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Greek America - July 15, 2002
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Inching Closer to Autonomy as
Delegates Ask for Updated Charter;
Ball Now in Patriarch's Court
Hundreds of delegates of the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of America
approved controversial new recommendations to their charter that would grant
it greater autonomy from its current
leadership at the Ecumenical
Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey.
The delegates said the move signaled
a yearning for an independent church
that would remain linked to the mother
church, headquartered in Istanbul,
Turkey, but not completely controlled by
it. The new charter must still be accepted by the Istanbul Patriarchate.
Under the proposed changes, Greek
Orthodox hierarchs in the United States
would submit three nominees for future
archbishops to the Patriarchate for a
final decision. The American church
would elect its own bishops and all candidates must have at least 5 years of
experience of active ministry in the
American Archdiocese.
Church leaders in Istanbul currently
appoint both bishops and archbishops
for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America and are intimately involved in
its administrative affairs.
In earlier negotiations, Istanbul
rejected a request from the U.S. church
members for a greater role in the selection of bishops and archbishops.
The current Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew has experienced a rocky
relationship with his American
Archdiocese. In 1994, former Archbishop
Iakovos, who had been at the helm of
the American church for almost 40
years, gathered leaders of other ethnic
Orthodox Churches in an attempt for
"administrative unity."
The move startled the Patriarchate as
it feared losing its most influential and
cash-heavy Archdiocese in America to a
new, unified American Orthodox church.
Bartholomew asked for Iakovos’ resignation. |
In 1996, the Synod of Bishops in
Istanbul appointed Archbishop Spyridon
to the post. Following a turbulent three
years in office as Spyridon attempted to
make changes in the American Church
following a 37-year Iakovos tenure, the
Istanbul hierarchs ordered his resignation in 1999 and appointed Archbishop
Demetrios to the post.
Photo:
GOA-Demetrios Panagos
Archbishop Deme-
trios delivers his message to the delegates of the Clergy Laity Con-
gress in Los Angeles
In a pre-emptive move to reassure
delegates at the Congress, Bartholomew,
through an emissary he sent to Los
Angeles, delivered a message stating
that "The Ecumenical Patriarchate does
not have either the possibility or the
intention to interfere in the self-governing of the Holy Archdiocese of America
and of the Parishes and Communities or
Institutions that are under it. Neither
does it have the intention to restrict the
autonomy of the above that has existed
for some time."
Some 750 delegates attending early
July’s Greek Orthodox Clergy-Laity
Congress in Los Angeles, California,
approved the new charter during a voice
vote. The mere discussion of the controversial matter surprised many as previously, Metropolitans Maximos
(Pittsburgh), Methodios (Boston) and
Antonios (San Francisco) gave interviews
to various Greek American newspapers
stating that the charter issue would not
be discussed at the Congress and that
the charter issue was a "done deal."
This was not to be the case. Prior to
the discussion on the charter, members
of the Orthodox Christian Laity, an
organization calling for autonomy of the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America,
presented a resolution beseeching the
Patriarchate for the American Church's
independence. That motion was ruled
out of order.
Discussion opened after Dr. John
Collis, an active member of the autonomy movement, rose to the floor and
asked for the current charter's approval,
if the recommendations of the delegates
were added to it, namely:
-
That provisions be maintained in
the charter for participation by both
clergy and laity in church governance
- That the Archbishop of America
be selected from a list of three candidates proposed by the American Synod
of Bishops
- That the Bishops in America be
elected by the American Archdiocese
- That candidates for Archbishop
have a minimum of five years experience
in the church in America
The recommendations made by the
delegates have been sent to Istanbul,
for final approval by Bartholomew.
Members of the Archdiocese, including
organizations like the Orthodox Christian
Laity, which was instrumental in informing delegates about the proposed charter discussions, are anxiously awaiting
the decision by the Istanbul hierarchs.
Many observers say that the outcome
will be historic for the American Church
and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. If
Patriarch Bartholomew allows the
changes to be made to the charter, the
move will, in essence, signal a new
beginning of autonomy for the Greek
Orthodox Church in America founded by
immigrants early last century.
If, on the other hand, the requests
are not granted, some say there will be a
full-scale revolt, with the ultimate goal
of breaking off ties with the Ecumenical
Patriarchate. The revolt, some say, could
lead to a unified American Orthodox
Church with other ethnic jurisdictions
joining forces, or to an independent
Greek Orthodox Church in America.
[ Greek America - July 15, 2002 - p. 6 ]
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