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Published by Orthodox Christian Laity, November 6, 2004

The Gavel has been passed…. Lee Kopulos heads Orthodox Christian Laity

(West Palm Beach, FL, November 5, 2004) Following the Annual Meeting held by the members of Orthodox Christian Laity on October 29, 2004 at the Renaissance Oak Brook Hotel, Oak Brook, Illinois a new slate of officers was elected. Lee Kopulos has assumed the duties of President. Mr. Kopulos is a founding member (1984) of St. Luke the Evangelist Church, Palos Hills, Illinois - Midwest Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America. He succeeds Peter Haikalis, who completed 3 years of service as President and was honored at a dinner at Costa's Restaurant, Oak Brook.

Mr. Kopulos will be assisted by an executive board of many talents. Andrew Kartalis, Cleveland, Ohio, Nicholas Pappas of Wilmington, Delaware and Harry Coin of Bettendorf, Iowa will lend their time, talents and resources to fulfill the mission of OCL and serve as Vice Presidents. Jim Koulogeorge, Northbrook, IL and George Aravosis, Elmhurst, IL will continue to serve as co- treasurers. George Karcazes, Wilmette, IL is secretary. With such a stellar team, OCL is ready to move ahead to promote Orthodox Christian Unity. "As we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the meeting of all canonical bishops in North America at Ligonier, it seems appropriate to energize the laity to impress upon their bishops the importance of getting back to our historical roots in North America and become once again a Unified Orthodox Church" said Mr. Kopulos. "If we speak with one voice," he said, "we can effectively and efficiently go about the work of evangelizing all those who want to be part of the historic and apostolic Church. We will be better able to utilize our resources to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful and retain them in the Church."

His first order of business is to organize a strategic planning session with his executive board to take place the first week of December to develop plans to move ahead to bring about a unified Orthodox Christian Church in North America.

Gary Conrad from the Phoenix, AZ area was elected to the board of directors. Three advisory board members where also elected by the membership. They are Peter J. Petkas, Houston, TX, Peter Maniatis, Phoenix, AZ area and Bill Souvall, Salt Lake City, UT.

OCL was incorporated in 1987 to insure that the voice of the laity remains a part of the governance of the Orthodox Church and to work to be a catalyst for a unified Church. You can learn all about the work of OCL by visiting the web site at http://www.ocl.org/. OCL also hosts a web site that reports the news of world Orthodoxy at http://www.orthodoxnews.org/.



Volume 6 Number 45 - Tuesday, November 9th, 2004	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY