talented volun-teers who freely offer their time and talents tothe Church, continue to strengthen existingministries and to develop new ones. Our widelyacclaimed web site continues to attract a growingnumber of visitors from around the world, whilethe new magazine format of The OrthodoxChurch continues to receive positive reactions.The essential life of our Church, rooted inworship and revealed in service to God andHis People, remains strong and vibrant, thanksto the devotion of countless clergy and laity wholabor, often in the midst of difficult circum-stances and growing tensions, for nothing otherthan the glory of God. In these, and in countlessother areas of our Church’s life, we find theindwelling and operation of the Holy Spirit,and we find much in which we can indeed re-joice.

At the same time, however, it has been pain-fully obvious to me – and I am sure to you aswell – that our Church is facing a multitude ofintensely serious issues that have dampened ourjoy, shaken our faith and hope, and in far toomany instances hardened our hearts to the loveof God.

It is no secret that we are facing accusationsand allegations, aggravations and assumptions.They range from the demand for accountabilityin the area of financial management and practice,to an increase in parochial isolation and disunity,to an increasingly evident conflict rooted in com-peting ecclesiologies and visions, as they relateto the very nature of the Church’s administrationand ministry.

During our deliberations, we will consider indetail the ongoing investigation of our financialpractices, past and present, as well as the grow-ing number of serious concerns that have sur-faced as a result of the findings. At the recentmeeting of the Holy Synod of Bishops, I sharedmy conviction that, if all issues are not addressedsquarely, firmly, and appropriately, and dealt withopenly and forthrightly, the Orthodox Church inAmerica will face an even deeper crisis than wepresently are experiencing, one that will takeyears, if not decades, to reverse. Today, I sharethis same conviction with you, calling upon youto maintain focus on that which is essential to thelife of the Church, even as we struggle to sort outand sift through the various means at our dis-posal to bring about concord and stability to the

Church.The time for action is now. I will

refrain from presenting details that will be of-fered by others during our time together. How-ever, I do want to offer my observations on someof the most current, major issues that demandour immediate attention and unified action. Wecannot ignore that which has been discussed pub-licly and that, for many, appears self evident.True or false, public opinion cannot be ignoredas if it did not exist. In order to stabilize the lifeof the Orthodox Church in America, restore truston every level, and return to our fundamentalmission and ministry as the Church, the time foraction is now.

Since the fall of 2005, as is well known, nu-merous questions with regard to the financialpractices of the Orthodox Church in America,past and present, surfaced as Protodeacon EricWheeler raised in the public forum a number ofconcerns dating back to the early 1990s. Thecontroversy that arose as a result is widely known,and there is no reason to trace its chronology indetail at this time.

It is important to note that, after much prayerand reflection, I became convinced that an inves-tigation of the Church’s finances and financialpractices was appropriate and necessary. Hence,a special session of the Holy Synod of Bishopswas convened in the early days of March 2006 toaddress the issues that faced us at that time.Unfortunately, our deliberations were inconclu-sive.

I was made aware of the utter seriousness ofsuch public allegations and the effect they canhave on the life of not only the central adminis-tration of the Church, but on every parish en-rolled as a participant in the government recog-nized tax exempt roster filed each year with theUnited States Internal Revenue Service. To theextent that we must conform to all financial regu-lations emanating from the federal government,to take no action is generally perceived by regu-latory agencies as negligence by the leadershipof the Church. All things considered, for me notto exercise my authority as the Primate of theOrthodox Church in America when I did, couldhave resulted in placing the very existence of ourbeloved Orthodox Church in America in jeop-ardy.

Special meeting of the Admin-istrative Committee. As Primate of theChurch and in my capacity as Chairman of theMetropolitan Council, I convened a special meet-ing of the Administrative Committee of the Met-ropolitan Council on March 16, 2006, as you areundoubtedly aware. I announced at that time thatI had taken a number of actions.

On a number of occasions prior to the day ofthe meeting, I had encouraged the chancellor totake an administrative leave of absence, but ineach instance he refused to consider this. My

Metropolitan to 25

OCANewsNotesNoticesJULY/AUGUST 2006 15

F R. P A U L K U C Y N D A

Report of the Acting Treasurerwo sets of financial guidelines are beingused as the basis of all operating fund andT designated fund activity. The first became

effective late in 2005, and the second in January2006. [The texts of these guidelines may be foundon the OCA web site at www.oca.org/DOC-policies.asp?SID=12 and www.oca.org/PDF/DOC-PUB/MET_COUNCIL/2006.spring/2-EventsSchedulingGuidelines.pdf.]

2004 independent audit. At our2005 fall meeting, His Beatitude, MetropolitanHerman, announced that beginning with the year2004, an independent audit of the finances of theOrthodox Church in America would be conductedannually as a normal practice.

In fulfillment of this announcement, Metro-politan Herman authorized the engagement of theaccounting firm of Lambrides, Lamos and Mul-throp in January 2006. This accounting firm’sprimary work is with religious and other not-for-profit organizations. When they began their workin January 2006, they anticipated that their workwould be completed by March 31, 2006.

At the request of the Holy Synod, Metropoli-tan Herman extended the engagement of the ac-countants conducting the 2004 audit to also in-clude the financial records and activity related tothe annual and special appeals for the years 2001through 2005.

Conducting the 2004 audit, as well as theannual and special appeals audits, required aninordinate amount of time. Much data had to bereviewed – going back as far as 1998-1999 andeven earlier. Though a progress report concern-ing the audit will be presented to you this after-noon by a representative from the accounting firm,it is important that we comprehend the history ofall independent as well as internal audits of cen-tral Church administration finances conductedsince the 1980s.

The firm now conducting the audits was thesame firm that conducted independent audits forthe Church from the early 1980s. In each in-stance, after the independent audit was completedfor a given year, the Church auditors officiallyelected at each All-American Council held dur-ing those years, would also fulfill their responsi-bilities as internal auditors.

It is important to note that between 1999 and2004, the financial audits were only conductedby the duly elected Church auditors. In lieu of anindependent audit, a compilation report was pre-pared for each of those years. This fact is af-firmed in correspondence I received from the ac-countant who prepared these reports. He wrote:“I just realized that you used the phrase, ‘yourOrthodox Church in America audit,’ in your mes-

sage to me. The term ‘audit” has a very specificmeaning in accounting terminology, and carrieswith it much higher reliance than that for whichwe were engaged for 1999 through 2004. Ourengagement was to compile the financial state-ments each year and issue our report based onsuch standards as set by the American Instituteof Certified Public Accountants. Specifically,our report contained the language, ‘A compila-tion is limited to presenting, in the form of finan-cial statements, information that is the represen-tation of management. We have not audited orreviewed these statements and, accordingly, donot express an opinion or any other form of as-surance on them.’”

Best practices. The second importantdecision from our last meeting was the requestthat the central church administration of the Or-thodox Church in America subscribe to “BestPractice Principles for Non-Profit Financial Ac-countability.” As you may remember, thoughMetropolitan Herman came to the meeting andannounced that beginning with 2004, indepen-dent audits would be a normative practice, healso accepted the suggestion coming from a mem-ber attending the meeting, that the “Best PracticePrinciples” be accepted as the standard used par-ticularly as they relate to the management of cen-tral church administration funds.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Herman,Protodeacon Peter Danilchick prepared a draft ofa basic document and a number of amendmentsfor consideration. We will receive the document

and discuss it tomorrow as part of our morningsession. [The text of “Best Practices” may beaccessed on the OCA web site at www.oca.org/PDF/DOC-PUB/MET_COUNCIL/2006.spring/3-BestPracticesDocument.pdf.]

In addition to Protodeacon Peter, MatushkaMary Buletza Breton and Mr. Robert Kornafelare also participating in this effort. You may wantto familiarize yourself with their talents and pre-vious Church service. [Brief biographical in-formation on these individuals may be accessedon the OCA web site at www.oca.org/PDF/DOC-PUB/MET_COUNCIL/2006 . spr ing /4 -BestPracticesPersonnel.pdf.]

The loan. When we met last fall, we alsoagreed that as acting treasurer, I would try tosecure a loan offer or offers to consolidate ourindebtedness. Because we only had compilationreports for years 2002, 2003, and 2004 – all ofwhich reflected a negative cash flow – my effortscame to naught.

The Honesdale National Bank, which has ahistory spanning more than 150 continuous yearsof service to the public, has a stellar reputationthat speaks for itself. However, the willingnessof their board of directors to make a loan offer tous in a formal commitment letter comes as a re-sult of their deep respect for Metropolitan Herman.They consider him as a man of honor, of integ-rity, whose word can be trusted, someone whohas borrowed and met every obligation madewith them on behalf of Saint Tikhon Monasteryand Saint Tikhon Seminary over many years.Saint Paul speaks to the qualifications for bish-ops. In 1 Timothy 3:7, he teaches that a bishop“he must have a good testimony among thoseoutside [the Church]”.

In preparation for our teleconference meet-ing, in addition to the full text of the HonesdaleNational Bank’s commitment letter, I also sent aFair Share Support Report as of March 31, 2006,a Designated Appeals and Restricted Income 2006Report, and a FY 2006 Operating Budget with acomparison of income and expenditures to bud-get for January, February, and March 2006, tokeep you informed as member of the Metropoli-tan Council.

During our teleconference meeting of May18, 2006, we accepted the loan offer from theHonesdale National Bank.

The following facts are excerpted from thecommitment letter and included here:

1. Amount of loan: $1,700,000.00.2. Purpose of loan: The Orthodox Church inAmerica Summary of Outstanding Debtsas of April 4, 2006:• $500,000.00 Commerce Bank Line of

Credit.• $42,880.00 FOS endowments.• $85,000.00 Other endowments – Smith

Barney Main Acct.• $30,000.00 Chechen relief.

Acting Treasurer to 27

16 VOLUME 42 7/8

two-year dialogue between thepastor of a Baptist congregationand the rector of an OrthodoxA Church in America parish cul-

minated in a public conference, “AncientChristianity: Rediscovering Our AfricanChristian Heritage,” at Deliverance Evan-gelistic Center, Newark, NJ, June 2-3, 2006.

Coordinating the conference were theRev. Brian D. Rawls Sr., pastor of Newark’sHigher Life Fellowship of Christians, andthe Very Rev. Joseph Lickwar, rector ofSaints Peter and Saint Paul Church, JerseyCity, NJ, and chancellor of the OCA Dio-cese of Washington and New Jersey.

Higher Life Fellowship is in “cate-chetical dialogue” with Saints Peter andPaul parish in “the earnest hope of beingreceived into the Orthodox Church,” theRev. Rawls said.

In his keynote address, ProtopresbyterThomas Hopko, dean emeritus of SaintVladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood, NY, high-lighted the similarities between the suffer-ing of African-American Christians underslavery and plight of Orthodox Christiansunder the oppression of the Ottoman Turksand Soviet Communism.

