ACNA bishops attend lecture at Orthodox seminary

Feb. 2, 2010

Archbishop Robert Duncan and five other bishops of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) attended the Saturday, Jan. 30, guest lecture at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, located in New York state. The 27th annual Fr. Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture was given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams.

Pictured before a grouping of icons at St. Vladimir’s Seminary are (l-r) Bishop David Anderson, Bishop Roger Ames, Bishop William Murdoch, Archbishop Robert Duncan, Bishop Ray Sutton, and Bishop Iker

Archbishop Williams’ original doctoral research (in the 1970s) focused on Vladimir N. Lossky, a mid-20th-century Orthodox theologian. Later while teaching at Oxford University, he examined students on the Orthodox faith. He spoke at St. Vladimir’s on “The Image of Humanity in the Philokalia,” a collection of Orthodox monastic texts spanning 11 centuries. Following his lecture, the Archbishop received an honorary doctorate from the seminary.

The ACNA bishops were invited to attend by the seminary’s Dean, Fr. Chad Whitfield, as part of an ongoing ecumenical conversation. In June 2009, Metropolitan Jonah, head of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), was a guest speaker at the ACNA inaugural Assembly at St. Vincent’s Cathedral in Bedford. He used the occasion to announce that the OCA would cease to have an ecumenical relationship with The Episcopal Church, following years of impaired relations due to the election of a partnered homosexual bishop and the blessing of same-sex unions, and to invite the ACNA to explore the possibility of full communion with the OCA. A further meeting was held in October at Nashotah House Seminary, which signed an agreement to work with St. Vladimir’s.

A fuller story about the Jan. 30 lecture is here.

More about the Anglican-Orthodox dialogue is here.

Let us go forth in the Name of Christ!
A report by Deacon Mark Parker

First published: June 2002 [Reposted: Jan. 13, 2010]

On Monday, April 22, [2002,] diocesan Deacons Lana Farley, Ann Richards, Janet Nocher, Sharla Marks, and I “went forth” on a five-day mission trip to Haiti. Joining us were Fr. Jay Atwood and Bishop Iker. This remarkable pilgrimage was sponsored by Food for the Poor, a charity whose work can be summed up in the verse, “As often as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me.” [Matt. 25:40]

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. During our week there, we were all challenged in many ways by what we saw and experienced:

• We realized we couldn’t cure the problem in Haiti, but we could reach out and help one person or one family at a time.

• We came prepared to see a contrast between the wealthy and the poor. What we saw was the rich living off the backs of the poor.

• We found we were looking into the eyes of Christ.We played in God’s playground, and we were all changed.

Together with clergy from Kentucky, Georgia, and Arizona, we toured many facilities and programs sponsored by Food for the Poor. Among them were hospitals, children’s homes and schools, and hospice care facilities. In Cite Soleil, a ghetto within the capital city of Port-au-Prince, we saw a school that was more like a refugee camp, with more than 300,000 inhabitants.

In Haiti it was not difficult to see the “distressing disguise of Jesus” (to use an image of Mother Theresa). It was also plain to see that the Haitian people are filled with hope; most of them gladly welcomed us into their midst.

After a grueling week witnessing the poverty of a third-world country, perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned is this: It’s not as important to worry about remedying the problems of the whole world as it is to concentrate on serving the
world. This is what mission is all about and why Christ call each of use to a servant ministry. This thought might best
be summed up in the words Bishop Iker quoted, as he gazed down upon Port-au-Prince from a nearby mountaintop: “And Jesus looked upon the city and wept.” [Luke 19:41]

This is why we went forth in the spirit of mission: to witness how these people are living so that we, too, can make a difference, one person at a time.

Contributions for aid to victims of the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti can be made through the Anglican Relief and Development Fund. Donate online, or send a check to

Anglican Relief and Development
P.O. Box 3830
Pittsburgh, PA 15230-3830

with “Haiti” in the memo line.

