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The Orthodox Church Today
The Orthodox Church today is a communion of self governing Churches,
each administratively independent of the other, but united by a common
faith and spirituality. Their underlying unity is based on identity of
doctrines, sacramental life and worship, which distinguishes Orthodox
Christianity. All recognize the spiritual preeminence of the Ecumenical
Patriarch of Constantinople who is acknowledged as primus inter pares,
first among equals. All share full communion with one another. The
living tradition of the Church and the principles of concord and
harmony are expressed through the common mind of the universal
episcopate as the need arises. In all other matters, the internal life
of each independent Church is administered by the bishops of that
particular Church. Following the ancient principle of the one people of
God in each place and the universal priesthood of all believers, the
laity share equally in the responsibility for the preservation and
propagation of the Christian faith and Church.
In addition to the four ancient Patriarchates of Constantinople,
Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem with their several geographic and
ecclesiastical subdivisions, there are also many independent or
autocephalous Orthodox Christian Churches. These include the Churches
of Russia, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Cyprus,
Czechoslovakia, Poland, Finland, Albania and Sinai. Smaller autonomous
Orthodox Churches and missions can be found on every continent
throughout the world.
THE GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America
Beginnings
Before the establishment of an Archdiocese in the Western Hemisphere
there were numerous communities of Greek Orthodox Christians. The first
Greek Orthodox community in the Americas was founded in 1864 in New
Orleans, LA by a small colony of Greek merchants. History also records
that on June 26,1768 the first Greek colonists landed at
St.Augustine,FL, the oldest city in America. Today, the “Avero House”
where these colonists worshipped has been fully restored and houses the
St. Photios National Shrine, dedicated to all our ancestors who came to
these shores as immigrants. It was not until just before the turn of
the century that the first permanent community was founded in New York
City in 1892, today’s Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and
See of the Archbishop of America.
The establishment of Greek Orthodoxy in America began in the beginning
of this century, coinciding with the acceleration of immigration from
Greece.The pioneering of Greek Orthodoxy in America continued at an
intensified rate throughout the first decades of the 20th Century,and
by 1920 sixty percent of the present-day communities and their houses
of worship were firmly founded.
The first Greek Orthodox parishes in North America were under the
jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople which had
over the centuries assumed responsibility for the diaspora communities
and assigned to them their priests. In 1908, however, this jurisdiction
was temporarily transferred to the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.
This arrangement was maintained until 1918, and during this period the
communities remained without the necessary organization and without a
responsible and authorized religious leader they so greatly needed.
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