The Orthodox Church in America

Abstract

The Orthodox Church in America, a family of self-governing churches united by a common faith and worship, experienced little change in the 1960's—gradual consolidation, and fuller acclimation to the American environment being its chief tasks. Internally, the Orthodox church began to feel the need for liturgical renewal more acutely and to deal with the problem of visible disunity. Externally, while its faithful were successfully adapting to the American socioeconomic structure, its church leaders and theologians responded cautiously to the American milieu. Most Orthodox, proud of their ethnoreligious traditions and strongly oriented to ancestral lands, continued to possess a sense of uniqueness and mission in America, the land in which they, doubtlessly, feel at home. The sharpest tension with American culture was noted among church leaders and theologians, particularly on theological grounds. Although there were signs of openness, a firmly conservative theological outlook also created internal tensions as regards ecumenical relations with other churches. On the whole, however, the Orthodox church looks confidently to the future, while its lead ers and theologians explore its place and role in the New World.