A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 14 - Tuesday, April 6th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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A Brief History of the Charters for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese In the beginning, all of Orthodoxy in America was under the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate. Then in 1908 the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul issued a tomos placing the ever increasing number of Orthodox immigrants from Greece in America under the jurisdiction of the Church of Greece. The Church of Greece did little to administer the American parishes until 1918 when Archbishop Meletios of Athens arrived. He called the first Clergy-Laity Congress and on September 21, 1921, the Archdiocese was incorporated. On November 25, 1921, he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch. On March 12, 1922, the Patriarchate rescinded the tomos of 1908 and Greek Orthodox Churches in America came directly under the jurisdiction of Istanbul. 1922 Charter Establishes an Autonomous Greek Orthodox Archdiocese In the summer of 1922 a plan for a synodical system was prepared by Patriarch Meletios. A mixed council of clergy and laity was then convened and proposed the establishment of a truly self-governing Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in America. This action was formalized by the Charter of 1922 which was approved by a Clergy-Laity Congress and the Patriarchate. The 1922 charter established an autonomous Archdiocese with four dioceses - Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and New York. New York also was designated as the Archiepiscopal See. The Charter provided that the initial election of the Archbishop would be carried out by the Patriarchate. All bishops and all future Archbishops were to be elected by the Local Synod from a list of three nominees chosen by the Clergy-Laity Ecclesiastical Assembly. While the election of the Archbishop was subject to Patriarchal approval, there was no requirement for Patriarchal approval of the election of Bishops or the decisions of Clergy-Laity Congresses or of regulations adopted by the Archdiocese. The 1922 Charter was revised slightly in 1927 but the changes were minor in nature. The Charter of 1931 Overturns the Charters of 1922 and 1927 The 1920’s was a time of political turmoil in Greece and many of the controversies of the old country found their way to the New World. Greek American communities sometimes chose sides in these political conflicts and thus were distracted from the task of building a strong autonomous Greek Orthodox Church in the United States. The Ecumenical Patriarchate was deeply concerned by the negative effect of these political antagonisms and in seeking a solution to this “instability” took steps to rescind the autonomy that it had given to the Archdiocese in 1922. In 1930 to avoid going through the Clergy-Laity Congress to amend a new charter for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the Patriarchal envoy, Metropolitan Damaskinos of Corinth persuaded the American synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese [all of whom by then had either resigned or had been reassigned] to sign predated minutes for a meeting which never occurred rescinding the 1927 Charter and the autonomy of the Archdiocese. Metropolitan Damaskinos recommended to the Patriarchate that only a “monarchical” system, i.e., only one bishop with episcopal authority, and a centralized administration - a system contrary to the tradition and probably the canons of the Church – was the way to restore order to the Church in America. Athenagoras, who later became Ecumenical Patriarch, was selected as Archbishop in 1930 and the new charter as recommended by Metropolitan Damaskinos was issued by the Patriarchate in January 1931. This new charter became a matter of great controversy because of the restrictions it placed on the principle of self-governance. It was only through the efforts and charismatic persuasion of the Archbishop Athenagoras that is was finally adopted and approved by a Clergy Laity Congress in November of 1931 and that the Archdiocese survived in those times of turmoil. The Charter of 1977The 1977 Charter was the result of efforts begun several years earlier by Archbishop Iakovos to decentralize the cumbersome administrative system of the Archdiocese under the 1931 Charter. The draft charter as approved by the Archdiocesan Council was submitted to the Patriarchate which, with minor modifications, approved and granted it on November 29, 1977. It was ratified and adopted by the Clergy-Laity Congress on July 5, 1978. It should be noted that Patriarch Bartholomew was an active member of the Patriarchal committee with which the charter was developed and a member of the Patriarchal Synod which approved it. The 1977 Charter was the product of much thought and deliberation. It defined the unity of the Archdiocese as well as the relationship between the Archdiocese and the Ecumenical Patriarchate; established a modified synodical system; defined the responsibilities of the Archbishop and his role as Exarch. Finally it recognized and implemented the historic role of the laity in Archdiocesan governance by providing for shared responsibility of hierarchs, clergy and laity in governance through their participation in the decision making functions of the Clergy-Laity Congresses and the Archdiocesan Council. It also specifically provided that the historic and canonical rights and responsibilities of Bishops and the Synod were “as modified by the Charter”. The Aborted 1995 Revision of 1977 Charter In the 1990’s it was recognized by Archbishop Iakovos that in order to carry out the ever increasing responsibilities of the Archdiocese, to better serve the needs of its communicants and to successfully meet the challenges facing it in the forthcoming twenty-first century, the Archdiocese required a review and possible revision of the 1977 Charter. Accordingly, in May, 1995, His Eminence, Archbishop Iakovos, appointed an Ad Hoc Charter Committee which prepared and submitted to the Synod of Bishops and the Archdiocesan Council on December 15, 1995 for review a draft of an Amended Charter providing for an autonomous Archdiocese under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Before the draft could be considered it was disapproved by the Patriarchate on December 21, 1995 which characterized it as “an uncanonical and secular fabrication.” Further, the Patriarchate threatened that if the proposed draft were not withdrawn immediately, it would be obliged “to proceed with the proper canonical sanctions to those who are the chief culprits.” The Imposed Charter of 2003
Following the forced retirement of
Archbishop Iakovos in 1996, The Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese entered another troubled time. The
Patriarchate chose to change the dynamics of
hierarchical unity and to fragment the Archdiocese
by elevating the bishops to metropolitans and then
attempted to impose a new charter to replace the
1977 Charter. However Istanbul’s initial draft
document was rejected by the 2002 Clergy-Laity
Congress which proposed amendments virtually
proposing an autonomous Archdiocese. These
amendments were rejected by the Patriarchate and
in 2003 a charter “was granted” by Istanbul in
violation of the amendment process of the still
operative 1977 charter. The imposed charter is a
regressive document seriously diminishing the role
of the clergy and the laity in the governance of
the Archdiocese. Legal action has been filed to
enforce the amendment process of the 1977 charter
and the courts will now decide the issue. |
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