Discussions seek closer fellowship
with local Roman Catholic diocese
Letter from Bishop Vann delivered to diocesan convention

Posted: Nov. 16, 2009

Among the developments of the past year have been new ecumenical opportunities for our diocese. Last November, Bishop Iker was contacted by Metropolitan Jonah, the leader of the Orthodox Church in America (see below). Since their meeting, Metropolitan Jonah has renewed the century-old offer of his predecessor St. Tikhon to consider greater unity between the Orthodox and Anglicans in North America. The first meeting on a provincial level was held last month in Wisconsin. Locally, Bishop Iker has appointed a group of the clergy who will participate in dialogues on church unity with Orthodox leaders based in Dallas.

At the same time, a friendship between the Roman Catholic bishop, the Most. Rev. Kevin Vann, which started when Bishop Iker was invited to Bishop Vann's consecration four years ago, has led to the formation of a second local dialogue committee. This group will hold “regular conversations concerning what we have in common and what continues to separate us, as Roman Catholics and as orthodox Anglicans,” Bishop Iker said in his Address to the 27th Annual Diocesan Convention.

The photograph at right was taken following a luncheon gathering on Oct. 16. Pictured (l-r) are Fr. Tom Hightower, Fr. Jonathan Wallis, Bishop Vann, Fr. Christopher Cantrell, Fr. Jeff Poirot, Bishop Iker, Msgr. Charles King, and Fr. Timothy Perkins. In November Bishop Iker appointed Fr. Christopher Stainbrook and Dean Ryan Reed to the dialogue committee, and Bishop Vann appointed Fr. David Bristow from the Roman Catholic diocese. The full dialogue group met Thursday, Dec. 3, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Fort Worth. Their third meeting is scheduled for Feb. 4.

Click on the photograph to see a larger view.

The following letter from Bishop Vann was read to the clergy and lay delegates at the November convention:

November 6, 2009

Dear Bishop Iker, Brothers and friends in the Lord,

I want to thank you very much for the invitation to be with you in these important days of your convention. Unfortunately, my schedule precludes my being with you. Please be assured, however, that I am very much with you in solidarity of prayer, thought, and concern.

Above all, this letter is written in a spirit of gratitude for the friendship, bond of faith and fraternal concern that Bishop Iker and I share, which has been an important part of my life and ministry these past four years. Furthermore, the friendship that I share with many of you, and the times we have been able to share the Divine office together and share common dialogue and concerns over living of the Faith and Apostolic Tradition are truly blessings in my life.

The reading from 1 Kings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time gives us much to consider. In the face of nearly impossible conditions and an uncertain future, Elijah the prophet tells the widow of Zarephath not to be afraid. Those word are for all of us today, but especially for yourselves as you gather in convention.

With the announcement of the forthcoming Apostolic Constitution for Personal Ordinariates by the Holy See, and with the call to faithfulness to the Gospel and the Apostolic Tradition, and the heritage of Faith and life that is yours, I know that there is much to consider. Please be assured of my fraternal support, prayer, and esteem for all of you in these days. I care about all of you very much and will remember you in Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, and especially as I head off to Rome on Monday and to the U.S. bishops’ meeting the following week. I will look forward to speaking with you on my return.

God bless you always.

Fraternally yours in Christ,

The Most Rev. Kevin W. Vann, JCD DD
Bishop of Fort Worth

Orthodox begin USA dialogue
George Conger reports in the Church of England Newspaper
Photos copyright 2009 by Michael W. Howell

Posted: Oct. 16, 2009

Click to see large view photo by Michael W. Howell

THE LEADERS of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and conservative Anglican groups met last week for a two-day conference in Wisconsin, in a bid to restart formal ecumenical dialogue.

Meeting Oct. 9-10 at Nashotah House Seminary, His Beatitude Jonah, Metropolitan of All America and Canada of the OCA, along with the chancellor of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in New York, the Very Rev. Chad Hatfield, met with Archbishop Robert Duncan of the Anglican Church in North America, Bishop Jack Iker of Fort Worth and other conservative leaders for a gathering entitled “In the footsteps of Tikhon and Grafton.”

photo by Michael W. Howell

Conference organizers said they hoped to rekindle the relationship begun by St. Tikhon, the first bishop of the Orthodox Church in America, and later Patriarch of Moscow, and Bishop Charles Grafton of Fond du Lac in the 19th century. The 150 delegates to the conference heard presentations on the history of Anglican-Orthodox relations, mission, and theological formation. The weekend concluded with the adoption of a “Covenant Partnership” between St. Vladimir’s and Nashotah House – the Episcopal Church’s sole Anglo-Catholic seminary.

