GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA 8-10 East 79th St. New York, NY 10021 Tel: (212) 570-3530 Fax: (212) 774-0215 Web: http://www.goarch.org Email: communications@goarch.org
For Immediate Release: September 20, 2006
Contact: Rev. Dr. Frank Marangos Cell: 617-680-7222
ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN HIERARCHS IN AMERICA PREPARE FOR SIGNIFICANT MEETING IN CHICAGO
Hierarchs representing all Orthodox Christian jurisdictions in America are preparing for a significant meeting that will take place in Chicago, IL on October 3-6, 2006. The gathering is sponsored by the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) and is the third such meeting of its kind (1994; 2001).
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Chairman of SCOBA, noted that, â??Exemplifying the bond of brotherhood that exists among canonical Orthodox Churches in America, this Chicago meeting will provide the opportunity to all Canonical Orthodox hierarchs to review the work of SCOBA.â??
Reports will be offered by its agencies, commissions and endorsed groups whose personnel total nearly 200 individuals, with a combined annual budget of approximately $30 million. The SCOBA agencies implement programs concerned with foreign missions, emergency disaster relief, Christian education, campus ministry, scouting, communications, and prison ministry. The hierarchs will also participate in workshop sessions on establishing new parishes, keeping young people connected to the Church, the Diaconate, sexual misconduct in the Church, internal ecclesiastical issues and witness in society.
Founded in 1960, SCOBA brings together the canonical hierarchs of Orthodox jurisdictions in the Americas for the purpose of fostering ties of common action among the canonical Orthodox Churches for a stronger and more visible witness of the Orthodox Christian Faith.