†

Second Draft
Minutes of the Archdiocesan Council Meeting
Archdiocese of Canada, Orthodox Church in America
held at Annunciation Cathedral, Ottawa, Ontario
31 October – 1 November 2008

* * *

Council members in attendance at this meeting were:

Ruling Bishop of the Archdiocese, Archbishop SERAPHIM
Chancellor, Archpriest Dennis Pihach

Archdiocesan Dean, Archpriest Cyprian Hutcheon
Treasurer, Mr Nikita Lopoukhine
Dean of British Columbia and Yukon, Archpriest Lawrence Farley
Dean of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut, Archpriest Robert Kennaugh
Dean of Ontario, Archpriest Oleg Kirilov
Dean of Québec and Atlantic Canada, Hieromonk Irénée (Rochon)
Dean of Annunciation Cathedral, Archpriest John Jillions
Lay Representative from British Columbia and Yukon, Dr Peter Choi
Lay Representative from Alberta and North West Territories, Mr Peter Ewanchuk
Lay Representative from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut, Mr David Grier
Lay Representative from Ontario, Deacon Gregory Scratch
Lay Representative from Québec and Atlantic Canada, Dr John Hadjinicolaou
Metropolitan Council Clergy Representative, Archpriest John Tkachuk
Metropolitan Council Lay Representative, Prof Richard Schneider
Archdiocesan Youth Co-ordinator, Mr Matthew Francis
Director of the St Arseny Institute, Mr Spencer Estabrooks
Canadian Orthodox Messenger Editor, Nun Sophia (Zion)

* * *

Session I, held on Friday morning, October 31

AGENDA # 1  Service of Prayer and Call to Order

The Fall 2008 meeting of the Archdiocesan Council began at 10:00 a.m. with a moleben served by Archbishop Seraphim in the hall of Annunciation Cathedral, where all sessions of the meeting were held. The hall was also the venue for the business sessions. Immediately following the moleben, the meeting was called to order by the Chancellor who was in the chair.

AGENDA # 2   Roll Call and Regrets

Dr Peter Choi from Vancouver was introduced as the replacement for Mr Sava Duran, who had to withdraw for personal reasons from the position of Lay Representative from British Columbia and Yukon.
Council members absent with a blessing were Dean of Alberta and North West Territories, Priest Vasily Kolega, and Lay Representative at Large (elected by Assembly), Ms Mira Davidson. 

AGENDA # 3   Minutes of the Previous Meeting [see # 3, attached], and

AGENDA # 4  Action Items from the Previous Minutes

As the Archdiocesan Council began to review the minutes of the previous meeting (Spring 2008), in the interest of accountability, the recording secretary was asked to go over all the “Action Items” listed (Agenda # 4). The following points were made:

(p. 2 - 3): Fr Dennis Pihach said that the Archdiocesan Dean and the regional Deans must continue to stay abreast of parish responses to the Archbishop’s directive on stewardship, because this is an ongoing process.   ACTION: ARCHDIOCESAN DEAN AND REGIONAL DEANS

(p.3): Fr Dennis Pihach also said that the topic of Orthodox Military Chaplains must continue to be kept on Council agendas until something can be reported.  ACTION: CHANCELLOR

(p 3):  The treasurer reported that he had sent the Tsunami funds to the “Orthodox Friends of Indonesia,” as requested.

(p. 3): Council reminded Archbishop Seraphim again that there is money in the Bishop’s Book Fund ($2,000.00) for his use, as well as money in the Bishop’s Wish List ($934.00).  The Treasurer needs only the Archbishop’s invoices in order to repay him from these funds.  ACTION:  ARCHBISHOP SERAPHIM

(p. 3): Fr Cyprian Hutcheon reported that he and the Diocesan Deans had not been able to organize monthly conference calls yet . This still should be done, and the minutes of theses conference call meetings should be circulated to all Council members.  ACTION: FR CYPRIAN HUTCHEON

(p.4): The Chancellor told the Deans that they must continue, if needed, to speak to the missions and missions stations in their respective Deaneries about the disturbing fact that some of them use the Treasurer’s services (e.g., the issue of tax receipts), while at the same time never making any contribution to the Archdiocese.  ACTION: DEANS

(p. 4): The Chancellor said that little has been done yet about the possibility of having available to the Archdiocesan Council a list from the Archbishop on parishes’ and missions’ incomes for each year. He noted that only about one-third of parishes report their incomes to the diocesan chancery. It is hoped that the Executive can come up with a parish report form, to include a financial statement. This is important for transparency, and the transparency works both ways : the diocesan office transparent to the parishes, and the parishes transparent to the Archdiocese. This must be a continuing process.  ACTION: COUNCIL EXECUTIVE, DEANS, LAY REPRESENTATIVES, UNITS

(p. 5): Finding assistance for the Treasurer has not been done yet. Nikita Lopoukhine is responsible for finding the people he needs to work with him.  ACTION: NIKITA LOPOUKHINE

(p. 8):   The Chancellor reported that he had written a special note of thanks to Ms Olga Jurgens for keeping an eye on the Canadian government’s sale of the last piece of land on the south side of Newman Road, property which the Archdiocesan was subsequently able to purchase.

