† Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Sobor, Vancouver

16th ALL-AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE OCA
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bellevue WA
October 31 – November 4, 2011

20111102 All American Council-16 / Google Photos

The 16th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America took place west of the Mississippi for the first time, in the Diocese of the West. It allowed Alaskan clergy to participate fully for the first time. The theme was “Household of Faith” (Gal.6:1-10). The very act of gathering together every three years is an essential aspect of what it means to be the autocephalous Orthodox Church in North America.

The Council was attended by 10 hierarchs, 256 clergy delegates, 236 lay delegates, 3 retired clergy, 97 observers and 7 guests. Archbishop Justinian of Naro-Fominsk, administrator of Patriarchal parishes in America, and bishop Kirill of ROCOR also visited. Archpriest Ian Pac-Urar was elected Clergy Chair and judge E. R. Lanier – Lay Chair; he directed most of the meetings.

A chapel was set up in the Grand Ballroom. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated every morning at 7 am and Vespers were served at 6 pm. A 50-person choir sang. Bells called the faithful to prayer. Icons and relics of the Saints of North America were revered.

An orthodox fair took place in the ground floor ballroom. Over 20 merchants offered books, icons, vestments and other merchandise. Receptions were held there.

The weather was good throughout, but there was no time for sightseeing – we delegates were busy from 7 am to 10 pm, with only meal breaks. The most important business took place during the first plenary meeting on Monday. After welcome messages from the Local Bishop, his Grace Benjamin, and the Local Committee, the Primate in his address apologized to the faithful for his failure of leadership, making no excuses. These three years have been an administrative disaster. And I need to accept full responsibility for that and for my part in it. He promised to undergo a procedure of “evaluation” for clergy, together with two other Synod members. The bishop of the West and other members of the Synod assured the flock that communication and cooperation in the Synod has been restored.

The next three days the morning plenary sessions were devoted to reports and resolutions, while the afternoon sessions were Strategic Plan workshops by theme. On Tuesday morning, we heard the reports of the interim Chancellor and the Secretary, and the Strategic Plan overview. The Strategic Plan was mandated by the previous Council in order to address the issues of the past and make corrective actions for the future. We heard a video message from matushka Juliana Schmemann. Fr. Alexander Garklavs was given thanks for his work. The new chancellor is Archpriest John Jillions from Ottawa. Resolutions were adopted in support of missions to the deaf, and to the Afro-American community. The resolution for a Journey of Orthodox Youth Sunday was defeated. Resolutions on sanctity of marriage, support for seminaries and promotion of monasteries were later adopted.

Fr. Michael and I were assigned to the Parish Development workshop, the biggest one. Each delegate was assigned to a workshop according to preferences. We had a “brain storm” directed by subdeacon Dr. Dmitry Solodow. There was a notable difference between the stories told by old ethnic parishes and the new missionary parishes. Other workshops dealt with Evangelization, Leadership/Management, Funding, Theological Education, Continuing Education, Young Adults, Diocesan Relationships, Inter-Orthodox Relations and Contemporary Issues.

The evening sessions were Department Workshops. Joseph Cormos and Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff gave an exciting presentation on Parish Revitalization. Other workshops were Christian Education and Institutional Chaplains. Downstairs the Saint Tikhon and Saint Vladimir Seminary reception took place.

On Wednesday morning the Canadian delegation served with great distinction. Then we heard Departments reports, Treasurer and Auditors’ reports, the Metropolitan Council reports. For the first time since 1998 we have a clean audit opinion. In the afternoon, we continued in the Strategic Plan workshops and came up with a summary of ideas and resolved to create an informal network for continuing work after the Council. A post-Conciliar Committee will be created to move this work along, and the Metropolitan Council was asked to seek additional sources of funding.

In the evening the clergy and choir from Alaska served the akaphist to the Sitka icon of the Theotokos. After the service there was a party in bishop Irenee’s suite. At that time there were Department Workshops on Christian Service and Evangelization, and the reception for IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities), OCMC (Orthodox Christian Mission Center) и FOCUS (Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve).

On Thursday morning time was consumed by resolutions voting. The assessment resolution caused the most debate. Canadian delegates abstained from voting. In the afternoon, elections to the Metropolitan Council were held, and then Sociologist Alexei Krindatch made a very interesting presentation of the state of the OCA and Orthodoxy in America. Summary of Strategic Plan workshops: 30+ potential projects identified and 100+ people signed up.

Thursday night there was a reception in the foyer followed by the formal dinner. There was a slide-film on the life of the late Archbishop Dimitry (Royster) of Dallas and the South.
Hierarchical Liturgy with all hierarchs was served on Friday. Gramotas were awarded to leaders of the Local Committee. We heard the final reports and voted on the final resolutions. Resolution on guidelines for internet behavior was defeated. The Metropolitan announced the Council adjourned at noon; we prayed and went home to work on building “the household of faith” in our parishes.

The reports we heard are available at the Council website www.aac16.org
Podcasts of the plenary sessions are available at the OCA website www.OCA.org