2007 ANNUAL DIOCESAN ASSEMBLY
Saint Peter Serbian Orthodox Church
Fresno, California

• During the week of the Publican and Pharisee, Orthodox Christians slowly prepare themselves for the Great and Holy Lent. They do this by being reminded about repentance (positive change of mind), as our Lord Himself reminds us in the parable of the repentant publican and the proud pharisee. At the parish of Holy Apostle Peter in Fresno, at the beginning of February 2007, the annual assembly of the Western American Diocese took place.
  During the clergy meeting, His Grace Bishop Dr. Maxim greeted the gathered clergy and monastics. Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, dean emeritus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, spoke about the basis of ministry and practical dimensions of pastoral work in modern society. The lecture was followed by a series of questions related to the topic. The Circle of the Serbian Sisters had their annual meeting as well.

       Following the Vespers service, the Diocesan Council met, addressing among other things: mission, the liturgical life in the diocese, the St. Sava mission and camp in Jackson, the budget, and other issues.
  

  On Friday, February 2, following the invocation of the Holy Spirit and greetings from His Grace Dr. Maxim, Fr. Thomas Hopko spoke on the theme of “What is Christianity?” Fr. Hopko talked about elementary aspects of Christianity and answered a few questions from the delegates. After the lecture His Grace gave his annual report quoted here only partially: “Over the course of the last six months, I have been blessed with the opportunity to visit and extend my pastoral blessing in many of the faithful parishes of the Diocese. As the faithful communally worshipped our Lord during our Divine Liturgy, love and spiritual unity have increased. The importance of remembering that it is only by Christ that the Church and His people continue to exist, is essential for the flourishing of our Diocese…I am sincerely thankful for the experiences I have been having with the entire Diocese. It becomes more evident that our ministry today is ‘multifold’, consisting of: a) ‘cultivating, nurturing, and sustaining a vibrant and dynamic Orthodox faith in the United States’, b) teaching and practicing limitless love and philanthropy, and c) emphasizing, pursuing and enhancing the establishment of a strong and unbreakable unity within the Orthodox Churches.

  The responsibilities are great and awesome in any context, but certainly this is especially the case in North America today…My words and thoughts are also dedicated to the beautiful and lively presence of the youth. Young people today look to the Church with particular trust. They are looking for solutions to the impasses of a mechanized, technical culture. They want to surpass the different tendencies towards dehumanization. Furthermore, they are seeking answers to the arrogance of power and the disdain of various scientific achievements. However, they are also formulating certain important requests of us. They want, for example, spiritual leaders of the Church to be without hypocrisy; pure, true prototypes in ethos, conduct, and lifestyle. I hope to continue to fervently serve the Holy Orthodox Church by being able to visit and extend my pastoral blessing to the faithful, and I sincerely pray that we may all continue to yield abundant spiritual fruit; because to God, the Father, is due the glory, honor, and worship with His co-existent Son, together with the All-holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and unto endless ages of ages. Amen!”
  

  After Vespers service which was attended by the local Orthodox Christians, Fr. Hopko in church spoke on the theme of God’s Gospel in Jesus. Here Fr. Thomas noted that the Gnostic gospels, published lately around major Christian Holy Days as something new, were known to the first Christians (St. Irenaeus of Leon in his writings rejects them and exposes their fallacy). He also mentioned that the Gnostic gospels do not talk about the Cross (the crucifixion and suffering of Christ). The Gospels that the Church has included in the Canon reveal to us the fullness of the economy of salvation, the integral message of Christ, and His Divine-human person.

       On Saturday, February 3, the Feast Day of St. Maximus the Confessor, the Divine Liturgy and a memorial service for reposed clergy and laity in the diocese was served by His Grace and most of the clergy. His Grace gave a sermon in which he talked about the harmony between the Liturgical and ascetic life in the Orthodox Church as St. Maximus the Confessor shows with his life and writings. In his writings, St. Maximus talks about the Heavenly Kingdom whose icon is the Divine Liturgy. He also talks about the necessity to repel and fight against selfishness and individualism. St. Maximus in Christ saw in this the key to solving all problems of man and the world, talking about the gathering of all in Christ and their recapitulation in Him.

  The plenary session followed the Divine Liturgy during which the following issues were addressed: the status of missionary parishes, the 2008 annual assembly scheduled to take place in Moraga, California, and Diocesan Days scheduled for Labor Day weekend in Jackson, California. The assembly also welcomed Protopresbyter-stavrophor Dusan Bunjevic, the deputy of the New Gracanica Metropolitanate for the west coast. The assembly unanimously expressed the wish to have the five New Gracanica Metropolitanate parishes that are on the west coast added to the Western American Diocese.

       The resolution sent to His Grace Bishop Longin of the New Gracanica Metropolitanate by the Diocesan Assembly reads in part: “Inspired by the Spirit of unity, with one accord and brotherly love, with one voice and one heart, we implore Your Grace, together with your God protected diocese, to consider one more time, the question of adding to the Western Diocese, the parishes of the New Gracanica Metropolitanate on the territory of Western America, and our Diocese.  The following are the parishes: 1. St. John the Baptist in San Francisco, 2. St. George in Oakland, 3. St. Archangel Michael in Saratoga, 4. St. Nicholas in Phoenix, and 5. Christ the Savior in Arcadia.

• “Taking into consideration Your already shown readiness for this effort, as well as the readiness of the parishes from the Bay area with their priests (expressed this time with the voice of Protopresbyter-stavrophor Dusan Bunjevich – the guest of our Assembly), we call upon Your Grace, with the Church over which You preside, that with joint and brotherly love, You seek the decision for the previously mentioned union.
  “St. Apostle Paul counsels churches to do everything “gracefully and orderly,” and the Holy Church with her canonical tradition, protects this order by forbidding overlapping of jurisdictions on one territory.  In this spirit, the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1992, brought forth the decision about the unity of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States of America and Canada.  Therefore, we loving the truth, think that any postponement of this unification of the parishes pleases only our enemies.  Experience testifies even through the proverb that time heals wounds, but it also can deepen the schism.

       “We assure You and all those concerned, that this, our prayerful wish, is truthful and well-meant.  It is not ill-conceived nor does it have any other pretense, but rather it comes out of our unconditional pastoral care and brotherly concern for the salvific function of the Church on this territory and for the glory of God!" At the end of the assembly, His Grace Dr. Maxim blessed the participants, thanked Fr. George Gligich, the host priest and his living Eucharistic community, and wished all a blessed ministry on the parish level, hoping to see them all in Jackson, California, for the Diocesan Days celebration on Labor Day weekend.