OCA Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council meet in joint session Wednesday, September 3, 2008
On Wednesday, September 3, 2008, the Holy Synod of Bishops and the Metropolitan Council of the Orthodox Church in America met in a joint session at the East Norwich Inn, near the OCA Chancery on Long Island, NY.
The day began with a Divine Liturgy and Prayer Service at St. Sergius of Radonezh Chapel in the Chancery, celebrated by His Grace, Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania. Immediately following the services, His Eminence, Archbishop Dmitri of Dallas and the South read a letter from His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman to the Holy Synod of Bishops in which His Beatitude requested a six-month medical leave of absence. The Holy Synod will review Metropolitan Herman’s letter at their session on Thursday, September 4.
The first major agenda item of the meeting was the report of the Special Investigating Committee (SIC), charged with a further investigation of past financial mismanagement at the OCA Chancery. “The SIC’s work is based upon 44 interviews, more than 10,000 pages of documents, and more than 4000 hours of collective work,” the introduction to the report reads. Later, the report states that, “The full extent of administrative violations and transgressions is unknown… Some placed their personal gain above their Christian duties. Others failed in their fiduciary responsibility to bring these matters to light and correct them.”
The report, which was accepted unanimously by the Holy Synod and the Metropolitan Council, concluded by stating that “to restore the health, the openness, and the honesty expected in the OCA and required by civil law, the HS [Holy Synod] and MC [Metropolitan Council] must take immediate actions.” Specific actions are outlined in a listing of 13 immediate and six long-term recommendations, all of which were also accepted by both the Holy Synod and the Metropolitan Council.
Also on the day’s agenda was the discussion of several pending legal issues faced by the Church. This session included a presentation by the OCA’s new general legal counsel, Mr. Thaddeus Wojick, who addressed the two bodies for the first time since he was retained in the spring of this year.
On Thursday, September 4, 2008, the Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council will meet in separate sessions. Among the items to be discussed by the Holy Synod will be the recommendations in the Special Investigating Committee report specifically directed to the Synod. Included in the Metropolitan Council’s discussions will be a review of the Church’s financial status this year to-date and of the proposed 2009 budget.
The Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council will again meet in a joint session on Friday, September 5.