On May 23, 2025, in the parish center of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Passaic, New Jersey, under the chairmanship of the temporary Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA and Canada, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, the opening of the XV Congress of the Clergy and Laity of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA took place. It was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the death of the enlightener of America, Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', as well as the 55th anniversary of the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in America and the establishment of the Patriarchal Parishes in the United States of America.
The Assembly opened with the solemn welcoming of the reliquary with a particle of the holy relics of St. Tikhon, which Bishop Matthew brought to Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. With the blessing of His Holiness KIRILL, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’, this holy relic is visiting Orthodox parishes and monasteries in the USA during the jubilee year and will later be given as a gift to the Canadian Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
Opening the assembly, Bishop Matthew conveyed to all the blessing of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness KIRILL, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’, and congratulated those gathered on the continuing days of Paschal joy and on the jubilee dates being marked this year. In his opening address, the archpastor recalled the key events in the life of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA since the previous Assembly in 2019. Bishop Matthew highly praised the ministry of the clergy and faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate parishes in the USA during the pandemic, a difficult time for the whole world, and expressed gratitude for their conscientious adherence to the recommendations of the church hierarchy on organizing liturgical and parish life amid mass illness. The bishop also reported on his activities as Administrator, and spoke about the parishes he had visited and cooperation with other jurisdictions over the past period.
The bishop asked that the draft greeting to the Primate of our Church on the occasion of his upcoming name day be read out. The greeting was unanimously approved and sent to His Holiness.
Then the archpastor, in accordance with the Statute of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, invited the co-chairs and secretaries of the Assembly to take their places at the presidium table and announced the agenda of the Assembly approved by the Bishop’s Council.
The head of the chancery, Priest Mark Rashkov, delivered a report on the activities of the diocesan administration for the reporting period. After the names of the clergy and church servers who had reposed since the 14th Assembly were read, all present prayerfully honored them by singing “Memory Eternal.”
The head of the chancery acquainted the participants of the Assembly in detail with the new requirements for candidates for ordination to holy orders and for preparing the necessary documentation of candidates submitted for consideration by the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA.
Next, the deans gave brief reports on the life of the parishes of their districts: Eastern States — Archpriest Michael Kapcicz; Atlantic — Archpriest John Vass; Central — Priest Joshua Genig; and Western — Priest Michael Kozyrev. The abbot of the Monastery of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica in Massachusetts and its skete in Washington State, Hieromonk Savvaty (Ageev), reported on the life of the monastery.
The secretary of the Bishop’s Council, Archpriest John Vass, spoke about the need, according to the Statute, to elect new members of the council (7 clergy and 7 laity) from among the participants of the Assembly; the vote traditionally takes place at the end of the first day of the assembly.
The second session of the Assembly opened with a report by the legal counsel of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Priest Gregory Winsky, on the need for the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, both as a single legal entity and each parish individually, to adopt regulations governing Church policy regarding harassment (“Sexual Misconduct Policy Implementation”).
Such preventive measures, reminding members of religious communities of their responsibility for unacceptable actions, at the same time guard against fraudulent actions by persons seeking, for selfish purposes, to falsely accuse a religious organization and/or any of its members of misconduct. These regulations have been adopted by most religious organizations in the USA, including the Orthodox Church in America and other canonical Orthodox jurisdictions. Fr. Gregory explained in detail the stages of implementing this policy, which sets out clear definitions, reporting mechanisms, investigation procedures and support services (including staff training, regular reviews and ongoing communication to ensure understanding of and compliance with the precautions). The legal counsel’s report prompted a substantive discussion among the Assembly participants, who expressed support for this timely and relevant initiative.
The final session of the Assembly opened with a report by the treasurer of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Panayiotis Billis, who presented the financial report for the period under review. In his report, the treasurer pointed out the need to revise the current norms for forming the general church budget, which were adopted back in the early 2000s. Taking into account inflation over the past period, as well as significant changes in the actual membership of a number of parishes, P. Billis proposed that the Assembly consider several options for remedying the situation. After a lengthy discussion in which participants shared their vision for resolving this problem, Bishop Matthew called on the deans to study in detail the current state and individual circumstances of each parish and present this information for discussion at the next Bishop’s Council, with a new budget concept for the Patriarchal Parishes to be adopted at the 16th Assembly.
At the end of the first day of the Assembly, its secretary announced the results of the election of the new Bishop’s Council. Bishop Matthew warmly greeted the clergy and laity whom the assembly entrusted with serving as assistants to the Administrator and the administration of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA until the next Assembly is convened.