“Although we’re different, we share anincredible unity of spirit, mind, and soul,

once you go past the forms,” Father Hopkosaid.

The theme was further developed byAlbert Raboteau, Ph.D., Princeton Univer-sity professor of religion, who addressedthe “convergences” that exist between theAfrican-American religious tradition andOrthodox Christianity in a paper titled“African-American Slaves, Christianity,and the Legacy of Suffering.”

Mother Katherine Weston of Saint Xe-nia Monastic Community of the SerbianOrthodox Metropolitanate spoke on “Tra-ditions of the Healing Church,” while theRev. Paisius Altshul, director of Reconcili-ation Ministries, Kansas City, MO, sharedaccounts of the lives of numerous African

REDISCOVERING AFRICA’S ANCIENT

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE

Detroit conference participants listen to lecture on the whys and hows ofbringing the faith to the wider community [below] while Fr. Moses Berry, who spoke atthe Detroit and New Jersey conferences, pauses for photo in front of an icon of hispatron, St. Moses the Black [right].

Conferences in New Jersey, Michigan, exploreways to bring Orthodox Christianity tothe African-American community

saints. A highlight of the conference was amoving account by the Rev. Moses Berry,president of the Brotherhood of SaintMoses the Black, founder of the OzarksAfrican American Heritage Museum, andrector of the OCA’s Theotokos “Unex-pected Joy” Mission, Ash Grove, MO.

Conference goers also enjoyed musi-cal selections performed by the New Jer-sey-based Spirit of Orthodoxy Choir, so-prano Ethel Beatty Barnes, the JoshuaNelson Singers, and the Rev. Hilton Rawls,Jr., who sang spirituals.

“The conference was born out of a de-sire to reach inner-city Christians, particu-larly African-American pastors and congre-gations, with true post-apostolic, pre-Ref-

ormation Church history,” said the Rev.Rawls. “Many critical points of this his-tory involve Africans. Hopefully, attend-ees left the conference having learned notjust that Africans are ‘included’ in Churchhistory, but that Africans and Asians werecardinal exemplars of the ancient faith.”

hree weeks later, on June 22-25, aboutT 100 African-American clergy, schol-ars, and lay leaders, many of the Orthodoxfaith, gathered in Detroit, MI for a confer-ence exploring Christianity’s ancient Af-rican roots, titled “Forgiveness: BridgingRacial Barriers to Achieve Christ.”

“Reconnecting with the Orthodox tra-dition connects us with the earliest Chris-tian traditions,” Father Moses Berry toldthe enthusiastic Detroit audience. “Itmeans that, when our ancestors werebrought here as slaves, they didn’t arrivehere with just a collection of tribal reli-gions. They didn’t all discover Christian-ity here. In fact, many Africans alreadywere part of the ancient Christian Church.”

Originally a Protestant minister – a fam-ily tradition dating back to the 1800s –

Father Moses related how after visiting anOrthodox parish in Atlanta in 1983, he wasso moved that he embraced OrthodoxChristianity and was ordained to the priest-hood. He also helped to organize the coa-lition of clergy, scholars, and lay leadersthat gathered in Detroit.

“I discovered Orthodoxy while I wason the internet in 2001, and I was so drawnto it that I had to attend a Liturgy,” saidRobert Aaron Mitchell, a Detroit residentwho represents a growing number of Afri-can-Americans joining Orthodox parishes.“I felt like I was finally coming home.”

The Detroit conference was sponsoredby the Brotherhood of Saint Moses theBlack in conjunction with the Council ofOrthodox Christian Churches of MetroDetroit and Saint Andrew House. Otherspeakers included the Very Revs. RomanStar and Michael Simerick; the Revs.Jerome Sanderson, Paisius Altschul, andAntonio Perdomo; Dr. Raboteau; MotherKatherine; and Photius Meirthew.

Contributors: Michael Redmond,Dean Calvert, Fr. Joseph Lickwar

The Rev. Rawls and Fr. Lickwaraddress NJ conference participants[above]. For two years, the Rev. Rawls’Higher Life Fellowship has beenengaged in “catechetical dialogue”with Fr. Lickwar’s parish “with theearnest hope of being received intothe Orthodox Church.”

Dr. Albert Raboteau of PrincetonUniversity [left] shares his “journey toOrthodoxy” with NJ conference goers.

Fr. Hopko draws parallels betweenOrthodox Christianity’s experienceand that of African Americans [below].

Nearly 100 faithful considered a variety of issuesat the three-day Detroit conference [above, below].

18

History & Archives

Father Leonid’s bright intellect andstrong ecclesiastical erudition, molded byhis upbringing in a priestly family andschooling at the Kyiv Theological Acad-emy, quickly brought him to the forefrontof North American clergy. As one of SaintTikhon’s closest advisors, he was electedchairman of the First All-American Sobor,held in Mayfield, PA in 1907. At this andsubsequent sobors, his leadership guidedthe gradual formulation of the Church’songoing missionary vision in NorthAmerica.

When the seminary was relocated toTenafly, NJ in 1912, Father Leonid movedeast, continuing his work at the seminaryand eventually succeeding Saint Alex-ander Hotovitzky as dean of New YorkCity’s Saint Nicholas Cathedral and editorof the American Orthodox Messenger, theChurch’s official periodical.

Father Leonid was one of two priestsselected to join Archbishop Evdokim inrepresenting the North American Diocese

at the All-Russian Council in Moscow in1917-1918, at which he championed therestoration of the patriarchal system ofChurch governance abolished by Tsar Pe-ter the Great two centuries earlier.

After the council, Father Leonid re-turned to America via Siberia, witnessingalong the way the horrors the newly-estab-lished Bolshevik regime was inflicting onthe Church and her faithful. Back in Ameri-ca, Father Leonid’s experiences at the coun-cil clearly filled him with a vision andmodel for subsequent All-American Soborsand Church life.

When Father Leonid was widowed in1925, elevation to the episcopacy was pro-posed to him almost immediately. Initially,he rejected this out of concern for the con-tinued upbringing of his five children. Butin 1933, he accepted monastic tonsure withthe name Leonty, and was consecratedBishop of Chicago. While he had been ahierarch for scarcely more than one year

History to 30

In this section18 History & Archives

19 Christian Witness & Service

20 Evangelization

22 Youth & Young Adult Ministry

24 Christian Education

Six decades of ministryRemembering Metropolitan Leonty

Alexis Liberovsky

his year marks the 130th anniver-sary of the birth of MetropolitanT Leonty and the 100th anniversary

of the beginning of his ministry to theChurch in America – service that was tocontinue for nearly six decades until hisrepose in 1965.

Born in Volhynia on August 8, 1876,and ordained in 1905, Father Leonid Turk-evich was appointed rector of the newly-opened theological seminary and pastor ofSaint Mary Church in Minneapolis, MNby Saint Archbishop Tikhon of the Aleu-tians and North America in August 2006.On October 27 of the same year, Father Le-onid and his wife Anna finally arrived inMinnesota, where he immediately beganto devote himself to the formation of thefuture pastors for the North American flockand shepherding the parish that had beenbrought into Orthodoxy some 15 years ear-lier by Saint Alexis Toth.

Metropolitan Leonty in the early 1960s with [seated, from left]Bulgarian Metropolitan Andrey, Antiochian Metropolitan Antony,and Greek Metropolitan Germanos and [standing, from left]Bishop John of Chicago, Bishop John of San Francisco, BishopIreney, and Bishop Kiprian.

Love for others was a hallmark of Metropolitan Leonty’s life,whether it revealed itself in sharing candy with children or feedingNew York’s bowery homeless.

Christian Witness & Service

Helping hands, loving heartsSF’s Raphael House reaches out to the homeless

Father Thomas Moore

f you find yourself visiting San Fran- cisco on a tight budget, don’t book aI taxi at the airport after the city’s pub-

lic transit system shuts down at 11:30 p.m.A taxi costs about $50.00. And, after dis-covering that a car rented at the airportcosts $100.00 more per week than onebooked in town, my wife and I stood de-jectedly, weighing our options.

Apparently, we looked so dejected thata woman working at the rental counter said,“I get off work in a few minutes, and I’llgive you a ride into town” – an offer toogood to pass up! After loading our lug-gage into her trunk, we gratefully listenedas she explained why she never picks upstrangers – except for us! – and shared sto-ries about her family and her mother’s re-cent death. As we approached the city, sheasked us where we would like to be droppedoff. When we told her Raphael House onSutter Street, we could see her face light upas she related a tale of how she and herdaughter, down on their luck when theyfirst arrived in the city, had been given shel-ter at Raphael House. She went on to de-scribe how, after she got an apartment, sheworked in the shelter’s restaurant, andeventually got a better job at the car rentalagency where we had met her. She wasoverjoyed to give us a ride, which she sawas a way to repay Raphael House for thekindness that had been extended to her.

Founded in 1971, Raphael House is ahomeless shelter for families with children. Over the years, its staff and volunteers havehelped over 10,000 families achieve sta-bility. I was blessed to live and work therefor 10 years. When I left in 1987, FatherDavid Lowell took over the direct care ofthe resident families and, four years later,became executive director.

During my recent visit, I met many vol-unteers helping on the rooftop playground,serving in the dining room, and tutoring inthe after-school program. I was especiallyhappy to find that the shelter’s Synaxis ofthe Archangels Orthodox chapel offers a

regular cycleof liturgicalservices andprayers. Throughoutour week-longvisit to Rapha-el House, Vero-nica, a youngwoman whoworked at thefront desk,greeted medaily. We de-veloped a curi-ous instant rap-port as sheslowly reveal-ed that in 1987,when she wasjust three yearsold, she and hermother foundshelter at Ra-phael Houseuntil they be-came self-suffi-cient. For yearsthereafter, her mother continued to volun-teer at the shelter – a family tradition Vir-ginia was happy to continue.

Just before I left, Father David and I re-alized that Virginia and her mother werethe first family to whom we had ministeredtogether years ago, and we laughed heart-ily as Virginia shared her memories of thewarmth and security she experienced as athree year old during her time with us. Sheespecially remembered the prayers, songs,and evening rituals which are still a part of“bed time” at Raphael House.

There is so much more to share aboutthe good work being done at RaphaelHouse. In this time of controversies, howmany people know of the work that hasbeen steadily done there in the name ofOur Lord? How many know what a wit-ness Raphael House is to Orthodox Chris-tian charity in a world that needs it? Howmany know that Father David and his wife

JULY/AUGUST 2006 19

children and working with staff and vol-unteers! How many know that Orthodoxyoung adults can volunteer at RaphaelHouse through the Orthodox ChristianFellowship’s “Real Break” program, orspend a summer or a year gaining valuablesupervised social service experience?