The Very Rev. Robert Munday, Dean of Nashotah House, noted the link between the seminaries was an “an important step in furthering a renewal of Anglican-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue.”

Fr. Hatfield – a former Episcopal priest and the current chancellor of St. Vladimir’s – said, “Together we can take the work and witness of our forefathers and reclaim the voice of Christian orthodoxy that this world is starving to hear once again.”

“Now is the time to act boldly” and rebuild relations severed over the Episcopal Church’s support of the gay agenda and the introduction of women clergy, he said, “and together we will in common witness to the truth of the Gospel of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ. May it be blessed.”

photo by Michael W. Howell

Joining Archbishop Duncan and Bishop Iker were the Rt. Rev. William Wantland, retired Bishop of Eau Claire and Assistant Bishop of Fort Worth; the Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, retired Bishop of Quincy; the Rt. Rev. Edward Salmon, retired Bishop of South Carolina and chairman of the board of trustees of Nashotah House; and the Rt. Rev. Frank Lyons, Bishop of Bolivia. [Also present from this diocese were our five seminarians and the Very Rev. Christopher Cantrell, a member of the Standing Committee. – Ed.]

On June 24, Metropolitan Jonah told the founding convocation of the ACNA that if Anglicans foreswear Calvinism, female priests, and the filioque* clause, the Orthodox Church in America would be ready to begin a dialogue leading to the possible recognition of Anglican orders and full Eucharistic fellowship. He also announced that his Church had switched ecumenical ties, abandoning all relations and dialogue with The Episcopal Church in favor of the ACNA.

Note: The next Orthodox-Anglican discussion will be hosted by Metropolitan Jonah at St. Seraphim’s Orthodox Cathedral in Dallas on Monday, Nov. 30. Bishop Iker has appointed Fr. Cantrell, Fr. Ronald Drummond, Fr. Chuck Hough IV, Fr. John Jordan, Fr. Nelson Koscheski, and Fr. Timothy Matkin to participate.

*The “filioque clause” refers to the words “and the Son,” added by the Western Church to the closing section of the Nicene Creed, to indicate that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. The Nicene Creed dates from the Council of Nicea in 325; the filioque clause was probably introduced at the Third Council of Toledo in 589, which did not include the Eastern Church. It has never been accepted by the East; Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI both have recited the Creed without the clause, and the Lambeth Conference of 1988 suggested that it might be dropped in future revisions of Anglican liturgy.

“I was in prison, and you visited me” [Matt. 25:36]
Ascension/St. Mark’s responds to the need
for God’s word at the county jail

Posted: Aug. 24, 2009

Summer isn't typically a time when churches launch new programs. But, as they say, there's no law against it – especially when the county sheriff is doing the asking.

Ascension/St. Mark Church began a prison ministry this summer. At the request of Wise County sheriff David Walker, whose mother attends the church, the congregation has agreed to have its Sunday services videotaped and edited for viewing by the inmates at the Wise County jail facility in nearby Decatur.

Videographers Carolyn Peet and Nancy Johnson

Fr. Dewayne Adams, vicar of the church, conducts one service in English and another in Spanish each Sunday. Making taped services available in both languages suits the needs of the jail, which has a significant number of Hispanic prisoners.

When Sheriff Walker made his request, Fr. Adams turned to chuch member David Peet, who runs the congregation's Web site and posts each week's sermon in an MP3 file. David's servant’s heart and technical skills made him the logical person to organize the new ministry, Fr. Adams says. David’s wife, Carolyn, agreed to be the videographer for the English service; another church member, Nancy Johnson, stands behind the camera during the Spanish service.

Fr. Adams prepared the congregation for the camera's presence and explained that David would be able to edit out announcements and personal prayers, so that their privacy would be protected. Now that taping is a weekly event, the congregation has almost forgotten about the camera’s presence along the church's north wall.

