PANORTHODOX BISHOPS' statements ON THE CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA & MISSION AND EVANGELISM (1994 Conference -Ligonier, PA)
At both the recent SPECIAL CONVENTION of our Archdiocese held in Pittsburgh, PA, (July 16-18) and the biennial CLERGY SYMPOSIUM held at the Antiochian Village (July 19-22) there were many references to and much discussion about the SCOBA-sponsored PANORTHODOX BISHOPS' CONFERENCE hosted by our Father and Primate METROPOLITAN PHILIP a decade ago (November 30-December 2, 1994) at the Antiochian Village. Two (2) bold and challenging documents were produced by the twenty-eight (28) hierarchs who were present for that historic convocation:
I. A STATEMENT ON THE CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA which was signed by twenty-seven (27) of the twenty-eight (28) hierarchs present; and
II. A STATEMENT ON MISSION AND EVANGELISM which was signed by all twenty-eight (28) of the hierarchs present.
Although much time has gone by (and much malaise has characterized inter-Orthodox cooperation) since these documents were first released to the Orthodox Christian clergy and laity of North America, their relevance has not diminished in the least.
These documents are now posted in HTML and PDF format on Antiochian.org. Readers may see the signatures (not just the names) of the signatories -- several of whom are now in retirement (Greek Archbishop IAKOVOS, OCA Bishop MARK, Greek Bishop PHILOTHEOS, OCA Metropolitan THEODOSIUS) and several of whom are now deceased (Serbian Metropolitan IRINEJ, Greek Bishop PHILIP, Greek Metropolitan SILAS, Romanian Archbishop VICTORIN).
May God grant that the 10th anniversary of the Ligonier Conference be the impetus for a renewed interest in and commitment to Orthodox unity.
Read them here in HTML form:
A STATEMENT ON THE CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA which was signed by twenty-seven (27) of the twenty-eight (28) hierarchs present; and
A STATEMENT ON MISSION AND EVANGELISM which was signed by all twenty-eight (28) of the hierarchs present.
or in PDF form:
A STATEMENT ON THE CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA
A STATEMENT ON MISSION AND EVANGELISM
Statement On The Church In North America
STATEMENT ON THE CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA
STANDING
CONFERENCE OF CANONICAL ORTHODOX
BISHOPS IN THE
AMERICAS
CONFERENCE OF
BISHOPS
Antiochian
November 30
We, the Orthodox Hierarchs in the United States
and Canada, assembled
at the Antiochian
Village, Ligonier, Pennsylvania from November 30 through December 2,
most sincere gratitude to the venerable Fathers and Brothers, the Hierarchs of our
Mother Churches beyond the seas for
their love and concern, exhibited by
the prominence given to the "diaspora" on the agenda for
in the Adopted Texts of the
Inter-Orthodox Preparatory
Commission.
We await the next meeting of the Commission
referred to in the Adopted Text of
the Church in North America be directly
and concretely represented at that and future meetings. How is it possible for there to be discussion about the future of the Church in North America in our absence? We must be present
to share the two hundred years of experience that
territories that have
His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch
to seek a way, through the venerable Hierarchs of the Standing
the other Mother Churches to
support this initiative. The demands upon our Church's life by
for its officers to be granted an
Patriarch and the other Patriarchs
and Primates of the Mother Churches
to discuss the North American reality.
Furthermore, we have agreed that we cannot accept the term
"diaspora" as used to
term is ecclesiologically problematic. It diminishes the fullness of the faith that we have lived and experienced
ways in which the Church in North America has matured, it is important to
recognize that much has been done as the natural and organic response of Orthodox Christians who
share the same faith while living together in one
already existing structures. Some are formal. The first of these is SCOBA itself. There are in addition various
agencies of SCOBA
such as the International
Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), the Orthodox Christian Education Commission (OCEC), the Orthodox Theological
American-wide pan-Orthodox efforts. There are also less formal structures such
as the joint meetings of
our theological schools and seminarians,
the joint monastic assemblies, the local councils of churches and clergy
brotherhoods, and sacred art and liturgical music associations. They give
witness to the strong foundation upon which we continue to build.
To this end, all of our efforts should be
coordinated within an
overall ecclesial framework.