Raphael House provides an overwhelm-ing Orthodox Christian witness to God’slove for homeless pilgrims. I would en-courage anyone who can do so to offer theirtime and talents ministering to those whobenefit physically, morally, and spirituallyfrom its unique ministry.

For further information on RaphaelHouse visit www.raphaelhouse.org or writeto Father David at dlowell@raphael.org.

Fr. Moore is rector of Holy ApostlesChurch, Columbia, SC, and a memberof the OCA Department of ChristianWitness and Service.

Bishop Benjamin withFrs. Thomas and David infront of Raphael House;a grateful mother and childmake a new beginning with Raphael House’s assistance.

and others have raised their families andshared their lives day in and day out withhomeless families? How many know thatHis Grace, Bishop Benjamin of Berkeley,lives and works there also? What a glori-ous sight to see a bishop laughing with the

Evangelization20 VOLUME 42 7/8

Scaling the wallsWhy your church shouldn’t be “a mighty fortress”

Father Eric Tosi

n the last issue, we looked at thingsthat are crucial to welcoming – and

I inspiring – the visitors and enquirerswho enter the doors of our churches. Inthis issue, we will look at obstacles thatvisitors can – but shouldn’t have to – face.

Beware the gatekeeper!“Gatekeepers” are persons who see their“job” as “screening” – sometimes uncon-sciously – those who walk through thedoor, especially “outsiders.” At best, theyhardly inspire visitors to return; at worst,they judge, question, block, and, in somecases, boot out people. They need to bereigned in, lest they render the parish asunapproachable as a yard with a “bewareof the pit bull” sign posted on its fence.

While, of course, gatekeepers need tobe treated with love, attempts must be made

to enlighten them to the fact that such be-havior is inappropriate, especially whendealing with visitors and enquirers. Mak-ing attitudinal changes can be very diffi-cult, sometimes impossible. Nevertheless,a parish cannot blind itself to those whocan unilaterally destroy its efforts to em-brace those who “come and see” – espe-cially if what they’ve found encouragesthem to “never return.”

Don’t single out people. A fewvisitors are spotted at the Liturgy. Thepriest announces, “We have some visitors,”at which point every head turns to look –or, in the case of the gatekeepers, to glare –at them. Terribly embarrassed, the visitorspray the floor opens to swallow them.

While welcoming visitors in such apublic way is indeed a well intentionedact, it can backfire. Many people detestbeing the focus of attention in a group of

people whom they have never met! Mostvisitors, especially first-time visitors, cameto observe, not to be observed. So, while itis important to be welcoming, it is wise toallow visitors to explore the community attheir own pace. They should be made tofeel comfortable in what is likely to be newterritory, not “put on display.” A simple“we’d like to welcome those who havejoined us for worship, and we invite themto join us for fellowship” provides a warm,yet hardly threatening, welcome.

Forget the hard sell. Visitorswant to observe; they are not interested in“buying” something, so there’s no need totry to convince them immediately that whatthey had just experienced is “the fullnessof truth in action.” They wouldn’t stepthrough the front door if they weren’t seek-ing truth in the first place. They may al-ready be experiencing conflicting emo-tions and thoughts about their visit, so thereis no reason to add to the angst.

At all costs, avoid polemical arguments,outlandish and unkind criticisms of otherfaiths, and anything that could be seen asnegative. Instead, let visitors and enquirersdiscover the truth in our worship, our ac-tions, and our love. Be open to their ques-tions, and answer them clearly and in termsthey will readily understand. In every in-stance, avoid giving the appearance of“sealing the deal” before they leave, or youmay discover that they may never return.

Welcome families and chil-dren. It is a fact that growth takes placesin parishes in which children are given anactive role in Church life. Visiting fami-lies relate to active families with childrenwho want to share and grow in the faith. Inother words, families attract families.

Sadly, some parishes are anything but“kid friendly.” And there are those faithfulwho see children as a distraction, yet whocomplain that “we’re loosing our youth.”As an old adage says, “a quiet church is adead church.” Nothing keeps visiting fami-lies away like snarls and glares from pa-rishioners who find the presence of chil-dren an assault on their peace and quiet.

Welcome families and children. Makethem a part of the services. Teach them tolove the faith and educate them with loveon proper behavior, while recognizing thefact that two-year-olds do what they do pre-cisely because they’re two years old!

Missions: Apply now for a planting granthe OCA Department of Evangelization is accepting applications from missionsT wishing to receive a 2007 Church Planting Grant.

Planting grants are given to a limited number of missions based on the generosityof the faithful to the OCA’s annual Mission Appeal. Each granted mission receives$15,000.00 per year, for a maximum of three years, and must match this amount.Grants must be used exclusively to fund full-time resident mission priests.

“Experience has shown that missions with full-time priests develop into parishesmuch more quickly,” said the Rev. Eric Tosi, department chairman. “The grant allows

mission priests to de-vote all of their timeand energy to ‘grow-ing’ their missions.” To date, nearly 20grants have beenawarded. Applications are

available on the OCAweb site at http://www.oca.org/PDF/Evangelization/2005churchplantinggrant.pdf; by calling 702/898-4800; or by e-mailat evangelization@oca. org.

Established in 2000, St. Herman of Alaska Mission,Port Townsend, WA, has grown rapidly with the help of agrant. Under the guidance of Fr. Nicholas Kime, themission recently completed installation of its iconostasis.

Bringing Orthodoxyto Phoenix’s HispaniccommunityPHOENIX, AZ – Saints Peter and Paul parish here was foundedin 1951. Over the years, the neighborhood had become large-ly Hispanic, to the point that by 2005, the Diocese of theWest’s dean of missions asked the parish to consider establish-ing a Spanish-language mission. At once, the faithful em-braced the idea, generously offering the use of their parishfacilities. And two parishioners spearheaded the refurbishingof a house on the property for a mission priest and his family.

In July 2005, Isidor Mayol was ordained by His Grace,Bishop Benjamin of Berkeley, to establish the mission.

“Phoenix in summer is no cake walk,” said Father Isidor,who set about the task at hand despite the 116 degree tempera-ture! “But we threw ourselves into the task immediately byvisiting people in the neighborhood, making signs, and ad-vertising the Spanish-language services at the church.”

At first, Father Isidor held weeknight services, but atten-dance was poor. “People were tired, and the neighborhoodcan be tough at night,” he said. Celebrating services on Satur-days, however, greatly improved attendance and interest.

“Then one day a young girl came to me for a blessing andinstruction for her quincea-nera,” Father Isidor continued.“This is a ‘coming of age’ tradition observed by 15-year oldgirls, and it is a serious matter, in which moral and religiousformation is just as important as the celebration itself. Soonthe girl’s family began attending classes, then their friends,and then their friends! Once people started attending, thebeauty of the services, the icons, the church building, and lifeof the Church ‘took over’ – very congenial and appealing.”

Father Isidor’s wife Elaine reads the Epistle and, with the

M I S S I O Npossible!possible!possible!possible!possible!

help of a parishioner, leads the liturgical singing in Spanish.Their nine-year-old son Karel also helps in many ways.

“Everyone loves it,” Father Isidor said. “People stay forclasses after the services, eagerly receiving instruction!”

People quickly realized that the Orthodox Church is not asect, but the authentic catholic Church.

“As more people visited, they called in their elders to forthe ‘seal of approval,’” Father Isidor said. “Early this year, onefamily’s patriarch drove five hours from LA to look thingsover. He liked everything – especially the priest facing thealtar – and gave his enthusiastic approval. His only regret wasthat he lived too far away to attend more often.”

Still in its infancy, the mission is in deed of a great deal ofassistance. Father Isidor receives a small mission stipend, sohe and his wife work full-time to support themselves.

“While the mission’s growth has been dramatic, it will beyears before these very hard working yet very poor people cansupport a priest,” Father Isidore observed. “But we are so thank-ful to Saints Peter and Paul parish for sharing its resources, andfor the personal daily involvement of its parishioners.”

Such parishes marginalize themselves bytheir own actions, language, or culture, giv-ing the appearance of being a “drive in”church for folks who live elsewhere Of-ten, their members are baffled by the totallack of visitors – who would have to scalethe 12-foot high fence surrounding the par-ish property! –blinding themselves to thesignals they send to the public.

Yet, right outside every parish’s doorsare people who are looking for Christ, formeaning, for something to fill a “spiritualvoid” in their lives. Welcome the neigh-bors. Involve them in the life of the par-ish, and get involved in the life and expe-rience of the broader community. Hostand participate in community events, send-

ing a loud and visible signal that “this isour neighborhood, and this faith commu-nity is fully dedicated to it.” And ulti-mately, “love your neighbor as you loveyourself!”

By engaging the community, even andespecially those experiencing urban decay,a parish says – actually, shouts loudly –that it is not abandoning “outsiders” to theworld, but rather that it is informing theworld that “no one is a stranger here.” Intime, the community will respect the par-ish, embrace it, and in some cases, want tobecome a part of it.

Fr. Tosi is rector of St. Paul Church, LasVegas, NV, and co-chairperson of theOCA Department of Evangelization.

“Take down that wall!” Thereare some parishes that have no connec-tion with the communities in which theyexist. They sport tall gates and fences thatcan give the impression that the sheepshould be locked out, rather than broughtin. “Curb appeal” can make a differencein whether an enquirer perceives he or shewill find an open door, be forced to scale awall, or simply seek greener pastures.

There are also parishes that, while notinvolved in their communities, are stillnoticed by the neighbors – for the wrongreasons. Neighborhood kids are summarilybooted off parish property. Parishionersblock neighbors’ driveways. Requests touse the parish hall are routinely rejected.

Outreach bears fruit Fr. Isidor Mayol celebrates abaptism at Phoenix’s growing Hispanic mission.

We are not our sins!Father David Subu

n the last issue, we looked at how fear limits us and keeps us from becoming theIperson God created us to be. Fear limits us from returning to who we werecreated to be, since God created us good, in His image and likeness, and each oneof us has lost that likeness because of our sins.

One of the most powerful ways fear and sin work together in us is through thedevil’s deception. He attempts to convince us that we are not images of God, thatwe are inherently evil, worthless beings. How so?

Simple. For a person to live a sinful life-style with no desire to change orrepent, he or she first must believe that change is impossible, that sin is more thanjust a superficial aspect of life, that it is the very thing that defines him or her. Thedrug addict, the alcoholic, the over-eater all need to accept the fact that theirhabits have taken control of their lives to such an extent that they could notfunction, or even exist, without them. The sinner does the same. Our world is socorrupt and our lives so filled with sin that the good and holy things in our livescan seem irrevocably tainted. Even when we perform works of charity – readMatthew 25 – a part of us looks for praise, while judging others for not doing aswell. It seems inescapable; in reality, without God, it is inescapable.

