NEW YORK (AP) -- A dispute in the United States' Greek Orthodox Archdiocese over the way it is governed was worsened when parishes were given just two weeks to respond to a proposed, new charter.
The unusual process was reported by the Greek press and Orthodox Christian News Service, a Web site operated by Orthodox Christian Laity.
The lay group opposes the proposed charter and the process. It said last week the ``standoff'' on charter changes must be discussed by the Clergy-Laity Congress in Los Angeles June 30-July 4.
Parishes were required to respond to the proposed charter by Wednesday.
The touchiest issue is whether U.S. Greeks should gain more autonomy from the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, Turkey, especially in choosing bishops.
Under the proposed charter, the Istanbul patriarchate would continue to name all U.S. bishops. The U.S. bishops' synod and the Archdiocesan Council, which includes priests and lay delegates, would have an undefined advisory role in Istanbul's choice of the head archbishop. With other bishop appointments, the synod would consult the council and submit three nominees to Istanbul.
However, U.S. Greek negotiators wanted Istanbul to choose future archbishops from three nominees sent by the U.S. synod after consultation with the Archdiocesan Council. The U.S. synod would elect other bishops on its own. Istanbul rejected those proposals.
Orthodox Christian Laity's contention that the charter revision process is improper was disputed by Elenie Huszagh of Nehalem, Ore., a Greek-American attorney and current president of the National Council of Churches.
Though the Archdiocesan Council sent parishes the information in mid-March, it held a lengthy discussion on charter issues months earlier. Last June, the archdiocese announced agreement on the charter with Istanbul but released no text to parishes.