Diocese of the West at Canonical Procedures Conference
SS. Peter & Paul Church, Burr Ridge, IL | October 21-24, 2024
After requests over the years from the Holy Synod, Archbishop Daniel and the Diocese of the Midwest hosted a four day workshop educating two representatives from each Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America in ecclesiastical court proceedings. His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin, sent Diocesan Chancellor Archpriest Kirill Sokolov, and Diocesan Council Secretary Priest Andrew Smith, to represent the Diocese of the West.
Co-teaching the workshop with His Eminence was OCA Chancellor and Assistant Professor of Canon Law at St. Vladimir Seminary Archpriest Alexander Rentel. Priest John Mikitish, Executive Assistant to the Chancellor of the OCA, also presented parts of his recent report to the Holy Synod on the history and trends of OCA spiritual courts over the last fifteen years.
After a brief introduction to the canonical tradition of the Church and the historical precedent of applying the canons in ecclesiastical court proceedings on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, participants spent a full afternoon on Tuesday going over standardized procedures and processes for conducting an ecclesiastical court, beginning with the accusation all the way through to the appeals process and ratification of diocesan court decisions by the Holy Synod.
Archbishop Daniel celebrated the Divine Liturgy on October 23 at SS. Peter and Paul Church, in honor of the St. James, Brother of the Lord and Bishop of Jerusalem. Assisting His Eminence were Parish Rector Priest Daniel Greeson and Archpriest Timothy Hojnicki (Holy Apostles Church, Mechanicsburg, PA). Archpriest Herman Kincaid (Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, IL) directed the choir of priests.
The rest of Wednesday focused on case studies, allowing opportunity for direct application of of skills learned and knowledge gleaned from the previous days. This generated much discussion amongst the clergy.
Throughout the week, instructors took great care to remind all that the desire to standardize ecclesiastical courts is not a movement toward heavy-handedness. The convening of such a court is always a great sadness, not just for the cleric on trial, but also for his spiritual father, the hierarch, and for his brother clergy serving on the court. However, making sure these processes are followed according to best practices within the canonical tradition ensure that not only is the integrity of the Church preserved, but that the rights and dignity of the accused are respected, regardless of the verdict.
Many thanks are due to His Eminence, Archbishop Daniel, Fr. Alexander Rentel, and to Fr. Daniel Greeson and SS. Peter & Paul Church for their guidance and hospitality.
Photo Gallery and OCA Press Release: https://www.oca.org/news/oca-news/canonical-procedures-conference-held-in-burr-ridge-il