MINUTES SPRING SESSION OF HOLY SYNOD OF BISHOPS OCA

MINUTES OF THE SPRING SESSION OF THE HOLY SYNOD OF BISHOPS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA

Diocese of the Midwest Chancery

Chicago, Illinois

2-4 May, 2011

Present were:

His Beatitude, JONAH, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America, and Canada,

Chairman

His Eminence, NATHANIEL Archbishop of Detroit, and the Romanian Episcopate

His Grace, NIKON, Bishop of Boston, of New England, and the Albanian Archdiocese

His Grace, TIKHON, Bishop of Philadelphia, and Eastern Pennsylvania, (Secretary)

His Grace, BENJAMIN, Bishop of San Francisco, and the West

His Grace, ALEJO, Bishop of Mexico City, and the Exarchate of the United States of Mexico

His Grace, MELCHISEDEK, Bishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania (Interim Chancellor)

His Grace, MICHAEL, Bishop of New York and New York and New Jersey.

His Grace, MATTHIAS, Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest.

His Grace, MARK, Bishop of Baltimore, Administrator of the Diocese of the South

His Grace, IRENEE, Bishop of Quebec City, Administrator of the Archdiocese of Canada

Absent was:

His Grace, IRINEU, Bishop of Dearborn, Auxiliary Bishop of the Romanian Episcopate

Monday, May 2, 2011

SESSIONS I and II

His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH opened the Spring Session of the Holy Synod on Monday, May

2, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. with the singing of the Paschal Troparion and “The Grace of the Holy Spirit…”

Address of the Metropolitan

HEARD:

Metropolitan JONAH presented his written report and offered further oral comments concerning his recent leave of absence and offered some proposals for moving forward.

The members of the Holy Synod each offered responses to the address of the Metropolitan. They

discussed the relationship of the Holy Synod with the Metropolitan in the past and for the future.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod began the process for establishing clear policies and procedures for the Holy Synod
to allow for better communication and accountability within the Holy Synod.

Pastoral Issues

HEARD:

The Holy Synod discussed several areas of concern in the Church, including a case of clergy

interference in another diocese, an unresolved clergy misconduct case and concerns about a monastic

community.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod received the assurance of His Beatitude’s definitive action in the case of the

monastic community and will prepare official documents in reference to the clergy misconduct case.

The Holy Synod also acted decisively in the case of the clergy interference case.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

SESSIONS III, IV and V

Review of Minutes of Sessions I and II

HEARD:

Bishop TIKHON presented a draft of the private minutes of the previous day’s meetings. Members

of the Holy Synod submitted corrections.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod approved the minutes of the May 2, 2011 sessions of the Spring Session and

appended their signatures to the document.

Policies and Procedures

HEARD:

Bishop BENJAMIN presented four resolutions related to the Holy Synod.

Discussion followed.

DECIDED:

The following four resolutions were approved by the Holy Synod with the understanding that they

would be further reviewed in the ongoing development of policies and procedures for the Holy

Synod:

Resolution 1 – LOCUM TENENCY

Be it resolved this day, May 3, 2011, by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America,
meeting in the City of Chicago, IL, pertaining to Article VI, Section 8 of the Statute of the OrthodoxChurch in America which states “In the event of a vacancy in the office of diocesan bishop, a locum

tenens, appointed by the Metropolitan, shall convoke and preside over the Diocesan Assembly

whose sole purpose at this time shall be the election of a new diocesan bishop,” that the Metropolitan

shall appoint a locum tenens from among the other hierarchs of the Synod and not himself, so as not

to burden the Primate with supervision of multiple dioceses.

Resolution 2 – the Officers of the Church

The Holy Synod affirms Article II, Section 7, m, which places within the competence of the Holy

Synod the “appointment, upon the recommendation by the Metropolitan Council, of the Chancellor,

Secretary, Treasurer and other officials whose competence or service extend beyond the boundaries

of a single diocese.” The Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America is distinct and separate from

the chanceries of the various dioceses, including the Diocese of Washington DC. At this time, it is

understood that the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America is located at 6850 N. Hempstead

Turnpike, Syosset, NY 11791. It is resolved this day, May 3, 2011, by the Holy Synod of the

Orthodox Church in America, to understand “and other officials…” in the Statute cited above to

mean and encompass the chancery staff and membership of the various offices and departments of

the OCA which function under the authority of the Holy Synod, the Metropolitan being the presiding

officer of the Synod. The officers of the Orthodox Church in America are confirmed by the Synod

upon recommendation of the Metropolitan Council and are dismissed from service by the Synod

upon recommendation of the Primate, as their service is to all the dioceses of the Church. Thus the

chancery of the Orthodox Church in America is understood to be the Synodal Chancery, the other

hierarchs, including the Metropolitan, having their own diocesan chanceries.

Resolution 3 – the Permanent Lesser Synod

Be it resolved this day, May 3, 2011, by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America,

meeting in the City of Chicago, Il, in accordance with Article II, Section 6 of the Statute that the

Lesser Synod be considered the executive committee of the Holy Synod and empowered to meet

every second month to exercise oversight of all matters except those excluded by Article II, Section

7, c, of the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America on behalf of the entire Synod. The

membership of the Permanent Lesser Synod shall consist of the Metropolitan, the Secretary of the

Holy Synod and two other hierarchs elected by the entire Synod. The Lesser Synod is charged with

oversight of the execution of policies and decisions of the entire Synod and those of the Metropolitan

Council blessed by the Synod. As Primate, the Metropolitan shall be the chairman of the Permanent

Lesser Synod. The Metropolitan, as the Chairman of the Synod, shall seek and receive prior

agreement of the Lesser Synod for all programs and initiatives relating to the external and internal

affairs of the Church. The Lesser Synod also exercises oversight of the officers of the Church and

its various departments and offices on behalf of the whole Synod. The term of service on the Lesser

Synod shall be for a period of one year.

