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Minutes of the Archdiocesan Council Meeting Archdiocese of Canada, Orthodox Church in America held at Holy Resurrection Sobor, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 20 - 21 April 2007 Council members in attendance at this meeting were:
Ruling Bishop of the Archdiocese, His Eminence, Archbishop SERAPHIM Chancellor, Archpriest Dennis Pihach Archdiocesan Dean, Archpriest Cyprian Hutcheon Treasurer, Nikita Lopoukhine Dean of British Columbia and Yukon, Archpriest Lawrence Farley Dean of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut, Archpriest Robert S Kennaugh Dean of Ontario, Archpriest John Jillions Clergy representative from Alberta and NWT, Archpriest Larry Reinheimer, (Director of Missions) Deacon Alexei Vassiouchkine (Ontario Deanery) Sandra Ellis (British Columbia and Yukon Deanery) David Grier (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut Deanery) John Hadjinicolaou (Quebec and Atlantic Provinces Deanery) Rod Tkachuk (Alberta and NWT Deanery) Olga Jurgens, Interim Adminsitrative Assistant Metropolitan Council Lay Representative Richard Schneider Nun Sophia (Zion), Editor, Canadian Orthodox Messenger Members of the Council absent from this meeting with a blessing were: Dean of Québec and Atlantic Provinces, Igumen Irénée (Rochon); Metropolitan Council Clergy Representative Archpriest John Tkachuk ; and David Rystephanuk (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut Deanery) Specially invited guests were : Spencer Estabrooks, Peter Ewanchuk, Matthew Francis, Deacon Gregory Scratch, Jeremy Scratch, and Kathlyn Szalasznyj. Observers at various times over the two days were : Fr Bernard Funk, Krista Francis, David and Victoria Guenther, Jesse Isaac, Michael Luciuk. * * * Pre-session group meetings, held on Friday morning, April 20 Following an 8:30 a.m. breakfast in the Church Hall of the Sobor, members of Council and invited guests divided into three groups for pre-session discussions as follows: Some members of the Administrative Unit met in the Temple, upstairs: Sandra Ellis, David Grier, Nikita Lopoukhine, and Rod Tkachuk. Members of the Theological Education Committee, as well as a few other interested observers from Council met in the main part of the Church Hall: Spencer Estabrooks, Fr Lawrence Farley, Fr Cyprian Hutcheon, John Hadjinicolaou, Fr John Jillions, Olga Jurgens, Fr Larry Reinheimer, and Richard Schneider. The Special Focus Group met with Fr Dennis Pihach in the Stage are of the Church Hall: Peter Ewanchuk, Matthew and Krista Francis, Michael Luciuk, Deacon Gregory Scratch, and Jeremy Scratch. The pre-session group meetings adjourned at noon for lunch in the Church Hall. Session I, held on Friday afternoon, April 20 The spring 2007 meeting of the Archdiocesan Council began with a Moleben served by Archbishop Seraphim in the Sobor’s Temple at 1:15 p.m. (Agenda #1.0) With the Chancellor in the chair, there followed the call to order, roll call, and regrets (Agenda #2.0). Agenda # 3.0 Minutes of the Previous Meeting [see attached, # 3] As the Archdiocesan Council began to review the Minutes of the previous meeting (Fall 2006), in the interest of accountability, the Chancellor reviewed all the “Action” items (Agenda # 4.0) listed. The following points were made: (p. 2): Fr Dennis Pihach said that the matter of the programming which Rogers Cable has offered to the Archdiocese will have to be put aside for the time being. The Archbishop and Richard Schneider simply do not have the time necessary to work on this project at this time. (p. 2): Fr Dennis Pihach reported that a committee is still working on a diocesan credit card (bearing the Archbishop’s name). It should be available from Alberta Treasury Branch very shortly. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH
(p. 2): Fr Dennis Pihach reported that although generally the parishes are giving more, there still is a need for the Archdiocesan Council’s Deanery Lay Representatives to talk with at least their own parishes about their financial commitment for the support of the diocese. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH AND DEANERY LAY REPRESENTATIVES (p. 2): The list of parishes which have signed the OCA’s Sexual Misconduct Guidelines is not yet complete. Deans must make sure that every parish, mission, and mission station has signed, and the Deans must relay this information to the Archbishop’s office promptly. ACTION: ALL DEANS (p.2): Olga Jurgens reported that she now has the drawings for the two Russian-language brochures (one on the OCA, the other on stewardship), so except for the actual printing, this project is complete. (p. 3): David Grier said that a draft report concerning positions of Administrative and Personal Support for the Archbishop will be presented by the Administrative Unit at this meeting. (p.3): Fr Dennis Pihach said that the recommendation for the Archdiocesan Dean and the regional Deans to stay abreast of parish responses to the Archbishop’s directive on stewardship remains a concern. The process must continue, since some parishes still need ongoing education with regard to stewardship. ACTION: ALL DEANS (p. 3): Nikita Lopoukhine reported that there is still a question of where in the budget to put a line item for Clergy Synaxes, and where the money for the Synaxes is to come from. ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE (p. 3): Fr John Jillions said that the Assembly Committee is working on some official recognition at the Assembly of Archbishop Seraphim’s 20th anniversary of consecration to the episcopate. (p. 6): Fr Dennis Pihach reported that the request from members of the Ontario Deanery, who are located in Toronto, that there be a Sub-deanery Council of some kind in that area of the deanery, will be an on-going process of development under the leadership of the Archbishop. ACTION: ARCHBISHOP SERAPHIM (p. 7): Fr John Jillions said that an agenda for this summer’s Assembly will be presented at this meeting. (p. 8-9): Fr Dennis Pihach said that the Theological Education Committee’s proposal for an Archdiocesan Vocations Assessment Committee (AVAC) is a matter being discussed by the Archbishop and the TEC, and that there will be a report on this later in the meeting.. (p. 10): Nikita Lopouhkine reported that he had disbursed the monies from charities, seminary/scholarship, and mission funds as recommended by the Programming Unit and approved by the Council. (p 11): John Hadjinicolaou reported that he and the Administrative Unit had not been able to organize any conference calls since the last meeting of Council. This must be done in future. It was suggested that the Administrative Unit consider two sites on the internet web which may make this conferencing free: www.freeconference.com and/or www.skype.com. ACTION: JOHN HADJINICOLAOU AND ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT (p. 11): Nikita Lopoukhine said that in the coming autumn he plans to send the note to parishes informing them that when people give to the United Way, they can list the diocese (with its charitable number) in the slot provided on the donation from. ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE (p. 12): Fr Dennis Pihach announced that the Special Focus Group, having gone “back to the drawing board” as requested, will be reporting at this meeting. (p. 13): Matthew Francis said that Fr John Jillions had taken Matthew Francis’ proposed budget for youth and young adult programmes at the 2007 Assembly back to the Ottawa planning group. (p. 13): Fr Dennis Pihach admitted that since the last meeting of Council, he had not sent a letter to Metropolitan Herman reminding him of our need for an Auxiliary Bishop. Vladyka said that he has notified the Metropolitan that he has re-started the process of finding suitable nominations for Auxiliary Bishop. It remains the desire of the Council, however, that the Chancellor of the Archdiocese notify the Metropolitan of this need every time we have an Archdiocesan Council meeting. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH (p. 14): It was reported that the Archdiocesan Council’s resolution to be presented to the joint meeting of the Metropolitan Council and the Holy Synod in December 2006, calling for an extraordinary and simplified AAC to be held in 2007 instead of 2008, was sent/taken almost immediately to the parties involved. The minutes of the previous meeting were then passed unanimously with the following three amendments: On p. 2, in the paragraph referring to John Loukadelis, the last part of the paragraph should read : “ . . . because we are not actually remitting monies directly to the USA, but only spending our tithe in Canada, in Canadian funds, for the Central Church Administration.” On p. 4, in the account of the discussion with regard to the delegation of authority in the diocese, it was decided that the last sentence of the second paragraph be omitted entirely [omit “Some said they felt unsupported by him in the decisions which they had tried to make within the authority which they thought he had given them”]. On p. 5, under the Treasurer’s Report (#7.0), it was decided to omit the second clause of the first sentence in the second paragraph [omit “. . . if we borrow from such funds for a very brief time, and keep a very clear and transparent track of this borrowing, it is possible to get by with this briefly, although it may be technically illegal.”] At this time, it was requested, and agreed, that when drafts of the minutes of Archdiocesan Council meetings are sent out to members of Council, each page of each draft should give not only the page number but also the number of the draft (e.g., , “1st draft, p. 1”). Agenda # 5.0 Agenda [see attached, # 3] The following items were added to the Chancellor’s proposed agenda: 16. Saskatoon Assembly Minutes 17. Nominating Committee for the 2007Assembly 18. Sifton 22. (a) Youth conference on the environment The proposed agenda, with additions, was passed unanimously. Agenda # 6.0 Report of the Ruling Bishop [see attached, # 6] In addition to the written report, His Eminence made several other comments. First he said that he is not disturbed by people’s talking about their feeling of lack of support from him. His doing something about this is an ongoing concern for him. He spoke of his pastoral approach to the diocese---running it like a parish, because he considers himself as a pastor, rather than an administrator. The essence of his style is pastoral, and having to do primarily with relationships. He also said that we must not manipulate each other in this diocese, but enable each other. There is a quandary in all of this, however: the diocese