This would provide the freedom and flexibility to allow us to organically
united Church. As in any Orthodox ecclesiological
local Church there are three levels. The first is the
diocesan. And the third is the local
or deanery. All of these depend upon
and grow out of the parish which is the primary place where
On the national or continental level the body
which coordinates the life of a Church is
the Synod of Bishops. We have had in SCOBA an Executive Committee that has
guided Church life in North America for over
thirty years. In convening this present
Conference of Bishops, we find
ourselves to be an Episcopal Assembly, a
precursor to a General Synod of
Bishops. We express our joy that in addition to the regular meetings of SCOBA,
basis to enhance the movement toward
The regional level presents a special challenge
because this is one area in which few models of cooperation presently exist. Bishops who
regularly. They should coordinate activities, encourage clergy and laity to get to know one another
and to work together, and
initiate concrete joint programs. In essence, they should duplicate regionally
continental level for the past thirty three years.
The local level is where the greatest diversity
of models presently exists.
These range from
very informal clergy
or lay associations to highly structured clergy brotherhoods
or clergy and lay councils of churches. The bishops of a given
together with other
model, bishops should seek to
formalize and regularize those models that already exist. In areas where there
in that locality. The principle is to encourage diverse models
The Church in North America also benefits
together should be encouraged by their hierarchs so that the monastics might share their spiritual experience and
wisdom with one another and with the
We would like to emphasize again:
outline or framework
within which the whole Church in North America can grow
in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father who sent Him, and the Holy Spirit who continually makes Him known to us.
The visible unity of the Church is a profound witness of our love for Him and for one another.
and bless our Christ-loving flocks: the pious priests, deacons, monastics, and laity--who, praying and laboring
their prayers and
glory of God and His Holy Church.
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Statement on Mission and Evangelism
Statement on Mission and Evangelism
SCOBA Conference of Bishops
Antiochian
Village, Ligonier, Pennsylvania
November 30-December
after Christ coincides with a unique missionary challenge to the Orthodox Church around the world.
To mention only two dimensions
of this challenge will show its scope. 1) The fall of communist totalitarianism in Central and Eastern European countries opens the way
for the reevangelization of the peoples of
these countries. 2) In the United States and Canada
millions of people are unchurched, the societies are afflicted with a spiritual
and moral vacuum, and the Orthodox Church is therefore presented with a challenge to bear witness to the Orthodox
faith and to evangelize.
We, the Orthodox bishops of North America, assembled at the Antiochian Village, Ligonier, Pennsylvania, November
30-December 2, 1994, have heard an address on Mission and Evangelism by His
Eminence, Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese,
and a response by His Eminence, Archbishop Dmitri of Dallas, Orthodox Church in
America, and have reflected together on the
missionary task of the Orthodox Church in North America.
We
wish to express the following convictions and commitments regarding mission and
evangelism in North America:
It is our
conviction that mission is the very nature of the Church, and is an essential
Church is therefore commanded by the Lord
Jesus Christ to teach, to preach, and to make disciples of all nations; -
It is our conviction that the Orthodox
Church's history and experience give numerous
examples of commitment to mission and to the preaching of the Good News of
Christ (missions to the Slavs, missions in Siberia, China, Korea, and Japan,
the evangelization of the Alaskan native people, and contemporary mission in
Africa, Indonesia and Albania);
We believe
that our task in North America is not limited to serving the immigrant
missionary task, the task of making
disciples in the nations of Canada and the United States; -
bishops, clergy and laity -
and work together in order to do mission work together;
We commit ourselves to show
special pastoral attention to couples coming to marry in
their Orthodox Christian education and inauguration into Church life.
We commit ourselves to the
evangelization, or re-evangelization, of those many people who call themselves
Orthodox, and have indeed been baptized and chrismated in our churches, but
whose lives are in fact distant from the fullness of the Orthodox
sacramental life; - We commit
ourselves to avoiding the creation of parallel and competitive Orthodox
efforts and programs to do mission, leaving behind
mission, moving forward towards a concerted,
formal, and united mission program in order to make a real
and evangelism; - We strongly
endorse the unified Orthodox Christian Mission Center, the Mission
Conferences (at present co-sponsored by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian
the Orthodox Church in
America
efforts and programs here and throughout the world;
We commit ourselves to express a
common vision of mission and to work towards this end in the teaching of
mission as an important part of the theological education of
We
respectfully petition His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch to convene a
world conference of
mission representatives to help coordinate Orthodox mission strategies
We Orthodox in North America
commit ourselves to bringing our household into order for the sake of the preaching of the Good News of Jesus Christ, His
Incarnation and His teaching, His crucifixion, death, burial, and
resurrection, and His presence in the Church
through the descent of the Holy Spirit.
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