His Grace makes clear that while we accept the priests and lay people of these parishes as fully Orthodox we are to avoid any activity which would tend to imply agreement with the formation of such parishes. The reason for this disagreement is twofold: it is both liturgically unsound and pastorally unwise. "Liturgically unsound because these rites are not in direct continuity with the worship of the early Church in the West, but are primarily the result of 16th century Reformation or Counter Reformation debates; pastorally unwise because this adds still further to our fragmentation as a Church in the Americas and creates a tiny group of missions and parishes that are liturgically isolated from the rest of the Church."
The encyclical includes guidelines avoid improper activities:
"1. 'Western-rite' clergy of the Antiochian Archdiocese may not serve or receive communion in the parishes of this Diocese unless vested in traditional, 'eastern' Orthodox vestments.
"2. Clergy of this Diocese may not serve or participate in 'western-rite' liturgies.
"3. The participation of our laity in any pan-orthodox liturgical activity specifically with 'western-rite' parishes is to be actively discouraged."
Reprinted from the _Diocesan Voice Supplement_, Official Publication of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of San Francisco.
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