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6/6/08
Episcopate
Council
Hears
Joint
Dialogue
Report
Grass
Lake
MI
[ROEA
Chancery]
–
The
Episcopate
Council,
meeting
on
May
31
at
St
George
Cathedral
in
Southfield,
Michigan,
heard
the
latest
report
of
the
Joint
Dialogue
Commission
(JDC).
As
announced
in
previous
news
releases,
the
dialogue
between
the
two
Romanian
dioceses
in
America
continues
to
make
progress
and
the
Joint
Dialogue
Commission
continues
to
work
toward
the
envisioned
healing
of
these
Church
bodies.
Given
recent
speculation,
the
Episcopate
reiterates
that
the
recent
discussions
held
by
our
Joint
Dialogue
Commission
–
first,
in
Romania
with
the
Romanian
Orthodox
Church
(resulting
in
the
posted
"Agreed
Statement"),
and
then
in
Detroit
with
the
counterpart
commission
of
the
Romanian
Orthodox
Archdiocese
of
the
Two
Americas
(ROAA)
–
took
place
with
the
blessing
of
the
Archbishop
and
endorsement
of
the
Congress.
It
was
clearly
stated
that
the
JDC
had
not
been
in
Romania
in
February
to
discuss
a
return
under
the
Romanian
Patriarchate,
and
that
any
future
relationship
would
have
to
be
recognized
as
a
step
forward
toward
the
inevitable,
unified
Orthodox
Church
in
North
America.
At
the
same
time,
His
Beatitude,
Patriarch
Daniel
made
a
far-reaching
proposal
which
the
JDC
considered
to
be
a
step
in
that
direction.
It
therefore
discussed
the
matter
with
its
counterpart
in
the
ROAA
on
April
14,
2008.
This
resulted
in
a
detailed
"Proposal
to
Establish
a
Romanian
Orthodox
Metropolitanate
of
North
America"
into
a
single
entity,
in
canonical
relationship
with
(not
under)
the
Romanian
Orthodox
Church.
The
archbishops
of
both
eparchies,
NATHANIEL
(Popp)
and
NICOLAE
(Condrea),
have
given
their
blessings
to
forward
this
proposal.
Following
church
protocol,
after
an
initial
presentation
to
the
Holy
Synod
of
Bishops
of
the
Orthodox
Church
in
America
on
May
14,
the
Joint
Dialogue
Commission
met
with
the
ROEA
executive
body,
the
Episcopate
Council,
on
May
31.
At
these
meetings,
the
JDC
presented
a
Proposal
which
envisions
a
unity
of
the
two
North
American
Romanian
Orthodox
eparchies.
After
a
point
by
point
consideration
of
the
proposal,
the
Episcopate
Council
voted
that
it
next
be
presented
to
the
annual
session
of
the
Episcopate
Congress
on
July
4-5
at
the
Episcopate
headquarters
in
Grass
Lake,
Michigan.
His
Eminence,
Archbishop
Nathaniel
has
stated
that
he
will
place
it
on
the
agenda
for
discussion
at
the
Clergy
Conference,
on
July
3.
The
complexity
of
a
potential
unity
of
the
two
bodies,
which
have
existed
separately
for
some
60
years,
will
necessitate
that
practical,
legal
and
financial
matters,
etc.,
also
be
studied
and
agreed
upon.
A
Town
Hall
meeting
of
clergy
and
laity
in
the
Ohio-Western
Pennsylvania
Deanery
was
held
on
June
1
at
St
Mary
Cathedral,
Cleveland,
Ohio.
Members
of
the
Joint
Dialogue
Commission
presented
the
proposal
and
answered
questions
from
the
floor.
Similar
informational
sessions
in
other
areas
of
the
Episcopate
are
being
scheduled.
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