Author: Ann Rodgers
April 15, 2012
Crestinii Ortodocsi Fac Pasi Spre Unitate [in America de Nord] In timp ce crestini ortodocsi celebreaza astazi Pastile, ei au inviat miscarea spre unitate in America, unde exista o multime de jurisdictii etnice care sa suprapuni. La comanda patriarhilor din Constantinopol, Rusia, Serbia si alte locuri, toti episcopii ortodocsi in tara aceasta lucreaza la un plan pentru o singura Biserica Americana.
Traducere neoficiala a unor fragmente dintr-un articol la: Sursa: www.ocl.org/node/395 Sursa originala: http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/12106/1224177-84.stm
Patriarhii spun ca vor se aproba un astfel de plan la un Mare si Sfant Consiliu ortodox mondial care ramane inca fara data. Ultimul Consiliu asemanator a fost in A.D.787. In 2010, 66 de episcopi americani au format Adunarea de Episcopi Canonici din America de Nord si Centrala, ca sa prepara acest plan… “This has great potential,” said Bishop Melchisedek of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania in the Orthodox Church in America, which is self-governing but has Russian roots. He cited existing differences on matters such as divorce or re-baptism of converts. “The canon law of the church allows for only one bishop of a city, but here in Pittsburgh we have four. It’s a situation that can create unnecessary conflict. Now we have the potential for the church to speak with one voice.”
Sceptici spun ca aceasta unitate ar putea sa se faca imediat daca, intr-adevar, asta ar fi dorinta lor, si detaliile ar putea fi aranjate mai tarziu… The bishops assembly “is a façade,” said Cal Oren, a layman from Baltimore. “They want us to believe that they are working together and are really unified. If they are really unified, where is the real unity? Why do we have nine bishops of New York? We don’t need more joint commissions on youth work. That just creates an excuse for never really unifying.”
Ortodoxia este partea orientala a biserici crestine care s-a spart in biserica catolica si biserica ortodoxa in anul 1054. Liderul ei spiritual este Patriarhul ecumenic din Constantinopol, parte din Turcia moderna, si este ‘primus inter pares’. Totusi, el nu are autoritatea sa spuna la un alt patriarh ce sa faca. Acest sistem de guvernare care are radacini in Noul Testament, nu a mai functionat in Lumea Noua. Imigrantii au inceput biserici si au cautat preoti din Lumea Veche, si asta a creat situatia de multiple jurisdictii care sa suprapuni… The Russian Orthodox Church sent a bishop to serve all ethnic groups, but that ended after the communist Revolution of 1917.
In 1970 the Moscow Patriarchate set free its daughter diocese in the United States to become the Orthodox Church in America. But that wasn’t recognized by the other patriarchs, who still govern dioceses here. … Astazi sunt 13 jurisdictii ortodoxe in America de Nord pentru cei 800,000 de membri… The Pittsburgh region is a stronghold, with perhaps 25,000 adherents.