When God enters into our lives – rather, when we realize His presence in ourlives and we begin to trust in Him – He reveals to us that we no longer need toidentify with our sins. In Him, we have the choice to become free, rather thanfeeling like we need to sin in order to survive, to get by, to feel loved or “fulfilled”or whatever other motivation the devil uses to deceive us. Instead, we find truelove, hope, and fulfillment in God, as we realize that we are not our sins!

This is why repentance is so important. Repentance involves more than saying“I’m sorry” or “I’ll try harder next time.” It involves changing our core beliefsabout who we are. If we don’t repent, we are telling God, “I’m sorry, but I can’tchange. This is just who I am.” We define who we are by what we do rather thanon what we could become with God’s help. Likewise, when we believe the lie thatwe have no choice but to give into our sins, our relationships with family andfriends, as well as with God, unravel. And in the end, it is we who reject God andothers, who make a hell for ourselves, regardless of our “good intentions.”

But sin will not stand in the Lord’s presence: “If anyone hears My words anddoes not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but tosave the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that whichjudges him – the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” [John12:47-48].

Flee from sin. Resist the devil and his lies. Listen to Our Lord, Who neverceases speaking to us through His word!

B E C O M Ewhawhawhawhawhat yt yt yt yt you are!ou are!ou are!ou are!ou are!

Christian ed, youthdepartments tohost skills buildingconferenceSeptember 30

aint Tikhon’s Monastery and Semina-S ry, South Canaan, PA, will be the siteof a skills building conference, “Equippingthe Saints: Building Skills for Educationand Youth Ministries,” on Saturday, Sep-tember 30, 2006.

Cosponsored with the blessing of HisBeatitude, Metropolitan Herman, by theOCA Departments of Christian Educationand Youth, Young Adult, and CampusMinistries, in partnership with the Dioceseof Eastern Pennsylvania, the conference isgeared specifically for teachers, youth min-isters, clergy, and lay persons.

Presenters and workshop leaders will in-clude Mrs. Valerie Zahirsky, Mrs. Myra Ko-valak, and other DCE members; Deacon Jo-seph Matusiak, Youth Department director;the Very Rev. David Mahaffey; and otherdepartment members.

In addition to keynote presentations onthe conference theme, several individualworkshop sessions will be offered. Topicswill include ways to develop parish youthministries “from scratch,” the “welcomingclassroom,” making the distinction betweenyouth ministry and youth activity, curricu-lum resources and planning, and discern-ing effective teaching methods.

A variety of displays highlighting themany educational resources available forparish use will also be available.

The $10.00 registration fee covers allconference events and materials and lunch.Checks should be made payable to the Dio-cese of Eastern Pennsylvania.

Special rates for out-of-town participantsdesiring overnight accommodations areavailable by contacting the Comfort Inn,Hamlin, PA, at 570/689-4148; fax 570/689-3043. [Mention Saint Tikhon’s Seminarywhen making reservations.]

To register, contact Maria Proch atsmile9561@juno.com or 1107 Sunset Drive,Clarks Summit, PA 18411 or log on to theDCE web site at dce.oca.org. Deadline forregistration is September 22.

food for tfood for tfood for tfood for tfood for thought...hought...hought...hought...hought...1 What habits do I have that I should change, but feel I cannot? When I am

about to give in to them, how do I justify them in my mind?2 Imagine a world without sin. What things would have to change in order to

make this possible? What would it require of me?3 What are my core beliefs about who I am? How do they compare to what Our

Lord teaches? How would truly believing God’s word while rejecting thedevil’s deception change me? My relationships? Others? The world?

RESOURCES

Youth, Young Adult & Campus Ministry

How I spent my summer vacationYouth adults take advantage of summer programs

JULY/AUGUST 2006 23

rthodox Christian teens and youngadults participated in a variety of

O opportunities this summer de-signed to strengthen their faith and expandtheir knowledge of the Church.

In addition to participating in numer-

ous OCA camps across the US and Canada,over 30 teens participated in the annualCrossroad Program, a career and vocationalinterest project funded by the Lilly Foun-dation in conjunction with Hellenic Col-lege/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School

of Theology, Brookline, MA.Crossroad participants visited Saint

George Cathedral, Boston, MA, the“Mother Church” of the OCA’s AlbanianArchdiocese, where they were warmly wel-comed by His Grace, Bishop Nikon of Bos-ton, New England, and the Albanian Arch-diocese, on June 26, 2006. The teenslearned of the history of the archdioceseand its founder, Archbishop TheophanNoli, during their visit.

During their 10-day program, the teensalso worshipped at several other Bostonarea parishes, explored and studied vari-ous aspects of the Church, and participatedin community outreach and social serviceprojects.

Several high school seniors also par-ticipated in the special youth program con-ducted in conjunction with the annualSummer Liturgical Institute at SaintVladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood, NY June24-30.

While the participants attended lecturesand worshipped with the institute’s clergyand lay attendees, they enjoyed a separateprogram that included field trips to localparishes, service projects, discussions, andopportunities to meet members of the semi-nary faculty and student body.

A highlight of the institute was a visitto the OCA Archives in Syosset, NY, dur-ing which Mr. Alexis Liberovsky, archi-vist, provided a rare glimpse of many valu-able historical documents and artifacts.The teens also toured the OCA Chanceryand prayed in Saint Sergius of RadonezhChapel, where they received the blessingof His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman.

Bishop Nikon welcomes participants in the annual Crossroad Programto Boston’s St. George Cathedral.

OCA archivist Alexis Liberovsky displays a bottle that contained HolyChrism, brought to America by Bishop Innocent [Pustynsky] of Alaska in1904, to participants in the SVS youth institute during their tour of the OCAArchives.

John Mindala

Send us yourcamp photos! end us photos from your sum-S mer camp and we’ll sharethem with others in the nextissue of The Orthodox Churchand on the OCA youth web site. Simply attach your photos toan e-mail and send them toinfo@oca.org, along with a briefarticle – we’ll take it from there!

TAKENOTE

or seven. But even with older students, it’simportant to punctuate your reading withpersonal insights and eye contact. Prac-tice the story several times with a patientspouse or family member, or use a mirror.This helps you to devise some variations

in tone and inflection and include a fewhand gestures. These need not be dramatic– this could detract from the story – but afew well-placed personal “touches” can behelpful in holding the students’ attention.It’s also a good idea to practice keepingyour voice from dropping at the ends ofsentences to avoid a “sing-song” pattern.Plan – and practice – occasional pausesthat effectively add emphasis and variety.

Set the stage. When appropriate,“set the stage” for the story. For example,when telling the story of the Good Samari-tan, show younger students a picture of aroad with people traveling on foot or ridinganimals, as found in Jesus’ time. With olderstudents, you might want to show Jerichoand Jerusalem on a map. With teens, usethe map, but add that the road between Jeri-cho and Jerusalem was a notoriously dan-gerous one, infested with robbers whopreyed on travelers. Older students areready to understand that Jesus set the storyon this particular road to create a kind of

moral dilemma for His hearers to thinkabout. The two men who failed to helpthe wounded traveler weren’t just “toobusy;” they would have been puttingthemselves in danger by pausing on thisparticular road, creating a genuine moraltension with regard to putting themselvesin danger in order to help a stranger.

Make connections. Help stu-dents age 12 years and older look for con-nections in stories. For example, the dea-con Stephen’s words of forgiveness in

Acts 7:60 paraphrasethe words of Our Lordon the cross. Stephenoffers an example ofsomeone who takesthe teachings of Christseriously. An effectivecontrast is the sober-ing story of Ananiasand Sapphira in Acts5: 1-11. This coupledies, not because Godis vengeful, but be-cause they chose tomock the principles ofthe new Christiancommunity and to“tempt the Spirit ofthe Lord,” as the apostlePeter says.

Another example of a connection forolder students can be made with the storiesof the Good Samaritan and the Samaritanwoman in John 4. Students can be asked toconsider why Jesus chose a Samaritan asthe “hero” of the story of the injured trav-eler, and why He chose to reveal His divin-ity to a Samaritan woman – much to theconsternation of His own disciples. Ofcourse, the connection is found in the factthat these stories reveal that Our Lord camefor the salvation of all people, not just thebelievers in Israel. But for older studentsthey are valuable in another way: they re-mind them that the Bible is not always pre-dictable, and that there is always more tolearn and more by which to be surprised –a good point to make as you share thesestories with our sometimes jaded youngpeople!

In future issues, we’ll take a look at ideasfor teaching and relating the lives of thesaints and survey a number of methods forpresenting stories.

And your point is...Adding a little pizzazz to story time!

Valerie Zahirsky

very Church school teacher tells sto-ries in class. They may be from theE Bible or from the treasury of saints’

lives, or they may be accounts of impor-tant events in the his-tory of the Church.Clearly, stories form anessential part of ourChristian heritage.

Our Lord was a mas-ter storyteller. Hisparables weave ele-ments of daily life withthe deepest truths. Hespoke of fishing andfarming, tenants andlandlords, vines andvine dressers, healthand illness, flowers andanimals. With thesesimple things, He pre-sented a vivid pictureof the Kingdom of Godwhile revealing to Hishearers what was essential if they hoped toinherit that Kingdom.

So as teachers, it is good for us to pol-ish our ability to tell the stories that revealthe truths of our faith in an exciting andengaging manner, ensuring that the stu-dents will not only remember the storieswe tell, but identify the truths the storiescontain. Here are some suggestions.

If you’re telling or reading aBible story, hold an open Bible, evenif you are actually telling or reading thestory from some other source, such as acurriculum textbook. Many teachers dothis by putting the textbook or a copy ofthe text into the open Bible. If using anillustrated text, hold the picture pages upat the appropriate places in the story.

Practice makes perfect! Evenwith a story you know well, it is importantto practice what you’ll be reading so thatyou can tell, rather than merely read, thestory. This is especially important if yourlisteners are children under the age of six

Christian Education24 VOLUME 42 7/8

When “acting out” is okay! Acting out – when it involves making astory come to life, that is – can perk up any lesson!

JULY/AUGUST 2006 25

Metropolitan from 14

efforts to resolve our administrative differences– particularly following the Fourteenth All-Ameri-can Council – were unsuccessful. I perceivedthat my administrative directives were treatedas opinion, especially as I attempted with theacting treasurer to chart a new course of fi-nancial management of the central administra-tion of the Church. The initial financial guide-lines that were to serve as the basis of the finan-cial management for this triennium were chal-lenged.