(p. 12):  Matthew Francis and Mother Sophia reported that they had published in the fall issue of the Canadian Orthodox Messenger an article relating how much money had been received by STAS between the 2007 Assembly and the late summer of 2008, what the goals of STAS are, what is planned for the new initiatives, and so on.

(p.14):  The Chancellor reported that diocesan clergy had responded and almost all copies of the petition for the transfer of the relics of St Arseny had been given to Vladyka Seraphim by the Feast of All Saints of North America (June 29/08).

(p.14):  It was noted by the Treasurer that, because of an anonymous donation for the support of the St Arseny Institute Director, the remainder of the monies which had been designated by the Council for his stipend’s support, was placed in a sub-fund of the Seminaries/Education Fund, to be reserved for the needs at St Arseny’s.

(p.14):  The Chancellor also noted that the western office sent a letter to the parishes asking them to support St Arseny’s scholarship fund.

(p.14):  The Treasurer reported that he had, at Archbishop Seraphim’s request, inserted the number of people involved in the “gross salary” line in the budget.

(p.14):  The Chancellor note that he changed the term “petty cash” to “Western Archdiocesan Account” in his reports of the Bishop’s Office West.

(pp.14-15):  It was reported that the Executive Committee has implemented “Phase I, Option 2,” chosen by Council from the list given in the Auditing Committee’s Report at the spring 2008 meeting. This involves an auditing review by Kosta Stavrianeas.

(p.15):  It was reported that nothing has been done yet about the question of whether or not the diocese is required to pay a retainer to the diocesan solicitor (Rod Tkachuk), in order for his advice to be considered “at arm’s length.”  The Chancellor said that this will be taken up by the Executive Committee.   ACTION:  EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

(p.15):  Some of the Deans and Deanery Lay Representatives noted that there has been some progress on the project of encouraging all parishes to offer their tithe to the Archdiocese.  But this is an ongoing process which must be actively continued. ACTION:  DEANS AND DEANERY LAY REPRESENTATIVES

(p.15):  The Treasurer was reminded that in addition to the financial report, a history of the parishes’ and missions’ giving in tithe to the Archdiocese for four years be listed (on a separated sheet).  ACTION:  TREASURER

(p. 15-16):  The Treasurer reported that the approximately $3,700.00 that existed as designated funds, and also the approximately $5,000.00 donation given to the support of the Archbishop, which Council had requested that he combine and use as a down payment on a new vehicle for the Archbishop, was not needed, since no down payment was required for the new vehicle’s purchase.  Also, Dr John Hadjinicolaou and Peter Ewanchuk had successfully investigated a few different vehicles that would meet the needs of the Archbishop. The Chancellor also wrote the requested letter to the parishes of the Archdiocese requesting funds in support of the vehicle purchase.

(p.16):  The Treasurer reported that he had fulfilled the Council’s request that the Archbishop be granted an additional $5,000.00 in annual stipend support, and that this increase be retroactive to 2006, including the additional taxes thereby entailed.

(p. 16):  Nikita Lopoukhine also noted that a line item has been added to the Designated Funds to contain the monies that were collapsed to provide the loan for the Cathedral.

(p.16):  Council was told that donations to STAS are being used as the primary source of meeting the stipend requirements of the new position of Episcopal Secretary to the Archbishop.  The Chancellor also said that the Executive Committee of Council has agreed that the annual stipend for this position will be $40,000.00.  In addition, the $3,290.00 which existed in designated funds for the Bishop Administrative Assistant was offered for the moving expenses of the new Episcopal Secretary. Finally, a job description and guidelines for the new position have been established.

(p.16):  Since the last meeting of Council, the STAS Vision Committee has continued to be active in informing the faithful of the Archdiocese of the great need for this Episcopal Secretary position so that they will be able to respond with giving generously to STAS for its support.

(p.16-17):  The Chancellor explained that the proposal that Deacon Gregory Scratch and Fr John Jillions approach a parishioner in Ottawa to ask if he will assist with filling out the various insurance applications of the Archdiocese was, because of various difficulties, not carried out.  Again also, the request was not carried out that Rod Tkachuk be contacted to evaluate whether or not we meet all our policy requirements and to ensure that we have adequate coverage for our Directors and our various holdings.  However, the Chancellor added that this topic will be discussed in the Administrative Unit and discussed later in the meeting.

