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Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

8,528 bytes added, 23:50, November 5, 2022
Update to reflect new leadership.
[[Image:St Elias OttawaAntiochian local synod.jpg|right|thumb|350px|St'''The Local Synod of the Antiochian Archdiocese'''<br>L to R: Bp. [[Mark (Maymon) of Toledo|Mark]], Bp. [[Basil (Essey) of Wichita|Basil]], Bp. [[Antoun (Khouri) of Miami|Antoun]], Metr. [[Philip (Saliba) of New York|Philip]], Bp. [[Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui) of Los Angeles|Joseph]], Bp. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral[[Thomas (Joseph) of Charleston and Oakland|Thomas]], Bp. [[Alexander (Mufarrij) of Ottawa, Canada|Alexander]]]]The '''Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America''' is the sole jurisdiction of the [[Church of Antioch]] in the USA United States and Canada with exclusive jurisdiction over the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in those countries. It is currently led by patriarchal vicar [[Antonios (Al-Souri) of Zahle, Baalbek, and Dependencies|Antonios (Al-Souri)]], though these faithful were originally cared for by following the retirement of [[Church Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui) of RussiaNew York|Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui)]] in America.
__TOC__
{{diocese|
name= The Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Antioch|Antioch]]|
type=Self-ruled Archdiocese|
founded=1924|
bishop=[[Antonios (Al-Souri) of Zahle, Baalbek, and Dependencies|Antonios (Al-Souri)]]
<small>''as patriarchal vicar''</small>|
see=New York|
hq=Englewood, New Jersey|
territory=United States and Canada|
language=English, Arabic, Spanish|
music=[[Byzantine Chant]], [[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Revised Julian Calendar|Revised Julian]]|
population=51,000 to 380,000|
website=[http://www.antiochian.org/ Antiochian Archdiocese]
}}
== History of the Archdiocese ==
[[Image:Raphael of Brooklyn.jpg|left|thumb|150px|St. [[Raphael of Brooklyn]]]]
''Main Article: [[History of Antiochian Orthodoxy in America]]''
 
The first Orthodox bishop [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] in North America, [[Raphael of Brooklyn|St. Raphael Hawaweeny]], was consecrated by the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] in America to care for the Orthodox Arab faithful in the USA and Canada. The Antiochian Archdiocese in North America traces its genesis to his ministry. His initial arrival in America was not to serve in the episcopacy, however, but he came as an [[archimandrite]] in 1895 at the request of members of the Syrian Orthodox Benevolent Society, an ostensibly philanthropic group whose primary purpose was to maintain ties between Orthodox Arabs living in America. He thus came to the US and was canonically received under the [[omophorion]] of Bishop [[Nicholas (Ziorov) of the Aleutians]], the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]'s exarch in America at the time.
 
Upon arriving in New York, Fr. Raphael established a [[parish]] in lower Manhattan, then the center of the Syrian immigrant community. By 1900, however some 3,000 of these immigrants had moved across the East River, shifting the center of their life to Brooklyn. Thus, in 1902, the parish purchased a larger church building in that borough on Pacific Street. The church was named for St. [[Nicholas of Myra|Nicholas the Wonderworker]], renovated for Orthodox [[worship]], and then consecrated on [[October 27]], 1902, by St. [[Tikhon of Moscow]]. St. Nicholas Cathedral was later relocated to State Street in Brooklyn and is today considered the mother cathedral of the Archdiocese.
 
At the request of St. Tikhon, Fr. Raphael was chosen as his [[auxiliary bishop]], consecrated at [[St. Nicholas Cathedral (New York, New York)|St. Nicholas Cathedral]] as Bishop of Brooklyn and given more authority for his care of Arabic Orthodox Christians in America. Not long after, he founded ''Al-Kalimat'' (''The Word'') magazine, published service books in Arabic which were used in America, the Middle East, and throughout the Arabic Orthodox diaspora. St. Raphael fell asleep in the [[Lord]] at the age of 54 on [[February 27]], 1915, after short, but fruitful, years of service.
 
