OCA Pastoral Life Colloquium opens at Chancery
A Pastoral Life Colloquium, in which representatives from every diocese of the Orthodox Church in America are participating, opened at the Chancery here on Tuesday, April 28, 2015.
“Participants are focusing on issues faced by clergy and their families,” said Priest Nathan Preston, Administrator of the recently revived Department of Pastoral Life and Ministry. “The gathering—and its results—will serve as a cornerstone for the department as it endeavors to meet the needs of our pastors.
“In order to guide our parish communities towards spiritual health, our pastors must themselves lead from a place of personal health and support,” Father Nathan added. “This colloquium aspires to provide an avenue by which the diverse needs of priests and deacons may be heard.”
With the blessing of His Eminence, Archbishop Mark of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, the department’s Episcopal Liaison, and the entire Holy Synod of Bishops, one priest from every diocese is participating in the Colloquium in order to add their voices and those of the presbyterates they represent to this important discussion.
“The prayers of the faithful are requested, that this time may be well spent and prove beneficial not just to priests and deacons, but to the whole of our Church and all its people,” Father Nathan concluded.
Additional information on the department may be accessed here.