A Western-Rite Parish of ROCOR

By their own description, which they placed in the 1995 “Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches,” published by the National Council of Churches of Christ: “This body was established in 1960 to achieve cooperation among the various Eastern Orthodox Churches in the United States. The Conference is a voluntary association of the Bishops in the Americas established to serve as an agency to centralize and coordinate the mission of the Church. It acts as a clearinghouse to focus the efforts of the Church on common concerns and to avoid duplication and overlapping of services and agencies.”

According to their own words placed in the Orthodox Christian community recognized 1994 Directory of Orthodox Parishes and Institutions in North America: “SCOBA is a Federation of Eastern Orthodox hierarchs who recognize one another’s canonical status.” Therefore, admission to membership is strictly up to those who already make up its membership, influenced by old grievances, jealousies, personalities, politics, nationalities, covetous, power, etc. - NOT based on true "canonicity" and the Faith.

SCOBA's membership consists of 10 professing Orthodox Church entities, of which at least 3 owe their existence to and are under the 'protection' of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, with at least two whose supposed "canonicity" is expressly unrecognized by world Orthodox as schismatics. Today's Orthodox Church in America-OCA also owes its existence mostly to the Greek Archdiocese. The permanent presidency of this exclusive organization is whichever presiding Metropolitan may be of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America.

SCOBA and its self-choosing members have no authority whatsoever granted them from Holy Canon, Holy Tradition, or their Patriarchates other than the authority and governance over their own individual and specific jurisdictions in North America as each's individual bishops. Although they do not admit until pressed to do so, SCOBA is not an ecclesiastical overseeing authority nor possessor of any canonical privilege to make any rulings, determinations, or judgments all-inclusive of Orthodoxy in North America or regarding any non-SCOBA Orthodox entities. They are not North America‘s Synod of Bishops, which does not exist. To put an end to such bold assumptions on their part, SCOBA members gathered from 30 November-01 December 1994 and issued the statement: “in convening this present Conference of Bishops, we find ourselves to be an Episcopal Assembly, a precursor to a General Synod of Bishops.” They further uncanonically resolved to convene annually “to enhance the movement toward administrative ecclesial unity in North America,” exclusive of course of non-SCOBA entities. Reaction to this was swiftly met with terse rejection from the Greek Ecumenical and other Patriarchates as a bid to schism from their Mother Churches' authority and oversight. As a result, the canonical message from their patriarchates was and is that SCOBA is not an Episcopal Assembly, Bishops Synod, nor possessor of any all-inclusive ecclesiastical administrative authority or powers over North American Orthodoxy.

“The Orthodox Church is a family of sister churches, decentralized in structure” (The Orthodox Church, 1963, Greek Bishop Kallistos Timothy Ware).

“It is curious to note how in this complex system the most unequal bodies, the colossal Russian Church and the one Monastery on Mt. Sinai, for instance, are arranged side by side as equal branches and sister churches. …Canonically he [the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople] has no jurisdiction outside his own Patriarchate. …the Patriarch of Constantinople has primacy of honor but no jurisdiction, except in his own Patriarchate” (The Eastern Orthodox Church , 1911, Fortescue, p. 273, 283, 337).

Just as the Ecumenical Patriarch is not primate, ruler over the whole Orthodox Church, neither is SCOBA or the Greek Metropolitan in America over all North American Orthodox.

SCOBA’s first embryonic formation began in 1956, when the then schismatic and ambitious Russian Metropolia/Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America, in cooperation with the National Council of Churches, organized a series of annual religious education conferences. This evolved into the creation of SCOBA - the “Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America.” Not all professed Orthodox entities in North America participated in the conferences or the creation of SCOBA, either by choice or from not being invited. This was due to years of prejudice, mistrust, ethnic conflicts, ambition, pride and jealousies which flamed between the uncanonical multiple Orthodox jurisdiction in North America. Just because some years later they added the term “Canonical” into their self-created association’s name, does not mean that bishops and churches who are not a member of SCOBA, whether by choice or exclusionism, are un-canonical or invalid. Today, elitist SCOBA members do little to correct this widespread presumption believed and promoted by less-informed Orthodox Christians as well as non-Orthodox. For instance, the Russian Orthodox Church Bishop of Patriarchal Parishes of Moscow in the USA is not a member of SCOBA. Does this therefore make him and the Russian Orthodox Church’s parishes un-canonical, invalid? Others were once members of SCOBA and its predecessor association but chose to resign of their free will or were simply un-invited to join SCOBA when it began. Does this make them un-canonical, invalid? SCOBA members call themselves canonical, and non-SCOBA churches call themselves canonical. One group “recognizes” the canonicity of each other and rejects non-members, just as other groups “recognize” each other but not others. Pure jealousy, pride, and scandal of the devil.

Only in the 20th century has being a “canonical” church or cleric come to mean an external membership or association whereas, historically and traditionally, being canonical meant unity in the Orthodox Faith of Christ "once for all delivered to the saints" (St. Jude 3).

What has happened in the world of Orthodoxy today is that the organization and external membership have taken over and now wrongly define what the Church is or is not. One is reckoned to be “in the Church,” canonical, or even "valid," if he is affiliated with an “officially recognized” organization. When people today think of the Church, they think in Western terms of a physical organization, association, diocese or jurisdiction and the membership of the local church in that organization is equated with holding the Faith of Jesus Christ, whether it actually does or does not. Again, up until the 20th century, determining who was a canonically valid church or person was their adherence, their unity with the One Orthodox Faith.

“Many people may be members of the Church who are not visibly so; invisible bonds may exist despite outward separation. The Spirit of God blows where it will, and, as Irenaeus said, where the Spirit is, there is the Church. We know where the Church is but we cannot be sure where it is not; and so we must refrain from passing judgment…” (The Orthodox Church, 1963, Greek Bishop Kallistos Timothy Ware).

The Western perception of the Church as membership in “officialdom” stands in sharp contrast to the teachings of Holy Scriptures, the Canons, and the holy Fathers, including St Gregory Palamas who wrote:

“They that are of the Church of Christ are they that are of the truth; and they that are not of the truth are not of the Church of Christ… for we are reminded that we are to distinguish Christianity not by persons who have ecclesiastical titles, but the truth and by the exactness of the Faith.”

Russian Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh, founder of the canonical American Orthodox Catholic Church in 1927, wrote during the height of the shameful Orthodox ethnic and supremacy wars: "The prime necessity for Orthodoxy in America at large is to bury the causes of her divisions and set forth anew on a road of peaceful and united progress for the good of Holy Church and the Kingdom of Christ. Orthodox Catholic bishops and leaders should come together in the spirit of love and the humility of their Master, and sacrifice themselves and their personal ambitions to the cause of their Church and their God."

Author:  Father Bartimaeus

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"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest." (Matthew 9:37-38)