(p.17):  It was also reported that the Administrative Unit had not been able to investigate web-based accounting software and book-keeping programmes for the Archdiocese, to be co-ordinated through the Treasurer.  However, the Archbishop said that he had been consulting about this and knows that a version of Quickbooks will be what the Archdiocese requires. This will be further investigated in the next few weeks at the Executive Committee level. 

(p.17):  It was reported that the Programming/Communications Unit had not had the opportunity to create and provide for Council a detailed recommendation as to what their proposed “Missions Toolkit” would contain. It is hoped that this can be discussed in the unit meeting and worked on in the near future.  ACTION:  PROGRAMMING/COMMUNICATIONS UNIT

(p.17-18):  The Treasurer noted that he had forwarded the $2,500.00 from the Missions Fund, which Council requested, to Fr Richard Rene, and $2,000.00 from the Charities Fund to Fr Oleg Razumov for his assistance.

(p. 18):  The Deans reported that they had made any seminarians in their Deaneries aware of the fact that there are funds available from the Archdiocese to assist them in their studies, should the need arise.

(p.18):  It was noted that a draft copy of the revised edition of the Chronology has been completed and will be examined during this Council meeting by the Programming/Communications Unit.

(p. 18):  The Treasurer was reminded to create a 2009 budget line-item for the Youth and Young Adult Ministries, in the amount of $2,000.00.  ACTION:  TREASURER

(p.18):  Mother Sophia said that she had not been able to research the costs involved in printing some or all of the Messenger in colour in order to present her findings to the Council.  She was asked to do this prior to the next meeting of Council.  ACTION:  MOTHER SOPHIA

(18):  Mother Sophia announced that Dr John Hadjinicolaou had brought some new design possibilities for the Messenger's banner and would hand them out to Council, for discussing first in the Programming/Communications Unit, with possible further discussions in Council during the unit's report.

(19):  Dr John Hadjinicolaou said that the permission had been given by Fr John Hainsworth for the Life of St Arseny to be published in Greek.

(19):  The Chancellor reported that Deacon Gregory Scratch had forwarded to the western office the work already done on a job description for the administrative assistant.

(20):  With regard to the Sexual Misconduct Guidelines, Fr Dennis Pihach said that there is still uncertainty as to whether or not each newly elected parish council must re-sign the SMG for the parish or mission.  We still must get a clarification about this.  ACTION:  CHANCELLOR

(20):  With regard to property insurance for parishes, Fr Dennis Pihach said that he will send a letter of reminder to the parishes, giving them a deadline of December 31, 2008 for sending to his office evidence of their either signing on with Aon, or purchasing a comparable policy.  ACTION:  CHANCELLOR

(21):  The Chancellor said that we will discuss at this meeting of Council the topic of Auxiliary Bishop.
After discussion of these Action Items, Mother Sophia pointed out three typographical errors, all on p.10: in line 12 “pastor” should be “pastoral”; in line 23 there should not be a period after “Mackean”; and in line 34 “Sussex” should read “Somerset.”
Following this reporting on “action items” and the above corrections, the minutes of the previous meeting were passed unanimously.

AGENDA # 5 Approval of Agenda [see # 5, attached]
After adding  “and directors’ insurance” to Item 10 Agenda, and  “a. Report of Episcopal Secretary,” “b. Format of Council Meeting,” and “c. COM logo” to Item 23 (NEW BUSINESS), Council approved the Agenda presented by the Chancellor.

AGENDA # 6 Report of the Ruling Bishop [see # 6, attached]
In addition to his written report, Archbishop Seraphim said that his recent experiences have shown him how difficult it is for Council members to carry out their tasks because of busyness and time limits.  He also commented that since the arrival of his Episcopal Secretary, Protodeacon Nazari, he can at last see his desk again.  He noted that the protodeacon is young and talented, and he believes that they will have a productive relationship.  The Archbishop’s life at this point, as temporary administrator of the OCA, is simply “impossible.”

