| Orthodox Unity Gaining Momentum |
By Bishop David (Jones)
President of the UAO and Pastor of St. Innocent Orthodox Church
While unity among Orthodox jurisdictions and the development of a truly American Orthodox identity have always been an integral part of the United American Orthodox Catholic Church (UAO) agenda, we have not seen much progress. Since Archbishop Aftimios was, in 1927, charged with “the full responsibility and duty of caring and providing for American Orthodoxy in the special sense of Orthodox Catholic people born in America,” we have seen only a few small advances--and many setbacks--toward recognition of the American Church. Fortunately, there is a new effort in this direction, and we are seeing the emergence of new champions, ready to throw off the image of Orthodoxy as a foreign church led by foreign hierarchs who appear more interested in furthering their national agendas than in building up the Body of Christ in the United States.
In the past, the efforts toward an American Church seemed to be limited to furthering the autonomy of one or another of the ethnic jurisdictions operating in this country. They fought for permission to elect their own bishops, to modify their own charters, and to address other internal issues. But today, the issues have become more focused. There is a growing awareness that the only real solution lies with the believers in all of the varied Orthodox jurisdictions in America coming together to create a Holy Synod and elect a Patriarch.
In the last few years we have begun to see new organizations led by laity and dedicated to advancing Orthodoxy in the United States. While not new, Orthodox People Together is once again making their presence known and renewing their commitment to unity. The Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) is a new organization, born out of recent conflicts within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, but is rapidly gaining support from many other Orthodox Christians. One figure has risen to prominence both in association with OCL and through his own efforts to promote unity. Archbishop Nathaniel (Archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America) has spoken loudly and often about the only real solution to the canonical disorder that plagues the Orthodox Church in the U.S. From these excerpts of his speech at an OCL sponsored forum in Minneapolis, Minnesota last year we can see the particular clarity with which he addresses the problem and offers the only real solution:
“The synodal system of church governance has been truncated in America. We are living in canonical disorder. Many bishops and lay leaders bear responsibility of losing generations and thousands of faithful from the Church because ethnicity was and, for some, still remains their focus. They thought and some still think of themselves as preservationists of other languages and cultures. They reproduced church buildings as if they were museums rather than living Eucharistic communities. Bishops are not representatives of foreign states and imperial empires that do not exist. The whole body of the church needs to be concerned with the salvation of each individual and not foreign ethnicity. It is the responsibility of all Orthodox Christians in America to learn about and work for the good order and fellowship within the Church. The People of God need to continue to raise the tough questions to interject reality into the life of the Church. The time to do this is now!
“How will a united Church function? As a Holy Synod with a Patriarch speaking on their behalf, in one voice, for the good of the Church, bishops will develop a working relationship. Time will normalize the group. The will devise solutions in time. They will see what they can do together. The natural order of Orthodoxy is that all bishops function as one. This is the way of a Holy Synod. Nothing will be dismantled at this time. Everything will proceed from respecting what we have and what we are. Some bishops will take care of their ethnic flocks and others the larger American flock. There will not be an amalgamation or absorption, but in time there will be an interweaving of resources. But all this can happen only when we have a Holy Synod with our own Patriarch who presides in fellowship and love.”
These are bold words certain to make some hierarchs uncomfortable. However, we fully support Archbishop Nathaniel’s efforts toward Orthodox unity, and look forward to his emerging role as a leader in this movement. It is the sincere hope of the UAO that we can discover the best way to further his efforts, and to join with him in the move toward the creation of an American Patriarchate.
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