I informed the members of the Administra-tive Committee that, due to my dissatisfactionwith the manner in which the chancellor’s con-duct related to a number of areas of concern –especially after receiving a letter from thechancellor’s personal attorney on the eve of themeeting – and after careful and prayerful con-sideration, as well as a sleepless night, I foundit necessary to terminate him from his dutiesas chancellor of the Orthodox Church inAmerica. I also announced that, after carefulconsideration and wise counsel, I chose to en-gage the law firm of Proskauer Rose, on behalfof the Church, to initiate a full investigation ofvarious matters related to our central adminis-tration, particularly as they relate to all financialallegations that could be identified from varioussources.

Since the accounting firm of Lambrides,Lamos and Multhroup already had been engagedto conduct an independent audit of our 2004-2005 financial records – an ongoing process thatbegan in January 2006 – I asked them to coordi-nate their work with the attorneys from Pros-kauer Rose. As requested by the members ofthe Holy Synod of Bishops, I also authorizedthat all financial transactions related to specialand annual appeals conducted under the auspicesof the central administration of the Church from2001 to 2005 be audited. As a cost saving mea-sure, it was agreed that the activity of the auditorswould be used to supply the law firm with anyand all data that they needed to conduct a com-plete and thorough investigation.

As reported to the Lesser Synod of Bishopsat its meeting of April 28, 2006, questions wereraised by the independent auditors about fundsdistributed in years past, not only internationally,but domestically, without supporting documen-tation. It was further reported that, for a numberof years before the current independent audit,only compilation reports for each year, whichwere audited by the internal auditors of the Churchelected by the All-American Council, were avail-able. Though these may be considered as auditsby some, all will recognize that they are the leastreliable for any organization.

Though the work leading to an indepen-dent certified audit for 2004 is nearly complete, itis not yet known if the auditors can actually cer-tify the audit at this time. From 2005 andthereafter, however, with all procedures in therecently adopted “Best Practices” fully opera-

tive, an annual independent audit will be pro-duced.

Restoring our financial integrity.I also reported at that time that creditors wererightfully demanding payment for goods andservices rendered and that following the 2005fall session of the Metropolitan Council, actingtreasurer, Archpriest Paul Kucynda, began tosearch for an appropriate lender in earnest. Af-ter his efforts came to naught, I contacted theHonesdale National Bank in Honesdale, PA.On May 3, 2006, they offered a letter of com-mitment in the amount of $1,700,000.00 withoutpenalty for prepayment, 20 years in duration,and at the rate of 7.97% for the first 48 months.As you know, during the extraordinary telecon-ference meeting of the Metropolitan Council ofnearly two hours in duration on May 18, 2006,the commitment from the Honesdale NationalBank was accepted.

At this point I must emphasize that, as thePrimate of the Orthodox Church in Americaand, in light of the fact that I have taken fullresponsibility for all that has happened and isnow happening, I will not be apologetic for ex-ercising the leadership prerogatives afforded tothe Primate as described in the Statute of the Or-thodox Church in America. As I noted in myletter to the faithful on the fourth Sunday of GreatLent, not everyone will be pleased by my deci-sions – this includes even some among us gath-ered here. But the time to act had arrived. Ithad become clear to me that only an investiga-tion of our finances and financial practices, ap-propriate audits and reviews, would enable us todetermine the facts regarding these issues andhopefully bring closure to this dark period inour history.

Our differing opinions made pub-lic. What initially had been a series of long-standing, serious concerns with regard to financeshas, unfortunately, brought a number of otherissues to the surface, not the least of which is theunfortunate impression that the Holy Synod ofBishops is divided internally, that we inhabit ahouse divided against itself. This impression, tobe frank, has been evident in countless postingson the internet, on a number of web sites of ques-tionable nature, and in a variety of public internetforums and lists. Letters and other documentsintended to be confidential in nature, especiallybetween hierarchs, have been subject to posting,judgment, editorialization, and worse. Specifi-cally, the writings of His Grace, Bishop Tikhonof San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the West,not only questioning my position as Primate ofthe Church and challenging decisions I made inan effort to address the mounting issues we facecollectively, but also calling for my retirementand even deposition, have only complicated analready complex situation. If questions of finan-cial practices, past and present, have served topolarize many of our clergy and faithful, the slan-derous statements, demands, “revelations,” andother venom that has appeared on the internet

have only served to plant further distrust anddisenchantment. This was especially evidentduring the season of Great Lent, as the rhetoricintensified and internet postings multiplieddramatically. I have categorically stated that asPrimate of the Church, I take full responsibilityfor all decisions I have made related to the issueswe are attempting to address and resolve. I haveno intention of retiring or resigning. To do sowould not only hamper the investigation of ourfinances that has been undertaken, but wouldcreate further confusion and lack of trust amongthe clergy and faithful.

A reflection on competing ec-clesiologies. It is becoming clear that thereare somewhat different ecclesiologies operatingwithin our Church. This phenomenon is notlimited to the Orthodox Church in America, norto recent years, as we increasingly hear of therole of “democracy” in the Church. This merelyserves to call the hierarchical principle that standsat the center of Orthodox Christian ecclesiologyinto question, to create a “we/they” divide, and toreduce the Orthodox Church in America to a col-lection of autocephalous dioceses, each operat-ing independently of one another with no centraloversight and administration.

Naturally, in a culture such as ours, whereone continually hears about the “right to know”and “freedom of information” and “majorityrule,” the Church’s hierarchal principle andfundamental ecclesiology is bound to be chal-lenged and questioned as inconsistent with “de-mocracy.” But the fact of the matter is that theChurch is not a democracy, even though it existswithin a democracy. Nor is the Church a corpo-ration that, rejecting its fundamental nature andecclesiology, must conform to an exclusivelysecular business model. If we truly believe thatwe are guided by the Holy Spirit, then we mustuphold the hierarchical principle upon which ourecclesiology is based, even to the point of de-fending it in the face of those who would re-place it with a “by the people and for the people”model.

The conflicting ecclesiologies that have sur-faced have had an impact on our clergy and faith-ful, especially on the parish level. Polarization,the “taking of sides,” fear, and confusion haveinfected the life of our Church. I have spokenwith numerous clergy who are, pure and simple,afraid that their otherwise stable parishes andmissions have become preoccupied with poli-tics, “Synod-watching,” finger pointing, and thedarker aspects of the crises we are facing. It isimperative that we not only clearly state ourecclesiology, but that we apply it and live it, evenin instances in which the Primate must make adecision on behalf of all for the good of theChurch. This is especially so in instances inwhich the Holy Synod of Bishops and/or theMetropolitan Council must act with a unifiedvoice, with one heart and mind, as a model andexample of consensus. If we fail to acknow-

Metropolitan to 26

Metropolitan from 25

ledge this need, I fear that we face even darkerdays, especially on the parish level.

The implications of our financialcondition. With regard to the current fi-nancial status of the Orthodox Church in Ameri-ca, Father Kucynda, as acting treasurer, togetherwith Fathers Stavros Strikis, John Dresko, andEugene Vansuch, will offer detailed reports. Atthis time, however, I wish to note that in general,income from the “fair share” continues to be re-ceived from all dioceses. “Fair share” income isno longer being withheld by the Diocese of theWest.

Unfortunately, the response to date to Febru-ary’s Mission Appeal generated less than half ofthe $120,000.00 goal required to provide plant-ing grants to five mission communities and main-tain other missionary initiatives. This is but onematter that we must review with the utmost seri-ousness, as the planting grant program is crucialin maintaining and expanding our fundamentalmission as the Orthodox Church in America –namely the proclamation of the Gospel and theplanting of new communities, especially in re-gions with little or no Orthodox Christian pres-ence and witness.

The Chancery staff. With regard tothe Chancery offices, I have had a number ofmeetings, both individual and collective, with theother members of the Chancery staff. ArchpriestsDavid Brum and Joseph Fester both requested ablessing to seek new assignments. Effective July1, 2006, Father Brum will be released from du-ties as secretary to the Metropolitan to serve aparish in the Diocese of the West, while FatherFester will be released effective August 15, 2006to serve in the Diocese of the South. The remain-ing members of the Chancery staff continue toperform their duties in a responsible manner.

I have asked Fathers Kucynda and Dresko togather the necessary factual information that willlead to a review of the management chart as wellas individual job descriptions for all staff mem-bers, including the duties fulfilled by FathersBrum and Fester. With assistance, I will reviewthis information to determine the skills requiredand the best use of present staff members, aswell as to give consideration to additional staff ifnecessary. In some instances, tasks being doneby staff may be outsourced if it is determined thatthis is the most efficient way to proceed.

I have increased my presence at the Chan-cery, and will continue to do so, in an effort toimprove and promote better communications withthe staff, as well as make every effort to keep theessential services of the central administrationfunctioning as smoothly as possible during thisperiod of transition.

The ministries of the Church. Oneof the most important responsibilities associatedwith the central administration of the Church isto encourage and offer moral support and finan-cial resources to the many members of the Churchwho participate in a genuine labor of love.

With regard to our numerous departments,offices, boards, and commissions, much contin-ues to be accomplished with the excellent coordi-nation efforts of Matushka Michelle Jannakos,Church Ministries coordinating secretary. Ev-ery effort must be made to support the good workof all departments.

While our finances at this time are primarilylimited to income from diocesan fair share con-tributions, it is my hope that as trust and confi-dence is restored, all who in the past have sup-ported the Fellowship of Stewards of the Ortho-dox Church in America and the annual and spe-cial appeals will resume their ministry of gener-osity. As a final word in this matter, after moneyfrom the loan is used to restore all designatedfunds to their proper levels, the designated fundswill be distributed in a timely manner.

In conclusion, we must acknowledge,with one mind, that the Orthodox Church inAmerica is at a crossroad in its 212 year history.And I have no doubt that this session of theMetropolitan Council will be a pivotal one, notonly in dealing with our past and present, but incharting the course for our future. There are agrowing number of issues that need our undi-vided attention and require not only a consensus,but a commitment to maintain a consensus afterour session has ended. At no time in my experi-ence can I remember such an intense need forunity, for wise and objective leadership, and forthe laying aside of our personal concerns, wants,

26 VOLUME 42 7/8

and needs for the overall good of the Church.I exhort you, as brothers and sisters in Christ,

to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our midst, toguide us in addressing, once and for all, the is-sues we face, so that, as Saint Paul exhorts us,“everything may be done properly and in order.”I will not deny that this may indeed be a painfulprocess, but it is a necessary one if we are toremain faithful to the vision of the Church wehave inherited. As good stewards, we must cher-ish this gift, give thanks to God for His mercyand love, and use it to bring glory to His Name.

Clearly, if we fail to confront all that cur-rently confronts us, we will not only fail to re-store trust to the faithful of the Church, but wewill be dishonoring the calling which membersof the Metropolitan Council have been given.

Finally, I offer my heartfelt thanks and ap-preciation to the members of the Holy Synod ofBishops, the Metropolitan Council, the Chan-cery staff, the members of our departments, of-fices, boards, and commissions, and everyonewho has sacrificed so much in offering their time,talents, and treasures for the good of the Church.May God bless everyone for their support anddedicated service to Our Lord and to His People.