has grown so large in the past twenty years that it is difficult sometimes to find ways of enabling support for each other. How to do it is the question. He is often asked why he cannot say “no.” He thinks it is because he so deeply believes that God will not give him more to do than he can manage. He is trying to be obedient, to do what God wants of him. But he realizes he sometimes makes mistakes. Also, he is looking with hope for a resolution, sooner or later, to the current “mess” in the Central Administration in the USA, because it is beginning to affect us here in Canada. Canadians are slow, and careful in reacting, but in the past few months he has begun to notice peoples’ expressing cynicism towards hierarchy in general, and Syosset in particular, as well as some cynicism about our own diocesan administration. He noted that he cannot say anything to the diocese yet without causing trouble from the exterior. At this point, Nikita Lopoukhine asked if, at the Assembly, we should try to clarify some things about our Canadian relationship with the Syosset Central Administration. In reply, His Eminence asked Fr Larry Reinheimer and Nikita Lopoukhine to compile a list of points that Vladyka might consider making to the Assembly with regard to this. ACTION: FR LARRY REINHEIMER AND NIKITA LOPOUKHINE Father Lawrence Farley asked that an omission in the Bishop’s written report be corrected: that he had received in 2006 the Award of the Palitsa from the Holy Synod. ACTION: ARCHBISHOP SERAPHIM Agenda # 6.1 Report of the Chancellor [see attached, #6.1] In addition to his written report, Fr Dennis Pihach noted that a Chinese priest from Russia, Fr Gregory Yue, will be visiting in the diocese this summer. Also, Dr. Tan, a former Anglican priest who is now Orthodox, is speaking this spring at an ecology conference in Ottawa. .Agenda # 6.2 Report of the Archdiocesan Dean [see attached, #6.2]
Fr Cyprian Hutcheon presented this written report. Agenda # 6.3 (a) Deanery of British Columbia and Yukon Report [see attached, # 6.3 (a)] Fr Lawrence Farley presented this written report. Agenda # 6.3 (b) Deanery of Alberta and Northwest Territories Report [see attached, # 6.3 (b)] In addition to his written report, Fr Dennis Pihach said that a new Dean for Alberta has been elected: Fr Vasil Kolega, who will join the Council at the end of the 2007 Assembly. Agenda # 6.3 (d) Deanery of Ontario Fr John Jillions gave this oral report, making several points. He said that St John’s in Windsor now has a resident, self-supporting priest. St Gregory’s in Kingston is being served for the time being by Hieromonk Luke (Majoros). All appears to be going well with the All Saints Mission in Hamilton. Attendance at the Paschal liturgy in Toronto was excellent: 1500 people at Christ the Saviour, 1000 at St Seraphim’s, and 25 at the new Mission of St Nicholas. In Ottawa, the Cathedral parish has begun the “$100,000 Challenge.” It is hoped that this project will finish paying off the diocese’s loan to the Cathedral, as well as giving enough money also to begin the framing of the iconostasis---all prior to the start of the Assembly in July. Nikita Lopoukhine is in charge of the challenge. Once this challenge is successfully completed, the parish will then be able to start a broader campaign of fund-raising for monies to pay for the icons and frescos which will adorn the temple. (This later, broader campaign can be diocesan-wide, or even perhaps OCA-wide. But this will not be begun until the loan is fully paid off.) Fr John brought and displayed for the Council the sketches which Heather MacKean has made for the bema area of the temple. Other points which Fr John made were that (1) the Cathedral, for its Lenten project, helped to renovate the Archbishop’s house of St Arseny at the Fair Haven complex, which involved a great deal of volunteer work; (2) the parish’s old iconostasis from the previous building has been donated to the Mission of the Theotokos of the Life-giving Spring in Winnipeg: and (3) that the parish has provided hospitality (space, time-slots, etc.) within the Cathedral complex for the Ethiopian Orthodox community to make its beginning in the nation’s capital. Agenda # 6.3 (e) Deanery of Quebec and Atlantic Provinces Report [see attached, # 6.3 (e)] Since the Dean of Quebec was absent with a blessing, his written report was received. Agenda # 7.0 Report of the Treasurer [see attached, # 7.0] Nikita Lopoukhine began by saying that we do have a budget surplus of $10,000 from 2006, the year having been the best one ever for parish donations. He said that the Cathedral has already repaid about $50,000 of the loan from the Archdiocese (this loan was created by the collapsing of the Bishop’s Endowment Fund as well as some additional monies from the current account.) At this time, the money that the Cathedral has returned to the diocese is sitting in the current account. Where this money should be placed will be considered by the Administrative Unit at this meeting. At this point the Chancellor asked both the Administrative Unit and the Programming Unit, in the evening session to follow, to look closely at the special and/or designated funds to see if reorganization is needed. John Hadjinicolaou made the point that at our last meeting in November, we thought that 2006 would be a deficit year. Yet we have come out ahead