As the Orthodox Church in America prepares for the 20th All-American Council, projected for July 18-22, 2022 in Baltimore, MD, let us reflect on the first such council, the First All-American Sobor convened 115 years ago on March 5-7, 1907, and on the preparatory work leading up to it that took place under the visionary leadership of Saint Patriarch Tikhon, who was then Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America.
While the seeds for the convocation of the First Sobor were sown by Archbishop Tikhon throughout the years of his ministry in North America, the first major step toward the Sobor was taken in 1905 at a gathering of a dozen leading clergy convened by Archbishop Tikhon in Cleveland, OH on June 2, 1905, where they had just attended the ROCMAS (Russian Orthodox Catholic Mutual Aid Society) convention. The ROCMAS was a federation of local brotherhoods devoted to mutual aid for its members and building up the Orthodox Church. The purpose of the clergy gathering was to discuss key issues in the life of the North American Diocese (the “Mission” as it was often called). Among those who gathered were two priests who, in addition to Saint Tikhon, are now recognized as saints: Saints Alexander Hotovitzky and John Kochurov. At this gathering, a consensus emerged that a Sobor (council) of representatives from throughout the diocese was needed to deliberate on the needs of the diocese and to make appropriate decisions to address them. It was also decided that a regional clergy gathering to flesh out the Sobor’s agenda should take place in Old Forge, PA two months later on August 2. The publication of the decisions of the Cleveland meeting in the diocesan periodical (American Orthodox Messenger, popularly known as the Vestnik) prompted a flurry of articles by various authors on the necessity of adhering to the principles of conciliarity to invigorate the life of the Church as a living organism. It was noted that the conciliar consciousness of clergy in America differed from the mindset of clergy in Russia where church administration was bogged down by state bureaucracy.
Bishop Raphael (Hawaweeny) of Brooklyn, presided over the meeting in Old Forge, attended by over a dozen clergy (including four who are now saints), as Archbishop Tikhon was unable to attend due to archpastoral duties on the West Coast. The meeting recommended that the Sobor take place in New York as soon as the upcoming transfer of the diocesan see from San Francisco to New York would be finalized and decided that the general theme of the Sobor should be church growth, which Archbishop Tikhon later formulated as “How to expand the Mission.” The election of parish rectors by the faithful by secret ballot was also discussed. It was decided that the new monastery in South Canaan, PA should be named for Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, in honor of the Archbishop’s heavenly patron.
Transfer of the diocesan see to New York was finalized in September 1905, however, the Sobor did not take place immediately, nor even in 1906. The reasons for the delay were largely financial. It seems that neither the diocese nor the parishes had funds available to cover the travel costs for attendees of the Sobor. Nevertheless, lively discussion of the necessity of the Sobor and of its agenda continued in the Vestnik. Saint Tikhon, personally, immersed himself in preparation for the Sobor, which he considered an event of outmost importance for the diocese. He even sought input from Saint Nicholas of Japan, who responded with detailed information on ecclesial governance within the Japanese diocese.
Finally, in January 1907, an announcement appeared in the Vestnik declaring the convocation of the Sobor in early March 1907 in Mayfield, PA, in conjunction with the ROCMAS convention. This was a cost saving measure, as delegates who were traveling to the convention would have their travel expenses covered and could attend the Sobor without additional cost. Every parish was to be represented by its priest and a layman. Decisions of the Sobor, once confirmed by the Archbishop, were to be binding on all parishes, even on those who had not sent representatives to the Sobor.
Less than a month before the Sobor, the North American Diocese was shaken by the news that its beloved ruling hierarch was being transferred to the see of Yaroslavl. In practical terms, this threatened the very convocation of the Sobor. At the very least, the nature of its decisions would be only advisory and not legislative, pending the assignment of a new ruling hierarch of the diocese with the authority vested in him to approve and implement its decisions. The diocesan administration sought direction regarding the Sobor from auxiliary Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) of Alaska, who had been appointed temporary administrator of the diocese. Bishop Innocent directed that the Sobor should meet as scheduled and authorized Archbishop Tikhon to preside over the Sobor and to provide guidance throughout its sessions.
Another departure from the plans for the Sobor concerned the time allotted for its sessions. The ROCMAS convention was due to complete its business by Wednesday, March 6, leaving the rest of the week free for the sessions of the Sobor. However, as the convention got underway it became apparent that the entire ROCMAS statute required detailed review, extending the convention until Saturday. The contracted sessions of the Sobor could take place only when ROCMAS was not in session. As a result, the Sobor, with a truncated agenda, met for only seven hours over three evening and one morning session.
