Preconciliar Commission to meet in Washington, DC

BETHESDA, MD [OCA]—The Preconciliar Commission, charged with organizing the 16th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America, will meet at Saint Mark Church here Thursday, February 3, 2011.

The Council—the first to be hosted in the Diocese of the West—will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, WA, a Seattle suburb, October 29 - November 4, 2011. Due to Seattle’s relatively close proximity to Alaska, broad participation on the part of the Alaskan Diocese’s faithful will make it possible to fully highlight the OCA’s growing cultural diversity.

His Grace, Bishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West, episcopal moderator, and Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, secretary of the OCA, will chair the meeting.

Among the items on the agenda include reports from the local committee, plans for a pilgrimage to Alaska in conjunction with the Council, hotel and travel reservations and arrangements, contracts, study papers, and the Council agenda. A report from the Strategic Plan Committee will also be given, with consideration given to integrating the Plan into the agenda and other recommendations on the part of the committee’s members.

An informational letter will be sent to all parishes by the end of February 2011, with study materials slated to be mailed in June.