Posted by Leo on 9/12/2007, 3:07 pm, in reply to "Death, decision, and the future" (For the information of those [like me] who hadn't seen Abp NATHANIEL's remarks, they're here.) I'm surprised your post hasn't drawn responses before my own, because if what I read here is right, this is the first potential instance of an "ethnic Orthodox" jurisdictional integration (my preferred term) into one or more ostensibly-territorial, theoretically-pan-ethnic dioceses. I hadn't seen Archbishop NATHANIEL's post before yours. I was surprised at what he said, since I've read he's such an Orthodox Unity advocate. I understand what he's saying; in fact it may have been Providential that I've begun my Orthodox life in the very ethnic GOA instead of my preferred OCA (territorial) or AOA, because I came into Orthodoxy pretty cocky about many of the issues we discuss here (and formerly over on the other forum), and not very sensitized to ethnic-Orthodox perspectives. (My choice of parish was governed by my health problems: since I thought I'd be able to receive home visits [since I knew I couldn't get to church very often], I thought I shouldn't unnecessarily burden a more distant OCA or AOA priest. The parishes most convenient to my house were two Ukrainian [EP] parishes and a Greek one. In Protestant seminary I did a year of Scriptural [Koine] Greek, their worship-language - with roughly half-English at this parish - so I figured the latter experience would be a little less alien to me than Liturgy in Ukrainian and English! Ironically, my health does not lend itself to home visits! But I've encountered Greek perspectives vicariously perhaps, at least.) However, if the OCA Bulgarian Diocese is, as you say, not even very Bulgarian anymore, I'm not sure there's much left to defend or protect. Although I have observed that even the ethnic Carpatho-Russians of the OCA's territorial dioceses seem to be reconnecting with their particular heritage (vs. traditional ACROD charges/fears of "Russification"), if they were ever truly out-of-touch with it. Add to that the growing numbers of converts, and "cradles" of other ethnicities who've joined the OCA territorial dioceses in recent decades, and I'm not sure there's much to worry about on the part of the Bulgarians if they were to consider integration in some form. But in fact, they have been a small Local Orthodox Church, or part of another one, for quite a while now, since "before World War II." So however willing they may be to integrate (if they themselves are), it would still have to be handled well, so to speak, and if it can't, perhaps there's no need to rush it. Religious-organizational change can be traumatic even amid the best of intentions and sensitive of participants, and since this IS Unity we're talking about, ISTM it would be better to wait and do it right, than to rush it and risk unnecessary divisiveness, grudges, traumas, etc. How this is accomplished might even be studied amid future attempts or considerations; accomplishing Orthodox Unity will be "for the ages," as they say! Just my two beads' worth,
Father bless---
Leo
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