Fr Oleg Kirilov then proposed that the new Episcopal Secretary be made a voting member of the Archdiocesan Council.  This proposal was seconded by Fr John Tkachuk. There followed a discussion of how this Council normally works (usually by consensus rather than voting).  Mr David Grier asked why there was a need for the Episcopal Secretary to be a voting member of Council, since the position would have full access to the Council meetings (as does Mr Spencer Estabrooks, Mr Matthew Francis, Mother Sophia, or anyone else who wishes to participate).  No one seemed to offer a reason. During the discussion the Archbishop said that in order to allow the position of Executive Secretary to be a voting member of Council, we may have to adjust the By-laws at the 2010 Assembly.  At the conclusion of the discussion, the proposal was tabled by the Chancellor until the next meeting.  He asked that Rod Tkachuk, David Grier, and Fr Cyprian Hutcheon look into the matter and report at the Spring 2009 session.  ACTION:  FR CYPRIAN HUTCHEON, DAVID GRIER, ROD TKACHUK

Continuing on with additions to his written report, the Archbishop said that he is very much concerned with clarifying the Archdiocese of Canada’s relationship with the US Church.  This relationship must be formulated properly.  There is so much confusion about this, and we need protection for the future growth of our diocese (for example, we should have a “right” to at least one ruling bishop and at least two auxiliaries). Fr John Tkachuk said “now is the time to seize the moment,” with so much change going on at the level of the Central Church Administration, and with dioceses in the US being more assertive of their diocesan identities.  What is the process to go about this? 

It was decided after discussion that the first thing is to obtain a clear theological perspective of the relationship of the Archdiocese of Canada with the OCA, along with a historical review of models of churches’ various self-identities.  Matthew Francis was placed in charge of soliciting theological papers from Prof Schneider, Dr John Hadjinicolaou, Fr Lawrence Farley, and possibly Fr John Hainsworth.  This should be on the agenda of the Spring 2009 meeting as Matthew starts the papers’ process. ACTION:  CHANCELLOR AND MATTHEW FRANCIS

***

Session II, held on Friday afternoon, October 31

The second session began at 1:40 p.m., with the Chancellor in the Chair.
A lengthy and in-depth discussion related to the Archbishop’s Report continued, focusing on the OCA’s Special Investigation Committee Report.

At the conclusion of the discussion there was an acknowledgment by the Archbishop of Fr John Tkachuk’s work on both the Metropolitan Council and the Special Investigation Committee.  There was applause of thanks from the entire Council for the work of Fr John, who is now retiring from the Metropolitan Council.  In response to the applause, Fr John said that he hopes that the SIC Report will cause all Churches to “look under their rugs and shake them” – and there is evidence that this is happening. He also said that he thinks the legacy of the SIC will be that “we can evaluate constructively in the Church without destroying each other.  It’s the best thing that’s happened to our Church in a long time.”  He finished his remarks by thanking the diocese for the privilege of serving it for the past thirty-five years.

AGENDA # 7   Treasurer’s Report   [see # 7, attached]
Nikita Lopukhine presented his written report.  He reminded everyone that each parish must pay its assessment before its delegates can vote at the All American Council. At this point the Archbishop asked for a list of the parishes which have not paid this AAC assessment, with a deadline of Monday 3 November.  ACTION:  TREASURER

It was reiterated that Deans must approach and warn the parishes which show a zero in the Total Received line on page 2 of the Treasurer’s Report.  ACTION:  ALL DIOCESAN DEANS

It was noted that the reserved funds for the St Arseny Institute will be placed under the Education Fund as a sub-fund.  ACTION:  TREASURER

The Treasurer called attention to the fact that at this point in the year, the diocese has approximately $40,000.00 more in expenditures than in receipts.  The major reasons for this are : the buying of the remainder of the land on the south side of Newman Road, the move of the Episcopal Secretary to Ottawa, and the increased travel of the Archbishop.
The Treasurer said that he has talked with the Auditing Committee and there is concern related to the fact that we have two cost centres (Ottawa and Edmonton).  The Treasurer does not have access to the western books. We definitely need consolidation of our books. The Administrative Unit must continue the dialogue about this.
The Archbishop said that there is no report from Kosta Stavreaneas yet.  The Chancellor reported that Mr Stavreaneas has looked at the books but not finished the report for the insurer yet.  Mr Stavreaneas is concerned that we have only single-entry bookkeeping at the present time.
The Archbishop replied that we will be using a double-entry Quickbooks accounting programme soon, and he agreed that we must centralize all bookkeeping. He added that we will buy a Quickbooks software programme (which one of the many choice available yet to be decided), and we should be able to start with this by January 1, 2009.  There is, however, still the question of who will do the entries.   ACTION:  EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

AGENDA # 21  Youth and Young Adult Ministries Report   [see # 21, attached]
Matthew Francis gave this written report, to which he added that we should try as a Council to engage central Canada, Quebec, and the Maritimes, because most of his contacts are in the west.
Dr John Hadjinicolaou added that he will be speaking to 300 youth of ROCOR in Montreal in December.

AGENDA # 23   New Business

(c)  COM logo
Dr John Hadjinicolaou handed around twelve possible options for a new front page banner for the Canadian Orthodox Messenger.  He proposed that the Programming/Communications Unit examine them at the evening session and report to Council the next day.  

(a)  Report of the Episcopal Secretary   [see #23 a, attached]
Protodeacon Nazari Polataiko read his written report.  In answer to a question from Professor Schneider, he gave assurance of total discretion with regard to letters and e-mails to and from the Archbishop.

(b)  Format of Archdiocesan Council meetings
There was some discussion of other ways of holding meetings of Council.  In the end the Chancellor suggested more teleconferencing by committees is needed, but that we still need to have two meetings a year as a Council together.  Deacon Gregory Scratch and Peter Ewanchuk were asked to look into questions involved in committee teleconferencing: how meetings can be arranged, the legalities of decisions, attendance and quorum required, and so forth.  ACTION:  DEACON GREGORY SCRATCH AND PETER EWANCHUK

AGENDA # 11  St Tikhon Archdiocesan Stewards (STAS) Report   [see # 11, attached]
Deacon Gregory Scratch presented this written report.

AGENDA # 24   Next Meeting
It was decided that the Spring 2009 will be held at St Herman’s Sobor in Edmonton AB, June 12 – 13.

AGENDA # 10   Clergy Insurance / Insurance on Property/ Directors’ Insurance
With regard to clergy insurance, the Chancellor reported that Fr Phillip Eriksson is looking into the possibilities of another insurer because we are now big enough to be competitive.  In answer to a query, Fr Dennis also said that the costs of clergy insurance (covering medical supplement, dental, long term disability, life insurance) is in most cases, split by the clergyman and the parish.
With regard to property insurance, the Chancellor said that the project with Aon is functioning fairly well.  The blessing is that the diocese does not have to administer it.  A major problem is that the property at Fair Haven is not with Aon yet.  Protodeacon Nazari will be asked to fill out the forms.   ACTION: PROTODEACON NAZARI

With regard to the directors’ insurance for the Archdiocesan Council, the Chancellor explained that the property insurance for Fair Haven and the liability insurance for the Council directors are together on a locally purchased policy.  Aon can offer Fair Haven an excellent policy, probably less expensive, and other diocesan properties can be appended to the policy.  Again, it is hoped that, working with the Chancellor, Protodeacon Nazari can work on this.   ACTION: PROTODEACON NAZARI, CHANCELLOR

***

Session III, held on Friday evening, Oct 31

After dinner in the church hall, Council members divided into two units (Administration/Finance and Programming/Communications), in order to discuss, make plans, and report to the Council as a whole the next day.

***

Session IV, held on Saturday morning, Nov 1

The Archdiocesan Council meeting was reconvened at 10:00 a.m. with the singing of “O Heavenly King.”  The Archdiocesan Dean was in the Chair.


AGENDA #13   Reports from the Units
Unit # I:  Administration / Finances Unit:
Mr David Grier reported for this unit. 
With regard to the Episcopal Secretary, he reported that the unit recommends that an amount of 5% of the Episcopal Secretary’s stipend be paid into an RRSP for him.  As well, the unit felt that the Episcopal Secretary should not be out of pocket for driving to Fairhaven, so he should submit his gasoline receipts to the Treasurer for reimbursement.  It was estimated that this would cost about $200.00 per month.  STAS should be able to cover these expenses.  ACTION:  TREASURER

Under the topic of Auxiliary Bishop(s), the unit noted its worries about finances. No appeal should be made, they believe, until an actual candidate is proposed.

On the subject of Financial Practices, the unit admitted that they do not understand double-entry bookkeeping.  The Treasurer will talk to Kosta Stavreaneas about this. The unit also suggested that the Episcopal Secretary may be able to help with the input of financial data. It is recognized that careful research must go into deciding which version of Quickbooks to purchase.  ACTION:  EXECUTIVE OF COUNCIL

With regard to the Western Office bank account, the unit recommended that Fr Dennis close this, since he is able to write cheques on the Ottawa account and can get a card enabling deposits into it.  Everything will be much easier if the two accounts are amalgamated.  ACTION:  CHANCELLOR

The unit also made the recommendation that the Archdiocesan credit card be used only for Archdiocesan expenses, with explanations.  Without such explanation(s), the Treasurer should inform the person requesting payment that it cannot be paid until the documentation explaining the charge(s) is received. ACTION:  ALL SIGNATORIES TO THE CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT

With regard to Fair Haven, the unit members believe that they should meet with the Episcopal Secretary to see what needs to be done. ACTION:  ADMINISTRATION / FINANCES UNIT

On the subject of how to get parishes on track for 10% tithing to the Archdiocese, the Unit called attention to the letter from Deacon Gregory Scratch to the parishes in Ontario about tithing. This was seen as a good template for use throughout the diocese.  [See attachment, “Unit I, appendix A]  Additionally, the unit urged the Deans to encourage their parishes and missions to tithe to the Archdiocese and to insist that new missions tithe to the Archdiocese from the beginning of their existence.  ACTION:  REGIONAL DEANS

On the subject of Insurance, the unit called attention to the letter to diocesan parishes sent out by Deacon Gregory Scratch re: the Aon policy.  [See attachment, “Unit I, appendix B”]

At the end of the unit’s report, the Chancellor was asked by Council to gather as many parish financial reports as possible and give a report on them at the Spring 2009 meeting of the Archdiocesan Council.  ACTION:  CHANCELLOR

Unit # II :  Programming / Communications Unit:
Fr Lawrence Farley reported for this unit.
On the subject of the revised and updated historical Chronology, draft copies of which had been handed out to Council earlier, Fr Lawrence reported that the unit is still not totally satisfied with the tone of the document. To the unit there seemed to be still some wording which is needlessly provocative, especially in the first half of the book. The Chronology should express the mind of the Church in Canada now.  It was agreed that unit members, and anyone else on Council who would like to, should give Matthew Francis their re-wording suggestions for needlessly provocative wordings in the draft version of the Chronology, by December 6, 2008.  ACTION:  PROGRAMMING UNIT AND POSSIBLY OTHERS REPORTING TO MATTHEW FRANCIS

In answer to a query from Council, it was explained that it is planned that the publishing of the Chronology will be done at the University of Alberta.  This is on-demand printing (no warehousing involved), and may involve some kind of contractual agreement.  Matthew Francis was asked to find out what, if any, kind of contract might be involved.  ACTION:  MATTHEW FRANCIS

With regard to the “COM logo,” Fr Lawrence reported that the unit had chosen #1 of the twelve examples, and as much colour throughout as possible.  But we still need to know the costs involved. At present, at 1500 copies per issue, each copy is costing approximately $ .75.   Mother Sophia was asked to talk with our current printer, Doug Gander, about the costs of the COM up-grading and to give the information to the Executive of Council.  She was also requested to ask Doug if it would take a load off him if we were to use someone else.   ACTION:  MOTHER SOPHIA

On the subject of Funds Requests, the unit recommended that $2,000.00 be given to St Aidan’s Mission in Cranbrook BC and $2,000.00 to St John of Shanghai Mission in Vancouver.  After discussion of the Council as a whole, it was also decided that the Mission of All Saints in Hamilton ON, which has an imminent possibility of purchase of a temple site, be given $5,000.00, of which $3,000.00 must be returned to the diocese if the purchasing deal falla through,. ACTION:  TREASURER

With regard to Missions Strategy, Fr Lawrence said that the unit recommends that Fr Larry Reinheimer (possibly with the help of Deacon Kevin Miller) be asked to create a brief report related to why mission attempts in the diocese in the past twenty years or so have been well-established, or have failed to take root. Because the unit thinks that we need to “put teeth” into Fr Larry’s position of Missions Director for the diocese, any expenses involved in the project (phone, postage, etc.) should be reimbursed, along with a small honorarium. Besides looking at our own diocese, he might also have a quick look at the Antiochian experience in mission-planting.  Fr Lawrence was asked by Council to call Fr Larry and ask him if he is willing to make a brief but to-the-point report on Missions’ “success” or “failure” in the past twenty years in the Archdiocese.  ACTION:  FR LAWRENCE FARLEY

At this point, the Archbishop suggested that someone produce a special diocesan appeal for missions each year. The Archdiocesan Dean said that this should be referred to the Administration / Finances Unit and the Chancellor for on-going discussion. ACTION:  CHANCELLOR, ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT

Fr Lawrence reported that the unit had also talked briefly about the Oral History Project. There is worry that we are losing our oral history very fast.  Everyone on Council was reminded to relay this concern to their local communities. It was also mentioned that we could ask our Archivist to draw up a list of questions which could be asked of the “old-timers” in the parishes before it is too late.  ACTION:  EVERYONE ON COUNCIL

On the subject of the Archdiocesan Website (www.archdiocese.ca), there was some discussion of this both in the unit, and then in the Council as a whole, about confusion in getting information from the site since its recent revision.  It was recommended that people at the Council table, as well as anyone else interested, should give specifics rather than vague generalizations in their criticisms.  Dr Peter Choi volunteered to receive the information from Council members, relay it to his programmer wife, and have her put suggestions into the specialized language that Alex Ovodov, himself an expert programmer, can understand easily. Peter wil then convey this information to the Archbishop through Protodeacon Nazari, so that Alex will know he has Episcopal approval for any changes he makes.  ACTION:  COUNCIL MEMBERS, DR PETER CHOI, EPISCOPAL SECRETARY

At this point it was requested by Council that Alex Ovodov be given a special note of written thanks for his extremely efficient and continuing work on the website.  ACTION:  CHANCELLOR

AGENDA # 6.2   Report of the Archdiocesan Dean
Archpriest Cyprian Hutcheon gave this oral report.  He said that because of his many other duties now, and his real lack of time for Council-related work, he has recently asked Archbishop Seraphim to allow him to retire from all Archdiocesan Council activities.  Vladyka has not had time to talk with him about this yet, but his request still stands.  He called attention to the fact that this will, of course, affect who will be the Priest Representative from the diocese on the Metropolitan Council.

AGENDA # 8   Theological Education Committee Report
Fr Cyprian Hutcheon also gave this oral report.  He said that the Theological Education Committee had met on the Thursday evening prior to this Council meeting.  He said that it is important to report three things:

1. The Archdiocesan Vocations Assessment Committee (AVAC) has been set up. A draft form written by Fr Lawrence Farley has been received for use of the Archbishop, to be filled out by candidates for theological study who hold a view to ordination.  Two interviewing committees, one in the east and one in the west, are in place for the initial interview, as well as for the second interview just prior to ordination. [Note to those reading this 2nd draft:  my proof-reader, Fr Lawrence Farley, said to me, after reading the 1st draft of these Minutes, “I think what was finally decided about the AVAC was that the Archbishop will appoint whom he wants to do the interviews, not necessarily a western and an eastern set of interviewers (though this was John Hadjinicolaou's suggestion).”  Your recording secretary feels certain that Fr Cyprian did not say this at the Council meeting, so what should we do – leave as is, or add Fr Lawrence’s remembrance parenthetically?]
2. “Theological Education Report” will now become a fixed Agenda report at all Archdiocesan Council meetings, instead of the former “Theological Education Committee,” and Spencer Estabrooks will be in charge of the Theological Education Report. ACTION:  CHANCELLOR, SPENCER ESTABROOKS
3. Spencer Estabrooks will convene conference calls prior to each Archdiocesan Council meeting; these calls will include the former Theological Education Committee members, as well as the heads of the four Orthodox institutions/programmes in Canada which are involved.  ACTION:  SPENCER ESTABROOKS

AGENDA # 9:   Canadian Council of Churches / Ecumenical Activities
Fr Cyprian Hutcheon also gave this oral report. He said that he and others in the CCC are concerned that there be a denominational balance on the new Executive of the CCC which will be elected in 2009.  There is also some concern that the CCC is slipping away from the Forum Model.  So 2009 is a crucial year.

Prof Richard Schneider reported on the good things coming out of Faith and Witness, as well as Peace and Justice.  The latter committee, however, is in a bit of disarray for the Orthodox, because our Church is the only Orthodox one which has a representative on it, Colin Grimmond.  Colin hopes to convince Sasha Lopoukhine to join him on Peace and Justice.  Our representation on Faith and Witness is strong (Paul Ladouceur, Dn Alexis Vassiouchkine, and Prof Richard Schneider).

AGENDA # 12:   Metropolitan Council Report      [see # 12, attached]
Professor Schneider gave this written report.  At the end of his remarks, Council gave him sincere and profound thanks for his six years of work on the Metropolitan Council, from which he is retiring after the coming All America Council.

***

Session V, held on Saturday afternoon, Nov 1

The Archdiocesan Dean continued in the chair.
Nikita Lopoukhine warned the new Metropolitan Councilors (at this point Fr Cyprian Hutcheon and David Grier) that they should be prepared for “bad press” over the OCA lawsuits.  He advised them to think about this and be prepared ahead of time.

AGENDA # 6.1   Chancellor’s Report   [see # 6.1, attached]
The Chancellor’s written report was received.

AGENDA # 6.3   DEANERY REPORTS AND CATHEDRAL DEAN REPORT
# 6.3.a.   British Columbia and Yukon   [see # 6.3.a, attached]
Fr Lawrence Farley gave this written report.  He added a correction  re: St Barnabas Mission : it does not yet have its chapel moved into town, so they are serving in the priest’s home and the people are looking for a property to rent.  He also noted that there will be another meeting in Victoria soon in the planning process for the 2010 Assembly.  Deacon Kevin Miller reports that they are on top of the process, with timelines, assignments, etc.  They meet once a month.  University of Victoria is the probable site of the Assembly.

# 6.3.b.   Alberta and Northwest Territories
No report.

# 6.3.c.   Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut    [see # 6.3.c, attached]
Fr Robert Kennaugh presented this written report.  To the report the Archbishop added the news that Holy Trinity, Moose Jaw SK had finalized their by-laws the past weekend.  They are based on the diocesan-approved model.

# 6.3.d.   Annunciation Cathedral
Fr John Jillions, Dean of Annunciation Cathedral, Ottawa, gave this oral report.  He began by saying that the focus in the parish now is parish life, pastoral concerns, etc.  Because he has been working now full time at St Paul’s University for some time, he does not have the time needed to give as a rector of a cathedral. Recently he has taken a cut in stipend so that Fr James Griggs can be hired part time for pastoral work (Fr James’ other livelihood comes from working part time for the Greek Metropolia).  As a result of this, there are all kinds of questions to be looked at by the parish. Archbishop Seraphim has appointed the parish council officers and himself to study how to deal with the current financial and pastoral needs of the parish. Fr John said that he believes that Annunciation Cathedral needs a full time dean/rector/pastoral person.

# 6.3.e.pt.1.  Ontario   [see # 6.3.e. pt. 1, attached]
Fr Oleg Kirilov gave this written report.  To his report, Fr Oleg had added, on the previous day, his concerns about the possible imminent purchase of a temple site by All Saint’s in Hamilton. This concern had resulted in some advice from members of Council, as well as the decision of Council to give All Saint’s $5,000.00 from its mission funds, $3,000.00 of which to be returned to the Archdiocese if this purchasing deal falls through.

# 6.3.e.pt.2.   Ontario Lay Representative Report   [see # 6.3.e. pt.2, attached]
Deacon Gregory Scratch, Ontario Deanery Lay Representative, presented a written report by Fr Geoffrey Korz on the Chinese Missions Dinner Event held in Hamilton ON recently.  Dn Gregory emphasized how the details of organization in this report can be used as a kind of “mission tool” to help other missions plan a similar event.

# 6.3.f.   Québec and Atlantic Canada     [see # 6.3.f., attached]
Fr Irénée (Rochon) gave this written report.

AGENDA # 16   St Arseny Orthodox Institute Report  [see # 16 a and 16 b, attached]
Mr Spencer Estabrooks, Director, presented his written report in two parts: “Report on St. Arseny Institute,” and “St Arseny Orthodox Christian Theological Institute: Highlights and Challenges of Its Short History.”  In addition he said that he hopes to have more done on a “business plan” for St Arseny’s and ready to present by the time of Spring 2009 meeting of Council.  ACTION:  SPENCER ESTABROOKS

AGENDA # 15   St Arseny Canonization Project
Archbishop Seraphim said that the Holy Synod recently blessed the continuation of the investigation into the canonization of St Arseny.  He also said that all the petitions for the relics to be brought back to Canada have not been received by his office.  He reminded the Deans to make sure that all parishes and missions have sent in their petitions for the return of St Arseny’s relics to Canada.  ACTION:  ALL REGIONAL DEANS

AGENDA # 18   Camps
There were a few brief reports given orally around the table:  the Alberta camp is in “good shape”; the BC camp went “like a house afire”; the Rawdon camp led by Fr Anatoly went well; but the Saskatchewan camp “fizzled out” because of administrative differences with parishes of the Romanian diocese of the OCA.

AGENDA # 22   Sifton Museum
The Archbishop said that the Sifton Museum was open again this summer, and there was good attendance. Who is in charge of maintenance is unsure at the moment, and there is some ongoing uncertainty about differences between the local historical society and the Church.

AGENDA # 14   Auxiliary Bishop(s)
There was a lengthy discussion of auxiliary bishop(s).  Archbishop Seraphim said that in the last two meetings of Holy Synod, the bishops had assured him that he can now safely present names of candidates to them. He also talked about his hope that the diocese can plan eventually for two auxiliary bishops, one in the east and one in the west, probably beginning with the auxiliary bishops’ being part time bishops / part time priests, just as Vladyka himself began in 1987. He added that he thinks our diocese should press the Holy Synod for a general principle that the Archdiocese should always have as a norm at least one ruling bishop and at least two auxiliary bishops. The Council was supportive of this.

Archbishop Seraphim also asked if there is a consensus on Council supporting his nomination of Fr Irénée (Rochon) as an auxiliary bishop.  It was agreed that the Council has his support on this.  There was also discussion about Vladyka’s first nomination of Fr Cyprian Hutcheon a few years ago, since two members of Council were concerned that Fr Cyprian’s name should also be put forward again, since his nomination had been thoroughly supported by the Archdiocese. It was decided that Council fully supports Fr Cyprian Hutcheon’s nomination also, should he, after consultation with Vladyka, allow his name to be put forward again.  As well, Vladyka noted, other names can also be put forward to him for consideration.  He thanked Council for the candid discussion and their support, and said that he would take all of this discussion into consideration.

AGENDA # 25   Adjournment
The fall meeting of the Archdiocesan Council was adjourned at 4:00 p.m. with the singing of “It is truly meet . . . .”

Respectfully submitted,

Mother Sophia (Zion)