Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania holds annual assembly

Over 60 clergy and lay delegates of the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania gathered for their annual assembly, November 17-18, 2006, in Bethlehem, PA.

BETHLEHEM, PA [Diocese of Eastern PA] — The Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania of the Orthodox Church in America held its 43rd annual assembly at Saint Nicholas Church here November 17-18, 2006. Over 60 clergy and lay delegates attended the expanded two-day gathering.

On Friday evening, November 17, His Grace, Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern pennsylvania celebrated Vespers, after which the assembly was formally opened. In his opening remarks, Bishop Tikhon presented some reflections on unity, the theme of this year’s assembly. In light of the current crisis in the OCA, he spoke of the need to preserve an attitude of sobriety and prayer. He encouraged the clergy and faithful to cultivate actively unity on a personal level, beginning with true repentance that blames oneself rather than others, and on a diocesan level by participating in the work that will help the Church to preserve unity, which is a gift of Christ.

After a discussion period, everyone partook of a common meal, during which a reading was offered from the Homilies of Saint Gregory Palamas, “On Peace with One Another.”

On Saturday, November 18, Bishop Tikhon concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with diocesan clergy, after which the assembly sessions resumed with the reports of the diocesan Bishop and the chancellor.

Expanding on his comments from the evening before, Bishop Tikhon highlighted the good work that has been done within the diocese over the past year, including the establishment of new Orthodox Christian Fellowship chapters, successful events sponsored by the Department of Christian Education, and the growth of Holy Apostles Mission in Mechanicsburg, PA.

Changes within the diocese were also announced. The Rev. Martin Browne was appointed treasurer. The new budget will reflect increases for missions, seminarian scholarships, and the Department of Christian Education. In addition, the diocesan magazine will be published twice, rather than three times, a year.

The Very Rev. John Kowalczyk, chancellor, further expanded on Bishop Tikhon’s report by highlighting some of the activities of the diocesan hierarch and parishes, including the generous response to the appeal for All Saints Church, Olyphant, PA, following a devastating fire in the spring of 2006.

After lunch, the Very Rev. Michael G. Dahulich, dean of Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, offered a presentation in which he encouraged assembly delegates to keep their hearts and minds focused on the Lord, the Divine Head of the Church, and on their responsibility to continue the work of the diocese by reflecting the Gospel message in all they do. He added that the current financial issues should not be the focus of our total involvement; citing Saint Paul’s analogy, that if one part of the body is ill, we should not let the rest of the body become paralyzed by the infection. He stressed that while treating the illness, we need to resume nourishing the whole Body of Christ and move toward healing and spiritual growth.

During the afternoon sessions, further reports were offered from the diocesan deans and department heads and from the Metropolitan Council representative, who fielded many open and direct questions concerning the progress of the present investigation into the financial crisis.

After elections for Diocesan Council and Metropolitan Council representatives, the Assembly concluded with a recommendation from the floor that, in the spirit of fair-share giving and in an effort to restore our entire Church to solid financial ground, Bishop Tikhon call for a special collection requesting all members of the diocese to offer voluntarily a contribution which would be forwarded to the Central Church Administration and applied directly towards the principal of the $1.7 million loan. Bishop Tikhon accepted the recommendation and will consider the proper procedure to implement this positive effort.