July 15, 2005

TORONTO, Ontario – Nearly 2000 hierarchs, clergy, and lay and youth participants are expected to participate in the 14th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America at the Sheraton City Centre here July 17-22, 2005.

Chaired by Metropolitan Herman, the Church's ranking hierarch in North America, council delegates will consider wide range of issues spanning Church finances to parish development, clergy formation, and stem cell research during the week-long gathering, the theme of which is "The Church and the Future."

"While the All-American Council is the Church's highest legislative body, its decisions take effect only after they are ratified by the Metropolitan and the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops which he chairs," said the Rev. John Matusiak, OCA communications director. "As such, the All-American Council is not a ‘convention' in the usual sense, but rather a venue in which the Church gathers to discern God's will for His People and to determine the means by which it can be implemented now and in the immediate future."

The Orthodox Church in America traces its roots to the arrival of Orthodox missionaries in Kodiak, Alaska, in 1794. Today, the Church embraces over 700 parishes, seminaries, monasteries, and other communities across the US and Canada and a number of missions in Mexico. In 1970, the Church was granted self-governing status, making it administratively independent of Orthodox centers abroad while remaining in full communion with the other Orthodox sister Churches throughout the world.

In addition to the Church's hierarchs, who oversee its North American dioceses, the Council is composed of all assigned parish priests and an

equal number of lay delegates, elected by their respective parishes. Representatives from seminaries, monasteries, and other Church institutions also serve as delegates. An anticipated 500 youth and young adult observers are also expected to participate in special programs geared to their specific interests and needs.

"Throughout the Council seminars and forums will explore a variety of issues facing the Church today, including ecumenical and inter-faith relations, sexual abuse, parish nursing ministries, the evangelization of the unchurched, and other pastoral and ethical matters," added Father Matusiak. "Financial concerns, especially in light of the widely acknowledged dip in donations faced by every religious community after 9/11, are also high on the Council's agenda. While North Americans have actually increased their charitable donations in recent years, they are giving a smaller percentage to churches and religious institutions – a trend that needs to be addressed."

At the same time, the rapid increase in the number of parishes across North America and the need to plant additional communities, especially in regions with little or no Orthodox presence, signals a positive sign for the future.

"In the past few decades, nearly 300 new parishes and missions have been established, along with over a dozen new monasteries and other institutions," according to Father Matusiak. "Part of this can be ascribed to the large number of converts North American Orthodox Christianity has embraced, a sharp increase in the number of clergy ordained in the past decade, and the corresponding increase in seminary enrollment and graduations. Consequently, appropriate funding to expand the Church's missionary outreach, in addition to its administrative and operating expenses, is central."

Orthodox Church in America