Meetings between the OCA and ACNA

The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) have held meetings for the past 12 to 18 months. I suspect that in the not-too-distant future the two Christian jurisdictions will jointly announce some level of inter-communion.

ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach has nurtured this potential union/inter-communion perhaps since before he was elected archbishop. Whatever happens will be historic.

The OCA has its origin in the Russian Orthodox Church. As the ROC in America evolved it was given semi-autonomy in the 1970s as The Metropolia. Eventually OCA was established. I believe the ROC gave the OCA autocephaly, or self-headed government; other Orthodox jurisdictions recognize OCA as autonomous, meaning not fully self-governing. Either way there is no dispute within Orthodoxy of OCA's system of belief or doctrine.

The ACNA is a new structure/jurisdiction within the faith system known as Anglicanism. Few Anglican Provinces recognize ACNA as a legitimate province, however, the majority of established Anglican Provinces worldwide recognize the ACNA as a true Anglican entity. Indeed, the majority of Anglican Provinces formed the ACNA.

There were meetings last year in Washington, D.C. among the OCA, ACNA, and the Metropolitan of Moscow. OCA and ACNA leaders later traveled to Moscow to meet with the Moscow Metropolitan and the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Only time will tell whether these meetings will produce results, as in ecclesiastical inter-communion, or remain simply in "talk" mode until the Second Coming.

Somethin's happ'nin!

See the OCA website news here.

OCA announcement