With both services in hand, David then burns them onto DVDs, adding an introduction and conclusion taped by Fr. Adams, in which he reminds them of God’s love and readiness to forgive, and offers to meet in person with anyone who requests time with a priest. (The prison has a chaplain who also is available to the inmates and their families.) Because the jail population is very fluid, David says, there is no guarantee that any prisoner will see more than one week’s service.

The completed DVDs are delivered to the jail eight days after taping and are played on request on TVs in the common areas of the prison, so that the Good News of Jesus Christ can be made known to those who may feel farthest from God’s redeeming grace.

Walsingham Pilgrimage
Bishop Iker leads Benediction service
at annual celebration

Posted: June 3, 2009

Bishop Iker was invited as a special guest to this year's National Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in England, held Monday, May 25. Inaugurated on Whit Monday (the day after Pentecost) in 1938, the modern pilgrimage celebration now occurs in late May each year.

Pilgrims first made their way to Walsingham in the 11th century, after word spread that a noblewoman had seen a vision in which the Virgin Mary asked her to erect a house in the village replicating the place where the Annunciation occurred. The resulting Shrine was visited by every king from Richard I to Henry VIII, and Walsingham has been called “England’s Nazareth.” It was Mary’s promise in the vision that “whoever seeks my help there will never go away empty-handed.”

The contemporary Pilgrimage day begins with a procession from the Shrine Church to the meadow where the glassless east window of the old Abbey (destroyed in the Reformation) stands. Mass is celebrated at noon and followed by a picnic on the lawn. Following lunch this year, a sermon was preached by Bishop Lindsay Urwin, who has recently become the episcopal Administrator of the Shrine.

At 2:30 p.m., the procession returned through the streets, which are still lined with medieval buildings. Then, according to an online account, “Pilgrims crammed into the gardens as Bishop Jack Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth, brought the Sacrament from the Shrine Church to the altar of Lights.” Bishop Iker also stopped to say thanks to the youth of the Sea Cadets, who are part of the official procession party. The Pilgrimage ended with a rededication of the main arch into the Shrine grounds.

For a story on this year's National Pilgrimage and the text of Bishop Urwin’s sermon, see http://www.walsinghamanglican.org.uk/welcome/the_national_pilgrimage.htm.

For more on Walsingham and the Pilgrimage, see http://www.walsinghamanglican.org.uk

Archival photos of Walsingham sites can be found at http://www.francisfrith.com/walsingham/photos/

Conferencia Corazon del Cristianismo:
Spanish-language Christian inquirers’ program
offered to local pastors

Posted: April 29, 2009

A two-day training program is offered Friday and Saturday, May 15 & 16, to all pastors of Spanish-speaking congregations, no matter what denomination. Participants will become familiar with this new evangelical program and learn to organize courses and course leaders in local churches.

Christianity Explored (CE) is a Christian formation series developed at All Souls’, Langham Place, in London. The chief author of CE, the Rev. Rico Tice, will be on hand at the May 15 & 16 training to help launch this initiative for Spanish-speaking seekers and Christians. The diocesan Hispanic Ministries Committee is sponsoring the training conference. Local organizers include the Rev. DeWayne Adams, vicar of Ascension & St. Mark Church in the Bridgeport/Decatur area, the Rev. Sergio Diaz, vicar of Iglesia San Miguel in Fort Worth, and the Rev. Roger Grist, rector of St. Anne’s Church, in the Lake Worth area.

Unlike ALPHA, the videos used for the 10-week CE course are taped in a number of locations, from busy streets, to book-lined studies, to stadium bleachers, to windswept seacoasts. Based on the Gospel of Mark, each presentation also draws on well-known movies, art, literature, and historical events for application and examples. CE allows time for small-group discussion where any question can be entertained, and the biggest questions in our lives are tackled with honesty and compassion. Trailers can be seen online at the CE Web site. Course materials are available in both English and Spanish.

Conferencia Corazon del Cristianismo, to be presented at St. Anne’s, costs just $15 for all materials and lunch both days. To register, e-mail Fr. Adams.

