Posted by Fr. Steven J. Vlahos
on 6/12/2009, 8:15 pm
The vast amount of postings relative to the so-called 4th All Orthodox Pre-Conciliar Consulation on the so-called "Diaspora" and the future of the union of the Orthodox Churches in North America expose a great deal of interest.
Personally, I'm fascinated by the fact that no member of the hierarchy although charged by the Holy Spirit to serve the People of God have taken an interest in this most significant topic that relates to the revival, survival and union of Orthodoxy after the passing of the immigrants and their offspring and the demise of the ethnic ghettos.
Could it be that our American hierarchs have taken oaths of allegience to the foreign hierarchs and patriarchates and that they therefore have no vested interest in unifying American Orthodoxy and creating an autocephlous, independent, self-governing Church?
Personally, I continue to live under the notion that Orthodoxy was different from papal Rome and that our Church was synodal and functioned in a participatory manner that was inclusive of the laity, priests and hierarchy.
Lately, all we hear about are the "rights and privileges" of foreign thrones and about political canon laws written centuries ago before America was discovered.
Can the past lead us to the present and to a united future? Can tradition connect us with the past without depriving us of the future? Does Christ, sacred scriptures and the holy fathers have anything to say that relates to what is going on?
Responses:
