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The '''Orthodox Church in America''' (OCA) is an [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] church with parishes mainly in the United States and Canada (though it has some 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.
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..
In [[File:Holy synod logo.png|thumb]]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 is one These [[Parishes in Australia (OCA)Ethnic diocese|parish in New South Wales, Australiaethnic dioceses]], under include communities in both the OCA's canonical protectionUnited States and Canada.
Since November ===Diocesan structure===*[[Diocese of 2005, when a list of accusations were brought forward by Protodeacon Eric Wheeler, the former treasurer of the Alaska (OCA, its administration has been the subject )|Diocese 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 Alaska]]*[[depositionAlbanian Archdiocese (OCA)|Albanian Archdiocese]] of the *[[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA chancellor, the former Protopresbyter )|Bulgarian Diocese]]*[[Robert S. KondratickArchdiocese of Canada (OCA)|Archdiocese of Canada]]. The *[[http://www.ocanews.org/ Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA News)|Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania]] website, a privately operated site with no connection to the administration, has been publishing reports and editorials on the scandal since January *[[Diocese of 2006, including allegations Mexico (OCA)|Diocese of division within the OCA's holy synod. In August 2007, the Mexico]]*[[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]], which contributes to the *[[Diocese of New England (OCA more funds than any other )|Diocese of New England]]*[[Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA diocese, began withholding its assessments to the central administration.)|Diocese of New York and New Jersey]]*[[http://www.midwestdiocese.org/news_070814_1.htmlRomanian Orthodox Episcopate of America (OCA)|Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America]] In September *[[Diocese of 2008, after the release South (OCA)|Diocese of a scathing report by an official investigative committee, the former primate, Metr. South]]*[[Theodosius Diocese of Washington (LazorOCA) |Archdiocese of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]], was disciplined[http://wwwD.ocaC.org/news/1631] and ]*[[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the then current primate, Metr. West]]*[[Herman Diocese of Western Pennsylvania (SwaikoOCA) |Archdiocese of Washington Pittsburgh and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]Western Pennsylvania] was retired by the Holy Synod.[http://www.oca.org/news/1632]
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{{church|
name=Orthodox Church in America[[Image:OCA 1.jpg|center|The Orthodox Church in America]]|
founder=Ss. [[Herman of Alaska]], [[Innocent of Alaska]], [[Alexis of Wilkes-Barre]]|
independence=1970 ("temporary self-government" in 1924)|
recognition=1970 by [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] |primate=[[Jonah Tikhon (PaffhausenMollard) of Washington|Jonah Tikhon (PaffhausenMollard)]]|
hq=[[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|Syosset, New York]]|
territory=United States and Canada|
possessions=Mexico, Australia|
language=English, [[Church Slavonic]], Spanish|
music=[[Russian Chant]], [[Byzantine Chant]] (in some ethnic dioceses)|
website=[http://www.oca.org/ Orthodox Church in America]
}}
The '''Orthodox Church in America''' (OCA) is an [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] church with parishes mainly in the United States and Canada (though it 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|Russian Orthodox Church]]. The OCA's autocephaly is not currently recognized by most of the other autocephalous Orthodox churches.
== History ==
''Main Article: [[History of the OCA]]'' <br> ''See Also: [[Orthodoxy in America]]''
The OCA began with the missionary work of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands by eight Orthodox monks who arrived in Alaska in 1794. They were part of the centuries-old missionary heritage of the Russian Orthodox Church that brought the Orthodox Church, by the monks Hourg and Barsanuphii, to the Mongol peoples. And monk St Stephen of Perm (1340-96) who would in turn journey beyond Kazan, across the Ural mountain, into the forests of Siberia to bring Orthodoxy to the pagan Zyrians. And the Russian monks who brought the Church even more eastward, eventually establishing a network of missions across Siberia and along the entire Pacific Rim: in China (1686), Alaska (1794), Japan (1861), and Korea (1898).
From that point until the restoration of relations with Moscow in the 1960s, the Metropolia entered twice into union with the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (see [[ROCOR and OCA]]), finally breaking with the latter body in 1946. Additionally, in 1927, the bishops of the Metropolia attempted to create an autocephalous body known as the [[American Orthodox Catholic Church]], which failed after only six years.
In the early 1960s, the Metropolia (as it was then known) resumed communication with the Patriarch of Moscow, and in 1970 full communion was restored. At that time, the Patriarch of Moscow officially granted the OCA [[autocephaly]], or self-governing administrative status. The OCA's autocephaly is not currently recognized by all autocephalous Orthodox Churches, including the [[Church of Constantinople]]. Churches that do recognize its autocephaly are mainly those in former Communist lands (most of which had thus come under the influence of the Church of Russia), including the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]], the [[Church of Bulgaria]], the [[Church of Poland]], the [[Church of Georgia]], and the [[Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia]]. According to apologists for OCA autocephaly, it is common for recognition of autocephaly to be granted belatedly; however opponents regard the grant as not being within the purview of Moscow's [[presbeia|prerogatives]] (see [[Byzantine response to OCA autocephaly]]). 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]].