Resolution 4 – the Chancellor

Be it resolved this day, May 3, 2011, by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America,

meeting in the City of Chicago, IL, that the Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America is the

chief of operations of the Synodal Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America and is accountable

to the entire Synod of the Orthodox Church in America. He manages the day to day operations of

the Synodal Chancery, the other officers, departments and offices of the Church.

Episcopal Matters

HEARD:

In closed session, the Holy Synod considered several episcopal matters.

Officer’s Reports

Report of Treasurer

HEARD:

Melanie Ringa, OCA Treasurer, presented her report (attached).

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod heard the report of the Treasurer and thanked Melanie Ringa for her work.

Report of Secretary

HEARD:

Fr. Eric Tosi, OCA Secretary, presented his report (attached).

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod heard the report of the Secretary and thanked Fr. Eric Tosi for his work. The Holy

Synod will review the agenda for the upcoming All American Council in Seattle.

External Affairs

HEARD:

Fr. Leonid Kishkovsky of the Department of External Affairs presented his report. He addressed

several issues within the internal life of the Orthodox Church in America and summarized recent

developments in world-wide Orthodoxy.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod heard the report of the Department of External Affairs and thanked Fr. Leonid for

his work.

Meeting with SMPAC

HEARD:

The Holy Synod heard a presentation from the Sexual Misconduct Policy Advisory Committee

(SMPAC). The SMPAC reviewed their expanded white paper and the requested documentation for

it, both of which had previously been presented to the Holy Synod. They offered their thoughts on

several specific cases now under review and expressed their deep concern for the proper and

unequivocal implementation of the current Policies, Standards and Procedures of the OCA on all

levels of the Church and in all cases.

They spoke of the critical need for the Holy Synod, the clergy and the faithful of the Church to be

educated in the proper response to allegations of sexual misconduct and noted their great concern

over a prevailing attitude which prefers the ignoring of these problems or hopes for theirdisappearance.

The SMPAC assured the Holy Synod that their documents and their concerns were soely a means to

document lessons learned, not to bring accusations against any individual person or organization.

They expressed their fervent desire to receive the Holy Synod’s assurance, not only that proper

policies are put in place, but most importantly that they be followed.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod thanked the members of the SMPAC for their presentation and for their dedication

and commitment to the critical matter of clergy sexual abuse. They also expressed their gratitude for

their professional advice and counsel in these matters and asked for their continued guidance to the

Holy Synod.

The Holy Synod acknowledged the errors and failures documented and pledged to both continue

their review of the SMPAC report and to address any of the failures and weaknesses so that they are

not repeated in the future.

The Holy Synod also made several requests of the SMPAC to provide concrete aids so that the

hierarchs might better educate their clergy and faithful in these matters and to help them better

evaluate and respond to cases of sexual misconduct.

Interview of Episcopal Candidates

HEARD:

The Holy Synod interviewed two potential Episcopal candidates.

Board of Theological Education

HEARD:

Bishop TIKHON presented the report of the Board of Theological Education (BTE) and presented

for approval the candidates for ordination to the diaconate. Other matters related to theological

education were discussed.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod approved the candidates as presented by the Board of Theological Education.

Clergy Matters

HEARD:

In closed session, the Holy Synod considered several clergy cases.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod acted on the clergy cases presented. The actions taken will be reflected in the

official clergy changes prepared by the Chancery office.

Clergy Awards

HEARD:

Fr. Eric Tosi presented the list of clergy awards from the Diocesan Hierarchs.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod reviewed the list and approved those clergy who had been presented for awards.

Lesser Synod

HEARD:

In accordance with the adopted resolution on the Lesser Synod, the Holy Synod discussed the filling

of those position.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod elected the following members of the Holy Synod as members of the Lesser Synod:

Metropolitan JONAH, Chair

Bishop NIKON

Bishop TIKHON, Holy Synod secretary

Bishop BENJAMIN

SMPAC Report

HEARD:

The Holy Synod heard the request of the governance committee of the Metropolitan Council that it

be provided a copy of the SMPAC report. The Holy Synod also heard a report concerning the

improper distribution of the report.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod blessed the OCA legal committee to receive a copy of the SMPAC report.

The Holy Synod instituted a spiritual court to investigate the alleged distribution of confidential and

sensitive documents to unauthorized recipients.

SIGNED:

His Beatitude, JONAH, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America, and Canada,

Chairman

His Eminence, NATHANIEL Archbishop of Detroit, and the Romanian Episcopate

His Grace, NIKON, Bishop of Boston, of New England, and the Albanian Archdiocese

His Grace, TIKHON, Bishop of Philadelphia, and Eastern Pennsylvania, (Secretary)

His Grace, BENJAMIN, Bishop of San Francisco, and the West

His Grace, ALEJO, Bishop of Mexico City, and the Exarchate of the United States of Mexico

His Grace, MELCHISEDEK, Bishop of Pittsburgh and Western PA, (Interim Chancellor)

His Grace, MICHAEL, Bishop of New York and New York and New Jersey.

His Grace, MATTHIAS, Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest.

His Grace, MARK, Bishop of Baltimore, Administrator of the Diocese of the South

His Grace, IRENEE, Bishop of Quebec City, Administrator of the Archdiocese of Canada