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[[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, though these faithful were originally cared for by . Its current primate is the Most Reverend [[Church Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui) of RussiaNew York|Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui)]] in , Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America.

The first Orthodox bishop consecrated in North America, ''Main Article: [[Raphael History of Brooklyn|St. Raphael Hawaweeny]], was consecrated by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox ChurchAntiochian Orthodoxy in America]] in America to care for the Orthodox Arab faithful in the USA and Canada. Through his efforts, what is known today as the Antiochian Archdiocese came into being.''

HoweverThe first Orthodox bishop [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] in North America, after the [[Bolshevik RevolutionRaphael of Brooklyn|St. Raphael Hawaweeny]] threw , was consecrated by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] and its faithful abroad into chaos, in America to care for the Orthodox Arab faithful in the USA and Canada. The Antiochian Archdiocese in North America, simultaneously shaken by the death of their beloved bishop Sttraces its genesis to his ministry. Raphael, chose His initial arrival in America was not to come under the direct care of serve in the episcopacy, however, but he came as an [[Church archimandrite]] in 1895 at the request of Antioch|Patriarchate members of Antioch]]. Due the Syrian Orthodox Benevolent Society, an ostensibly philanthropic group whose primary purpose was to internal conflicts, however, the Antiochian maintain ties between Orthodox faithful Arabs living in North America were divided between two . He thus came to the US and was canonically received under the [[archdioceseomophorion]]s, those of New York and Toledo, generally representing those who were loyal to the Bishop [[Church Nicholas (Ziorov) of Antiochthe Aleutians]] and , the [[Russian Orthodox Church of Russia]], respectively's exarch in America at the time.

With Upon arriving in New York, Fr. Raphael established a [[parish]] in lower Manhattan, then the signing center of the Syrian immigrant community. By 1900, however some 3,000 of these immigrants had moved across the Articles East River, shifting the center of Reunification by Metropolitan 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. [[Philip (Saliba) Nicholas of New YorkMyra|Philip (Saliba)Nicholas the Wonderworker]] , renovated for Orthodox [[worship]], and Metropolitan then consecrated on [[Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo|Michael (Shaheen)October 27]] in 1975, the two Antiochian Orthodox archdioceses were united as one Archdiocese 1902, by St. [[Tikhon of North America (now with its headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey)Moscow]]. Metropolitan Philip became the primate and Metropolitan Michael became an auxiliary archbishopSt. Since then the Archdiocese has experienced rapid and significant growth through the conversion of a number of Evangelical Protestants (both individually and as congregations) and also through ongoing evangelization Nicholas Cathedral was later relocated to State Street in Brooklyn and is today considered the immigration mother cathedral of Orthodox Arabs from the Middle EastArchdiocese.

== The Archdiocese Today ==[[Image:Philip Saliba2At the request of St. Tikhon, Fr.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Metropolitan Raphael was chosen as his [[Philip (Saliba) of New York|Philip (Saliba)auxiliary bishop]]]]Its current primate is Metropolitan , consecrated at [[Philip St. Nicholas Cathedral (Saliba) of New York, New York)|Philip (Saliba)St. Nicholas Cathedral]], who has six other diocesan [[bishop]]s assisting him in caring as Bishop of Brooklyn and given more authority for the nine [[diocese]]s his care of the growing Archdiocese, which is the third largest Arabic Orthodox Christian [[jurisdiction]] Christians in North America, having over 200 parishes and missions. Estimates of the number of faithful range from about 84Not long after,000[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/quick_question17.html] to 380he founded ''Al-Kalimat'' (''The Word'') magazine,000[http://www.electronicchurch.org/2002/NCC_members.htm] depending on the report and the counting method being published service books in Arabic which were used. The number of new Antiochian parishes in America, the decade between 1990 and 2000 rose by approximately 33%Middle East, and throughout the primary membership growth in the Archdiocese has been from American convertsArabic Orthodox diaspora.[http://hirr St.hartsem.edu/research/tab2.pdf] The Archdiocese also includes Raphael fell asleep in the [[Western Rite VicariateLord]], a group at the age of about 20 54 on [[parish]]es which worship according to the [[Western RiteFebruary 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 ==Its current primate is Metropolitan [[Philip (Saliba) of New York|Philip (Saliba)]], who has six [[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]]. [[Image:Antiochian bishops.jpg|rightleft|thumb|250px|'''New bishops with the patriarch'''<br>Left to Right: Bp. [[Mark (Maymon) of Toledo|Mark]], Patr. [[Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Antioch|Ignatius IV]], Bp. [[Thomas (Joseph) of PittsburghCharleston and Oakland|Thomas]], Bp. [[Alexander (Mufarrij) of Ottawa|Alexander]]]]On [[October 9]], 2003 , 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 further on the road to the toward Orthodox administrative unity of the Orthodox Church in the Americas. Three new [[bishop]]s were consecrated in December of 2004 to assist in the governance of the reorganized Archdiocese.

The 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 is also a member 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;"| [[SCOBADiocese of Los Angeles and the West (Antiochian)|Los Angeles]].| 33| 8594 |- style="vertical-align: top;"| '''Total''' | '''252'''| '''54667''' |}

===Diocesan Current bishops===*Most Reverend [[Philip Joseph (SalibaAl-Zehlaoui) of New YorkLos Angeles|Philip Joseph (SalibaAl-Zehlaoui)]] Archbishop of New York and the Archdiocesan District, Metropolitan Bishop of All North AmericaLos Angeles, ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of Worcester Eagle River and New Englandthe Northwest *Right Reverend [[Antoun (Khouri) of Miami|Antoun (Khouri)]], Bishop of Miami and the Southeast

*Right Reverend [[Thomas (Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui) of Los AngelesCharleston and Oakland|Thomas (Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui)]], Bishop of Los Angeles and the WestCharleston/Oakland*Right Reverend [[Alexander (Mufarrij) of Ottawa|Alexander (Mufarrij)]], ''Locum Tenens'' Bishop of the Diocese of Eagle River and the NorthwestOttawa*Right Reverend [[Thomas John (JosephAbdalah) of PittsburghWorcester|Thomas John (JosephAbdalah)]], Bishop of Pittsburgh Worcester and the EastNew England*Right Reverend [[Mark Anthony (MaymonMichaels) of Toledo|Mark Anthony (MaymonMichaels)]], Bishop of Toledo and the Midwest*Right Reverend [[Alexander Nicholas (MufarrijOzone) of OttawaBrooklyn|Alexander Nicholas (MufarrijOzone)]], Bishop of OttawaBrooklyn  ===Primates===*New York Archdiocese (1924-1975)**Metropolitan [[Victor (Abo-Assaley) of New York|Victor (Abo-Assaley)]], 1924-1935**Metropolitan [[Anthony (Bashir) of New York|Anthony (Bashir)]], 1936-1966**Metropolitan [[Philip (Saliba) of 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)]], Eastern Canada and Upstate 1958-1975 *Archdiocese of North America (1975-present)**Metropolitan [[Philip (Saliba) of New York|Philip (Saliba)]], 1975-2014

*Most Reverend [[Antony (Bashir) of New York|Antony (Bashir)]], Archbishop of New York, Metropolitan of All North America (1936-1966), deceased*Most Reverend [[Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo|Michael (Shaheen)]], Archbishop of Toledo (1958-1975), deceased*Right Reverend [[Demetri (Khoury) of ToledoJableh|Demetri (Khoury)]], auxiliary bishop for Toledo, retired

== 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.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]]