Maronite Catholic Patriarch Attends Reception Hosted by Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese

As part of his ongoing visit to the United States the head of the Maronite Catholic Church, Patriarch Beshara Rai of Antioch, has attended a reception in his honor hosted by Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America and attended by the Archdiocese's auxiliary bishops as well as several Maronite Catholic hierarchs and Muslim ulama (clergymen). More here.

Update (29/10/2011): The next day Metropolitan Philip, Metropolitan Mor Cyril (Karim) of the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of the Eastern United States, and Antiochian Orthodox auxiliary Bishop Antoun (Khouri) of Miami attended the Sunday Liturgy celebrated by Patriarch Bechara at the Maronite Catholic cathedral in Brooklyn. More on that here.

Antiochian Orthodox Elect Three New Auxiliary Bishops for North America

Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of New York of the Antiochian Orthodox Church and his auxiliary bishops have elected Archimandrites John (Abdalah), Anthony (Michaels), and Nicholas (Ozone) to the episcopacy. Axios!

Bishop-elect John is to be consecrated Bishop of Worcester with care of the New England region. Bishop-elect Anthony will be consecrated Bishop of Toledo with oversight of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese's Midwestern region. Bishop-elect Nicholas will follow in the steps of St. Raphael of Brooklyn and be consecrated Bishop of Brooklyn, in which capacity he will serve as auxiliary to Metropolitan Philip in his oversight of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese as a whole.

Of the three new auxiliaries Bishop-elect John is Arab-American, Bishop-elect Anthony is half Arab-American, half Serbian-American and a native Michiganian Orthodox Christian, and Bishop-elect Nicholas is Syrian. More on the election together with the new auxiliary bishops' biographies can be found here.

Pictured is one of the three new auxiliaries, Bishop-elect John (Abdalah) of Worcester.

Antiochian Orthodox in North America to Choose Three New Auxiliary Bishops

It was announced today at the ongoing convention of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America in Chicago that not two, but three auxiliary bishops will be "elected" by the "Local Synod" of the Archdiocese. Two will be appointed to the Midwestern and New England regions, whilst the only region without an auxiliary, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, will be passed over so that an auxiliary can be assigned to assist Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of New York in his pastoral duties. More here.

Antiochian Orthodox Priest Received into the Milan Synod

This has already been well reported elsewhere, but one of the priests recently dismissed by Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of New York was received into the Milan Synod of the Western Orthodox Church, an Old Calendrist movement associated with Archbishop Auxentios (Pastras) of Athens of blessed memory (before his synod fell apart) and later with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (before its takeover by the ex-KGB hierarchs led by Patriarch Philaret (Denisenko) of Kiev), this past Wednesday. The priest in question will be serving a new Byzantine Rite mission of the Milan Synod in southern Pennsylvania. The Milan Synod's announcement can be found here.

Pictured are hierarchs of the Milan Synod and its sister synod in Greece concelebrating the Holy Liturgy together.

Antiochian Orthodox Priest Dismissed

Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of New York of the Antiochian Orthodox Church has removed a priest serving in North America for disobedience (in speaking his mind) and for having a parish council president 'not in good canonical standing.' Metropolitan Philip's own archdiocesan board of trustees includes at least one member with a criminal background who has made threats against a bishop in recent years, but that particular individual is, apparently, in 'good canonical standing.' More here.

On Clergy Attire

Some thoughts from Archbishop Christodoulus of Athens of blessed memory on clergy attire can be found here. Very different from the thoughts of Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. Hopefully the latter's won't be widely enforced as I know a great many Antiochian Orthodox clergy who ignore them in day-to-day life...

Bishop Thomas "Locum Tenens" of Midwestern America

So Metropolitan Philip has formally removed Bishop Mark from his responsibilities as his auxiliary in the Midwestern region. There were two things notable about the memo he sent out. The first was Seyidna Philip's appointment of Bishop Thomas of Charleston as "locum tenens" of the Midwestern region. Since there is only one diocesan hierarch in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America there is absolutely no need for a locum tenens (fill-in diocesan hierarch) anywhere in the Archdiocese unless Metropolitan Philip himself dies, in which case his faux "Local Synod" will be overlooked completely by the Patriarchate of Antioch when it appoints the Archdiocese's locum tenens. Metropolitan Philip may like calling the regions/districts/whatever dioceses, but they are not distinct dioceses and as such have no need for a locum tenens when they don't have an auxiliary supervising them. The second was Metropolitan Philip's institution of the normative practice concerning the commemoration of auxiliary bishops in the Midwestern region (which is to not unless they are physically present). The Midwest is the only region that has been told to follow standard procedure - every other region/former diocese has been instructed to commemorate the metropolitan as well as the auxiliary bishop supervising their area.

Upcoming Meeting of the Metropolitan and Auxiliary Bishops of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in North America

Please remember in your prayers Metropolitan Philip and auxiliary bishops of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in North America this coming Friday as they gather for what I think is their first meeting since the bishops were reduced to auxiliaries and the Local Synod was (in effect) dissolved.

The AFR Interview with Seyidna Philip and Autocephaly

As a follow-up to my last post on Ancient Faith Radio's interview with Metropolitan Philip, I must confess to find myself appalled that a hierarch of the Church of Christ could flippantly refer to having millions of dollars and to being the sole overseer of those millions. Discretionary accounts to take care of particular needs are one thing, but millions of dollars? Given to a hierarch for use in the Church? Somehow it seems like such sums should be in the Archdiocese's name, not the metropolitan's.

More and more I wonder how different Orthodoxy in the New World is from Orthodoxy in the East. Anyone who says we're not ready for autocephaly is just wrong. After all, we have all of the Old World's vices (wealthy hierarchs, the abuse of the canons, sexually abusive priests being transferred from place to place) AND also a conciliarity born of both the All-Russian Council of 1918 and the New World's democratic values. What's missing? Intercommunion with non-Orthodox? I know of at least one parish where the priest gives Communion to Episcopalians or Roman Catholics (one or the other - can't remember which) with the blessing of his bishop. So we're set! Whatever your take on everything, autocephaly is possible in our times. There's no need to wait...

AFR Interview with Seyidna Philip

It seems like everything in the Church of Antioch is about the wording. There's no concern over the reality behind the words; that can change at any moment! What's important is that everyone be happy with the wording and that the wording itself be vague enough to mean whatever every individual involved wants it to mean.

That aside, the only other generally significant thing I got out of Ancient Faith Radio's rather disappointing interview with Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) was that there is no self-rule or autonomy or whatever you want to call it for the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. There is no real local synod and the next Metropolitan of New York of the Church of Antioch will not only be confirmed by the Holy Synod, he will be elected by it too. Seyidna Philip tried to dodge the question by saying no autonomous Local Orthodox Church elects its own first hierarch, but this simply is not true - the Japanese, Ukrainian, and Finnish Orthodox Churches as well as the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia are all examples of this. The choices of their local synods are subject to the ratification of their holy synods, but they do not send their holy synods lists of nominees - they send them the name of the man they have elected.

It's pretty rich that the metropolitan of one of North America's Orthodox Christian jurisdictions best known for playing fast and loose with the canons can claim that in his metropolis "we practice the canons of the Church perfectly." God help us all if that's the case! And people are surprised when clergy and laity from the Church of Antioch on this continent leave for other jurisdictions and even for schisms...anyways, the whole interview with Metropolitan Philip can be found here. Please pray for the Archdiocese, which is close to my heart (I became a catechumen in an Antiochian Orthodox parish in high school), and for Bishop Mark of Toledo, who has endured much persecution in recent years for his good conduct as a shepherd of the flock God has given him.