by $10,000. He says that people need to be informed that with just a small effort, we can do better. The Chancellor said that this is an area where Lay Representatives to Council can be so helpful to urge the parishes to pull their weight in our common endeavour. Nikita Lopoukhine noted also, however, that a few missions are not giving anything, citing the case of one of them through which he has channelled $50,000 of tax receipts, and yet they have contributed nothing to the diocese. Agenda # 8.0 Ottawa Cathedral / Assembly 2007 [see attached, # 8.0] Fr John Jillions gave this written report, stating that it is largely the work of Mary Ann Lopoukhine. It was noted that the unusually low prices of the suites and the free meeting rooms offered to the Assembly are a result of Fr John Jillion’s being a full-time faculty member at St Paul’s University. Council members were asked to make sure that everyone knows that all forms needed for application for delegate or observer status, for suite rentals, programme schedules, etc. are on both the Cathedral and the Archdiocesan web sites : http://www.archdiocese.ca and http://www.ottawacathedral.org . All reports to be given to the Assembly will be requested soon from Council members by a person assigned to gather them and put them in the Assembly binders. There was some discussion of the workshop schedules and content. It was decided to juxtapose three 40-minute sessions (topics to be finalized by the Assembly planning committee in consultation with His Eminence) with the 2-hour session on parish music. Nikita Lopoukhine was asked to tell Deacon Gregory Kopchuk that if he does a workshop, it should not be on stewardship, but rather on what he can tell us about what the Church can learn from business. For the business sessions of the Assembly, it was agreed that the Chancellor will be in charge of the agenda, which should include something on the OCA crisis. ACTION: ARCHBISHOP SERAPHIM, FR DENNIS PIHACH, NIKITA LOPOUKIHINE, AND FR JOHN JILLIONS Matthew Francis talked about the Youth Programme at the Assembly (see his written report at Agenda #21). The agenda of the Assembly was unanimously approved by the Council, taking into account the changes suggested with regard to scheduling, workshop topics, etc. It was requested that a visit to Fair Haven, the Diocesan Centre, also be organised, and included in the programme, logically on the Friday afternoon, much as at the previous Assembly in Ottawa. ACTION: JOHN HADJINICOLAOU Agenda # 15.0 Special Focus Group [see attached, # 15.0] First Jeremy Scratch, and then Deacon Gregory Scratch presented this written report. The Archdiocesan Council was then served supper in the Church Hall. Session II, held on Friday evening, April 20 After supper, the Council Members divided into two units, Administrative and Programming, in order to discuss recommendations which would be offered to the Council as a whole the next day. Session III, held on Saturday morning, April 21 The meeting was called to order with the singing of “Christ is risen” and the Archbishop’s blessing. The Chancellor was in the chair. Agenda # 18 Sifton [see attached, # 18] Kathryn Szalasznyj, Archdiocesan Archivist, handed out copies of the draft brochure for the Canadian Orthodox Pioneer Museum in Sifton, Manitoba, which has been started with a small seed grant of $2,000 from the Virginia Farah Foundation. The museum will open this summer for its first season. Two grants have been applied for from the government, with the hope that at least one will come through to help pay for someone to work at the museum for the summer season. She said that Michael Luciuk has already been selected for this position, and it is hoped that he can be not only the person running the museum but also an Orthodox community and outreach person to “water the roots of Orthodoxy” that still remain in the Sifton area. Katya Szalasznyj also noted that the museum is now affiliated with the “Quiet Garden Movement” begun in the UK (their motto: “Don’t just do something; sit there”). It is the only quiet garden in the prairie provinces, and may be the only Orthodox quiet garden in the world. This year’s theme for the museum is “a love story.” On display will be many photographs and artefacts related to Orthodox weddings and wedding feasts, as well as explanatory materials related to Orthodox theology of marriage. She said that she is most happy to see that in the diocesan budget there is $2,000 available for the Sifton project, since it will be most needed. This year’s Sifton Pilgrimage will be on Saturday, June 23, since it has been found that Saturdays are best for visiting clergy, and other pilgrims. Finally, she asked that Council members remember Dot Connelly in prayer. She is the Post Mistress of Sifton, who has been so helpful in the projects to restore the Church, and to create the museum. She is also very hospitable to any one of us who visits the Sifton project. Although she is Roman Catholic, she regularly sits in the Sifton Church, and prays to St Arseny for guidance. 9.0 CCC Reports (Ecumenical Activities) [see attached, #9.0 (a), (b), & (c)] Fr Cyprian Hutcheon presented three written reports, his own (#9a) concerning the Governing Board, that of Justin Colin Grimmond (#9b) concerning the Justice and Peace Commission, and that of Richard Schneider (#9c) concerning the Faith and Witness Commission. Fr Cyprian requested that we raise our contribution to the CCC this year by $250, for a total of $750. This recommendation was carried, with two abstentions. ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE Fr Cyprian also said that he has been impressed with the seriousness of both the faith commitments, and the theological reflections which he has observed recently on the Governing Board. Biotechnology/bioethics is a very important topic of reflection currently. Fr Cyprian also noted that, as Colin Grimmond’s report shows, the Justice and Peace Commission is very much concerned with the problem of human trafficking. At this juncture, Fr John Jillions said that during the recent visit of Bishop Miron from Poland, to the ecumenical meeting of Military Chaplains in Ottawa, he was reminded by Bishop Miron that there is no Orthodox presence at all in the chaplaincy corps of the Canadian Armed Forces. He was told by others that all one has to do is apply (with the approved education, ordination, etc., of course), and that the process is relatively easy. Fr Dennis Pihach replied that for some who have applied previously, it did not appear to be as easy as Fr John was given to think. Nevertheless, the Chancellor said, the need for Orthodox military chaplains should be an item on the next Council agenda. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH Fr John Jillions also said that he thinks it is important to have the “interfaith portfolio” in the CCC because all religions are threatened here in Canada. But this does not mean that inter-Christian dialogue should be in any way compromised. The inter-Christian dialogue must remain primary. Richard Schneider reported that our diocese now has a full complement of members on the Faith and Witness Commission: Deacon Alexei Vassiouchkine, Paul Ladouceur, and himself. Agenda # 11.0 Clergy Insurance / Property Insurance [see attached, # 11 (a) & # 11 (b) Fr Dennis reported that Ecclesiastical Insurance is designing policies for our parishes. The document #11(a) applies to large parishes and #11(b) to smaller ones. This is a very big company, so each province has a representative and each parish will be able to have a presentation by the company. The company has long experience with churches, as suggested by its name. The company will give a quote on the parish’s property and then negotiations can take place. The relationship is between each parish and the company; the diocese will not have to get involved in collecting, etc. Already, Ecclesiastical has done a careful study of our parishes in Alberta, and in the Toronto area. Because there is considerable material to get through in the next few months, Fr Dennis said that he would like to form a committee to read through the coverage materials. He has therefore appointed Fr Philip Eriksson, Nikita Lopoukhine, and Rod Tkachuk to work with him. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH, FR PHILIP ERIKSSON, NIKITA LOPOUKHINE, AND ROD TKACHUK. In conclusion, Fr Dennis said that each parish will receive a package from Ecclesiastical Insurance, plus a letter from the Archdiocese. Agenda #6.3 (c) Deanery of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut [see attached, # 6.3 (c)] Because of his late arrival, Fr Bob Kennaugh gave this written report at this time. Fr Cyprian Hutcheon reported that he has felt very welcomed at Holy Resurrection Sobor. Already there have been changes. In Holy Week there were Bridegroom Matins for the first time in the parish’s history, and the Paschal Matins and Liturgy were served at midnight for the first time, also. The parish office has been completely renovated. It is hoped that the parish Sunday school can be reinstituted soon. Also, there is a lot of interest in the parish in the NASHI project, and discussions are ongoing about how the parish can help. Finally, relics which have been in storage have been placed in icons newly written by Yvonne Romano, and placed in the temple. Agenda # 10 Metropolitan Council [see attached, # 10] Richard Schneider gave this written report. He said that he thinks that at the heart of the matter in the troubles in Syosset are confusion, and lack of conciliarity. There is a serious effort going on, however, to try to restore order. One sign of progress is that for the time being, there will be four Metropolitan Council meetings per year instead of two. He said that a solid management system and personnel is being put in place, and everyone needs to have an “adult Christian mind” about the movement forward: i.e., there should be balance, patience, fair play, repentance, and love. There still is some “hot blood” on the Metropolitan Council, and these few people feed into the mistrust of those who do not know details. He thinks that the Archdiocesan Council should try to be an intermediary of “good news to the pews”, and encouragement to Christian behaviour about this whole situation. The status of the Alaska lands is delaying any clean audit of the books, unfortunately. For the first time since the current Syosset “crisis” began, there was a very lengthy, and frank discussion around the table by the Archdiocesan Council members. Among some of the concerns were: possible injustice to whistle-blowers ; need for reconciliation ; possible scapegoating of one or more persons, and