Saturday, July 10, 2010

Who's Your Bishop?

Recently I've was asked "Who's your bishop?" Orthodox tradition teaches my bishop is the local bishop therefore the bishop of my local church 'is my bishop'.

In the anomalous society we live in 'who is my bishop' may not be so obvious. 

Unequivocally it is Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta as I am Greek Orthodox (baptised, confirmed, christmated and married in the Greek Orthodox Church); I remain within the jurisdiction Apostolically tied to the Ecumenical Patriarich of Constantinople.

Presumably though when I attend an OCA church in the south its locum tenens of Dallas [His Beatitude Met. Jonah]  is commemorated during those liturgies so for a few hours he becomes my bishop. Following this thought, reflecting on the local church in America, I find comfort in the American Archpastor (and Senior Bishop of World Orthodoxy) His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, the head of the Episcopal Assembly of Bishops. It is assuring to know he is his defacto the chief pastor of America as submitted by ALL the bishops in America including the provisional so-called autocephalous churches.

Eis pola eti despota!
Chief Orthodox Archpastor of America and the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

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