Through the intercessions of our Fatheramong the Saints, Herman of Alaska, and of allthe Saints of North America, may this session ofthe Metropolitan Council assist in bringing abouta new beginning in the life of our Church nowand in the days, months, and years to come!

Statement from 11

Metropolitan Council statement“2. We are implementing the stan-

dard protocol of ‘Best Practices’ for fi-nancial management for non-profits,which is posted on the OCA web site.

“3. We have approved a loan of $1.7million to pay our creditors and to re-store any and all monies borrowed fromearmarked funds. This loan is beingsecured by the properties on Martin Driveand our headquarters in Syosset, andwill be serviced out of operating funds.

“4. We have requested that HisBeatitude, Metropolitan Herman createa special financial oversight committeeto work with the treasurer and adminis-tration to assess and carefully manageall current funds, and to make thenecessary interim decisions to assurea balanced budget for 2006.

“5. We pledge to take appropriateaction relative to the findings andrecommendations of the auditors.

“It is our commitment to the do ourbest to rectify the mistakes of the past,to be fiscally responsible in the present,and to create an atmosphere of trust that

will ensure confidence among the faith-ful of the Church in the future.

“We also ask the following from you,the faithful of the Church:

“1. That you remain patient.“2. That you pray for us and for all

concerned in these matters.“3. That you continue to support the

Church.“Most of us went to the Metropolitan

Council meeting seeking answers tothe financial and ethical questions thatare facing our Church. It was also ourdesire to take responsibility for theduties entrusted to us by our respectivedioceses and the Church at large. Wealso believe that you, the faithful, wantand deserve the same answers, andthat you want us to do all that is neces-sary to make things right. It is our com-mitment to you to do just that, and tocommunicate clearly with you as to howthis is happening. We acknowledgeyour genuine love for the well being ofthe Church and we feel assured of yourprayers and support.”

JULY/AUGUST 2006 27

Acting Treasurer from 15

• $13,000.00 Medical assistance for cler-gy.

• $140,000.00 Outstanding All-AmericanCouncil expenses.

• $287,000.00 Outstanding invoices.• $87,560.00 Mission Appeal.• $151,940.00 Seminary Appeal.• $41,750.00 Charity Appeal.• $16,600.00 Christmas Stocking Project.• $90,590.00 9/11 emergency funds.• $34,640.00 Beslan relief.• $13,920.00 Florida hurricane relief.• $3,300.00 IOCC Appeal.• $27,500.00 Publication reserve.• $52,800.00 Academic Fellowship Fund.• $7,960.00 Seminary Internship Fund.• $270.00 Military Chaplain Reserve.• $25,000.00 Earmarked funds: Four

Russian orphanages.• $47,490.00 Closing expenses/miscella-

neous expenses.Other information concerning the rate of in-

terest, terms of payment, maturity, prepaymentprivilege and security which were contained inthe letter were the following:

3. The rate of interest will be 7.97% forthe first 48 months of the mortgage from theclosing date. It will have an interest rate floorof 7%.

4. Repayment will be made in monthly in-stallments of $14,300.00 applied first to interestand then to principle. On the 49th month, the rateof interest may change to the following: A NewYork Prime interest rate plus .25% for the next12 month period and a new payment shall becalculated to amortize the balance over theremaining term and shall readjust every 12thmonth thereafter for the term of the loan.

5. The loan shall mature on the 240th monthfollowing the date of the closing, at which timeall outstanding principal plus interest, if any,shall be due and payable and any amount thendue and owing.

6. The Borrower shall have the privilege onany installment payment date to prepay the un-paid principal indebtedness in whole or in partwithout payment of premium or penalty; no suchprepayment to alter the amount of the afore-said monthly installments.

7. The loan shall be secured with first mort-gages on the two properties owned free and clearby the Orthodox Church in America, namely theChancery building and property and the homeowned by the Church, both of which are inSyosset.

The anticipated date for closing on the loanis on or before July 3, 2006. Once the apprais-als of the properties are made in conjunctionwith the loan, they will become a part of the in-dependently audited financial report for theyear 2006.

Record keeping. In the 1980s, at atime when computers and computer programswere much more costly than they are today, a

used computer was purchased for use by thecentral Church administration from Saint Vladi-mir’s Seminary when they were upgrading theirequipment. The data base program that was writ-ten for the seminary’s use that came with thecomputer was adjusted to assist with the finan-cial record keeping needs of the central Churchadministration. In 1984, near the end of my firstterm as treasurer, at the suggestion of the Lam-brides, Lamos, and Moulthrop accounting firm,I proposed the purchase a financial managementprogram titled Great Plains Software, which wasdesigned specifically for not-for-profit organi-zations and which was the best of three programsin use by them and their other clients. This pro-posal was rejected by management. As a result,to this day, though some reports can be gener-ated directly from the current software program,many reports must be prepared by taking infor-mation from the data base and then creating areport.

Appropriate software designed for use bynot-for-profit organizations must be purchasedand in place before January 1, 2007 if we are tomaintain our financial records in conformity withcurrently accepted professional standards.

Since our relationship will continue with theLambrides, Lamos, and Moulthrop accountingfirm for the foreseeable future, such a programwill make it possible for them to review our fi-nancial activity regularly, on a quarterly ormonthly basis.

Confidentiality. In conjunction with ourteleconference meeting, I authored a cover letterconcerning confidentiality in matters that pertainto the Metropolitan Council. By some, this hasbeen interpreted as an attempt on my part to“cover up” or “keep information a secret.” It is anormal practice of the Metropolitan Council todisclose decisions after they are made, but pub-lic circulation before a responsible body such asthis Metropolitan Council makes their decisionis seldom, if ever, divulged beyond the member-ship of those who are to act in behalf of othersuntil a decision is made.

As a point of information, confidential mate-rial related to the loan was made available on theinternet on a web site that clearly states that theyare not officially a part of the Orthodox Churchin America, but are in some cases circulating “con-fidential” information.

Since the purpose of the loan contained inthe commitment letter was distributed to themembers of the Metropolitan Council after thispublic posting of the inaccurate information, itis reasonable to assume that information thatexisted before the commitment letter was final-ized was illegally taken from within this build-ing, divulged, made public, and presented asfact. This, however, was not the only breach ofconfidentiality that appears to be motivated byan effort to injure the Church and cast doubt onthe credibility of those who seek to serve her.

During this past week, you received an e-mail which included a number of questions posed

to me in preparation for this meeting. One of thequestions, for the purpose of my report, I willidentify as question #5. Question #5 concerns aloan of $50,000.00 that was offered and receivedat this time by my office so that current obliga-tions of the Church could be paid. The text ofQuestion #5 supports the conclusion that the au-thor of the question was only able to pose theirquestion on the basis of confidential informationavailable to a very limited number of staff work-ing within this building.

In Matthew 6:3 and 4, Our Lord and Savior,Jesus Christ, is quoted as saying, “But when yougive alms, do not let your left hand know whatyour right hand is doing, that your alms may bein secret; and your Father Who sees in secret willrepay you.”

The member of our Metropolitan Council whorevealed the identity of a faithful member ofour Orthodox Church in America – a memberof the Church who wished to confer a benefit onthe Church and, in keeping with Christ’s man-date, requested to remain anonymous – gave theirpersonal agenda priority over Christ’s com-mandment. What could possibly justify the vio-lation of one of the basic tenets of the Holy Scrip-tures and, in this case, a mandate from ChristHimself?

As members of the Metropolitan Council,we have a sacred duty to serve the Church and,through her, honor those who seek the Kingdomof God and strive to be faithful to Christ and Hiscommandments. The members of this councilare entitled to hear how such an act by a staffmember and a member of this council can bereconciled with that sacred duty.

Public disclosure of current fi-nancial activity. Assuming that the loanis finalized as anticipated and all funds as identi-fied in the commitment letter are restored, dis-closure of financial information available atthat time – in conformity with “Best Practices”and the most current federal legislation govern-ing financial disclosure by religious and othernot-for-profit organizations – will be made pub-lic.

I would like to thank His Beatitude, Metro-politan Herman for his trust and encouragementas I have attempted to approach all of my assign-ments with integrity and whatever talents Ihave that can be used to serve the Church. Iwould also like to thank those of you and otherswho have offered prayerful support to me since Ibegan my service as acting treasurer nearly ayear ago.

May the Holy Spirit “come and abide inus, cleanse us from every impurity, save oursouls,” and permit us to experience the everlast-ing joy of the eternal Kingdom of God. Everytime we are gathered together as brothers andsisters, with Jesus Christ in our midst, may wegive thanks to our Heavenly Father who, in spiteof our unworthiness, continues to love us andbe patient with us as we live as sojourners uponthe earth.

28 VOLUME 42 7/8

the omophorion of Archbishop Simon of Brussels andBelgium of the Moscow Patriarchate/ June 26, 2006.[SILVER], Riasaphor Monk James, is released frommonastic obedience to the Primate of the OrthodoxChurch in America, from attachment to St. SergiusChapel, Oyster Bay Cove, NY, and from the OrthodoxChurch in America/ July 24, 2006.

REMOVEDBLEAHU, The Rev. Remus, who was suspended,has had his suspension lifted and, at his own request, isremoved from the ranks of clergy of the Orthodox Church

in America by the Holy Synod/ May 24, 2006. PARISHES

DIOCESE OF ALASKA/ Name Change. St. Nicho-las Chapel, Nikolai, AK is renamed St. Peter the ApostleChurch/ June 1, 2006.BULGARIAN DIOCESE/ New Status. St. MaryMagdalene Mission, Fenton, MI is granted parishstatus/ June 20, 2006.DIOCESE OF THE WEST/ New Location. St. Inno-cent Mission, Fremont, CA is now located in Liver-more, CA/ June 22, 2006.

