George E. Matsoukas - Orthodox Christianity at the Crossroad: A Great Council of the Church - When and Why

Orthodox Christianity
at the Crossroad

A Great Council of the Church When and Why

George E. Matsoukas, Ed.

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Copyright 2009 by Orthodox Christian Laity

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iUniverse rev. date: 04/23/2009

Wherever God is, there is peace. And the opposite is self-evident:
where there is envy, enmity, impatience, self-love, there is the devil.
Wherever the devil isthere, everything is ruinous, proud, and hostile.

St. Anatoly of Optina

Orthodox Christianity at the Crossroad: A Great Council of the ChurchWhen and Why

George E. Matsoukas, Editor

Papers Presented at the Twentieth Anniversary Program of Orthodox Christian Laity, Saints Peter and Paul Fellowship Hall, Glenview, Illinois, November 3, 2007

Moderator

His Eminence Archbishop Nathaniel of Detroit,

Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America

Presenters

His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher of Chicago Midwestern Diocese,

Primate, Serbian Orthodox Church

Very Reverend Doctor John H. Erickson,

Peter N. Gramowich Professor of Church History,

St Vladimirs Orthodox Theological Seminary

Very Reverend Archpriest Alexander Abramov,

Secretary of the Representation of the Moscow Patriarchate to the United States, and Representative of the World Russian Peoples Council to the United Nations

Dr. Vigen Guroian,

Professor of Orthodox Christianity, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia

Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou,

Assistant Professor of International Relations, Boston University,

Research Associate of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs, and Commissioner of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom by appointment

This Orthodox Christian Laity Twentieth Anniversary publication is dedicated to the worthy members, friends, participants, and past and present board and advisory board members who have guided and sustained this independent educational ministry.

Contents

Foreword and Overview:

Introduction:

Timetable toward a Great and Holy Council:

The Need for an Inclusive and Open Council
Motivated by Love and Integrity:

Overview of History and Difficulties
in Preparing for the Council:

Facing the Critical Questions of World Orthodoxy:

Youth, Unity, and Orthodoxy in America:

The Need for a Great and Holy Council:
Why, Why Not Yet, and How?:

Postscript: Ecumenical Patriarch Calls
for a Great and Holy Council: OCL

About Orthodox Christian Laity:

Mission of OCL

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

The publication of these papers presented at the twentieth anniversary was made possible with the word-processing and organizational skills and patience of Petra Carrie Leitkowski, who is a recent convert to the Orthodox Christian faith. Her enthusiasm for the project made it worthwhile.