From The Orthodox Observer, Sep 2008, front page:
NEW YORK – Below is the full text of the Archdiocese press release of Aug. 5. Since that time, there have been some ques¬tions raised as to the nature of the Vicariate. Following the text of the press release, the director of the Office for Inter-Orthodox Relations, Fr. Mark Arey, offers some com¬mentary for purposes of clarification.
Decisions on some Palestinian and
Jordanian Communities in the U.S.
After a long process that began in 1993 related to the ecclesiastical status of a por¬tion of the Palestinian and Jordanian com¬munities in the United States, the portion connected to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, there has been a final agreed decision by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constan¬tinople and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem concerning these communities. The Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Jerusalem Patriarchate have agreed that the canonical and pastoral supervision of these commu¬nities and their clergy should belong to the canonically established jurisdiction in the United States which is the Eparchy of the Ecumenical Throne in America, that is, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Henceforth, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem no longer asserts any jurisdiction in the Western Hemisphere. On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received His Beatitude Patri¬arch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, together with the senior member of the Holy Synod of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Metropolitan Vasilios of Caesaria (Palestine) and other clergy. Final details for the implementation of the agreements were completed, with a mutual decision that these communities come under the canonical jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of America. Following the meeting at the Phanar, His Eminence Arch¬bishop Demetrios of America was directed to proceed with the implementation of the agreements by the creation of a Vicariate for the inclusion of the clergy and communities within the Archdiocese of America. The of¬ficial name of the Vicariate is: “Vicariate for Palestinian/Jordanian Communities in the USA.” The clergy and communities of the Vicariate will be directly under the Arch¬bishop of America and will report to the Archdiocese through the Vicar. Through the Archdiocese, all of these clergy and communities will be able to participate in the programs and agencies of SCOBA.
The process by which these parishes have been placed within the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Con¬stantinople under the pastoral care and supervision of the Archbishop of America, as Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, has been a long and complicated one.
When the Jerusalem Patriarchate sought an ecclesiastical presence both in the New World (as well as in Australia) in the 1980’s, the initiative was rebuffed by the Autocephalous Churches as being un¬canonical and even divisive to the already established presence of the other Churches in these locales.
In the early 1990’s, when a split oc¬curred in the Antiochian Archdiocese parish of St. Nicholas in San Francisco, the Jerusalem Patriarchate moved to establish this splinter community, named St. George, under its aegis. Thus, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem created its jurisdictional pres¬ence in America through a spilt in this Antiochian community. It is important to note here that divisive movements within parishes occur from time to time, and as a result a faction of parishioners sets up a parallel parish. A recent example of this is the establishment (2006-7) of St. Andrew’s Antiochian Church in Pensacola, Fla., which was a direct split from the Annunciation Greek Orthodox parish in Pensacola.
Now, while it is true that this specific new parish of St. George was formed out of the group that splintered from the Antiochian Archdiocese, the parishes that gradually were added to it comprised of members of Palestinian and Jordanian ori¬gin (except one, mentioned below), were formed independently and directly under the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Indeed, although the majority of the parishioners involved with these communi¬ties have come from Arabic-speaking back¬grounds, and even though the historical presence of the Antiochian Archdiocese in the Western Hemisphere has served Arabic-speaking Orthodox Christians, the ethnic identities of the majority of these faithful hail from lands (Jordan and Palestine) that canonically belong to the Jerusalem Patri¬archate (whose See is the Holy City of Jeru¬salem), and not the Antiochian Patriarchate (whose See is in Damascus, Syria). It is also important to note that most of the clergy for these newly formed parishes were ordained by the Jerusalem Patriarchate.
There are people who assume that every Orthodox Christian of an Arabic-speaking background belongs to the An¬tiochian Archdiocese. Such an assumption cannot be sustained. Among other reasons, with the mobility of American society, the growth of the convert-base of the Or¬thodoxy in America, and the widespread usage of English throughout most of the churches, the phenomenon of ethnically and linguistically monolithic or absolutist parishes is becoming increasingly rare.
