A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 40 - Tuesday, October 4th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian Laity
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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SYOSSET, NY [OCA Communications] -- His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, hosted the fall session of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas [SCOBA] at the OCA Chancery here September 28, 2004. The meeting, chaired by His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and SCOBA chairman, reviewed a variety of inter-Orthodox projects and programs and surveyed the ongoing work of various SCOBA agencies, including the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, the Orthodox Christian Network radio ministry, and International Orthodox Christian Charities [IOCC]. The hierarchs also approved a pastoral statement on "Sexual Misconduct in the Church" prepared by SCOBA's Social and Moral Issues Commission. The inter-Orthodox statement underscores the hierarchs' "common mind" that "sexual abuse or misconduct will find no safe haven within the Holy Orthodox Church," adding that their concerns apply to clergy and laity alike. Other topics discussed by the hierarchs included participation in ongoing statistical studies conducted by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research; the 2005 Sunday of Orthodoxy celebration; and the Baptism Statement of the North American Orthodox and Roman Catholic Theological Consultation. Also discussed were initial plans for inter-Orthodox prison ministry and a fesibility study for the convening of an Orthodox Bishops' Conference in 2005. Three new IOCC board members -- Gayle E. Woloschak, Chicago, IL; Maria Zoe Mossaides, Worcester, MA; and Elizabeth Oldknow Huttinger, Pasadena, CA -- were approved by the hierarchs. Written reports were received from other SCOBA-endorsed organizations, including the North American Orthodox Peace Fellowship; the Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration, which is devoted to environmental concerns; and the planning committee for the North American Conference of Women Graduates of Orthodox Theological Schools.
Other hierarchs
participating in the session were His Eminence,
Archbishop Nicolae, Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese
in America and Canada; His Eminence, Archbishop
Antony, Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA; His
Grace, Bishop Antoun, Antiochian Orthodox
Christian Archdiocese of North America; and His
Grace, Bishop Dimitrios, Auxiliary to the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese and SCOBA General Secretary.
Members of the SCOBA Study and Planning Commission
and representatives of several SCOBA agencies also
participated. |
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