(Release Date: Thursday, October 08, 2020.)
After a second day of productive deliberations, the Assembly of Bishops agreed on a Common Vision that commits themselves to work together toward Orthodox Christian Unity and Outreach, Common Orthodox Witness, Ministries and Initiatives, and Organizational Excellence. Read the full document here.
The collaborative process, initiated by the Executive Committee, acknowledges the spiritual needs of the collective Orthodox faithful in the United States of America. The Bishops look forward to working with the clergy and laity to implement their Common Vision.
Metropolitan Joseph, Vice-Chair of the Assembly of Bishops, commented, “Declaring 2021 as the Year of the Youth will set us on the right path to achieving our Common Vision. The youth are our present and our future.”
As such, the Assembly is beginning the process to create two new Agencies – a Youth Ministry Agency, as well as the Orthodox Volunteer Corps – to launch in 2021. Additionally, the Committee for Youth will continue to work on Orthodox Youth Spiritual Formation by taking inventory of existing efforts and developing new tools. The Assembly updated the Committee’s Terms of Reference to allow a wider breadth of work and approved the annual Orthodox Camping and Youth Workers Conference to take place again in 2021.
Finally, the Hierarchs of the Assembly released a Message of Hope during a difficult time in our country’s history. Read the message here.
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Originally published on the website of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA.