Metropolitan Council Retreat “Conflict Resolution”

Members of the Metropolitan Council of the Orthodox Church in America gathered for their fall session September 23-26, 2013.
Protodeacon Nazari Polataiko, Secretary of The Archdiocese of Canada, The Orthodox Church in America, takes part in the session.

Session began with a one-day retreat at which Priest Nicholas Solak, Rector of Holy Trinity Church, Stroudsburg, PA, and Dr. Albert S. Rossi, Director of Field Education at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY, addressed the issue of conflict resolution. The retreat was held at at Our Lady of Kazan Church in Sea Cliff, NY.

The retreat combined practical instruction on dealing with conflict as a normal part of life with emphasis on prayer, inner stillness and invocation of the Name of Jesus as what distinguishes the Christian approach to becoming a healing presence even in times of conflict.

Here are five useful principles of conflict resolution explored at the retreat:

• Separate people from the problem

• Focus on common interests

• Invent options for mutual gain

• Insist on objective criteria

• Avoid language of enemie

Dr Albert Rossi

Fr Nicholas Solak

Metropolitan Council members, retreat on “Conflict Resolution” at Our Lady of Kazan Church, Sea Cliff, NY