After leading a prayer service on Tuesday afternoon, March 5, Archbishop Tikhon delivered introductory remarks at the opening of the preliminary meeting. Election of a Sobor chairman was then conducted by secret ballot. Father Alexander Hotovitzky received 25 votes, which was a majority. As Father Alexander was very actively involved in the work of the ROCMAS convention, he declined the responsibility of chairing the Sobor. Father Leonid Turkevich who had received 13 votes was then tasked with the chairmanship, while Father Hotovitzky was appointed Sobor secretary. While the files of the OCA Archives do not contain a list of participants in the First Sobor, based on the number of votes that constituted a majority (25), we can deduce that there were less than 50 delegates in attendance.
At its first session that evening, the Sobor deliberated the council theme as formulated by Archbishop Tikhon “How to expand the Mission”. The word “Mission” here denoted the diocese, the entire ecclesial structure in North America. The Sobor examined the legal standing of the church under civil law. Most parish communities were incorporated, but legal counsel recommended that the church postpone obtaining a charter of incorporation for the diocese until some prerequisites were met. The church would need an official name and a statute to delineate organizational structure. In deliberating a name, it was generally acknowledged that the church thought of herself as the “Holy, Orthodox, Catholic and Apostolic Church” encompassing all peoples, languages and the universe, but the Sobor ultimately decided that the official name of the Mission should be: “The Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in North America, under the jurisdiction of the hierarchy from the Church of Russia.”
The second session of the Sobor the following evening began with discussion of conditions for the opening and organization of new parishes, but it was agreed that funding issues need to be resolved beforehand. It was noted that the Mission consists of parishes that are completely funded by the diocese, those that are self-funded and those whose funding is shared equally by the diocese and the parish, itself. Diocesan income from the Holy Synod in Russia and through receipts from parishes was limited, and therefore, it was critical that parishes become self-funding as quickly as possible, though this was often difficult to achieve. A committee of six delegates (3 priests, 3 lay) including Saint Basil Martysz was chosen by the Sobor and charged with devising a just funding system for the Sobor’s consideration the following day.
At the Sobor’s third session, conducted the following evening, the committee delivered a report detailing the complexities of charting a workable funding structure for parishes that would include reasonable clergy salary scales and would be affordable for both the diocese and the parishes. After extensive discussion, the Sobor decided to immediately appoint a new committee of seven members composed of a psalm-reader as well as three priests and three laity with one priest and one layman from each of the three funding classes of parishes discussed the previous day. The most prominent member of the committee was Saint Alexander Hotovitzky. The Sobor determined that a major factor for financial structure would be stipulations to define the relationship between parishes and the diocese. Therefore, the committee was also charged with drafting a statute for the diocese. Further decisions on all of these key issues were to be deferred to future Sobors, which, it was decided, would be convoked regularly.
After adjourning at 9:30 pm on Thursday evening, the Sobor delegates gathered for the final session at 7:30 am on Friday morning, March 8. Discussion was focused on liturgical matters, particularly on differences in liturgical practice from place to place, which could be disconcerting to some of the faithful. In response to such concerns, Archbishop Tikhon advised the clergy to explain to their flocks that variances in ritual do not indicate differences in dogma and that local variations in liturgical usage are natural, especially since the faithful in America hail from many different countries and traditions. To conclude the council, Father Leonid Turkevich, as chairman of the Sobor, delivered a speech (see links below) summarizing its accomplishments. A memorable event that occurred in conjunction with the Sobor was a farewell meal on Thursday, March 7 hosted by Archbishop Tikhon for diocesan clergy attending the convention and the Sobor, at which he thanked them for fruitful collaboration during the years of his archpastoral ministry in America.
An article summarizing the Sobor, together with the texts of the minutes and opening and closing addresses by Archbishop Tikhon and Father Leonid Turkevich, as published in Russian in 1907 in the American Orthodox Messenger (Vestnik) may be found here.
With the change in diocesan hierarch, not all of the decisions of the Sobor would be fulfilled. However, “The Normal Statute for the Parishes of the American Orthodox Diocese” was drafted, approved and published in Russian in 1909. The official English translation was published in the Vestnik in 1911.
An address by the OCA Archivist delivered in 2007 at the centennial celebration of the First All-American Sobor at Saint John’s Cathedral in Mayfield, PA may be found here.
In perusing the minutes, other documents and publications pertaining to the First All-American Sobor, it is amazing to see how - without experience of preceding councils to draw from - a spirit of conciliarity inspired by the Holy Spirit spontaneously pervaded all of the preparations for and proceedings of the Sobor. It is that conciliar spirit, which 115 years and 33 All-American Sobors and Councils later, continues, by the prayers of all the saints of North America and especially those who attended the First All-American Sobor, to guide and inspire the life of the Orthodox Church in America today.