Official from 2and appointed priest-in-charge of St. Michael the Arch-an-gel Cathedral, Sitka, AK/ June 15, 2006.LICKWAR, The V. Rev. Joseph is appointed chancel-lor of the Diocese of Washington and New York/ May16, 2006. He is released as dean of the New JerseyDeanery, but remains rector of SS. Peter and PaulChurch, Jersey City, NJ and chancellor of the Dio-cese of Washington and New York/ June 16, 2006.MATUSIAK, Dn. Joseph is appointed director ofthe Department of Youth, Young Adult, and CampusMinistry/ June 6, 2006.MELITKOV, The Rev. Nikolay is attached to ThreeHierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood,NY/ May 20, 2006.MOSHER, The Rev. Joshua is released from ThreeHierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood,NY, and from the omophorion of Metropolitan Herman;transferred to the omophorion of Bishop Nikon; attach-ed to the Diocese of New England; and appointed act-ing rector of SS. Peter and Paul Church, Meriden, CT/July 1, 2006.NEUMANN, Dn. William John is attached to ThreeHierarchs Chapel, St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood,NY/ October 16, 2005.NEYTCHEV, The V. Rev. Dimitre is released fromSS. Cyril and Methodius Mission, Washington, DCand granted a leave of absence/ June 20, 2006.ORLOV, The V. Rev. Michael, who was suspended,has had his suspension lifted/ June 6, 2006.ROSTCHECK, Dn. David is attached to the Nativityof the Virgin Church, Monongahela, PA/ April 30, 2006.RUIZ-GOMAR, The Rev. Juan Pablo is attached toSt. Seraphim Church, Rawdon, QC, Canada, and willalso serve as a deanery supply priest/ April 29, 2006.SARAFIN, Dn. Christopher is assigned to Protectionof the Virgin Church, Merrillville, IN/ March 11, 2006.VALLENS, Dn. Alexander is released from St. TikhonMonastery Church, So. Canaan, PA, and from theomophorion of Metropolitan Herman; transferred tothe omophorion of Bishop Tikhon of San Francisco, LosAngeles, and the West; and attached to the Diocese ofthe West, where he awaits assignment/ June 8, 2006.VANSUCH, The Rev. Jason is assigned acting rectorof St. Nicholas Church, Norwich, CT/ June 17, 2006.VERNAK, Dn. Stephen is attached to St. Tikhon Mon-astery Church, So. Canaan, PA/ June 24, 2006.ZABINKO, The V. Rev. John is released from St.Michael the Archangel Cathedral, Sitka, AK and asdean of the Sitka Deanery and appointed dean of St.Innocent Cathedral, Anchorage, AK and dean of theAnchorage Deanery/ July 1, 2006.

LEAVES OF ABSENCENEYTCHEV, The V. Rev. Dimitre is granted a leaveof absence/ June 20, 2006.

RELEASEDBULANNIKOV, The Rev. Valerii is released from theNativity of the Virgin Mary Church, Menlo Park, CA,and the Diocese of the West; transferred to the omophor-ion of Metropolitan Herman; and further released fromthe Orthodox Church in America to Archbishop Ioannof Belgorod and Starooskolski, Russia/ May 20, 2006.ORLOV, The V. Rev. Michael is released from theomophorion of Metropolitan Herman and from theranks of clergy of the Orthodox Church in America to

WorldBriefs

Patriarch Aleksy II greetsMetropolitan Herman, ArchimandriteZacchaeus, during World Summit ofReligious Leaders in Moscow.

R U S S I A

OCA represented atWorld Summit ofReligious Leaders

is Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman,Hheaded the delegation from the Ortho-dox Church in America at the World Sum-mit of Religious Leaders held in Moscowduring the first week of July 2006.

Other members of the delegation in-cluded Archimandrite Zacchaeus, OCArepresentative in Moscow, and Archdea-con Alexei Klimitchev. Also attending asa representative of the World Conferenceof Religions for Peace was the Very Rev.Leonid Kishkovsky, a member of the OCAOffice of External Affairs and Inter-ChurchRelations.

At the gathering, sponsored by the Rus-sian Orthodox Church and the InterfaithCouncil of the Russian Federation, repre-sentatives of various faiths from numerouscountries spoke on the role of faith andreligion in modern society; responsible

protection and assertion of spiritual andmoral values in modern society; ways ofovercoming terrorism and extremism; edu-cation; the need for fostering the values offamily, human life, and equality of thesexes; morality in economics; overcomingpoverty; and many related topics.

B R A Z I L

Ecumenical Patriarchleads ecologicalsymposium

ore than 200 delegates traveled upMBrazil’s Amazon River with His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholo-mew I July 13-20, 2006, to explore the in-terplay between faith and caring for theearth. The delegation constitutes the sixthsymposium of international religious lead-ers, environmentalists, and policymakersthat he has led since 1995.

“We have come to listen to [the Ama-zon River’s] stories, to learn from its his-tory, to admire its fragile beauty, and togain hope for the entire world from its re-silience,” Patriarch Bartholomew said inhis opening symposium remarks.

Delegates aboard the 10 boats visitedthe port city of Santarem and discussed de-forestation and the loss of biodiversity inthe Amazon. Over the years, the sympo-sium has sailed the Baltic, Adriatic, Black,and Aegean Seas and the Danube River.

Patriarch Bartholomew first organizedthe “Religion, Science, and the Environ-ment” symposium in 1995 to “providecommon ground among the worlds of reli-gion, science, and the environment in theinterest of protecting the environment,”says the symposium’s web site.

Clergy surveyyields interestingresults

n early 2006, the Patriarch Athena-I goras Orthodox Institute, Berke-ley, CA, surveyed all active clergy inthe OCA Dioceses of the West andMidwest and the Greek Orthodox Me-tropolises of Chicago and San Fran-cisco. With 112 OCA clergy and 113GOA clergy responding, the surveyyielded some interesting results.

When asked, “what are the biggestproblems clergy face,” more GOA thanOCA priests reported “overwork” astheir greatest problem, while moreOCA clergy are challenged with pro-viding financially for their families.Twice as many GOA priests listed“apathy among parishioners” as theirgreatest concern.

When asked, “what should theChurch be talking about,” both OCAand GOA priests said that youth leav-ing the Church is their top concern.Family problems and clergy divorce,and remarriage of divorced clergy aremuch more urgent concerns for GOAthan OCA priests, while the process ofselecting bishops raises more ques-tions among OCA than GOA clergy.

Complete survey results may befound on the Institute’s web site atwww.orthodox institute.org.

29

NorthAmericaCourt refuses to intervenein Greek Archdiocese disputeNY Supreme Court Appellate Divisionunanimously dismisses suit against Archdiocese

n July 6, 2006, the NY Appellate Di-O vision, First Department, unanimouslyaffirmed the decision of Justice Ira Gammer-man dismissing a lawsuit against the GreekOrthodox Archdiocese of America by sev-eral individuals concerning the grantingof the Archdiocese’s 2003 Charter.

“It must be dismissed,” the Court wrotereferring to the lawsuit, “because it in-volves a question of internal governanceof a hierarchical Church.” The ruling ofthis Appellate case firmly supports long-established decisions and is consistentwith recent judgments on the OrthodoxChurch’s hierarchical nature by appellatecourts in Pennsylvania and Texas.

The Court ruled that the First Amend-ment of the US Constitution prohibits courtsfrom interfering with doctrinal and eccle-siastical affairs of a hierarchical Church,including matters of internal Churchgovernance. The Court relied on two US

Supreme Court decisions, Serbian EasternOrthodox Diocese of the USA. v Milivoj-evich, 426 US 696 (1976), and Marylandand Virginia Eldership of the Churches ofGod v. Church of God at Sharpsburg, 396U.S. 367 (1970). The Court reasoned thatif the suit were allowed to continue, thetrial court would be required to decidewhether the Ecumenical Patriarch had theauthority unilaterally to grant the Charter,which is “clearly a religious matter.”

The Court further stated, “on the verybasis of the Charter on which the plaintiffsrely, they cannot successfully dispute thehierarchical character of the Greek Ortho-dox Church.”

The complaint was originally broughtagainst the Greek Orthodox Archdioceseof America on September 16, 2004. Thearchdiocese has incurred costs in excess of$320,000.00 for its legal defense.

Source: Greek Archdiocese

experience to provide effective leader-ship, communicate the school’s vision,and interact with the seminary commu-nity and its supporters, donors, and con-stituencies.

Applications should be sent by Sep-tember 15, 2006, to the Search Commit-tee, Mrs. Alexandra Safchuk, Adminis-trative Secretary, 7126 River Rd., Be-thesda, MD 20817.

The search committee includes theVery Rev. John Dresko, trustee, chair;the Very Rev. Paul Nadim Tarazi, pro-fessor of Old Testament; the Rev. Alex-ander Rentel, assistant professor ofCanon Law and Byzantine Studies; andtrustees Protodeacon Peter Danilchickand Ms. Anne Van den Berg.

SVS opens search for new deant their May 2006 meeting, membersA of the board of trustees of Saint

Vladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood, NY,opened the search for a successor to theseminary’s dean, the Rev. John Erickson,whose five-year term ends June 30, 2007.

Father Erickson will continue in hisposition as the Peter N. Gramovich Pro-fessor of Church History.

As the school’s chief executive of-ficer, the dean supervises the seminary’sspiritual, educational, financial, and le-gal activities and represents the schoolbefore ecclesiastical, educational, reli-gious, and civil agencies.

Candidates should possess the quali-fications for a tenured faculty positionand demonstrate sufficient ability and

Albania from 13

Bishop NikonIn addition, Bishop Nikon visited the

Home of Hope foster home and orphanage,a project of the Church of Albania and theUN’s Development Program.

His Eminence, Metropolitan Johnhosted Bishop Nikon in the Diocese of Kor-ce, where they concelebrated the DivineLiturgy and toured the icon museum, thehistoric 10th century church in Mborja, andoutlying 17th century churches in Pogra-dec and Boboshtica – the ancestral villageof Bishop Nikon’s family.

Bishop Nikon also met with US mis-sionary teams sponsored by the OrthodoxChristian Mission Center and leaders of thecountry’s other faith traditions.

The semi-official visit was funded bythe OCA’s Albanian Archdiocese.

30 VOLUME 42 7/8

History from 18

Remembering Metropolitan Leontywhen the Fifth All-American Sobor was convened in November1934 to elect a successor to the late Metropolitan Platon, manyconsidered Bishop Leonty as the most viable candidate. How-ever, when the sobor’s delegates debated the proper procedurefor electing a Primate, Bishop Leonty suggested that they simplyacknowledge the senior hierarch, Archbishop Theophilus, as Pri-mate. To this suggestion, the delegates responded with a resound-ing cry of “Axios,” electing Archbishop Theophilus.

Until 1950, Bishop Leonty continued shepherding his Mid-west flock, while serving as Metropolitan Theophilus’ foremostassistant in guiding the Church through World War II, a decade-long period of ecclesiastical synergy and peace with ROCOR, thereopening of theological seminaries in America, and a failed at-tempt of ending estrangement from the Church in Russia.

By the time Metropolitan Theophilus died in 1950, the clergyand faithful knew that only one hierarch could be the next Met-ropolitan of All America and Canada. At the Eighth All-Ameri-can Sobor in December 1950, Archbishop Leonty was electedPrimate by a nearly unanimous vote. During his tenure, structurewas given to the Church through the adoption of a governingStatute in 1955. With his blessing, the first English-languageparishes were established; various pan-Orthodox initiatives, in-cluding the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bish-ops in the Americas and the Orthodox Christian Education Com-mission, were initiated; and preliminary steps were taken to theheal the rift with the Russian Church, ultimately paving the wayto autocephaly for the Orthodox Church in America.