lack of repentance from everyone since all seemed to have collaborated, by commission or omission, to a greater or lesser degree ; the need for development of trusting relationships ; fear of reprisals ; and recognition, and correction of systemic problems and attitudes. The concluding summary seemed to be that people in our diocese are really not sure it is all over yet, because they are not convinced that past systemic attitudes have been corrected. As a result of John Hadjinicolaou’s, and Fr Lawrence Farley’s initial suggestion, it was decided to ask Fr Thomas Hopko to come to the Archdiocesan Assembly to give an historical/theological background to past church crises and how they were handled, as part of a plenary report on the OCA crisis. It was also recommended that this topic of “ecclesiastical crisis” could be presented in the plenary session in which the Archbishop gives his Ruling Bishop’s Report. Also, if Fr Hopko is able to give the 30-minute talk on the topic, John Hadjinicolaou said that Alexandre Press would volunteer to print it. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH, ARCHBISHOP SERAPHIM, FR JOHN JILLIONS, AND JOHN HADJINICOLAOU Session IV, held on Saturday afternoon, April 21 Following lunch in the Church Hall, the meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by the Chancellor, who was in the chair. Administrative Unit Report [see attached items “Administrative Unit # 1” “Administrative Unit #2” and “Administrative Unit #3”] David Grier gave the report for this unit. He said that the unit’s members had discussed four topics: (1) by-laws, (2) bishop support, (3) the proposal of the St Tikhon Archdiocesan Stewards, and (4) budget clarifications. Under (1) by-laws, he reported that the unit discussed at some length the process for nominating the diocese’s Representatives on the Metropolitan Council, the Diocesan Court, and the Archdiocesan Council. It was clarified that the Assembly Nominating Committee will be the Chancellor, the Archdiocesan Dean, and the Treasurer. There had been in the unit, and continued to be during this presentation in the Council as a whole, discussion about possible conflict between the OCA Statute and our own diocesan by-laws, as well as discussion about how many persons, priestly and lay, should be on the Archdiocesan Council. Since there seemed to be some degree of confusion about all of this, it was decided that by the Assembly in July we must have a current, up-to-date version of the diocesan by-laws. If a by-law change is required after this research is done, it will be proposed. ACTION: DAVID GRIER AND ROD TKACHUK The Archbishop made the comment that there must be one Lay Representative from Manitoba and one from Saskatchewan on the Archdiocesan Council, to make a total of six (even though there is only one Dean for both deaneries). Although the Lay Representatives are elected by their deaneries, His Eminence will appoint the Priest Representatives to Council. The Archbishop will also appoint members of the Diocesan Court from the new Council, to be constituted at the end of the July Assembly. ACTION: ABP SERAPHIM, ASSEMBLY NOMINATING COMMITTEE The new Metropolitan Council members from the diocese will be elected/selected at the July 2007 Assembly, but their posts will take effect only at the end of the 2008 All American Council. In order to stagger knowledge and experience, one of the two new representatives will be elected/selected for a term of six years, and the other for a term of three years. For the Audit Committee, the nominating committee will present a slate of three for election at the upcoming Assembly. The Bishop opined that one of these should be an accountant. ACTION: ASSEMBLY NOMINATING COMMITTEE The need for proper auditing of the books was discussed, in the context of the present concerns in the USA. At present, a Compilation Report is prepared by Kosta Stavrou of Montreal. This kind of report is all that is required by CRA at our level of budget. Under (2) bishop support, David Grier distributed a sheet of information he had written (see “Administrative Unit # 1”), describing three positions, along with suggested financial compensation, that the Administrative Unit think are necessary for the support of the Archbishop and his office: [1] an Office Administrative Secretary, [2] a Personal Assistant, [3] an Archdiocesan Administrative/Personal secretary. Since funding these positions would require additional income for the Archdiocese, David Grier turned the floor over to Matthew Francis, and Peter Ewanchuk from the Special Focus Group, so that they could describe the (3) STAS proposal. They distributed a draft presentation of the St Tikhon Archdiocesan Stewards [STAS] (see “Administrative Unit #2”). Matthew Francis explained that all of the technical banking details (e.g., direct withdrawal, etc.) for this new organization have already been set up. After discussion, the Council decided that the wording at the end of the STAS brochures will read: “All proceeds given through the St Tikhon Archdiocesan Stewards (STAS) programme will be allocated to the ministry needs of the Archdiocese of Canada, as blessed by the Ruling Bishop, with the Archdiocesan Council, and the STAS Vision Committee.” ACTION: PETER EWANCHUK AND THE SPECIAL FOCUS GROUP At this point His Eminence said that he wanted it recorded that the Ruling Bishop of the Archdiocese of Canada has no discretionary funds. Under the direction of the Chancellor, the Special Focus Group will make pamphlets and a DVD explaining the needs of the diocese, as well as the STAS brochure packet, in 250 copies, to be given out at the Archdiocesan Assembly in Ottawa. There will be an allocation of $2,000.00 to fund this project, and bills are to be sent to Nikita Lopoukhine. