Sts Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Institute
17 Dec 11: Statement from the Chancery of the Synod of Bishops
The Synod of Bishops, at its meeting on Friday, December 9, 2011, heard a report by the Synod Treasurer in which he discussed the maintenance and renovation of the building of the Synod of Bishops on Park Avenue in New York.
The building is magnificent, but demands enormous resources for its upkeep and constant renovation, which the Synod of Bishops does not possess. The previously-proposed projects of renovating and maintaining the building did not correspond to the needs of the Synod of Bishops.
Consequently, the Synod of Bishops authorized the Financial-Administrative Committee, headed by Bishop Peter of Cleveland, to once again exhaustively study the problem of the maintenance of the building, including the possibility of selling the it and establishing a new ecclesio-administrative center with a cathedral at another site in New York. Bishop Peter will report the findings of the above-mentioned committee at the next meeting of the Synod of Bishops.
All the hierarchs expressed their desire to preserve this building, but that would require realistic financial resources which would provide for the capital renovation and maintenance of the Synodal building, as well as a functioning Chancery of the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, its Synod of Bishops and other general Church institutions.