[[Image:St Elias Ottawa.jpg|left|thumb|250px|St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral, Ottawa, Canada]]
However, after the Bolshevik Revolution threw the Russian 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 the [[Church of Antioch|Patriarchate of Antioch]]. Due to internal conflicts, however, the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in North America were divided between two [[archdiocese]]s, those of New York and Toledo, generally representing those who were loyal to the [[Church of Antioch]] and the [[Russian Orthodox Church|Church of Russia]], respectively. This division of the Arabic faithful resulted significantly from the division in loyalty to the bishops who aligned themselves at the time with the [[Orthodox Church in America|Russian Metropolia]], those who were involved with the formation of the now-defunct [[American Orthodox Catholic Church]], and those who chose to have canonical recourse directly to the [[Holy Synod]] of Antioch.
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
With the signing of the Articles of Reunification by Metropolitan [[Philip (Saliba) of New York|Philip (Saliba)]] and Metropolitan [[Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo|Michael (Shaheen)]] in 1975, the two Antiochian Orthodox archdioceses were united as one Archdiocese of North America (now with its headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey). Metropolitan Philip became the primate of the newly reunified archdiocese, and Metropolitan Michael became an auxiliary archbishop. Since then the Archdiocese has experienced rapid and significant growth through the [[conversion]] of a number of Evangelical Protestants&mdash;both individually and as congregations, especially with the reception of the majority of the [[Evangelical Orthodox Church]] in the 1980s&mdash;and also through ongoing evangelization and the immigration of Orthodox Arabs from the Middle East.
 
== The Archdiocese today ==
The archdiocese is currently led by patriarchal vicar [[Antonios (Al-Souri) of Zahle, Baalbek, and Dependencies|Antonios (Al-Souri)]], who has five [[auxiliary bishop|auxiliary]] [[bishop]]s assisting him in caring for the nine [[diocese]]s of the growing Archdiocese, which is the third largest Orthodox Christian [[jurisdiction]] in North America, having 236 communities (38 of which are missions). Estimates of the number of faithful range from 51,320 to 84,000[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/quick_question17.html] to 380,000[http://www.electronicchurch.org/2002/NCC_members.htm] depending on the report and the counting method being used. The number of new Antiochian parishes in the decade between 1990 and 2000 rose by approximately 33%, and the primary membership growth in the Archdiocese has been from American converts.[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/tab2.pdf] From 2003 to 2005, an increase of 1,229 communicants was reported at the conventions, an increase of 2.5%.
 
