The History of Orthodoxy in North America, by Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen), class 10

Content:
114. ROCOR was stable throughout the 20th century
115. The Metropolia was isolated canonically and in communion with no one, post 1946 till 1970 and suffered from leadership problems
116. The post World War II period saw a great influx of Orthodox refugees displaced by the war and by Communism
117. Many Russians from CHina settled on the West Coast of the United States, but some in the East.
118. The post-war period is one of consolidation and work with new emigres; there is little missionary outreach
119. Greece was in turmoil from 1923 on and especially after WWII, with the civil war between royalists and communists
120. The new calendar reform tore the Greek Church apart and led to schism and even bloodshed. 
121. The schism in the Greek Church amounted to 25 % - 50 % of the population.
122. The Greek Church in the US under the Ecumenical Patriarch largely avoided being greatly affected by the turmoil in Greece
123. There was a proliferation of Orthodox jurisdictions in the US and some cooperation amongst them
124. 1960 - SCOBA - The Standing Committee of Orthodox Bishops in America was formed, the idea of the Greek Archbishop
125. The idea of SCOBA was not to have a single jurisdiction in the US but that there be cooperation including on charitable work
126. SCOBA was a context for cooperation on other common issues and for some missionary outreach
127. SCOBA reduced the isolation of the Metropolia
128. SCOBA worked for there to be Orthodox chaplains in the US military
129. Post-WWII - saw the formation of the Protestant-dominated National Council of Churches and World Council of Churches (NCC & WCC)
130. The Metropolia participated in both the NCC and the WCC
131. The Russian emigres in Paris at the Theological Institute who emigrated to New York and worked at St. Vladimir's Seminary supported Orthodox participation in the NCC & WCC as a way to bear witness of Orthodoxy to Protestants.  
132. These emigres, among them Fr Florovsky and Alexander Schmemann, also supported the Metropolia and helped to move along the path to the eventual formation of the OCA
133. The NCC and WCC had a leftist and Marxist influence that grew over the years.
134. The NCC and WCC were a context for Orthodox Bishops from Communist countries, to communicate with Orthodox Churches and their Bishops from free countries and explain the realities they faced, including persecution. Publically, the clergy from Communist states had to say everything was fine. Behind closed doors, they told the truth.
135. The 1970 grant of autocephaly to the OCA by Moscow was not recognized by other Orthodox Churches, but the OCA was viewed as having canonical status because their mother Church recognized them and their sacraments. 
136. A new organization sponsored by the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in America, is dominated by Greeks, despite having fewer parishes than other jurisdictions
137. Orthodox Ecclesiology emphasizes the completeness of the Church at the local level, which is the Diocese.
138. Discussion of the structure of the Orthodox Church, the origin of autocephaly, and the meaning of autonomy.  
139. Apostolic origin of the original Patriarchal Sees of which Constantinople was NOT included
140. The National Churches and their origins.
141. The Russian Church and the origin of its autocephaly.
142. The proposed new protocol for the recognition of autocephaly, as a conciliar act that begins with the national, mother Church granting such status to one a diocese, as occurred for instance with the Polish Orthodox Church.
143. The failure of the Council of Crete.
144. The Ecumenical Patriarch: from First Among Equals to First Without Equals.
145. The EP and divisions in the Orthodox Church; laying the groundwork for the Ukraine schism 
146. Anti-Soviet and anti-Russian diplomatic activities of the US since 1948
147. The promotion of a secular, leftist anti-morality by US diplomacy with the EP (Constantinople) 

Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Washington, DC
July 21, 2020
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