Guiding Principles at Eastern Eparchy Assemblies

— Rt. Rev. Mitred Archpriest Volodymyr (Walter) Makarenko, 2014 A.D.

1. The Eastern Eparchy Assemblies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada shall be composed of the following persons who alone shall have the right to vote at the Assembly:

(a) The Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada;

(b) Priests and deacons of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, including those who are retired;

(c) At least one representative from each monastic community in the Eparchy;

(d) Delegates elected to the Eastern Eparchy Assemblies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada by the parishes in the Eparchy, proportionately one delegate per twenty-five members or more than one half of the same; when there are fewer than twenty-five members, the parish still has the right to one delegate; the delegate must be a member of the parish which s/he represents;

(e) Members of the Consistory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada;

(f) Members of the eparchial council and of standing committees of the Eastern Eparchy.

2. A concerted effort will be made by parishes to ensure gender equity in the election of delegates.

3. Special financial considerations will be made for young people attending the Eastern Eparchy Assemblies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada as guests.

4. Retired clergy shall receive free registration. Representatives of monastic communities shall receive free registration. All dobrodijky, including dobrodijky of retired priests or widowed dobrodijky, shall receive free registration as guests, unless they have been elected as delegates, in which case the same rules apply to them as to all other delegates.

5. Every delegate and those listed in item 1 above shall display at all times her/his official Eastern Eparchy Assembly identification badge, which s/he will receive in the registration material.

6. Only those persons may be guests at the Eastern Eparchy Assemblies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada who are able to produce proof from their local parish that they are members in good standing of said parish or have been specially invited by the Eparchial Bishop.

7. A quorum at the Eastern Eparchy Assembly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada plenary sessions shall consist of the following:

(a) The ruling Bishop responsible for the Eastern Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada;

(b) The majority (50% + 1) of the priests and deacons assigned to parishes in the Eastern Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada who are registered delegates and who are present; and

(c) The majority (50% + 1) of the registered lay delegates who are present.


8. The following procedure will be used for bringing forward resolutions:

(a) A Resolutions Committee will be struck at the Eastern Eparchy Assemblies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.

(b) The Resolutions Committee will present a preliminary draft of proposed resolutions for review by the Bishop of the Eastern Eparchy.

(c) Following the review and approval of the preliminary draft of proposed resolutions by the Bishop, the preliminary draft of proposed resolutions will be printed and distributed to all delegates for review, amendment, additions, deletions, and prioritization.

(d) The Resolutions Committee will gather input from the delegates, including priests, and will present a coherent list of proposed resolutions to the Assembly at the earliest possible opportunity on the last working day of the Assembly. The presentation of the resolutions will be made by members of the Resolutions Committee or by persons designated by the Resolutions Committee.

(e) Ideally, voting on the resolutions will take place following their presentation to the Eastern Eparchy Assemblies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. Comments/questions from the floor will be limited to two minutes per person. A person may address any given resolution only once. Concerted effort will be made to alternate between speakers speaking in favour of and against a given resolution. How long each resolution will be discussed will be at the discretion of the Resolutions Committee.

(f) Resolutions which have been moved, seconded, and submitted in writing from the floor will be discussed following the voting on the resolutions which were submitted through the process outlined above. There will be a definite time limit (e.g. one-half hour) established by the Resolutions Committee for the discussion of resolutions from the floor.

(g) Voting will be by a show of hands (with the official delegate voting card) or by standing, or, on the request of at least ten parish delegates or clergy of the Eastern Eparchy Assembly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada who are present, by secret ballot.

9. Delegates taking part in discussions at the Eastern Eparchy Assemblies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada must state their names and the location and the name of the parish they represent.

10. Resolutions are adopted by a majority vote (50% + 1) of delegates and others having the right to vote as outlined in item 1 above.

11. Only parishes which are in good standing by August 31st of the year of the Eastern Eparchy Assembly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada will be able to send delegates to the Eastern Eparchy Assembly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. “Good standing” is understood to mean that all levies are paid or covered with post-dated cheques.