Become an Angel Fund Donor or Helper ($25) Today

“It is my judgment that the officers and members of OCL have always been laborers together with God.  They are active in parish life whereever they live in the USA.  They have tried to address issues that cross jurisdictional lines related to Church Governance…”. -  Isaiah, Metropolitan of  Denver (November 2007 - 20th Annual OCL Conference, Chicago, Illinois).

OCL’s Mission:  To promote spiritual renewal of the ancient faith by advocating administrative unification of the diverse, multi-cultural Orthodox Christian jurisdictions in North America, and calling for lay involvement in all aspects of Church life which maintains a balance and conciliarity in church governance,  insuring accountability and transparency. 

What has OCL done?

During the 22-year period 1987-2009, OCL has:

• Increased awareness among the faithful regarding issues of accountability and transparency in church administration.
• Increased awareness about the importance of lay participation in governance.
• Created and hosted two websites: OrthodoxNews.org and OCL.org, viewed by hundreds of thousands of interested participants worldwide.
• Hosted to date 54 Educational Forums throughout the United States.
• Supported Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) and other charitable and educational endeavors – i.e. Scholarships to students attending the OCF Winter Conference.
• Published Project for Orthodox Renewal.  
• Published 7 Occasional Papers –  “Transition, Renewal: One Faith, One Church”; “The Theological Foundation of the Role of the Laity in the Church”; “The Challenge of Outreach”; “The American Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate”; “An Orthodox Christian Church in the United States: Unified and Self Governed”; “Greek Philosophy and the Theology of the Greek Orthodox Church”; “New Strategy Needed to Save Endangered Ecumenical Patriarchate.”
• Collaborated with St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press to re-publish the Alexander Bogolepov book Toward an American Orthodox Church.
• Served as the catalyst for the discussion of Orthodox Christian jurisdictional Unity in North America. 
• Organized 22 Annual Meetings in various American cities discussing the issues of concern to Orthodox Christians that relate to jurisdictional unity.
• Taken action to maintain the autonomy of the various Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States.

Who Endorses the Work of OCL?

Blessings Extended by the Hierarchy of our Church:

“A group of Greek laymen …organized the Orthodox Christian Laity identified in its literature as a spontaneous grassroots reform movement…The significance of the movement lies in the attention it throws on incipient clergy-laity tensions and administrative responsibility.   If it survives, a new dimension may be added to Orthodox church life in America.”   - The Word (official publication of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Vol. 33. No. 9 November, 1989 to 39th General Assembly).

“I would like to thank the members of…Orthodox Christian Laymen [Laity]…for their genuine eagerness to assist the Church in its painful labors to lead our people to a better and clearer understanding of our place and role within the Church. At the same time, however, I would like to call their attention, as well as the attention of all, to the very serious problems we face which call us to delve into the depths of these problems, which are spiritual in essence, and set up a list of new priorities in our daily Christian life and preoccupation if we are truly and sincerely concerned with the upgrading of the level of our modern Greek Orthodox ecclesiology and religious lifestyle.” - Archbishop Iakovos (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, November 12, 1989. Annual Meeting of OCL, Rye, New York).

“This patriarchal letter which we are sending to you and all the beloved members of the organization, our full-hearted fatherly and patriarchal blessing, and to congratulate all of you for your great zeal and your uninterrupted concern for all of the Orthodox Church, and for your continued efforts with great love, on behalf of our brethren living everywhere, and to say that I am happy to be kept informed of your progress.” - Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople (OCL’s 9th Annual Meeting October 11-13,  1997 in Sarasota, Florida).

How Will my Angel Donor/Helper Donation Make a Difference?

OCL is focused on building a united Orthodox Church in America – NOW!  By enabling the interaction of the hierarchy, clergy and laity of the Church via  various media, publications and educational forums, OCL’s efforts extend from the grassroots to the middle and upper levels of church administration to bring about action toward unity.

Your donation will:

• Support Educational Forums where clergy and lay experts are brought together
• Fund Educational Publications and other Media
• Continue OCL’s Internet Presence to provide up-to-date information and communication
• Advocate and Emphasize the importance of maintaining a synergy between clergy and laity in the Church
• Seek to insure accountability at all levels of church governance

Visit the OCL donation page (CLICK HERE) and help support the work of Orthodox Christian Laity by becoming “a voice for Orthodox Christian unity.”  Whatever area you would like to target, your tax-deductible, charitable donation of $25 will make a difference.  Help us present a unified face of Orthodox Christianity to America – TODAY!