RESOLUTION OF THE ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX
DIOCESE OF NEW GRACANICA AND MIDWESTERN AMERICA
March 30-31, 2012.
The clergy and delegates from parishes and Church-School congregations of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of New Gracanica and Midwestern America, under the spiritual leadership and chairmanship of our Diocesan Bishop, His Grace Longin, gathered at the Annual Assembly of our Diocese at New Gracanica Monastery at Third Lake, IL on March 30-31, 2012, adopted the following resolution:
1. We convey our allegiance and faithfulness to the fullness of the Serbian Orthodox Church under the omophorion of His Holiness Patriarch IRINEJ, reaffirming our spiritual and canonical unity with our Holy Mother Church, with thanksgiving to God for the gift of unity which has been, by God’s Grace, poured upon our Church in North and South America.
2. We emphasize our strong faith that Christ’s Church is, first and foremost, the mystical Body of Christ, of which we are all members. We reaffirm our sincere efforts towards strengthening our Eucharistic ties with each and every baptized member of our Church, being fully aware that only participation in the Body and Blood of our Redeemer makes us the true members of His Church. We would remind everyone that only true membership in the Orthodox Church is above all membership in the Holy Mysteries of Christ’s Church. Sacramental privilege is above all “voting rights” in the Orthodox Church. Our faithfulness to the Holy Scripture, Holy Canons and Liturgical life of Orthodox Church are clearly outlined in the Constitution of our Church as well as in Uniformed Rules and Regulations of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America.
3. We are very much saddened by the fact that a small group of Serbian Orthodox Christians obstinately persist in their divisive mindset challenging the decisions of the Holy Assembly of Bishops and the fullness of the Serbian Orthodox Church by bringing a lawsuit against our Diocesan Bishop Rt. Rev. Longin . We hope and pray that Almighty Lord will enlighten their minds and mellow their hearts so that they too might feel the joy of unity.
4. We remain very concerned about the unstable situation in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija. Our Diocese as well as all other Serbian Orthodox Dioceses from this continent have repeatedly supported the stand of the Holly Assembly of Bishops of our Church that the self proclaimed independency of Kosovo, according to the international law and United Nations resolutions, is an illegal action.
5. With much sadness and concern we raise our voice against the ever growing moral decline of American society. Our Lord and Savior has blessed us with a genuine culture of life. The meeting of the unborn yet alive Lord Jesus Christ and unborn yet alive John the Baptist, which took place on the day when Blessed Virgin Mary rushed to Elizabeth, described in the First Chapter of The Gospel according to St. Luke, shows us clearly and unmistakably when the life really does begin. As followers of the Risen Christ we ought to protect not the right to choose but the right to live.
In the same way we cannot silently be looking at the total confusion over the role of gender in God’s plan for us. As Christians we proclaim that God has created us males and females for a very specific reason and purpose. The Orthodox Church has always seen the gift of human sexuality as something which is to be an integral part of God blessed Community of marriage. The gift of procreation which has its blessed way in marriage alone brings us closer to God for we become God’s stewards in the Mystery of life and love, bearing at the same time, as husbands and wives, tremendous responsibility for one another’s salvation. The ever increasing attack at the institution of marriage endangers our children and our posterity in general by promoting in western culture and life styles irresponsible sexual behaviors and growing push towards “gay-marriage” thus creating a completely distorted picture about the genuine role of genders.
6. As Orthodox Christians and as citizens of this great country of ours we strongly believethat human freedoms are given by God and not by state. One of the most fundamental rights we enjoy as Americans is the one of the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment. Having stated this we cannot but be disturbed by the fact that this basic constitutional right has recently been challenged by the executive branch of the United States government through mandating payment by church-operated institutions for certain types of medicines and procedures which are contrary to the teachings and beliefs of their sponsoring bodies.
7. Following the way of the Cross, especially now during the Great Lent, we pray for our suffering brothers and sisters – Orthodox and other Christians in Egypt as well as in many other countries with majority of Islamic population. We call on the government of the United States of America to act in defense of those who are persecuted because of their Christian faith.
In the New Gracanica monastery, on 31st of March of 2012.