Changes

The first council was held at [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon’s Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania]]. The council accepted the autocephaly Tomos and approved the new name of ''[[Orthodox Church in America]]''. After approving a new short constitution, the council decided to convene a special session of the council the following year to revise the Church Statutes to reflect the new status as an autocephalous church.

The second council was also held at St. Tikhon’s Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan from [[October 19]]-21, 1971. The council adopted the revised Statutes for the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) which was based upon the short constitution adopted at the council in 1970. The Statutes specified convening an All-American Council every two years. The council also welcomed into the OCA the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese led by Bp. Stephen (Lasko).

The tenth council was held in Miami, Florida in [[July 26]]-31, 1992. The discussions and deliberations were held under the theme of ''Discerning God’s God's Will: Our Spiritual Life and Ministry''. Most of the deliberations were based upon subjects submitted by parishes during pre-council preparations. The council mourned the death of Fr. [[John Meyendorff]] just a few days before the council convened.

The twelfth council was convened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on [[July 25]]-30, 1999, one year late due to “logistical "logistical circumstances." The theme of the council sessions was: ''On Behalf of All and For All''. Among the decisions made were amendments to the Statutes and resolution of an issue on "A Fair Share System of Support." Noted were presentations by Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia|Kallistos (Ware)]] and Dr. [[Jaroslav Pelikan]]. ==Thirteenth All-American Council==The thirteenth council was held in Orlando, Florida on [[July 21]]-26, 2002. The theme for the council was: ''The Parish Community: Our Life in Christ''. The principal business of the council was the election of a new Metropolitan to succeed Metr. [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]], who had voluntarily retired because of reportedly poor health. While Bp. Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada received a majority of votes on the first ballot, the election proceeded to a second vote by the Synod of Bishop since the majority of two thirds for election was not met. The Synod of Bishops selected Abp. [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman]] (Swaiko) of Philadelphia as the new Metropolitan. ==Fourteenth All-American Council==The fourteenth council was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on [[July 17]]-22, 2005. The theme of the council was: ''Our Church and Our Future''. The operations and budget of the central administration was reviewed with reports by the treasurer on issues of debt reduction and repayment of borrowed funds. The council received the decision of the Synod of Bishops, made prior to the council, re-uniting the Dioceses of Washington and of [[Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA)|New York and New Jersey]] to form the Diocese of [[Diocese of Washington and New York (OCA)|Washington and New York]] headed by Metr. Herman, following the retirement of Abp. Peter of New York and New Jersey. ==Fifteenth All-American Council==The next council is scheduled by the Statutes for 2008. Metr. Herman has stated the council must be re-scheduled later. At this writing the status of the next council is undefined as central administration financial issues and their consequences are debated. ==External links==*[http://www.oca.org/DOCindex-councils.asp?SID=12 OCA Councils]*[http://www.oca.org/DOCindex-statute.asp?SID=12 The Statute of the Orthodox Church in America] [[Category:Councils]][[Category:Church History]][[Category:Orthodoxy in America]]