First Episcopal Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs of North and Central America
The First the Episcopal Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs of North and Central America opened on May 26, 2010 in New York.The convener of the Assembly was His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, acting as Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch.The Assembly is the result of the decision of the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference, which met in Chambésy Switzerland in June 2009.
The gathering is one of twelve Episcopal Assemblies that will be convened around the world in regions where there is no single Orthodox presence.
At each Assembly the eldest Bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate will preside. Archbishop Demetrios explained that the nature of the assembly is as "a temporary, not a permanent institution. It is simply preparatory to facilitate the process of an ecumenical council (in the future) that will decide the final form of the existence of the Church in a particular country."It is also designed "to project a unified witness of the faith." The Episcopal Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs of North and Central America closed with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral on May 28, 2010..
Source: Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, The Orthodox Church in America
