« Bishop Matthew chairs 15th Convocation of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, dedicated to the Centennial Anniversary of the repose of St. Patriarch Tikhon »
26-05-2025 
On May 23, 2025, the interim Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh opened the 15th Convocation of the Clergy & Laity of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA dedicated to the centennial anniversary of the repose of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ and the 55th anniversary of the presentation of the Tomos of Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in America & establishment of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA.
The work of the convocation was opened ceremoniously with the greeting the reliquary containing a piece of the holy relics of St. Tikhon which was brought to the cathedral by Bishop Matthew. This reliquary will be visiting the parishes and monasteries in the USA by the blessing of His Holliness Patriarch Kyrill of Moscow and all Rus’ which will later be given to the Canadian Diocese of the Russian Church Abroad.
Opening the convocation, Bishop Matthew conveyed to everyone the blessing of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kyrill of Moscow and All Rus', and congratulated those gathered on the ongoing days of paschal joy and the anniversaries celebrated this year. In his welcoming address, the archpastor recalled the key events in the life of the Patriarchal Parishes in the United States that have taken place since the previous convocation in 2019. Bishop Matthew highly praised the service of the clergy and faithful of the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in the United States during the turbulent time of the pandemic for the entire world, and expressed gratitude for their conscientious adherence to the recommendations of the Holy Synod on the organization of liturgical and parish life in the context of the epidemic. The Bishop also gave a report on his activities as Administrator; spoke about the parishes he visited and his interaction with other jurisdictions over the past few years.
The Bishop asked to announce the draft greeting to the primate of our Church on the occasion of his upcoming namesday. The greetings were unanimously approved and sent to His Holiness.
Then, in accordance with the Statute of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, the Archpastor invited the co-chairs and secretaries of the convocation to take their places at the table of the presidium, and also announced the agenda of the convocation approved by the Bishop's Council.
The head of the chancery, Priest Mark Rashkov, presented a report on the activities of the diocesan administration for the reporting period. After the names of those clerics who had reposed in the Lord since the XIV Convocation were announced, all those present prayerfully honored them by singing " Memory Eternal".
The head of the chancery familiarized the participants of the Congress in detail with the new requirements for candidates for ordination to the priesthood and the preparation of the necessary documentation of the nominees, sent for consideration to the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA.
Then the deans of the Eastern States, Archpriest Mikhail Kapchits, the Atlantic States, Archpriest John Vass, the Central States, Priest Joshua Genig, and the Western States, Priest Mikhail Kozyrev, presented brief reports on the activities of their parishes. The abbot of the monastery of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica in Framingham, MA, Hieromonk Savvaty (Ageyev), presented a report on the activities of the monastery and its skete in Washington State.
The Secretary of the Bishop's Council, Archpriest John Vass, spoke about the need, in accordance with the statute, to elect new members of the Bishop’s Council (7 clergy and 7 laymen) from among the participants of the Convocation, who’s voting traditionally takes place at the end of the first day of the meeting.
The second session of the Convocation was opened by the report of the legal adviser of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Priest Gregory Winsky who devoted to the need for the Patriarchal Parishes, both as a single legal entity and by each parish individually, to adopt regulations governing the Church's policy on harassment ("Sexual Misconduct Policy Implementation"). Such preventive measures, reminding members of religious communities of responsibility for unacceptable actions, at the same time prevent fraudulent actions by individuals seeking to falsely incriminate a religious organization and/or one of its members for selfish purposes. These regulations have been adopted by the majority of religious organizations in the USA, including the Orthodox Church in America and other canonical Orthodox jurisdictions. Father Gregory spoke in detail about the stages of implementing this policy, which regulates clear definitions, reporting mechanisms, investigation procedures and support services (including staff training, regular reviews and ongoing communication to ensure understanding and compliance with precautions). The legal adviser's report provoked a substantive discussion among the participants of the convocation, who expressed support for this timely and relevant initiative. The final session of the convocation was opened by the report of the Treasurer of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Panagiotis Billis, who presented the financial report for the reporting period. In his report, the treasurer pointed out the need to review the current standards for the formation of the general church budget, which were adopted back in the early 2000s. Taking into account the inflation rates for the past period, as well as significant changes in the actual membership of a number of parishes, P. Billis proposed that the participants of the convocation consider several options for rectifying the situation. After a lengthy discussion, during which the participants shared their vision for solving this problem, Bishop Matthew called on the deans to study in detail the current state and individual circumstances of each individual parish, and to present this information for discussion at the next Bishop’s Council with subsequent adoption of a new concept for the budget of the Patriarchal Parishes at the XVI Convocation.
At the end of the first day of the work of the Convocation, its secretary announced the results of the elections of the new composition of the Bishop’s Council. Bishop Matthew warmly welcomed the clergy and laity, whom the meeting entrusted to serve as assistants to the Administrator and the administration of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA until the next convocation.
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