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With the retirement of Metropolitan [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]] amidst financial scandals in September of 2008, the ''[[locum tenens]]'' of the primatial see was Archbishop [[Dmitri (Royster) of Dallas|Dmitri (Royster)]], assisted by Archbishop [[Seraphim (Storheim) of Ottawa|Seraphim (Storheim)]] as administrator.
On [[November 12]], 2008, the OCA's All-American Council and Holy Synod elected [[auxiliary bishop]] [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington and New York|Jonah (Paffhausen)]] as its new metropolitan. He was formally installed on [[December 28]], 2008 at the primate's [[cathedral]] St. [[St. Nicholas Cathedral (Washington, D.C.)|Nicholas Cathedral]] in Washington, D.C..
In The OCA today consists of 14 dioceses on the territory of Canada, the United States, there are 12 dioceses and Mexico with 623 parishes, missions, and institutions (456 of which are parishes). The ethnic Of the dioceses extend into Canada, which also has one 3 are non-territorially organized along ethnic archdioceselines. Altogether there are 91 Canadian parishes. The OCA has a Mexican Exarchate with nine parishes and missions, and there are five parishes in South America. In addition, there are two These [[Parishes in Australia (OCA)Ethnic diocese|parishes in Australiaethnic dioceses]] under include communities in both the OCA's canonical protection, one in Queensland United States and one in New South WalesCanada.
* Most Reverend [[Lazar (Puhalo) of Ottawa|Lazar (Puhalo)]], Archbishop of Ottawa
bishops
The '''Orthodox Church in America''' (OCA) is an [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] church with parishes mainly in the United States and Canada (though it has some had a few parishes in Australia and elsewhere). The OCA was formerly known as the '''Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America''', or more informally, the '''Metropolia'''. Previous to that, it was the North American Diocese of the [[Church of Russia]]. The OCA's autocephaly is not currently recognized by most of the other autocephalous Orthodox churches.
{{church|
independence=1970 ("temporary self-government" in 1924)|
recognition=1970 by [[Church of Russia]] |
primate=[[Jonah Tikhon (PaffhausenMollard) of Washington and New York|Jonah Tikhon (PaffhausenMollard)]]|
hq=[[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|Syosset, New York]]|
territory=United States and Canada|
possessions=Mexico, South America, Australia|
language=English, [[Church Slavonic]], Spanish|
music=[[Russian Chant]], [[Byzantine Chant]] (in some ethnic dioceses)|
== The OCA today ==
[[Image:OCA chancery.jpg|right|350px|thumb|[[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|The OCA chancery, Oyster Bay Cove (Syosset), New York]]]]
There are three ethnically defined dioceses in the OCA: the The Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Boston (13 parishes<small>[http://oca.org/DIRlists.parish.diocese.asp?diocese=OCA-AL&x=24&y=12&SID=9&CLASS=P&TYPE=DIOCESE]</small>), the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Toledo (20 parishes21 communities<small>[http://ocawww.bdoca.org/DIRlistsParishes.parish.diocese.asp?diocese=OCA-BU&x=24&y=13&SID=9&CLASS=P&TYPE=DIOCESEhtml]</small>) , and the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in America (102 parishes100 communities<small>[http://ocawww.roea.org/DIRlists.parishdirectories.diocese.asp?diocese=OCA-RO&x=31&y=15&SID=9&CLASS=P&TYPE=DIOCESEhtml]</small>). These dioceses' geographic territory overlaps with the other dioceses of the OCA and they have under their care parishes with those ethnic associations, although all are home to multiethnic parishes and the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese also includes Romanian-language communities. These dioceses are the result of smaller ethnic [[jurisdiction]]s joining the OCA at some point in its history, usually after having broken from other bodiesdue to the politics of the Cold War era.
The OCA also has 28 monastic communities<small>[http://oca.org/DIRmonastics.asp?SID=9]</small>, six of which fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Metropolitan (i.e., are [[stavropigial]]). The largest of these monasteries are [[New Skete (Cambridge, New York)]] and [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)]].
There are three [[seminary|seminaries]] operated by the OCA: [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] (founded 1937), [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] (founded 1938), and [[St. Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Kodiak, Alaska)|St. Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] (founded 1973). All three educate seminarians from multiple Orthodox jurisdictions, including those outside North America.
The OCA is a member of the [[Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America]] that has superseded the [[Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas]] (SCOBA).
