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Fr. Leonid, with Fr. Alexander Kukulevsky, represented the American diocese at the [[All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918|Council of 1917-1918]] in Moscow, Russia. The many church dissensions he experienced during his journey back to the United States through Siberia and Japan were those that he would combat through the remaining decades of his career. Fr. Leonid's experience at the Moscow [[Sobor]] placed him a leadership position at the [[All-American Sobor#Fourth All-American Sobor|1924 Council]] in Detroit as he pursued a course for American autonomy based upon the decisions of the Moscow Sobor.
While his life was saddened by the death of his wife in 1925, this enabled his election and [[consecration of a bishop|consecration]] as Bishop of Chicago in 1933. He was given the name Leonty during his [[tonsure]] as a monastic. Bp. Leonty had, since his arrival in the United States, been in the center of the life of the American church and was thus the best, if not the only, candidate for election as the new Metropolitan upon the death of Metr. Theophilus in 1950. Having aided in the adoption of the first Parish Statute at the [[All-American Sobor#First All-American Sobor|first Sobor]] in Mayfield, Pennsylvania, in 1907 Bp. Leonty was greatly interested in establishing a firm organizational basis for the Church. In 1937, he led in the adoption of a constitution for the Church organized as a Metropolitan District with a Metropolitan, a Bishop's Council, and a Metropolitan Council. While progress, these organizational efforts were inadequate given the immaturity of intra-church relationships.
Bp. Leonty was elected the new [[Metropolitan]] by acclamation during the [[All-American Sobor#Eighth All-American Sobor|Eighth All American Sobor]] in December 1950 as the delegates knew him to be one of the builders of the American church. During the following years Metr. Leonty guided the Church in the establishment of solid [[canonical]] and institutional foundation. Through the three Sobors held under Metr. Leonty's leadership, the Statutes of the Church were adopted and refined. A central administration was formed, matured, and placed on a permanent and stable footing. An administration structure was developed that consisted of the Synod of Bishops and a Metropolitan Council, that was patterned after the model of the Diocesan Council established by the 1917/18 Moscow Sobor and consisted of both clerical and lay representatives elected by All-American Sobors. At first, Metr. Leonty had a ‘central' administration that handled daily tasks that was filled by volunteer parish priests and dedicated laymen. The [[All-American Sobor#Eleventh All-American Sobor|Eleventh All-American Sobor]] held in New York in 1963 gave final shape to the central organization by establishing three national officers of Chancellor, Secretary, and Treasurer who would be appointed by the Synod of Bishops upon nomination by the Metropolitan Council.
