Who is steering the ship?!

In Orthodox Christianity, we are not bound to the dock so to speak. We travel in the great ocean of life with our patriarchal sees. While Roman Catholocism has the Papal See always as it's guide, we Orthodox look to our local parish priests, then our bishops for direction a little more. Our jurisdictions, however ethnic and sometimes obscure to the outsider, never separate us. We support each other and look after eachother.

In the current events of my own jurisdiction, the Orthodox Church of America, we are facing a tough moment in history. Our synod has done a 180 degree turn from where the church seemed to be going. Years back, when the Metropolitan was appointed, it seemed a miracle that Metropolitan Jonah was chosen. The synod has forced the resignation of our Metropolitan. All over the Orthodox blogosphere, and of course in each parish, people are talking. I hear their loss, pain and confusion. How easily shaken we are in the face of adversity. How quickly we fail the tests God places before us. To think this is anything less than a test of faith is simply foolish!

The majority of our Patriarchal Sees have well over 1500 years of history, battle tested as it were, against the ravages of the enemy. And Orthodoxy has prevailed! The Holy Spirit resides within the church, in the hearts of Our Lord's faithful servants. How then should we be shaken?

In speaking with one of our beloved priests yesterday, I came to the conclusion (obviously one he had come to long ago) that the OCA is the truly North American Orthodox Church. To consider the idea that our parishes should be absorbed into one or many of the other jurisdictions that reside in this country, due to the recent current situation with our Metropolitan is ignorant. We face a serious canonical issue in the US that needs to be resolved. If any parishes should be absorbed, it should be the extra-terrestrial parishes into the fold of the OCA, similar to the way the Bulgarian and Romanian Orthodox Churches in this country work. For most laity though, this issue is not a hindrance or even something they worry about. This is an ecclesiastical issue.

As for our beloved Metropolitan, however the Synod chooses to map out our new direction, one thing is for certain; The +JONAH stepped down agreeably. This was not some coup de tat. All bishops were in accord with the decision. Within the Synod, +JONAH had supporters.

We do not know all the facts, and may not ever, but we can trust that the Lord places men in power and also strips men of the same. If he is to take our blessed Patriarch away, let us trust that it is for our salvation. Let us lean on the one who is the head of the church, Christ our God, for He is the one steering the Ark of Salvation.