- Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (often referred to in North America simply as the "Antiochian Archdiocese") is the sole jurisdiction of the
Antiochian Orthodox Church in theUSA andCanada with exclusive jurisdiction over the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in those countries, though these faithful were originally cared for by the Russian Orthodox Church in America (indeed, the first bishop consecrated in North America, St. Raphael Hawaweeny, was consecrated by theRussian Orthodox Church in America to care for the Orthodox Arab faithful in the USA and Canada).After the
Bolshevik Revolution threw theRussian Orthodox Church and its faithful abroad into chaos the Orthodox Arab faithful in North America, simultaneously shaken by the death of their beloved bishop St. Raphael, chose to come under the direct care of thePatriarchate of Antioch. Due to internal conflicts, however, the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in North America were divided between twoarchdiocese s, those ofNew York and Toledo.In1975 the two Antiochian Orthodox archdioceses were united as one Archdiocese of North America (now with its headquarters in Englewood,New Jersey ). Since then it has experienced significant growth through ongoing evangelization and the immigration of Orthodox Arabs from the Middle East. Its current primate is MetropolitanPhillip (Saliba) , who has six other diocesan bishops assisting him in caring for the nine dioceses of the growing Archdiocese, which is the third largest Orthodox Christian "jurisdiction" in North America, with an estimated 41,840 full members and 83,700 adherents. [http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/tab1b.pdf]On
9 October 2003 the Holy Synod of the Antiochian Orthodox Church granted the Archdiocese's request to be granted self-rule/autonomy to allow it to better govern itself, improve and increase its outreach efforts, internally organize itself into several dioceses, and progress further on the road to the administrative unity of the Orthodox Church in the Americas. [http://www.antiochian.org/news/Release20031020SelfRule.htm]The Archdiocese had formerly been a member of the
National Council of Churches (NCC), but its Archdiocesan Convention voted unanimously onJuly 28 ,2005 to withdraw fully from that body, citing increased politicization and a generally fruitless relationship, making it the only major Orthodox jurisdiction in the US to take such a step. [http://merecomments.typepad.com/merecomments/2005/07/breaking_news_o.html] [http://www.antiochian.org/1123162856]Many conservative former Anglicans have turned to the Archdiocese as a jurisdiction, some joining and leading Western Rite parishes with liturgy more familiar to Western Christians. The current mission of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is to "bring America to Orthodoxy" and has a very active Department on Mission and Evangelism chaired by Fr.
Peter Gillquist who led the mass conversion of theEvangelical Orthodox Church to Eastern Orthodoxy.Diocesan bishops
*Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of All North America, Archbishop of the
Diocese of New York and Washington, D.C. (Locum Tenens of theDiocese of Worcester and New England )
*Bishop Antoun (Khouri) of theDiocese of Miami and the Southeast
*Bishop Basil (Essey) of theDiocese of Wichita and Mid-America
*Bishop Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui) of theDiocese of Los Angeles and the West (Locum Tenens of theDiocese of Eagle River and the Northwest )
*Bishop Thomas (Joseph) of theDiocese of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic
*Bishop Mark (Maymon) of theDiocese of Toledo and the Midwest
*Bishop Alexander (Mufarrij) of theDiocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada, and Upstate New York See also
*
Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America External links
* [http://www.antiochian.org/ Official Website of the Archdiocese]
* [http://www.antiochpat.org/ Official Website of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch]
* [http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Antiochian_Orthodox_Christian_Archdiocese_of_North_America Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America] (OrthodoxWiki article)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.