Meals ministry: St. Mark's Soup Kitchen

Posted: April 17, 2009

When St. Mark's church in Arlington began a renovation and rebuilding project about four years ago, it was decided to spruce up the parish hall and kitchen first, then tear down the old worship space and hold Sunday services in the fellowship space while the new church was under construction. The new kitchen was so inviting that parishioner Peggy Porter wanted to make more use of it, rather than just serving the occasional meal to the congregation.

Peggy and a group of other parishioners envisioned a soup kitchen.
They spent about six months on research – looking into city codes, visiting other church-run meal ministries, planning menus, and obtaining food handlers' licenses. In September they began serving lunches, which continue every Thursday.

“We are surrounded by poverty,” Peggy says of the church, which is in an established neighborhood of houses, schools, and commercial property. But the single-family homes that were the middle-class ideal several decades ago now “have multiple families living in them,” she says. There are homeless folks nearby, too.

Knowing that the poor seldom eat fresh food, Peggy planned made-from-scratch soups and put in every vegetable she could think of. Then she put fresh fruit on the side. She has added desserts and green salad, too, but she keeps salt and starch to a minimum. And she insists on table service for her guests, rather than letting them go through a line.

“They are the kindest, nicest, and most gracious people,” she says of those who come for Thursday lunch. “It has just been a joy.”

About 26 church members in all are involved in shopping, preparing, and serving enough for about 50 guests each week, though there are seldom that many. The extra food is donated later in the day to a nearby shelter. The groceries don't cost much, and all expenses are covered by direct donations from church members.

“It’s amazing what this has done for our parish,” she says. “It has drawn us closer.

Speaking for herself, she adds, “It turns your whole attitude and point of view around. I used to think that I was doing pretty well as a follower of Christ, but I didn't have a clue.”

The Anglican Church in North America:
An Explanation

Posted: April 9, 2009

Building dedication at Ascension/St. Mark’s

Posted: February 26, 2009

July: Fr. Adams blesses the cattle before they go to market.

January: Gifts were presented to those who contributed many hours to the success of the project.

Fr. Adams and builder Larry Middleton enjoyed working on the project together.

Blessing the chapel

Blessing office space in a nook along the classroom hallway.

The new kitchen offers a generous pass-through service area on the north end of the parish hall.

A cattle drive and a bequest provided much of the funding for a major addition to Ascension/St. Mark’s Church in Bridgeport. The bequest came from the estate of Jennifer Moss, who died in a 2005 auto accident. She was the church’s youth director. Members of the church agree that the expansion could not have been realized without that gift.

The L-shaped addition , which extends east from the narthex, provides a full sacristy, Altar Guild room, chapel, classrooms, two office areas, nursery, rest rooms, enlarged parish hall , and an unfinished storage area that will one day hold a staircase to a second-floor expansion. The spacious new kitchen is a particular source of pride and pleasure, with plenty of counter space and two dishwashers for speedy clean-up. The $218,000 addition was dedicated and blessed on Jan. 24, and the kitchen was immediately put to use for a potluck luncheon.

Click on the pictures to see larger views.

A new Anglican province in formation

Posted: December 17, 2008

The realignment of traditional Anglicans in the United States and Canada took another step forward on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Meeting in Wheaton, Ill., leaders of the Common Cause Partnership agreed to a provisional Constitution and Canons for a new province of the Anglican Communion, based in North America. The new province will provide a home for dioceses and parishes that do not subscribe to the revisionist agendas of The Episcopal Church (TEC) and the Anglican Church of Canada.

Bishop Iker at the Wheaton, Ill., meeting with Bishops Robert Duncan, Keith Ackerman, and (seated) Martyn Minns

Four dioceses that have left TEC over the past 12 months form the nucleus of the province. The Diocese of San Joaquin (in California’s Central Valley) separated in December 2007; the Diocese of Pittsburgh departed in October of this year, and the Diocese of Quincy (western Illinois) followed a month later in early November. With the Nov. 15 decision by the Diocese of Fort Worth to leave TEC, the required minimum of four dioceses for the new province was met.* Currently, all four of the former TEC dioceses enjoy temporary membership in the Province of the Southern Cone. This arrangement is temporary by mutual consent; all four dioceses have made clear their intentions of forming a new province in North America.