After 15 years of service as Primate, Metropolitan Leonty peace-fully fell asleep in the Lord at his residence in Syosset, NY, onMay 14, 1965, and was interred at Saint Tikhon Monastery, SouthCanaan, PA.

Those who were blessed to have known Metropolitan Leontycherish his humility, prayerfulness, meekness, dignity, kindness,generosity, forbearance, thoughtfulness, sense of humor, vision,erudition and wisdom.

Alexis Liberovsky is archivist of the Orthodox Church inAmerica.

Council from 12

Metropolitan Council meetsformed during the episcopacy of His Eminence, Archbishop Gre-gory, now retired. At that time, it was decided that funds would bedivided between the Diocese of Alaska, Saint Herman’s Semi-nary, and the Orthodox Church in America. Bishop Nikolaichanged this form of administration of Church lands in the Dio-cese of Alaska. Instead of this form of support for the CentralChurch Administration, the diocese now tithes to the OCA, pro-viding more than would be available through land income. Fa-ther Isidore further reported that the total amount of land is lessthan 1,000 acres, divided principally between two villages.

Metropolitan Herman noted that this had previously been asource of income for the OCA, but that Bishop Nikolai changedthis provision on his own authority. This was brought to theattention of the Holy Synod of Bishops, although no further ac-tion was taken. At this time, Bishop Nikolai, as diocesan bishop,maintains direct oversight of the Church’s lands in Alaska.

Presentation of Dr. Skordinski. Dr. Faith Skordinskifacilitated a discussion titled "Where Do We Go From Here?" Sheobserved that no single member of the Metropolitan Council hasall the answers to this question and encouraged council membersto devise a map or blueprint for the Church’s future.

After dividing the council members into two groups, Dr.Skordinski asked them to (1) name three positive aspects aboutthe Metropolitan Council, and name three aspects of the Metro-politan Council that can be improved; (2) name three concreteactions that the Metropolitan Council can take to regain trustamong the faithful; (3) name three concrete actions that might beasked of the faithful during these extraordinary times; and (4) list,based on everything reported at the meeting, three things for whichthe Metropolitan Council needed to prepare in the future.

The council members reviewed their groups’ reactions to Dr.Skordinski’s suggested themes. Both groups arrived at similarconclusions, which included the need for more frequent meetingsof the Metropolitan Council; the need for more complete andaccurate reports; the need to produce press releases concerningthe latest developments in a timely manner; the need for issuingmore frequent financial reports, both to the Metropolitan Counciland the Church at large; the need for more clarity concerning therelationship between the Metropolitan Council and the HolySynod of Bishops; the need for clarification concerning the roleof the Administrative Committee, and the need for patience as thecurrent issues continue to be addressed.

Statement of behalf of the Metropolitan Coun-cil. In order to convey to the faithful, as well as the broaderpublic, the unity that had evolved at the meeting and to summa-rize the decisions made during the two-day meeting, Father Mat-thew Tate was authorized to draft a release on behalf of the Metro-politan Council. [The text is found on page 11.]

Two additional meetings in 2006. Prior to adjourn-ing the meeting, Metropolitan Herman stated that considerationwill be given to convening more frequent meetings of the Metro-politan Council. He noted that the next regular meeting will beheld on November 10, 2006, although an additional meeting hasbeen scheduled tentatively for September 28-29, 2006.

Council members participating in the meeting included theVery Rev. Vladimir Berzonsky, the Very Rev. Theodore Boback,

the Very Rev. Sergei Bouteneff, Archimandrite Isidore [Brittain],Mr. Daniel Crosby, Mr. Michael Gregory, the Very Rev. GeorgeHasenecz, Ms. Minadora Jacobs, Mr. Robert Kornafel, the VeryRev. John Onofrey, Mr. Gary Popovich, the Very Rev. Philip Reese,the Very Rev. Gregory Safchuk, Mr. Richard Schneider, Dr. JohnSchultz, Ms. Eleana Silk, Dr. Faith Skordinski, the Very Rev. IgorSoroka, the Very Rev. Matthew Tate, the Very Rev. John Tkachuk,Dr. Richard West, the Very Rev. Michael Westerberg, the VeryRev. Constantine White, Dr. Alice Woog, and Mr. John Zoranski.The Very Rev. David Brum served as secretary to the meeting.

Visit the Fellowship of Orthodox Stewardslink at www.oca.org to learn how youand your parish can help expandthe work of the OCA’s departments!

Communities

Canadian parish helps ChineseOrthodox missionsHAMILTON, ON, CANADA – Bishop Seraphim of Ottawa andCanada joined area clergy and some 60 members of All Saintsof North America Church here at the parish’s first annualdinner to support Orthodox missions in China June 24, 2006. CN$3,000.00 was raised to support the Boston-basedChinese Orthodox Translations Project and to help provideseminary training for Orthodox missionaries in Hong Kongand Moscow, said Fr. Geoffrey Korz, All Saints’ rector. Prior to the dinner, which featured delicious Chinese fare,Bishop Seraphim led the faithful in the celebration of theAkathistos Hymn honoring China’s Orthodox martyrs.

31

NJ priest, family, visit AlaskaKODIAK, AK –In what they de-scribe as “the tripof a lifetime,” Fr.Gary and Ma-tushka MaryBreton and theirfamily of Brick,NJ, traveled toSt. Herman’sSeminary here inMay to attendcommencementceremonies. The Bretons“adopted” one ofthe graduates, Fr. Alexander Larson, three years earlier throughOutreach Alaska’s “Adopt a Seminarian” program. “When we arrived in Kodiak, we were finally able to meetFr. Alexander and his family in person after three years ofcorrespondence and exchanging pictures and videos,” saidMatushka Mary. “How wonderful it was – especially sincetwo of the Larson’s children are the same age as our children!We were warmly welcomed into the seminary community!” While in Alaska, the Bretons visited Spruce Island, whereSt. Herman of Alaska spent much of his life, in addition toattending the commencement and banquet that followed. “Our pilgrimage provided us, from the ‘lower 48,’ with amuch closer look at native Alaskan culture and life-style,”Matushka Mary added. “At the seminary, the families arevery close and, in fact, many are related to each other. Welearned about life in the villages, in the ‘bush,’ comparedwith city life in Kodiak.” In order to pursue their studies, many seminarians leftjobs in the villages, which supplemented their “subsistence”life-style and culture, by which they need to catch, prepare,and store sufficient food to eat during the long, dark winter. “Because subsistence living is prevalent in the villageswhere many of the newly ordained clergy are assigned, andbecause many are late vocations with the families to support,there is no cash infrastructure in place to provide graduateswith the means to repay education loans,” said MatushkaMary, who was recently nominated as a seminary trustee.“In order to address this reality, Bishop Nikolai and the semi-nary board of trustees have extended free tuition, room, book,and board scholarships to entering seminarians. A positiveresult of this is that the native clergy do not have to add theresponsibility of repaying loans to the huge challenge ofliving in Alaska. A negative result is the reliance of theseminary on donations to fund 100% of its budget.” A current goal of the board calls for continuation of theschool’s scholarship policy by expanding the seminary’ssupport base, implementing a capital campaign to buildadditional housing, and developing an endowment fund.

The Bretons, standing on either sideof the Larsons, at SHS commence-ment. The Bretons sponsored theLarsons through the Alaskan Diocese’s“Outreach Alaska” program.

Bishop Seraphim addresses faithful attending dinner toraise funds for Orthodox missionary efforts in China.

Bulgarian Diocese meetsBURTON, MI – Clergy and lay representatives fromparishes of the OCA’s Toledo-based Bulgarian Dioceseheld their 44th diocesan conference at Saint NicholasChurch here June 24-25, 2006. Archbishop Kyrill of Pittsburgh, Western Pennsyl-vania, and the Bulgarian Diocese, opened the gather-ing with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy for thefeast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. The years 2006 and 2007 mark the 30th anniver-sary of the diocese’s entrance into the OrthodoxChurch in America and the 42nd year of ArchbishopKyrill’s tenure as the diocese’s ruling hierarch.

32

CommunitiesSend photos and news to TOC Communities,One Wheaton Center 912, Wheaton, IL 60187 or toinfo@oca.org.

Deanery. Fr. Joseph received a standing ovation for hisspeech, which traced Fr. Sergius’ life and service to theOrthodox Church, from his childhood as a priest’s son in Penn-sylvania to his studies at Columbia University and St. Vladimir’sSeminary, through the three parishes he served – HolyTrinity Church, New Britain, CT; St. Theodosius Cathedral,Cleveland, OH; and SS. Peter and Paul, South River, NJ –all of which celebrated their 100th anniversaries during hislifetime. Fr. Sergius is currently attached to Holy AnnunciationChurch, Brick, NJ.

The Kuharskys celebrate two50th anniversariesSOUTH RIVER, NJ – Fr. Sergius and Faith Kuharsky recentlycelebrated the 50th anniversaries of their wedding andFr. Sergius’ ordination to the priesthood. On Sunday, February 19, 2006, Fr. Sergius celebratedthe Divine Liturgy at SS. Peter and Paul Church, South River,NJ, which he had served for many years until the time of hisretirement and appointment as pastor emeritus. Fr. DavidGarretson, rector, led the faithful in a Service of Thanksgivingand presented the Kuharskys with a citation on behalf ofMetropolitan Herman and the Holy Synod of Bishops. Later, the Kuharskys were honored at a dinner party heldat Daria Hall at St. Vladimir Church, Trenton, NJ. Theirentire family, with the exception of two grown grandchildren,attended. All of the couple’s four children – Andrew ofGreenville, SC; Gallia of Ojai, CA; Sergei of Princeton

Junction, NJ; and Paulof Nashville, TN – spokeat the dinner, as didlongtime friend, Fr.Daniel Hubiak, formerOCA chancellor. Otherspeakers includedJoseph Baldowski,former president of theFellowship of OrthodoxChristians in America,who spoke about Fr.Sergius’ tenure asFOCA spiritual advisor,and Fr. Joseph Lickwar,dean of the New Jersey

500 faithful anointed atCanadian monasteryDEWDNEY, BC, CANADA – A reported 503 faithfulgathered in the shadow of the majestic mountainssurrounding All Saints of North America Monastery hereon Sunday, June 18, 2006, for the annual celebration of thesacrament of Holy Unction. Archbishop Lazar, former arch-bishop of Ottawa, and Bishop Varlaam, former bishop ofVancouver, concelebrated the service with nine priestsrepresenting OCA parishes in British Columbia’s lowermainland. Later the same day, the monastery’s new cedar entrancegate was blessed, after which the pilgrims enjoyed afestive banquet.

The Kuharskys celebrate50 years of ministry, marriage.