Extraordinary Sobor Convenes to Elect a New Metropolitan
“As I find myself in these circumstances today – elected by this Holy Sobor as the fourth Metropolitan and First Hierarch of our Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, I realize that there is very little human involved in the sequence of events that surround me. It is as if Heaven has invaded this space and the human will and Divine Grace are united. Heaven descends and earth ascends. I think in the weakness of my humanity that I offer myself to God, but in reality He once again makes a gift of Himself to me and I am bathed in His Grace and in His Light”
These words are a portion of Archbishop Antony’s response to the just completed act of an Extraordinary Sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA on Saturday, 6 October 2012, electing him as the successor to Metropolitan Constantine of Blessed Memory, as Metropolitan-Elect of the Church. The Sobor took place at the Metropolia Center of the Church in South Bound Brook-Somerset, NJ, uocofusa.org reported.
The Sobor began with Divine Liturgy served in St. Andrew Memorial Church with both Church hierarchs – His Eminence Archbishop Antony and His Grace Bishop Daniel – concelebrating with the assistance of clergy from around the USA and hundreds of additional clergy and lay delegates to the Sobor and many guests who wanted to witness a moment of history. Bishop Daniel reminded all the participants in the Sobor that they bore a sacred responsibility under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to elect a new Metropolitan for the Church and asked that they keep their minds in a state of prayer throughout the Sobor sessions that they were about to enter into.
The voting process took place in incredible solemnity with a silent assembly praying fervently that the Holy Spirit was guiding each and every delegate as they cast their ballots. It was an inspiring experience to witness the profound humility that the clergy and laity exhibited during the voting process and the tears in the eyes of many as they suddenly realized the historical and ecclesiastical importance of that simple, but highly theological and important (in the words of His All-Holiness) act of placing their ballots in the holy chalice. As they each wrote the name of the candidate on their ballot, a personal and permanent bond was created between them and the bishop they were voting for and the placement of the ballots in the chalice manifested their complete trust that Christ our Lord would strengthen that bond and poor forth His Grace upon the new Metropolitan and the Holy Church.
At the completion of the voting process, Bishop Daniel led the procession out of the Sobor Assembly and into the Consistory for the counting of the ballots. They returned just twenty minutes later to announce the results of the nearly 200 votes that had been cast. The assembly waited with great and excited anticipation until Bishop Daniel again approached the microphone to make the statement.
Archbishop immediately came forth and expressed his deep, deep gratitude to all the clergy and faithful gathered in Sobor for the trust they had placed in him and for the wonderful confidence he believed was justifiable about the future of the UOC of USA. He “invited Christ to enter into his innermost thoughts to change them so that he can live in unity with Him and become worthy of dwelling with the saints who have given themselves so completely over to Him, for the greatest event in the history of any soul is precisely when it is given over to Christ. How can one worthily tell of the beauty of such a moment?” These and the words, which appear at the beginning of this article are a small part of the heartfelt words of the Archbishop and the full text of the remarks will also be published on the Church website along with other Sobor addresses.
Archbishop Antony is now the Metropolitan Elect of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. The results of the Extraordinary Electoral Sobor have already been conveyed to His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew with the humble request that the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate formally elect the Archbishop as Metropolitan and enter his name into the diptychs of the Holy Orthodox Church. Many people present at the Sobor expressed the desire to travel with the Metropolitan Elect to Constantinople for the formal service confirming that induction into the diptychs. Once the Patriarchate informs our bishops about the decision of the Holy Synod and, hopefully, the date for this service, the possibility of organizing such a pilgrimage will be explored and announced to the faithful.
