Orthodox Christian Synergy is a pan-Orthodox organization consisting of clergy and lay representatives of Chicago-area Orthodox Christian parishes who seek to project awareness of Orthodox Christianity to the public at large. Synergy works together with its parent organization, the Orthodox Christian Clergy Association of Greater Chicago, and with the blessings of the Chicago-area Orthodox Hierarchs.
The topic of Synergy’s 2011 Symposium was “Orthodox Christianity and Homosexuality,” and featured was Fr. Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary and the author of Christian Faith and Same-Sex Attraction: Eastern Orthodox Reflections. The gathering took place at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cicero, Illinois, on Saturday, October 15, 2011.
I’m always glad to see the Eastern Orthodox in America trying to surmount their ethnic divisiions and unite in seeking to present the Orthodox faith and life in an attractive and compelling way to the outside world. FWIW, I think the most beautiful church building I’ve even seen, bar none, is the Ukrainian Catholic church of Sts. Vladimir and Olga on Chicago’s west side. Built in the 1970s with the open iconostatsis style typical of the Ukrainians, it’s just drop dead gorgeous. But I doubt the eastern rite Catholics are included in this pan-Orthodox effort. Too bad.
David handy+