In 1994, when all of the Orthodox bishops in the Americas gathered near Ligonier and called for unity, the ecumenical patriarch accused them of rebellion. “When we started this work 20 years ago it was anathema to talk about the possibility of administrative unity. Now we’re not only talking about it, but hopefully the hierarchs will be looking at what is necessary to accomplish it,” said Charles Ajalat, a retired lawyer from Southern California, chairman of the pan-Orthodox social service agency FOCUS. … Planificarea pentru un Mare Consiliu pentru a reface hotarele a inceput in 1961. Putin progres s-a facut pana la caderea cortinei de fier… That freed the largest churches from persecution, and sent new waves of emigrants to the West. In 2009 patriarhii au cerut ca episcopii ortodocsi din 12 regiuni din lume sa faca planuri pentru unitate…The American bishops have asked the patriarchs to let them break into separate groups for Canada, the United States and Mexico-Central America. “The United States is the laboratory where this will work out, because we are the biggest and most developed and most complicated,” said Andrew Walsh, a Greek Orthodox layman who is associate director of the Leonard Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
Si sustinatori si sceptici al Adunarii Episcopilor spun ca problema nu este numai birocratic dar si spiritual. In 1872 chiar ideia de a avea un episcop incepand o biserica etnica pe teritoriul unui alt episcopi era considerat ca o erezie nationala…
Sceptici cred ca adunarea va fi minata de rivalitatea intre patriarhii de peste oceane, si mai ales Moscova si Constantinopol. Ultima, cu 3,000 de membrii rezidenti, este asa de impiedicata de guvernul turc, ca este obligata sa aiba parohii in alte locuri numai pentru a supravetui. Moscova, patriarhia cea mai mare cu 164 milioane de membrii, sa impune mai mult decand a cazut comunizmul… George Matsoukas, executive director of Orthodox Christian Laity, which advocates American unity, said he was once promised that the Great Council would convene by 2000. “Now, you read that they are in disagreement about convening it because they can’t agree about who should convene it,” he said. The American assembly “is a step in the right direction, but they’re not doing anything. It’s mired in the affairs of the Old World.” Metropolitan Savas, the Greek Orthodox bishop of Pittsburgh, said the patriarchs aren’t trying to delay the Great Council. “There are several reasons why it has taken so long. The first is that we don’t have an emperor to summon it. That’s how they were all called in the past” when there was still an emperor, he said. “There are questions such as does each bishop get one vote, or do we vote in blocks? Does the Moscow Patriarchate have one vote or 750? They’ve got something like 500 dioceses.” The Rev. Radu Bordeianu, associate professor of theology at Duquesne University and president of the Orthodox Theological Society in America, believes that Americans sometimes see overseas resistance where none exists. Father Bordeianu, a Romanian Orthodox priest who serves a Greek Orthodox parish, used to accept the axiom that churches overseas want to keep financial support from America. But after talking to some bishops “I realized that the so-called mother churches are materially supporting the small jurisdictions in the United States,” he said. “I was very surprised.”
Exista tensiuni intre convertitii - care au intrat in preotie in numar mare - si ortodocsii etnici. Este si conflict in si intre jurisdictii aici… In 2010, the Antiochian diocesan bishops were demoted to auxiliaries stripped of most of their power. Thirty years after declaring the Orthodox Church in America self-governing, the Russian Orthodox Church began planting parishes in the United States and reunited with the formerly schismatic Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
La Adunarea,, “a lot of the work right now is simply getting to be comfortable with each other’s presence,” said Metropolitan Savas. It includes “three different churches that came out of the Russian experience but didn’t acknowledge the legitimacy of one another. The fact that they are present and sitting around the same table and communicating is a major advance.” … comitete studiaza diferentele jurisdictionale in ceia ce priveste guvernarea bisericiilor pana la liturghii diferite… They commissioned a study that found they had less than one-third of the 3 million members they once claimed. Although no one rejoiced, “this means that we might start planning for the real Orthodox Church, not the fantasy Orthodox Church,” Mr. Walsh said.
Such work isn’t a stalling tactic, Metropolitan Savas said. “Defining our task is important. What is it we want to achieve? How can we better demonstrate our unity of faith? Does it mean that we have to speak the same liturgical language?” he said. Metropolitan Savas hopes the bishops will begin to form regional synods and work together. “Right now we are on parallel tracks. We pretty much ignore one another. That has implications for church planting,” he said. Father Trenham says a united church would cut many overall administrative costs by a factor of 10, saving millions of dollars. “We’ve done some things to try to collaborate, but it’s nothing compared to what it would be if we were one church. This is an incalculable waste of resources that no business would ever tolerate,” he said. … Unitatea este critica pentru ca biserica sa aiba puterea de a indeplini misiunea lui Christos in America…., Mr. Ajalat said. “Right now people see all of these jurisdictional divisions and they get confused. They think that all of them are separate churches, like Protestant denominations, but they’re not,” he said. “The Orthodox see themselves as one church. They are one church in doctrine and worship and episcopacy. It’s this administrative problem that needs to be solved.”