Dearly beloved,

The Sunday of Orthodoxy celebration in America in recent years has often featured festive Hierarchical Divine Liturgies and Vesper Service, the participation of numerous hierarchs and priests from all of the canonical Orthodox jurisdictions and solemn definitions of Orthodoxy. The latter is set forth as follows:

      'As the prophets beheld, as the Apostles have taught, as the Church has received, as the Teachers have dogmatized, as the Universe has agreed, As Grace has shown forth, as Truth has revealed, as falsehood has been dissolved, as Wisdom has presented, as Christ awarded, thus we declare, thus we assert, thus we preach Christ our true God, and honor His Saints in words, in writings, in thoughts in sacrifices in churches, in Holy Icons; on one hand worshipping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord; and on the other hand honoring as true servants of the same Lord of all and accordingly offering them veneration. This is the Faith of the Apostles, this is the faith of the Fathers, this is the Faith of the Orthodox, this is the Faith which has established the Universe.'

      In accordance with this declaration, the Sunday of Orthodoxy is obviously perceived as a very unique event revealing our common bond of unity in the Orthodox Faith, and at the same time, the unfortunate historical fact that while we belong to one another, we have actually lived and are continuing to live apart form one another - even to the perilous point of alienating one Church from another. In fact, however, we are one Church, a Church whose survival and preservation were earned and sealed in martyrdom with the shedding of entire rivers of blood.

      We were separated from one another in difficult times and circumstances. Internal strife, foreign invasions, political and cultural upheavals, even tense international crises and vicious racist campaigns bent on total domination of one nation over another, and promulgated in the name of ethnic or cultural pride - all of these have played a role in undermining our unity in the Faith. Religious and political propaganda campaigns waged from aboard, banners of false patriotism, and even flagrant displays of religious arrogance have oftentimes been represented either in the guise of efforts at achieving independence or as veiled effort to subjugate one Church under the authority of another, or the absorption of one Church into another jurisdiction.

      With this in mind, the canonical Orthodox jurisdictions in America decided to combine their efforts in the difficult and sometimes painful task of bringing all of us closer together into unity as a family of believers. The first step in this direction was taken by establishing the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, which is known as SCOBA.

      During the twenty-two years of its existence, The Standing Conference has encountered obstacles and problems which have adversely affected its programs and activities. In spite of some noticeable progress, the truth of the matter is that SCOBA is still very far from achieving its ultimate goal, which is the unity of all Orthodox Christians in America into a single church. The hope of attaining this sacred goal fortunately has not waned. The need for an organization like SCOBA is keenly felt more and more as time goes by. However it is necessary that impatience be transformed into patience and agony and frustration into prayer and hope.

      A number of Orthodox jurisdictions in America are facing serious internal problems and discord. Unless they are solved, it will become almost impossible for them to concentrate fully, effectively and productively on the monumental task of achieving full ecclesiastical unity. Let us join in prayer today that the time will soon come wherein we may observe the Sunday of Orthodoxy as an observance that truly manifests Orthodoxy as a united, viable spiritual force in the Western Hemisphere just as it is in the East. The task is not to be divisive or indifferent through dialogue with other Christian bodies and other religious groups. Our strategy is aptly described by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians: 'For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of this present darkness.' (Eph.6: 12)

With paternal blessings,

Iakovos

Archbishop, Greek Orthodox Church of North and South America