Metropolitan Council to meet with Lesser Synod February 18 - 20, 2009
The Metropolitan Council of the Orthodox Church in America will meet at the OCA Chancery from Wednesday, February 18, to Friday, February 20, 2009. Joining the members of the Metropolitan Council will be the OCA’s Lesser Synod. The hierarchs that currently serve on the Lesser Synod are His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, who is also chair of the Metropolitan Council; His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate; His Eminence, Archbishop Job of Chicago and the Midwest; and His Grace, Bishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West.
At the request of Metropolitan Jonah, the meeting will begin on Wednesday evening with a retreat.
“The theme of the retreat is ‘Spiritual Progress,’” said OCA secretary, Archpriest Eric G. Tosi. “It is His Beatitude’s hope that members of the Metropolitan Council can collectively reflect on our spiritual duty to each other, and to the Church, as Council members.”
Business meetings will begin on Thursday morning. Among the agenda items will be reports from chancery officers, a discussion on fiscal and legal responsibilities of Metropolitan Council members, and the organization of Metropolitan Council committees.
“Friday will be spent working on the strategic plan,” Fr. Eric said. “The focus of the discussion at this time will be related to process rather than content. Metropolitan Jonah has made it very clear that while the plan is under the guidance of the Holy Synod, the Metropolitan Council and the Church at large must have an opportunity to have a voice in its formation. However, the first step is to agree on the process through which we will create the plan. This process has to provide optimal opportunities for a solid final product through the responsible use of our resources.”