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The '''Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America''' is a [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]] in the United States. Its current leader is [[Bishop]] [[Ilia (Katre) of Philomelion]], (Vicar General since 1982 and Bishop bishop since 2002) , who lives in Boston, Chicago, and Las Vegas.
In the first half of the 20th century, the Orthodox Albanian communities in America were loosely affiliated with one another, with six of fifteen communities claiming "independent" status and the others not incorporated as [[diocese]]s until after the Second World War. The return of Bp. [[Theophan (Noli) of Durres|Theofan (Noli)]] from exile in Germany in 1932 had reopened the discussion of the need for a canonical Albanian diocese in North America. [Metropolitan Theofan had been consecrated in 1922 as Bishop of Durres by the Church of Albania, which did not claim any jurisdiction in North America, and thus could not gain recognition as head of a diocese in the Americas.]