The Archdiocese also includes the [[Western Rite Vicariate]], a group of about 16 [[parish]]es and 7 missions which worship according to the [[Western Rite]].
== History [[Image:Antiochian bishops.jpg|left|thumb|250px|'''New bishops with the patriarch'''<br>Left to Right: Bp. [[Mark (Maymon) of Toledo|Mark]], Patr. [[Ignatius IV (Hazim) of the Archdiocese ==The first Orthodox bishop consecrated in North AmericaAntioch|Ignatius IV]], Bp. [[Raphael Thomas (Joseph) of BrooklynCharleston and Oakland|StThomas]], Bp. Raphael Hawaweeny[[Alexander (Mufarrij) of Ottawa|Alexander]]]]On [[October 9]], was consecrated by 2003, the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox ChurchAntioch]] granted the Archdiocese's request to be granted self-rule (as distinct from [[autonomy]] , and though the words have the same literal meaning in English, they are distinct in America Arabic) to care for the allow it to better govern itself, improve and increase its outreach efforts, internally organize itself into several dioceses, and continue progress toward Orthodox Arab faithful administrative unity in the USA and CanadaAmericas. Through his efforts, what is known today as Three new [[bishop]]s were consecrated in December of 2004 to assist in the governance of the Antiochian reorganized Archdiocese came into being.
However, after the The Archdiocese also includes one [[Bolshevik Revolutionmonasticism|monastic]] threw the community, [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox ChurchSt. Paul Skete (Grand Junction, Tennessee)]] and its faithful abroad into chaos, the Orthodox Arab faithful in North America, simultaneously shaken by the death a community for women. It does not run any of their beloved bishop St. Raphaelits own seminaries, chose but sends its seminarians to come under the direct care of the theological schools run by other [[Church of Antioch|Patriarchate of Antiochjurisdiction]]s or overseas. Due to internal conflicts The Archdiocese does run various non-seminary educational programs, however, including the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in North America were divided between two [[archdiocese]]St. Stephen's, those of New York and Toledo, generally representing those who were loyal to the [[Church of AntiochCourse in Orthodox Theology]] and the [[Church of Russia]], respectively.
With The Antiochian Archdiocese is also a member of the signing [[Assembly of the Articles Canonical Orthodox Bishops of Reunification by Metropolitan North and Central America]] which superseded [[Philip (Saliba) of New York|Philip (Saliba)SCOBA]] and Metropolitan was formerly a member of the [[Michael (Shaheen) National Council of Toledo|Michael Churches]] (ShaheenNCC), but on [[July 28]] in 1975, the two Antiochian Orthodox archdioceses were united as one Archdiocese of North America (now with 2005, its headquarters in EnglewoodArchdiocesan Convention voted unanimously to withdraw fully from that organization, New Jersey). Metropolitan Philip became thus making it the primate and Metropolitan Michael became an auxiliary archbishop. Since then the Archdiocese has experienced rapid and significant growth through the conversion first of a number of Evangelical Protestants (both individually and as congregations) and also through ongoing evangelization and the immigration of major Orthodox Arabs from jurisdictions in the Middle EastUS to do so.
== The Archdiocese Today == Its current primate is Metropolitan [[Philip (Saliba) of New York|Philip (Saliba)]]Additionally, who has six other diocesan [[bishop]]s assisting him in caring the 2005 convention voted another first for a major American Orthodox jurisdiction: to alter the nine [[diocese]]s assessment-based model of the growing Archdiocese, which is the third largest Orthodox Christian archdiocesan revenue to a [[jurisdictiontithing|tithe]] in North America, having over 200 parishes and missions and, and estimates (10%) of the number of faithful range from about 85each parish's income (excepting building funds),000 to 500,000 depending on the counting method being used.[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/quick_question17.html] The number of new Antiochian parishes be phased in at 8% in the decade between 1990 2007 and 2000 rose then followed by approximately 331%increases in 2008 and 2009, and the primary membership growth in the Archdiocese has been from American converts.[http://hirr.hartsemrespectively.edu/research/tab2.pdf] It also includes Of the [[Western Rite Vicariate]], a group of about 20 [[parish]]es including roughly 10Archdiocese's 236 communities,000 faithful who worship according to the [[Western Rite]]31 are already tithing.
===Diocesan structure===*[[Image:Diocese of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic (Antiochian bishops.jpg)|leftDiocese of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic]]*[[Diocese of Eagle River and the Northwest (Antiochian)|frame|'''New Antiochian bishops with Diocese of Eagle River and the patriarch'''<br>Left to Right: Bp. Northwest]]*[[Mark Diocese of Los Angeles and the West (MaymonAntiochian) |Diocese of ToledoLos Angeles and the West]], Patr. *[[Ignatius IV Diocese of Miami and the Southeast (HazimAntiochian) |Diocese of AntiochMiami and the Southeast]], Bp. *[[Thomas Diocese of New York and Washington, DC (JosephAntiochian) |Diocese of PittsburghNew York and Washington, D.C]], Bp. *[[Alexander Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York (MufarrijAntiochian) |Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York]]]].On *[[October 9Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest (Antiochian)|Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest]], 2003 the *[[Holy Synod]] Diocese of the [[Church Wichita and Mid-America (Antiochian)|Diocese of AntiochWichita and Mid-America]] granted the Archdiocese's request to be granted self-rule (as distinct from *[[autonomy]], Diocese of Worcester and though the words have the same literal meaning in English, they are distinct in ArabicNew England (Antiochian) to allow it to better govern itself, improve |Diocese of Worcester 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. Three new [[bishopNew England]]s were consecrated in December of 2004 to assist in the governance of the reorganized Archdiocese.
