August 17, 2013
The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America announced on August 15 that the Assembly will hold its annual meeting September 17-19, 2013 at the Chicago Marriott in Schaumburg, Illinois. This is the fourth Annual Meeting of theAssembly, which is comprised of all 65 active Orthodox hierarchs serving the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The agenda, available here, includes discussion of the Assembly’s vision, proposals for canonical restructuring, and an Assembly-sponsored national youth conference. The Assembly requests the prayers of all clergy, monastics, and laity.
In related news, the Executive Committee of the Assembly met at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan headquarters in New York on Tuesday, August 13. Under the chairmanship of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, the Executive Committee made final preparations for the September meeting. The members of the Executive Committee also reviewed the process by which the Assembly would reach consensus, when such is required.
Participating in the meeting were: Archbishop Demetrios (Ecumenical Patriarchate); Metropolitan Philip (Patriarchate of Antioch, by phone); Archbishop Justinian (Patriarchate of Moscow); Bishop Longin (Patriarchate of Serbia, by phone); Archbishop Nicolae (Patriarchate of Romania); Metropolitan Joseph (Patriarchate of Bulgaria); Metropolitan Antony, Treasurer of the Assembly (Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA); and Bishop Basil, Secretary of the Assembly (Patriarchate of Antioch, by phone). Metropolitan Dimitri (Patriarchate of Georgia) was unable to participate.