Adding to this confusing picture was the inclusion in this group of parishes under the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the parishioners of a splinter group made up entirely of converts that were part of the so-called “Evangelical Orthodox” which converted and whose clergy were ordained en masse by the Antiochian Archdiocese in the late 1980’s.
The impetus for the creation of the Vicariate for Palestinian/Jordanian Com¬munities in the USA began in 2006, when the Patriarchate of Jerusalem entered into talks with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. As a result, for canonical reasons the Patriarch¬ate of Jerusalem decided to voluntarily withdraw from any jurisdictional presence in the Western Hemisphere.
The withdrawal of the Jerusalem Pa¬triarchate was directly connected to the proper arrangements for the ongoing care and pastoral supervision of its communi¬ties. The clergy and parishioners of these communities were advised to return to, or join for the first time, the Antiochian Arch¬diocese, but for the most part, they did not want to and preferred to remain with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The subsequent assignation of these communities in the United States to the Ecumenical Patriarchate through the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese came about as a so¬lution to their canonical status, inasmuch as the Jerusalem Patriarchate was withdrawing any ecclesiastical presence in America.
The Vicariate is designed solely to ac¬commodate the cultural and spiritual needs of these flocks, who have, over the past fifteen years, achieved a sense of solidarity with one another, and a renewed sense of connection with the Mother Church of their ancestral lands, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. All clergy and parishes that were under the Patriarchate of Jerusalem have been informed that it is the express desire of their Mother Church (Jerusalem) that they should join the Vicariate, which offers them a fully canonical basis and at the same time a clear self-identity and con¬nection with their traditions.
The Archdiocese of America has never sought to incorporate these communities in any way. Rather, by implementing the agreement between the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Jerusalem, the Arch¬diocese is offering a tremendous service to these communities and encourages them to preserve their pastoral, liturgical, philan¬thropic, cultural and canonical life.
The actions of the Archdiocese in this regard have been taken with the utmost respect for the Patriarchates involved, with unfailing care for promoting unity, and with the objective of promoting the spiri¬tual well-being of the Communities.
The only thing that did not happen during the long and painful process end¬ing in the creation of the Vicariate was any unilateral, selfish, or arbitrary action on the part of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.
So, the actions of the Archdiocese in the establishment of the Vicariate have been decidedly multilateral, mutually beneficial for all Orthodox, and in keeping with the reality of Orthodoxy in America.
This reality includes a plurality and multiplicity of often competing jurisdic¬tional presences, the overlapping of epis¬copal Sees, the complexity of communities with deep ties to mother lands overseas, and the variety of cultural, linguistic and ethnic expressions, all of the above being factors that require mature, reasoned and practical solutions.
This reality has always been the case, because the canonical and organizing structures of the Orthodox Faith came to America not in an organized program of evangelical mission, but rather through the emigration and displacement of popula¬tions from Eastern Europe and the Middle East that occurred at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.
In this heterogeneous environment, local communities looked to their mother¬lands for guidance. The myth of a unified Orthodox Church in the Western Hemi¬sphere prior to the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 needs to be debunked by serious historical and factual research. But the good news is that from the point of view of a consciousness of unity, there is today a much broader understanding of the mean¬ing of our essential unity in Christ in the Church. The voluntary withdrawal of the Jerusalem Patriarchate from the American “scene” – where it had no historical reason to be present – reduces jurisdictional ten¬sion and jurisdictional competition. The success of the Archdiocese in establishing this Vicariate is in the interest of every Orthodox presence in America, because it keeps the faithful within the sheepfold of the Church, without establishing yet another jurisdictional presence.
The Vicariate for Palestinian/Jordanian Communities in the USA is filled with communities of worshipping Orthodox Christians. They should be recognized for who they are: valid, living expressions of the Orthodox Faith, whose roots run deep in the land where our Lord and Savior lived, died and rose again. Let us embrace our brothers and sisters in the Same Lord and in the unity of our Holy Orthodox Faith
Forwarded by Rd. DC