The Archdiocese also includes one ===Membership figures===According to the November 2007 issue of the ''Word'' magazine (p. 5)[[monasticism|monastic]] community, [[Sthttp://www.antiochian.org/assets/word/NOV2007WORD. Paul Skete (Grand Junction, Tennessee)]PDF], a community for women.the following membership figures were reported at the 2007 Archdiocesan Convention:
The {| border="1" class="toccolours" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="clear:right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; font-size:95%; text-align:left; border-collapse: collapse;"|-| colspan="4" style="text-align:center; font-size:150%;" | Archdiocese membership figures (2007)|- style="vertical-align: top;"| '''Diocese'''| '''Parishes'''| '''Baptized souls'''|-|- style="vertical-align: top;"| [[Diocese of New York and Washington, DC (Antiochian)|Archdiocesan District]]| 15 | 4639 |- style="vertical-align: top;"| [[Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York (Antiochian)|Ottawa]] | 18 | 6617 |- style="vertical-align: top;"| [[Diocese of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic (Antiochian)|Charleston and Oakland]]| 29 | 5838|- style="vertical-align: top;"| [[Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America (Antiochian)|Wichita]] | 45| 6976|- style="vertical-align: top;"| [[Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest (Antiochian Archdiocese is also a member )|Toledo]] | 45| 11145|- style="vertical-align: top;"| [[Diocese of Eagle River and the Northwest (Antiochian)|Eagle River]]| 20| 2257|- style="vertical-align: top;"| [[Diocese of Worcester and New England (Antiochian)|Worcester]]| 11| 4547 |- style="vertical-align: top;"| [[Diocese of Miami and the Southeast (Antiochian)|Miami]]| 36| 4055|- style="vertical-align: top;"| [[SCOBADiocese of Los Angeles and the West (Antiochian)|Los Angeles]].| 33| 8594 |- style="vertical-align: top;"| '''Total''' | '''252'''| '''54667''' |}
== The Episcopacy ==
===Current bishops===*Metropolitan Most Reverend [[Philip Antonios (SalibaAl-Souri) of New YorkZahle, Baalbek, and Dependencies|Philip Antonios (SalibaAl-Souri)]] , Patriarchal Vicar*Right Reverend [[Thomas (Joseph) of New York Charleston and the Archdiocesan DistrictOakland|Thomas (Joseph)]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese Bishop of Worcester and New EnglandCharleston/Oakland*Bishop Right Reverend [[Antoun Alexander (KhouriMufarrij) of MiamiOttawa|Antoun Alexander (KhouriMufarrij)]] , Bishop of Miami and the SoutheastOttawa*Bishop Right Reverend [[Basil John (EsseyAbdalah) of WichitaWorcester|Basil John (EsseyAbdalah)]] , Bishop of Wichita Worcester and Mid-AmericaNew England*Bishop Right Reverend [[Joseph Anthony (Al-ZehlaouiMichaels) of Los AngelesToledo|Joseph Anthony (Al-ZehlaouiMichaels)]] of Los Angeles and the West, ''Locum Tenens'' Bishop of the Diocese of Eagle River Toledo and the NorthwestMidwest*Bishop Right Reverend [[Thomas Nicholas (JosephOzone) of PittsburghBrooklyn|Thomas Nicholas (JosephOzone)]] , Bishop of Pittsburgh and the EastBrooklyn  ===Primates===*New York Archdiocese (1924-1975)*Bishop *Metropolitan [[Mark Victor (MaymonAbo-Assaley) of ToledoNew York|Mark Victor (MaymonAbo-Assaley)]] of Toledo and the Midwest, 1924-1935*Bishop *Metropolitan [[Alexander Anthony (MufarrijBashir) of OttawaNew York|Alexander Anthony (MufarrijBashir)]] , 1936-1966**Metropolitan [[Philip (Saliba) of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York|Philip (Saliba)]], 1966-1975
*Toledo Archdiocese (1936-1975)
**Metropolitan [[Samuel (David) of Toledo|Samuel (David)]], 1936-1958
**Metropolitan [[Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo|Michael (Shaheen)]], 1958-1975
Former hierarchs *Archdiocese of the Archdiocese:North America (1975-present)**Metropolitan [[Antony Philip (BashirSaliba) of New York|Antony Philip (BashirSaliba)]] of New York (1936, 1975-1966), deceased2014*Archbishop *Metropolitan [[Michael Joseph (ShaheenAl-Zehlaoui) of ToledoLos Angeles|Michael (Shaheen)]] of Toledo Joseph (1958Al-1975), deceased*Bishop [[Demetri (Khoury) of Toledo|Demetri (KhouryZehlaoui)]], auxiliary bishop for Toledo, retired2014-2022
== External links =Former bishops===* Right Reverend [[http://www.antiochian.org/ Official Website Demetri (Khoury) of the ArchdioceseJableh|Demetri (Khoury)]* [http://www.antiochpat.org/ Official Website of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch], auxiliary bishop for Toledo
==Book==
*Corey, George S., ed. ''The First One Hundred Years: a Centennial Anthology Celebrating Antiochian Orthodoxy in North America'', Englewood, NJ: Antakya Press, 1995 (ISBN 0962419028)
 
==External links==
[[Image:Antiochian logo.jpg|right|The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]
*[http://www.antiochian.org/ Official Website of the Archdiocese]
*[http://www.antiochpat.org/ Official Website of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch]
*[http://www.antiochian.org/668 History of the Archdiocese] (book excerpt)
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Dioceses]]
[[Category:Antiochian Dioceses|North America]]
 
[[fr:Archevêché orthodoxe antiochien d'Amérique du Nord]]
[[ro:Arhiepiscopia Creștină Ortodoxă Antiohiană a Americii de Nord]]
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