Inaugural Metropolitan Council Meeting

June 29, 2007
FROM: The Office of the Metropolitan
FOR GENERAL RELEASE

On Saturday, June 23, with the blessings of His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos of Athens, and His Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos of America, the inaugural meeting of the Metropolitan Council of the Holy Metropolis of America occurred at the Cathedral of St. Markella in Astoria, Queens. In attendance were the delegates and proxies representing all of our Holy Churches and Holy Monasteries. The meeting began in the morning soon after Divine Liturgy and continued into the early evening. Many issues were discussed and much work was accomplished.

To everyone's joy it was realized that all the items on the agenda were raised and discussed thoroughly, though no final decisions were made. Below you will find the agenda of the meeting.* Final wording and decisions on all documents related to all the issues on the agenda is being left to several committees that have were assigned to this specific task.

The above mentioned committees have been mandated to gather all the input offered by the delegates at the meeting, and to gather further input from any other concerned members of the Holy Metropolis. These documents will be presented at the next meeting of the Metropolitan Council where final changes will be made before they will be accepted and signed by all members of the Metropolitan Council. It will be these finalized documents that will be sent to the Metropolitan and the Locum Tenens for approval. It was decided to convene the next meeting of the Metropolitan Council at the Church of St. Nectarios in Ecorse, Michigan on Saturday, October 27.

A list of the committees that were nominated and accepted follows below:

Provisional Executive Committee of the Metropolitan Council
Ex-Officio: Bishop Christodoulos
Executive Administrator: Thomas Bezas
Financial Administrator: Fr. Theodore Giannakopoulos
Executive Secretary: Fr. Michael Hallford

The Metropolitan Council's Committee on Regulations
Fr. Thomas Marretta
Dr. Lazarus Gehring
Eugenios Sdobnev

The Metropolitan Council's Committee for the Regulation of the Central Fund
Fr. Christos Pittos
Constantine Lagen
Leonidas Pittos

The Metropolitan Council's Parish Contribution Funding Plan Committee
Nicholas Votzakis
Fr. Mark Burachek
Fr. Kleanthis Korkotas

Inaugural Session
METROPOLITAN COUNCIL
Saturday, June 23, 2007

Held at
St. Markella Greek Orthodox Cathedral
22-68 26th Street
Astoria, New York 11105

AGENDA



Agenda Item, Subject

1 Adoption of Agenda
2 Report on the State of the Metropolis
a. Locum Tenancy
b. Metropolitan Coordinating Committee
c. Romiosini
d. Parish Financial Summary
3 Report on the Health of Metropolitan Pavlos
4 Adoption of Uniform Parish Registry of Baptisms and Marriages
5 Consider Proposed Draft of Special Regulation of Metropolitan Council
a. Comment/Discussion
b. Proposed Amendments
c. Approval
d. Appointment of Committee
6 Consider Proposed Draft of Special Regulation of Central Fund
a. Comment/Discussion
b. Proposed Amendments
c. Approval
d. Appointment of Committee
7 Consider Proposed Financial Plan for Metropolis
a. Parish Contribution Modeling
b. Comment/Discussion
c. Proposed Amendments
d. Approval
8 Draft Budget for 2007/2008
a. Comment/Discussion
b. Proposed Amendments
c. Approval
9 Consider Date for Clergy Conference
10 Adoption of Final Resolutions

Orthodox Awareness

A Miracle of Saint Spyridon

This miracle of Saint Spyridon took place in Mandra, Greece in 1926.

It was 12/25 December, 1926. The state Church of Greece adopted the Papal calendar and with the help of the Greek government persecuted all those who did not accept the Papal calendar. The faithful Orthodox Christians of Mandra woke up and headed to their Church to celebrate the Feast of Saint Spyridon. When they reached the Church they saw that the door to the Church had been secured with chains and the faithful could not enter. Before leaving the Church to return to their homes they stuck their candles on the door. As soon as the last person placed his candles on the door

the chains broke and fell. The faithful, confirmed in their Faith, entered the Church and celebrated the Feast of Saint Spyridon.

The miracle was reported the next day by the newspaper Skrip.

Missions

Saint Matthew the Evangelist, Jonesboro, Arkansas

Jonesboro is a town located near the Eastern border of Arkansas, with a population of approximately 60,000. From a human standpoint, it’s not the most likely candidate for a traditional Orthodox mission, but for an Orthodox Christian who orders his priorities around Christ and His Church, it makes perfect sense. Read more...

Youth

2023 Youth Conference

Please join us for the 2023 youth conference in Chicago, IL! To learn more, visit the home page or visit the conference website.

Ask A Priest

Forty Day Memorial Service

Q. Can you please explain the significance of the forty day memorial service? An Evangelical family asked one of our relatives that question. We said that it’s best to ask a clergy member. Thank you in advance for your response. (We will forward it to them as soon as possible).
-P. & M. G. Read more...