Since November of 2005, when a list of accusations were brought forward by Protodeacon Eric Wheeler, the former treasurer of the OCA, its administration has been the subject of allegations of financial misconduct. Internal investigations, audits, and other actions have since then been enacted in an attempt to address the allegations, including the firing and [[deposition ]] of the OCA [[chancellor]], the former Protopresbyter [[Robert S. Kondratick]]. The [http://www.ocanews.org/ OCA News] website, a privately operated site with no connection to the administration, has been publishing reports and editorials on the scandal since January of 2006, including allegations of division within the OCA's holy synod. In August 2007, the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]], which contributes to the OCA more funds than any other OCA diocese, began withholding its assessments to the central administration.[http://www.midwestdiocese.org/news_070814_1.html]
In September of 2008, after the release of a scathing report by an official investigative committee, the former primate, Metr. [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]], was disciplined[http://www.oca.org/news/1631] and the then current primate, Metr. [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]] was retired by the Holy Synod.[http://www.oca.org/news/1632] On [[November 12]], 2008, after financial scandals, the OCA's All-American Council and Holy Synod elected [[auxiliary bishop]] [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington and New York|Jonah (Paffhausen)]] as its new metropolitan. He was formally installed on [[December 28]], 2008 at the primate's [[cathedral]] St. [[St. Nicholas Cathedral (Washington, D.C.)|Nicholas Cathedral]] in Washington, D.C.. On [[November 13]], 2012, the OCA's current [[primate]], the Most Blessed [[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]] was elected at the 17th [[All-American Council]]. ===Diocesan structure===*[[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Diocese of Alaska]]*[[Albanian Archdiocese (OCA)|Albanian Archdiocese]]*[[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]*[[Archdiocese of Canada (OCA)|Archdiocese of Canada]]*[[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania]]*[[Diocese of Mexico (OCA)|Diocese of Mexico]]*[[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]]*[[Diocese of New England (OCA)|Diocese of New England]]*[[Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA)|Diocese of New York and New Jersey]]*[[Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America (OCA)|Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America]]*[[Diocese of the South (OCA)|Diocese of the South]]*[[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.]]*[[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the West]]*[[Diocese of Western Pennsylvania (OCA)|Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania]]
===Growth and membership figures===
==Episcopacy==
===Diocesan bishops===
* Most Blessed [[Jonah Tikhon (PaffhausenMollard) of Washington and New York|Jonah Tikhon (PaffhausenMollard)]], Archbishop of [[Diocese of Washington and New York (OCA)|Washington and New York]], Metropolitan of All America and Canada* Most Reverend [[Dmitri (Royster) , ''Locum Tenens'' of Dallas|Dmitri (Royster)]], Archbishop the Diocese of Dallas and the [[Diocese of the South Midwest (OCA)|SouthMidwest]].* Most Reverend [[Nathaniel (Popp) of Detroit|Nathaniel (Popp)]], Archbishop of Detroit and the [[Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America (OCA)|Romanian Episcopate]]. * Most Right Reverend [[Job Nikon (OsackyLiolin) of ChicagoBoston|Job Nikon (OsackyLiolin)]], Archbishop Bishop of Chicago and the Boston, [[Diocese of the Midwest New England (OCA)|MidwestNew England]]* Most Reverend and the [[Seraphim Albanian Archdiocese (StorheimOCA) of Ottawa|Seraphim (Storheim)Albanian Archdiocese]], Archbishop ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of Ottawa and the [[Archdiocese Diocese of Canada the South (OCA)|CanadaSouth]]* Right Reverend [[Nikon Benjamin (LiolinPeterson) of BostonSan Francisco|Nikon Benjamin (LiolinPeterson)]], Bishop of BostonSan Francisco and the [[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the West]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of [[Diocese of New England Alaska (OCA)|New EnglandAlaska]]* Right Reverend [[Alejo (Pacheco y Vera) of Mexico City|Alejo (Pacheco-Vera)]] , Bishop of Mexico City and the [[Albanian Archdiocese Exarchate of Mexico (OCA)|Albanian ArchdioceseExarch of Mexico]]* Right Reverend [[Tikhon Melchisedek (MollardPleska) of PhiladelphiaPittsburgh|Tikhon Melchisedek (MollardPleska)]], Bishop of Philadelphia Pittsburgh and [[Diocese of Eastern Western Pennsylvania (OCA)|Eastern Western Pennsylvania]], ''Locum Tenens'' of Pittsburgh and the Diocese of [[Diocese of Western Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Western Eastern Pennsylvania]],.* Right Reverend [[Benjamin Michael (PetersonDahulich) of San FranciscoNew York|Benjamin Michael (PetersonDahulich)]], Bishop of San Francisco and the [[Diocese of the West New York and New Jersey (OCA)|Diocese of the WestNew York, and New Jersey]].* Right Reverend [[Alejo Matthias (Pacheco y VeraMoriak) of Mexico City Chicago|Alejo Matthias (Pacheco-VeraMoriak)]], Bishop of Mexico City Chicago and the [[Exarchate Diocese of Mexico the Midwest (OCA)|Exarch Midwest]] (on Leave of Absence)* Right Reverend [[Alexander (Golitzin)]], Bishop of MexicoToledo and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]].
===Auxiliary bishops===
* Right Reverend [[Irineu (Duvlea) of Dearborn Heights|Irineu (Duvlea)]], Bishop of Dearborn Heights and auxiliary Auxiliary to Archbishop [[Nathaniel (Popp) of Detroit|Nathaniel of Detroit]].* Right Reverend [[Mark (Maymon) of Baltimore|Mark (Maymon)]], Bishop of Baltimore, Administrator of the [[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Diocese Eastern Pennsylvania]], Synodal Liaison for Departments and Commissions of the Orthodox Church in America.* Right Reverend [[Irénée (Rochon)|Irénée (Rochon)]], Bishop of Quebéc City, Administrator of the Archdiocese of Canada.
