SCOBA Hierarchs Celebrate Sunday of Orthodoxy in Worcester

Published by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, April 7, 2005

SCOBA Hierarchs Celebrate Sunday of Orthodoxy in Worcester - Event Highlights Anniversary of Local Orthodox Council

Worcester, MA – Hierarchs representing the member jurisdictions of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) gathered in Worcester, Massachusetts the weekend of March 19-20 for their annual Sunday of Orthodoxy celebration.

The Hierarchs gathered in Worcester to mark the 50th anniversary of the Council of Eastern Orthodox Churches of Central Massachusetts and the 10th anniversary of the opening of Holy Trinity Eastern Orthodox Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

The SCOBA delegation was headed by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Chairman of SCOBA and Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. He was joined by Archbishop Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and Canada, Archbishop Antony (representing Metropolitan Constantine) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA, Bishop Antoun (representing Metropolitan Philip) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, Bishop Nikon (representing Metropolitan Herman) of the Orthodox Church in America, and Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos, the General Secretary of SCOBA and a Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

The weekend celebration began on Saturday evening with a visit to Holy Trinity Nursing & Rehabilitation Center and the celebration of Great Vespers in its Chapel. Opened in 1994, this Center is the result of 40 years of collective labor of the 12 local Orthodox Christian parishes from various SCOBA jurisdictions, organized as the Council of Eastern Orthodox Churches of Central Massachusetts. The Center is both representative of the diversity of cultures and backgrounds of the Orthodox community and wholly dedicated to providing quality care and Christian love to the infirmed and aged.

Present with Archbishop Demetrios and the other Hierarchs at the Vespers service were approximately 100 faithful, especially including residents of the Center. At the conclusion of Great Vespers, Archbishop Demetrios spoke about the fundamental significance of the Center in providing an essential service to humanity. He also noted it as an unprecedented accomplishment in the history of Orthodoxy in America, since it is the product of the work of a pan-Orthodox council of local parishes which even predates the official founding of SCOBA in 1960, noting that this year the Council of Eastern Orthodox Churches in Central Massachusetts celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding.

On Sunday morning, Archbishop Demetrios concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with six SCOBA hierarchs, as well as all of the local clergy of the Council of Eastern Orthodox Churches at the St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocesan Cathedral in Worcester. Over 1,000 Orthodox Christians from central Massachusetts participated in the Liturgy. The highlight of the Liturgy was the procession with the Holy Icons. Archbishop Demetrios and concelebrating hierarchs led the congregation in the procession that is central to the Feast of the Sunday of Orthodoxy. The celebration on this Sunday reminds us of the events of 843. In that year the iconoclastic controversy, which had raged on and off since 726, was finally laid to rest, and icons and their veneration were restored on the first Sunday in Lent. Ever since, this Sunday has been commemorated as the “Triumph of Orthodoxy.”

Following the Divine Liturgy the SCOBA Hierarchs joined hundreds of area faithful for the Anniversary Banquet that concluded the festivities. The Orthodox Churches of the Worcester area gather each year on the Sunday of Orthodoxy to celebrate the Divine Liturgy together, inviting one of the SCOBA Hierarchs to preside. However, this year’s celebration of the Sunday of Orthodoxy will forever remain as an historic moment for the Orthodox Christians of central Massachusetts.

The spirit of unity which is made particularly manifest on the Feast of the Sunday of Orthodoxy is commemorated with similar festivities by Orthodox Churches worldwide. In America, the Feast of the Sunday of Orthodoxy has historically served as an occasion for the expression of Orthodox unity among all SCOBA jurisdictions.



Volume 7 Number 15 - Tuesday, April 12th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY