Terminology - ALL AMERICAN COUNCIL

ALL AMERICAN COUNCIL – The highest legislative and administrative authority within the Orthodox Church in America is the All-American Council. The All-American Council is convened periodically at intervals of about three years. Every parish is entitled to send both clergy and lay delegates .

14th All-American Sobor / 1st All-American Council Following two years of intense negotiations with the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Church granted autocephaly to the former Metropolia on April 10, 1970. The name change discussed in 1967 had therefore become a practical reality. The council convened at St. Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, PA on October… Read More

2nd All-American Council The main task of the Second All-American Council convened once again at St. Tikhon’s Monastery on October 19-21, 1971 was to adopt the governing Statute of the Orthodox Church in America. This Statute, a revised version of the Statute gradually developed by all the councils since the first in 1907, was based… Read More

3rd All-American Council Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA on November 13-15, 1973, the Third All-American Council displayed a new style in council proceedings in several ways. It was the first council to be held entirely in a hotel instead of within a church. For the first time at this type of gathering, a hotel ballroom was… Read More

4th All-American Council Convened in Cleveland, OH on November 10-13, 1975, the Fourth All-American Council further amplified the innovative new format of the preceding council. At the Fourth Council, there were more sessions in section groups than in full plenaries. This council was the first of the Orthodox Church in America councils to have a… Read More

5th All-American Council The Fifth All-American Council held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on October 25-28, 1977 was the only one to date to assemble outside of the United States. By virtue of its location, this council more than any other reflected the multinational character of the Orthodox Church in America. The designation of Montreal as… Read More

6th All-American Council The Sixth Council met in Detroit, MI on November 9-14, 1980. “ORTHODOXY, AMERICA AND THE FUTURE” had been chosen as the council theme. This theme was selected in an effort to discern the meaning of the Orthodox Church in America’s autocephaly that had been granted ten years earlier. In contemplating this issue,… Read More

7th All-American Council The Seventh Council was the first to meet in the summer, as all All-American Councils have since. Assembled in Philadelphia, PA on August 22-26, 1983, it was centered on the theme “CHURCH GROWTH.” To facilitate deliberations on this topic, comprehensive study papers on the various aspects of the subject were sent out… Read More

8th All-American Council The theme of the Eighth Council, assembled in Washington, DC on August 17-22, 1986, was “EVANGELIZATION.” Following the organizational pattern of the previous council, a detailed study of this key topic was made through study papers, workshops, panel presentations, discussions and a film. Numerous resolutions on Evangelization and the ways it can… Read More

9th All-American Council The most striking change at the Ninth All-American Council, held in St. Louis, MO on August 20-25, 1989, was its format. As this council was being planned, it was decided to revert to a format of almost exclusively plenary sessions. The committees, commissions, workshops and hearings of the immediately preceding councils were… Read More

10th All-American Council “DISCERNING GOD’S WILL: OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE AND MINISTRY” was the theme of the Tenth Council assembled in Miami, FL on July 26-31, 1992. A major change in preparation for the council was that parish input on concerns to be deliberated in council was actively sought. Once received, these issues were formulated into… Read More

11th All-American Council The Eleventh Council, assembled in Chicago, IL on July 16-21, 1995, marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in America. In its preparation, input from the parish communities was again sought as had been done for the Tenth Council. However, in the format of the council… Read More

12th All-American Council Logistical circumstances forced postponement of the Twelfth Council for one year. As this council convened in Pittsburgh, PA on July 25-30, 1999, it faced the daunting task of setting the tone of church life in the Orthodox Church in America, and perhaps even for all Orthodox Christians in North America, entering into… Read More