EOC bishops embarked on a pilgrimage to Istanbul where they were turned away and not given an audience with the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church. Orthodox sources have said that the two reasons that the Eastern Orthodox community was hesitant to embrace the EOC were the continued influence of Shepherding Movement teachings regarding hierarchical authority and the EOC bishops’ desire to remain as bishops, which was unacceptable as Orthodox bishops must be celibate and appointed by the appropriate authorities based on apostolic succession. Disposition of parishes Fr. John Bartke, who had been a member of the Christian World Liberation Front with Jack Sparks and had acted as the primary intermediary with the AOCANA served as host for the initial set of chrismations and ordinations of the EOC at St. Michael's Church in Van Nuys, California.<ref>Gillquist, Becoming Orthodox', p. 141.</ref> The group of 20 parishes became known as the Antiochian Evangelical Orthodox Mission, which subsequently issued a statement to Metropolitan Philip stating that they knew what Orthodoxy was. This lasted until 1995 when it was disbanded and the parishes put under the standard diocesan framework of the archdiocese. See also African Orthodox Church Fr. Duane Pederson Independent Catholicism Independent sacramental movement References Sources Gillquist, Rev. Peter E. Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith''. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 1989. () Further reading About the Evangelical Orthodox Church, a site by former members The Chicago Call History of the ARC, a communion with roots in the NCAO Twelve Tribe community founded by former NCAO apostle Elbert Spriggs History of Spriggs' community mentioning his time with the NCAO External links Christian new religious movements Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Christian organizations established in 1979 Evangelical denominations in North America Independent Eastern Orthodox denominations Eastern Orthodox Church bodies in North America Evangelicalism in Sweden Evangelicalism in Africa Eastern Orthodoxy in Africa Eastern Orthodoxy in Sweden Christian denominations established in the 20th century