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH, SPECIAL FOCUS GROUP, NIKITA LOPOUKHINE Matthew Francis announced that the email address for STAS will be: sttikhonarchdiocesanstewards@gmail.com Under (4) budget clarifications, Rod Tkachuk passed around a written “Money Summary” of monies which the diocese is “free to spend,” and a list of “Designated (Promised)” funds. He said that we must have independent legal opinion as whether the designated funds can be changed (a propos the tax laws). After discussion, it was decided that the monies being repaid from the Cathedral loan will be put back into the Bishop Endowment Fund (the designated fund that most of the loan was withdrawn from) and invested through Fr Phillip Eriksson. ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE It was also decided that the surplus in the budget for the year 2006, approximately $10,000, will be allocated in 2007 for administrative support of the Archbishop and his office. ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE . At this point, and in answer to a query, the Treasurer and the Chancellor clarified the fact that when Archdiocesan Councillors come from the West to an Assembly in the East, the diocese pays the basic transportation cost; and vice-versa. The 2007 proposed Budget, with various amendments, was passed unanimously. Programming/Communications Unit Report Fr Lawrence Farley presented the report from this Unit. It was recommended by the Unit and agreed by the Council that Olga Jurgens should have 2,000 copies each printed of the two Russian pamphlets. The money for this will come from the publishing budget. ACTION: OLGA JURGENS, AND NIKITA LOPOUKHINE It was recommended and agreed that the Tsunami funds be sent to an Orthodox parish in Indonesia hit by the Tsunami. Richard Schneider will get the name and address and pass it on to the Treasurer. ACTION: RICHARD SCHNEIDER, AND NIKITA LOPOUKHINE The money listed under IOCC funds must be sent somewhere by the Archdiocese of Canada, since the IOCC has consistently refused to get a Canadian tax number (such as St Vladimir’s Seminary has). It was proposed and agreed that we ask the IOCC where they think the funds should be sent by the diocese. Fr Dennis will do this, along with a letter of explanation as to why we have to do it this way. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH, AND NIKITA LOPOUKHINE It was recommended by the Unit, and agreed by Council, that $1,024.71 from the Education/Seminary Fund be placed in the Clergy Synaxis Fund in order to bring it out of a deficit and up to zero. ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE It was recommended, and agreed, that the approximately $2,000 in the Sifton Fund be given to the project for this summer. ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE It was recommended and agreed that the money ($1,287.50) listed under the closed St Astius Mission be placed in the Mission Fund. ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE It was recommended that Archbishop Seraphim be informed that there is about $2000 in the Bishop’s Book Fund for him to spend on publications. It was also thought by the Unit and generally agreed by the Council that the Archbishop has probably already spent his own money to buy things which could have been paid for by the Bishop’s Wish List ($934.00 in this fund). If Vladyka can send invoices to the Treasurer for some of these expenditures, and/or for any that he will make in the next while, they can be either reimbursed or paid out of this fund. ACTION: ARCHBISHOP SERAPHIM, AND NIKITA LOPOUKHINE The Unit thought, and Councillors agreed, that we need a new official photograph of our Ruling Bishop for hanging in the parishes, especially now that he is an Archbishop. His Eminence did not seem to react favourably to this recommendation. The point was made, however, that the cost of it might possibly come from the Bishop’s Book Fund. The Unit recommended, and the Council unanimously agreed, that from the Mission Fund, $350.00 each should be sent to the missions in St John’s NF and Cranbrook AB (the latter through St Peter the Aleut’s in Calgary); and that $500.00 each be sent to the missions of St Nina and of St John of Shanghai in BC, to St Nicholas’ Mission in Toronto, and to the Mission of the Life-giving Spring in Winnipeg MB. ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE It was recommended and approved that out of the Charity Fund $500.00 be sent to St John the Compassionate Mission in Toronto, a Carpatho-Russian Diocese (Ecumenical Patriarch) mission to street people in Toronto. ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE The Chancellor said that he would let the Central Church Administration of the OCA know what is in the fund for them (representing our tithe of income for the year 2006) and ask if they would like the money applied to the expenses of having the Metropolitan (and possibly others who might accompany him) from Syosset at the Assembly. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH The Unit recommended that, in view of the hectic schedule Fr Justin Hewlett now has, with a new mission added to his other many obligations, someone else should be asked to administer the English side of the Archdiocesan website. There was enthusiastic praise for the work of Alexander Ovodov for his highly knowledgeable, and prompt work on the Russian website. In view of this, it was urged that Alexander Ovodov be asked to be in charge of the Web-site. Sandra Ellis volunteered to talk with Alex about this, and Archbishop Seraphim will send him an e-mail request. ACTION: ARCHBISHOP SERAPHIM, AND SANDRA ELLIS Agenda # 12.0 (a) Theological Education Committee Report [see attached, # 12 (a)] Fr Cyprian Hutcheon presented this written report. It was decided that since so much is happening in this area, the committee should meet again at the Assembly. The meeting will be held on July 17 at 4:00 p.m. at St Paul’s University in Ottawa. ACTION: FR CYPRIAN HUTCHEON, AND THE COMMITTEE It was also decided that the Theological Education Committee should meet on Thursday afternoon for Archdiocesan Council meetings which start on Friday. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH Agenda # 12.0 (b) St Arseny Institute Report [see attached, #12 (b)] Spencer Estabrooks gave this written report. At the end of Spencer’s presentation, His Eminence said that the canonization of St Arseny by the OCA is probably a long time away, but it is clear from his fruits that he is a saint. Look at what he has been doing for us. He is ours, there are icons, a Life is being worked on, and we have a moleben and an akathist. It is “no big deal” if he’s not on the official calendar yet, Vladyka added. Agenda # 18.0 Minutes of the Saskatoon Assembly We are still missing these minutes, because the person in charge of them became ill for an extended time after the Assembly. They may be lost completely. We need to find out if there is a copy in Yorkton SK. Fr Dennis will keep searching, and David Grier will look to see if there is anything in Saskatoon. ACTION: FR DENNIS PIHACH, AND DAVID GRIER At this point, Fr Cyprian Hutcheon brought up the subject of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting of the Archdiocesan Council. He said that they were sent to him and to the Archbishop in a timely manner, but that he had had to put them aside for a very long time until he could get to them. He and other Council members suggested a new direction in this matter: after Mother Sophia has done the first draft, she should send it out to all Councillors, as soon as possible for her, and Councillors can get back to her with their corrections and suggestions for amendments. Since both the Archbishop and the Archdiocesan Dean will receive these minutes, they can be doing the same thing as the other members of Council. [It was left unclear as to how the second draft would be sent out, but presumably the final version must come from the Archbishop.] All drafts should bear the draft number as well as the page number on each page of the draft. ACTION: MOTHER SOPHIA, ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND ARCHBISHOP SERAPHIM. The Chancellor reminded Council members to print their own reports and bring them to Council meetings. Agenda # 17 Nominations The Priest Vice Chairman and the Lay Vice Chairman of the Assembly will be nominated by the Assembly Nominating Committee. It was suggested that Julianna Schmemann be appoint Honourary Vice Chairman of the Assembly. Agenda # 20.0 Pilgrimages Fr Dennis Pihach reminded Council members that there will be a pilgrimage to Russia in August of 2007. The contact person is Fr Anatoly Melnyk in Montreal. Agenda # 22.0 New Business
a. Youth conference on the environment Matthew Francis reported that there will be a youth conference on the environment in 2009, titled “Orthodox faith and ecology.” This will be coordinated by Fr John Hainsworth. Planning is now in process. The next planning meeting is in the fall of 2007.
Decision ?
Agenda # 23 Date and site of next meeting of Archdiocesan Council
The next meeting of the Archdiocesan Council will be in Ottawa on July 17 at 4:00 p.m. at St Paul’s University. The new Archdiocesan Council will meet at St Paul’s upon the closing of the Assembly. It is recommended that the next fall meeting of the Council be held in Winnipeg from November 1 – 3, 2007, with a 1:00 p.m. start on Thursday for members of the Theological Education Committee, and at 9:00 a.m. on Friday for everyone else. At this point, the Archdiocesan Dean, Fr Cyprian Hutcheon, spoke about the Auxiliary Bishop. He said that he prefers not to stand again. He thinks he is too old. A younger person is needed, he thinks, and he thinks that we should consider candidates from outside the diocese. He nominated a monk of New Skete Monastery. There was objection to the matter of age in this concern. Age could also be an advantage. It was nevertheless agreed that there is a definite, urgent need for one or more Auxiliary Bishops in Canada. Agenda # 24 Adjournment The spring 2007 meeting of the Archdiocesan Council was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. with the singing of “The Angel cried . . . .” Respectfully submitted, Mother Sophia (Zion) |