===Retired bishops===
* Most Blessed [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]], Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada
* Most Blessed [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]], Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada
* Most Blessed [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington|Jonah (Paffhausen)]], former Archbishop of [[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Washington]], Metropolitan of All America and Canada
* Most Reverend [[Lazar (Puhalo) of Ottawa|Lazar (Puhalo)]], Archbishop of Ottawa
* Most Reverend [[Seraphim (Storheim) of Ottawa|Seraphim (Storheim)]], Archbishop of Ottawa and [[Archdiocese of Canada (OCA)|Canada]]
* Right Reverend [[Seraphim (Sigrist) of Sendai|Seraphim (Sigrist)]], Bishop of Sendai and Eastern Japan
* Right Reverend [[Mark (Forsberg) of Boston|Mark (Forsberg)]], Bishop of Boston
* Right Reverend [[Tikhon (Fitzgerald) of San Francisco and Los Angeles|Tikhon (Fitzgerald)]], Bishop of San Francisco, Los Angeles and the [[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the West]]
* Right Reverend [[Varlaam (Novakshonoff) of Vancouver|Varlaam (Novakshonoff)]], Bishop of Vancouver
* Most Reverend [[Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh|Kyrill (Yonchev)]], Archbishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]
* Most Reverend [[Peter (L'Huillier) of New York|Peter (L'Huillier)]], Archbishop of New York and New Jersey
* Most Reverend [[Dmitri (Royster) of Dallas|Dmitri (Royster)]], Archbishop of Dallas and the [[Diocese of the South (OCA)|South]]
* Most Reverend [[Job (Osacky) of Chicago|Job (Osacky)]], Archbishop of Chicago and the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Midwest]]
* Most Reverend [[Gregory (Afonsky) of Sitka|Gregory (Afonsky)]], Archbishop of Sitka and Alaska
(see also: [[Hierarchs Bishops of the Russian Metropolia in North American missionAmerica]])
== List of primates and ruling bishops==
** ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2002-2005)
** ''Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2005-2008)
* Metropolitan [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington and New York|Jonah (Paffhausen)]] ** ''Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2008-2009)** ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2009-2012)* Metropolitan [[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]], ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2012-present)
==Reference==
* ''Orthodox America 1794-1976 Development of the Orthodox Church in America'', C. J. Tarasar, Gen. Ed. 1975, The Orthodox Church in America, Syosett, New York
{{churches}}
== Recent News ==<!-- <rss>http://feeds.feedburner.com/OcaNewsHeadlines</rss> --><!-- http://www.oca.org/newsrss.xml is now the oca news feed --><rss>http://www.oca.org/newsrss.xml|short|max=6</rss>
== External links ==
* [http://www.oca.org/ Orthodox Church in America] (Official Website of the OCA])
** [http://www.oca.org/Docs.asp?ID=157&SID=12 The Road to Autocephaly 1963-1970] Talk given by Dr. Constantine H. Kallaur
** [http://www.oca.org/DOCtomos.asp?SID=12 The Tomos of Autocephaly] Signed in the city of Moscow, [[April 10]], 1970, by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the members its Holy Synod.
** [http://www.oca.org/DOCindex-statute.asp?SID=12 The Statute of the Orthodox Church in America]
** [http://oca.org/HSprimatialelections.asp?SID=7 Primatial Elections in the OCA]
* [http://dioceseofalaska.org/ Diocese of Alaska] (Official Website)* [http://www.bdoca.org/ Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Toledo] (Official Website)* [http://www.archdiocese.ca/ Archdiocese of Canada] (Official Website)* [http://doepa.org/ Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania] (Official Website)* [http://ocamexico.org/ Diocese of Mexico] (Official Website)* [http://domoca.org/ Diocese of the Midwest] (Official Website)* [http://www.dneoca.org/ Diocese of New England] (Official Website)* [http://www.nynjoca.org/ Diocese of New York and New Jersey] (Official Website)* [http://www.ocadwpa.org/ Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania] (Official Website)* [http://www.roea.org/ Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in America] (Official Website)* [http://www.dosoca.org/ Diocese of the South] (Official Website)* [http://wdcoca.org/ Archdiocese of Washington] (Official Website)* [http://www.dowoca.org/ Diocese of the West] (Official Website)* [http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg-us.aspx?eccpageID=27&IndexView=toc Eastern Christian Churches: OCA] by Ronald Roberson, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar
* [http://www.ocanews.org/ OCANews.org: Orthodox Christians for Accountability], a website critical of the OCA's administration
[[Category:Jurisdictions|OCA]]
[[fr:Église en Amérique]]
[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă din America]]
[[ru:Американская православная церковь]]
