[[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. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral[[Antoun (Khouri) of Miami|Antoun]], Metr. [[Philip (Saliba) of New York|Philip]], Bp. [[Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui) of Los Angeles|Joseph]], Bp. [[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. 

''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 [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] in America to care for the Orthodox Arab faithful in the USA and Canada. Through The Antiochian Archdiocese in North America traces its genesis to his effortsministry. His initial arrival in America was not to serve in the episcopacy, what 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 known today as considered the mother cathedral of the Antiochian Archdiocese came into being.

HoweverAt the request of St. Tikhon, after the Fr. Raphael was chosen as his [[Bolshevik Revolutionauxiliary bishop]] threw the , consecrated at [[Church of RussiaSt. Nicholas Cathedral (New York, New York)|Russian Orthodox ChurchSt. Nicholas Cathedral]] as Bishop of Brooklyn and its faithful abroad into chaosgiven more authority for his care of Arabic Orthodox Christians in America. Not long after, he founded ''Al-Kalimat'' (''The Word'') magazine, the Orthodox Arab faithful published service books in Arabic which were used in North America, simultaneously shaken by the death of their beloved bishop Middle East, and throughout the Arabic Orthodox diaspora. St. Raphael, chose to come under the direct care of fell asleep in the [[Church of Antioch|Patriarchate of AntiochLord]]. Due to internal conflicts, however, at the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in North America were divided between two age of 54 on [[archdioceseFebruary 27]]s, those of New York and Toledo1915, after short, but fruitful, generally representing those who were loyal to the [[Church years of Antioch]] and the [[Church of Russia]], respectivelyservice.

[[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 today ==The archdiocese is currently led by patriarchal vicar [[Image:Philip Saliba2.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Metropolitan [[Philip Antonios (SalibaAl-Souri) of New YorkZahle, Baalbek, and Dependencies|Philip Antonios (SalibaAl-Souri)]]]]Its current primate is Metropolitan , who has five [[Philip (Saliba) of New Yorkauxiliary bishop|Philip (Saliba)auxiliary]], who has six other diocesan [[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 over 200 parishes and 236 communities (38 of which are missions and, and estimates ). Estimates of the number of faithful range from about 8551,000 320 to 50084,000 depending on the counting method being used.[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] It also includes the [[Western Rite Vicariate]]From 2003 to 2005, a group an increase of about 20 [[parish]]es including roughly 101,000 faithful who worship according to 229 communicants was reported at the [[Western Rite]]conventions, an increase of 2.5%.

[[Image:Antiochian bishops.jpg|right|thumb|250px|'''New bishops with The Archdiocese also includes the patriarch'''<br>Left to Right: Bp. [[Mark (Maymon) of Toledo]], Patr. [[Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Antioch]], Bp. [[Thomas (Joseph) of Pittsburgh]], Bp. [[Alexander (Mufarrij) of Ottawa]]]]On [[October 9Western Rite Vicariate]], 2003 the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Church a group of Antioch]] granted the Archdiocese's request to be granted self-rule (as distinct from about 16 [[autonomyparish]], and though the words have the same literal meaning in English, they are distinct in Arabic) to allow it to better govern itself, improve and increase its outreach efforts, internally organize itself into several dioceses, es and progress further on the road 7 missions which worship according to the administrative unity of the Orthodox Church in the Americas. Three new [[bishopWestern Rite]]s were consecrated in December of 2004 to assist in the governance of the reorganized Archdiocese.

The Archdiocese also includes one [[monasticismImage:Antiochian bishops.jpg|left|thumb|250px|'''New bishops with the patriarch'''<br>Left to Right: Bp. [[Mark (Maymon) of Toledo|monasticMark]] community, Patr. [[StIgnatius IV (Hazim) of Antioch|Ignatius IV]], Bp. Paul Skete [[Thomas (Grand JunctionJoseph) of Charleston and Oakland|Thomas]], TennesseeBp. [[Alexander (Mufarrij)of Ottawa|Alexander]]]]On [[October 9]], a community for women2003, the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Church of Antioch]] 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 Arabic) to allow it to better govern itself, improve and increase its outreach efforts, internally organize itself into several dioceses, and continue progress toward Orthodox administrative unity in the Americas. Three new [[bishop]]s were consecrated in December of 2004 to assist in the governance of the reorganized Archdiocese.