Other members of the Common Cause Partnership include the 68 former TEC parishes of the Virginia-based Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), the 140 ex-TEC parishes of the Anglican Mission in America, and the 23 parishes of the Anglican Network in Canada. Additional members include the six dioceses of the Reformed Episcopal Church (a body which separated from TEC in 1870), as well as many individual parishes in the U.S. and Canada. All told, the new province will begin with an aggregate Sunday attendance of at least 100,000.

On Dec. 5, the group of Anglican leaders known as the GAFCON Primates** took the provincial proposal to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The archbishops met for prayer and discussion that lasted about six hours.

The proposed province is expected to be on the agenda of the next Primates’ Meeting, which begins Jan. 31, 2009, in Egypt. Another of the Anglican Instruments of Communion, the Anglican Consultative Council, meets in May; this is the body that can recognize the nascent province on behalf of the Communion.

The next scheduled event will take place in the Diocese of Fort Worth, which hosts the inaugural Provincial Assembly beginning Monday, June 22, 2009, at St. Vincent’s Cathedral in Bedford. The business of the assembly will be to perfect and adopt the proposed Constitution and Canons. Following that, each member diocese or convocation will need to accept the founding documents.

Once the new province is established and our diocesan convention has ratified our membership, the Diocese of Fort Worth will transfer its membership from the Province of the Southern Cone to the Anglican Church in North America.

* This minimum standard of four dioceses to form a new province was established in a resolution adopted by the Lambeth Conference in 1930.

**Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya, Peter Akinola of Nigeria, Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda, Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone, and Henry Orombi of Uganda. Justice Akrofi of West Africa and Valentino Mokiwa of Tanzania, also GAFCON primates, were not present at the December meeting.

Links:
The Common Cause Partnership: http://www.united-anglicans.org/

The Provisional Constitution: http://www.united-anglicans.org/about/provisional-constitution.html
and Canons: http://www.united-anglicans.org/about/provisional-canons.html

GAFCON Primates welcome North American Province: http://www.gafcon.org/

A report about the Canterbury meeting and the provincial timeline: http://geoconger.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/new-american-province-looms-cen-120508-p-1/

Video highlights of the Dec. 3 meeting: http://www.anglicantv.org/

Metropolitan of Orthodox Church confers with Bishop Iker

Posted: December 4, 2008

The leader of the Orthodox Church in North America paid a call on Bishop Jack Iker during a recent visit to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The two met for about an hour on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at St. Vincent’s Cathedral in Bedford to discuss mutual concerns and goals.

Bishop Iker with Metropolitan Jonah at St. Vincent’s Cathedral

The Orthodox leader requested the meeting with Bishop Iker. Consecrated the Orthodox bishop of Fort Worth and the South on Nov. 1, Blessed Jonah was elected Metropolitan of All America and Canada in a church synod just 11 days later.

The Anglican and Orthodox churches have long enjoyed close theological affinities, having similar forms of worship and common roots in the faith. Metropolitan Jonah, who was baptized in the Episcopal Church in Chicago as an infant, commended Bishop Iker and the Diocese of Fort Worth on the mid-November decision of the Diocesan Convention to separate from the errors of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church.

On Nov. 15, Metropolitan Jonah wrote, “I deeply admire the stance you have taken and offer my support to you and to your clergy and faithful, as we must stand together to bear witness to the full integrity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the fullness of the Apostolic Tradition.”

During their Nov. 25 meeting, the two shared concerns about the assaults of secularism and revisionism on orthodox Christianity in the West. The meeting ended with the two bishops expressing their mutual desire to “make this pilgrimage together, moving ever more deeply into the heart of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

 In a follow-up letter to Bishop Iker after the meeting, Metropolitan Jonah wrote:

“There are multitudes of our American people who have been wounded in the "culture wars," which have brought long-standing essential American cultural institutions – like the Episcopal Church – to doctrinal, moral, and institutional degradation and collapse.

“It is my fervent hope that as the Orthodox Church in America, we can be a context of support for you and those communities with you that are seeking to realign themselves with Christians who stand fast in the Apostolic and Patristic Faith and Teaching.”