Greek Orthodox granted controversial charter

LOS ANGELES — A new charter that governs Greek Orthodox churches in the United States has been granted by the church’s worldwide leaders in Istanbul. The charter does not include major changes for the U.S. church but does allow more input from lay members. Most major decisions will continue to be made by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, the center of world Orthodoxy.

The charter, the first major revision in 25 years, was drafted by a joint U.S. Istanbul panel and reviewed by clergy and lay members last summer in Los Angeles. Lay members, led by the independent group Orthodox Christian Laity, had wanted to elect their own bishops for the U.S. church. Those appointments will remain in Istanbul, although a list of candidates will be published and made available for comment.

The eight regional U.S. bishops will now be elevated to the rank of Metropolitan, a process that began five years ago and was made uniform in the new charter. A metropolitan is a higher administrative rank than bishop. In addition, the archbishop who heads the U.S. church will need at least five years of experience in America or “have proven, direct, substantive and broad knowledge” of the U.S. church.