Antiochians to convene on Beach, celebrate cathedral

More than 2,000 clerics and members of the historic Antiochian Orthodox Church, which traces its roots to St. Peter, will meet next week in Miami Beach for their North American convention.

On Sunday, leaders will celebrate a new $3.3 million St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Coral Gables — a symbol of what they call their growing church.

In just 10 years, for example, St. George’s congregation has grown about 20 percent, to 300 families, estimates the Very Rev. Elia Shalhoub, dean of the cathedral.

About 10 percent of the congregation are converts, attracted to the ancient church’s traditions, icons, Byzantine architecture and emphasis on apostolic teachings from the New Testament.

The other members have ancestries they can trace to the Middle East, where the church started and spread. The Antiochian Orthodox Church was formed in Antioch, Syria, where St. Peter became its first bishop. Antioch, according
to the Bible, is the first place where followers of Jesus were called Christians — and where many persecuted sought refuge.

The church is part of the worldwide Orthodox church, which includes the Greek, Romanian, Russian and Serbian congregations.

They all use the same liturgy, although they have their own bishops and headquarters.

There are now about 450,000 Antiochian Orthodox members in the United States and Canada.

A main topic at the convention will be how churches can help their communities.

”We do a lot of humanitarian works,” Shalhoub said. “In the gospel, faith is completed in deeds.”

He also expects resolutions to be passed calling for peace in the Middle East and a Palestinian homeland.

However, unlike other denominations, the Antiochian Orthodox leaders will steer away from current social issues at their convention.

”We are very strict in our faith,” Shalhoub said.

The church opposes abortion and sex outside heterosexual marriage. It does not ordain women.

The clergy members have to choose before they are ordained whether they will marry or remain celibate.

Only those who remain celibate can become bishops, Shalhoub said. One of the denomination’s five bishops in North America won’t be at the convention. Last week, Bishop Demetri Khoury of Toledo, who was in charge of the church in the Midwest and Ontario, was arrested for allegedly grabbing the breast of a woman who was seated near him at a Michigan casino. He was charged with criminal sexual conduct, a fourth-degree felony, and a misdemeanor charge of drunk and disorderly conduct.