The Antiochian Archdiocese is also a member of the [[Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America]] which superseded [[SCOBA]]and was formerly a member of the [[National Council of Churches]] (NCC), but on [[July 28]], 2005, its Archdiocesan Convention voted unanimously to withdraw fully from that organization, thus making it the first of the major Orthodox jurisdictions in the US to do so. Additionally, the 2005 convention voted another first for a major American Orthodox jurisdiction: to alter the assessment-based model of archdiocesan revenue to a [[tithing|tithe]] (10%) of each parish's income (excepting building funds), to be phased in at 8% in 2007 and then followed by 1% increases in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Of the Archdiocese's 236 communities, 31 are already tithing.  ===Diocesan structure===*[[Diocese of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic (Antiochian)|Diocese of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic]]*[[Diocese of Eagle River and the Northwest (Antiochian)|Diocese of Eagle River and the Northwest]]*[[Diocese of Los Angeles and the West (Antiochian)|Diocese of Los Angeles and the West]]*[[Diocese of Miami and the Southeast (Antiochian)|Diocese of Miami and the Southeast]]*[[Diocese of New York and Washington, DC (Antiochian)|Diocese of New York and Washington, D.C]].*[[Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York (Antiochian)|Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York]].*[[Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest (Antiochian)|Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest]]*[[Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America (Antiochian)|Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America]]*[[Diocese of Worcester and New England (Antiochian)|Diocese of Worcester and New England]] ===Membership figures===According to the November 2007 issue of the ''Word'' magazine (p. 5)[http://www.antiochian.org/assets/word/NOV2007WORD.PDF], the following membership figures were reported at the 2007 Archdiocesan Convention:  {| 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)|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;"| [[Diocese of Los Angeles and the West (Antiochian)|Los Angeles]]| 33| 8594 |- style="vertical-align: top;"| '''Total''' | '''252'''| '''54667''' |}

===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)]], Bishop of Charleston/Oakland*Right Reverend [[Alexander (Mufarrij) of Ottawa|Alexander (Mufarrij)]], ''Locum Tenens'' Bishop of the Diocese Ottawa*Right Reverend [[John (Abdalah) of Worcester|John (Abdalah)]], Bishop of Worcester and New England*Bishop Right Reverend [[Antoun Anthony (KhouriMichaels) of MiamiToledo|Antoun Anthony (KhouriMichaels)]] , Bishop of Miami Toledo and the SoutheastMidwest*Bishop Right Reverend [[Basil Nicholas (EsseyOzone) of WichitaBrooklyn|Basil Nicholas (EsseyOzone)]] , Bishop of Wichita and MidBrooklyn  ===Primates===*New York Archdiocese (1924-America1975)*Bishop *Metropolitan [[Joseph Victor (AlAbo-ZehlaouiAssaley) of Los AngelesNew York|Joseph Victor (AlAbo-ZehlaouiAssaley)]] , 1924-1935**Metropolitan [[Anthony (Bashir) of Los Angeles and the WestNew York|Anthony (Bashir)]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of Eagle River and the Northwest1936-1966*Bishop *Metropolitan [[Thomas Philip (JosephSaliba) of PittsburghNew York|Thomas Philip (JosephSaliba)]] of Pittsburgh and the East, 1966-1975 *Toledo Archdiocese (1936-1975)*Bishop *Metropolitan [[Mark Samuel (MaymonDavid) of Toledo|Mark Samuel (MaymonDavid)]] of Toledo and the Midwest, 1936-1958*Bishop *Metropolitan [[Alexander Michael (MufarrijShaheen) of OttawaToledo|Alexander Michael (MufarrijShaheen)]] of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York1958-1975

===Former hierarchs of the Archdiocese:bishops===*Metropolitan [[Antony (Bashir) of New York|Antony (Bashir)]] of New York (1936-1966), deceased*Archbishop [[Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo|Michael (Shaheen)]] of Toledo (1958-1975), deceased*Bishop Right Reverend [[Demetri (Khoury) of ToledoJableh|Demetri (Khoury)]], auxiliary bishop for Toledo, retired

== 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)

[[Categoryfr:JurisdictionsArchevêché orthodoxe antiochien d'Amérique du Nord]][[ro:Arhiepiscopia Creștină Ortodoxă Antiohiană a Americii de Nord]]