Greetings,
We are happy to place this announcement on our site. If your "Orthodox" and have an active ministry or desire to be a member of a canonically established Orthodox Catholic Church we would be happy to consider you for membership in our Church. We seek new members to help us grow.
If your troubled by various Church matters such as your Church not being canonically established, not following Holy Scripture, Orthodox canons or tradition, or maybe have doubts about your validity, your orders and lines of Apostolic Succession feel free to contact us.
We would be happy to discuss this with you and help you clarify your situation.
You should understand there are hundreds of small independent Churches around but if you are orthodox we would be happy to talk to you about joining our Church. We are also interested in Episcopal-Anglican and Catholic Laity and Clergy who are unhappy in their present situation.
We are a canonically established Orthodox Church. Today we are mainly western rite and in the U.S. we use the Western Rite/St. Andrews Service Book published by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese and approved for use in the USA. We use this Western Rite liturgy because its been approved, by an ethnic orthodox jurisdiction, in the U.S. We also use the Byzantine Eastern Liturgies and they are on our website.
As a canonically established Orthodox Church who is recognized by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church USA we are the closest Church to the old world ethnic Churches available today. Most non-scoba orthodox today in this country make various claims about their status and recognition but appear to be part of the independent movement. Those who seek to be part of a sacramental Church outside the old world Churches need to look no further. America is our canonical jurisdiction! As the American Church we offer all in doubt, lost or those who have fallen away from their former Church a new home.
We have very slow growth. We do not seek recognition from any ethnic orthodox body in the U.S. since all of North America is our canonical jurisdiction. We are recognized by Rome and the Episcopal Church USA (a member of the Anglican Communion).
We believe that as a small jurisdiction any recognition will be slow in coming. The Orthodox and others recognize strength in numbers.
We are not interested in taking over jurisdictions. We do seek new clergy, members and jurisdictions to join us. We seek active orthodox clergy who desire a closer tie to orthodoxy to join us. In the U.S. we use the western rite mentioned above. If others join us we will, once they are members of this synod, determine if any other services will be acceptable for use in that jurisdiction. We do not foresee any major changes.
We do not allow make shift or altered services. If someone wishes to do the Eastern Rite it must be done properly.
We believe the unity of this Canonically established Orthodox Church, now declared the American Patriarchate, along with your Church and others we are in talks with, could become a sufficiently large organization where recognition for communion with some old established groups could be forthcoming. Again this is not our goal (since we are within our canonical jurisdiction and) since we already have certain recognitions and we are listed in the Yearbook of American and Canadan Churches and the Handbook of Denominations in the U.S.
If you might be interested in joining this Church we feel there would be little change involved. We do require the use of the approved orthodox Liturgy. Your clergy and synod would become part of this Church, your synod members would be part of this synod, you would then be part of this Canonically established Church and you would have new friends and associates in the USA and England.
Your benefit: You would be part of this Canonically established Church
Our benefit: Church and Synod growth, new members.
+Victor
Archbishop
Retired Metropolitan,
May 19, 2006
updated
Aug. 18, 2007