On Sunday, December 10, we honored Judge Ray Lanier for his many years of Service to the Orthodox Church of America. Here are some of the things that were said:

Many people work hard behind the scenes and receive little recognition. Last week, Judge Ray officially retired from his position as the General Counsel for the Orthodox Church of America. A General Counsel is the chief counsel or chief legal officer and the chief in-house lawyer for the OCA. In this position, Ray worked closely with the OCA synod, the Metropolitan Council, and the Legal Committee of the OCA.

Here are some highlights of his service over the years:

- In 2011, he worked tirelessly in Alaska and New York to return the vast lands of Alaska to the Alaskan people.
- He served as Chair of the Legal Committee of the OCA Metropolitan Council from 2012 onwards.
- He was a member of the Task Force on Statutory Revision, which worked on the revised Statute of the Orthodox Church in America adopted by delegates to the 18th All-American Council in July 2015. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, and the Holy Synod of Bishops awarded him the Order of Saint Innocent Silver Class for his years of service to the Church.
- He served as lay vice-chair in four All-American Councils, including the one in Parma where Vladyka Tikhon was elected primate.
- He also served as the Lay Vice-Chair of the All-American Councils convened in Seattle, Parma, and Atlanta.
- Over the last ten years, he dealt with every legal matter the OCA has faced. Much of his work was challenging and isolating.
- He helped create policies to prevent legal issues from arising in the future.

Many people work tirelessly behind the scenes, using their God-given talents to contribute to the growth of the Church. I want to thank Judge Ray for his service and example of lay ministry, and I pray that God will richly reward him in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Metropolitan and the Holy Synod gave Judge Ray an icon of St. Nicholas. May God grant him Many Years!