== 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).
===Growth and membership figures===
==Name==
According to the 1970 ''[[Tomos]] of Autocephaly'' granted by the [[Russian Orthodox Church|Church of Russia]], the name of this church body was originally ''The Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America''.[http://www.oca.org/DOCtomos.asp?SID=12] According to the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America, adopted by the Second All-American Council in October 1971, the usage is ''The Orthodox Church in America'' at the beginning of sentences[http://oca.org/DOCstatute.asp?SID=12&ID=1] and ''the Orthodox Church in America'' in the middle of sentences[http://www.oca.org/DOCstatute.asp?SID=12&ID=4], thus seeming to imply that the capitalization of ''the'' in the name is not vital.
==Episcopacy==
===Diocesan bishops===
* Most Blessed [[Jonah Tikhon (PaffhausenMollard) of Washington|Jonah Tikhon (PaffhausenMollard)]], Archbishop of [[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Washington]], Metropolitan of All America and Canada, ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Midwest]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of the [[Diocese of the South (OCA)|South]].* Most Reverend [[Nathaniel (Popp) of Detroit|Nathaniel (Popp)]], Archbishop of Detroit and the [[Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America (OCA)|Romanian Episcopate]]* Most Reverend [[Seraphim (Storheim) of Ottawa|Seraphim (Storheim)]], Archbishop of Ottawa and [[Archdiocese of Canada (OCA)|Canada]]. * Right Reverend [[Nikon (Liolin) of Boston|Nikon (Liolin)]], Bishop of Boston, [[Diocese of New England (OCA)|New England]] and the [[Albanian Archdiocese (OCA)|Albanian Archdiocese]]* Right Reverend [[Tikhon (Mollard) , ''Locum Tenens'' of Philadelphia|Tikhon (Mollard)]], Bishop the Diocese of Philadelphia and the [[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania the South (OCA)|Eastern PennsylvaniaSouth]]
* Right Reverend [[Benjamin (Peterson) of San Francisco|Benjamin (Peterson)]], Bishop of San Francisco and the [[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the West]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of [[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Alaska]]
* Right Reverend [[Alejo (Pacheco y Vera) of Mexico City|Alejo (Pacheco-Vera)]], Bishop of Mexico City and [[Exarchate of Mexico (OCA)|Exarch of Mexico]]
* Right Reverend [[Melchisedek (Pleska) of Pittsburgh|Melchisedek (Pleska)]], Bishop of Pittsburgh and [[Diocese of Western Pennsylvania (OCA)|Western Pennsylvania]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of [[Bulgarian Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Bulgarian DioceseEastern Pennsylvania]].* Right Reverend [[Michael (Dahulich) of New York|Michael (Dahulich)]], Bishop of [[Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA)|New York, and New Jersey]].* Right Reverend [[Alexander (Golitzin)]], Bishop of Toledo and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]].* Right Reverent [[Paul (Gassios)]], Bishop of Chicago and the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]].* Right Reverend [[Irénée (Rochon)|Irénée (Rochon)]], Bishop of Canada.* Most Reverend [[Mark (Maymon) of Philadelphia|Mark (Maymon)]], Archbishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania.
===Auxiliary bishops===
* Right Reverend [[Irineu (Duvlea) of Dearborn Heights|Irineu (Duvlea)]], Bishop of Dearborn Heights and Auxiliary to Archbishop [[Nathaniel (Popp) of Detroit|Nathaniel of Detroit]].
* Right Reverend [[Irénée Daniel (RochonBrum)of Santa Rosa|Irénée Daniel (RochonBrum)]], Bishop of Quebéc City and Auxiliary to Archbishop [[Seraphim (Storheim) of Ottawa|Seraphim of Ottawa]].Santa Rosa
===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 Reverend Blessed [[Dmitri Jonah (RoysterPaffhausen) of DallasWashington|Dmitri Jonah (RoysterPaffhausen)]], former Archbishop of Dallas and the [[Diocese of the South Washington (OCA)|SouthWashington]], 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
* Right Reverend [[Nikolai (Soraich) of Sitka|Nikolai (Soraich)]], Bishop of Sitka and [[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Alaska]]
* Right Reverend [[Seraphim Matthias (SigristMoriak) of SendaiChicago|Seraphim Matthias (SigristMoriak)]], Bishop of Sendai Chicago and Eastern Japanthe [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Midwest]]
===Reposed bishops===
* 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
* Most Reverend [[Basil (Rodzianko) of San Francisco|Basil (Rodzianko), Bishop of San Francisco]]
(see also: [[Bishops of the Russian Metropolia in North America]])
* 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
<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-usdefault.aspx?eccpageIDID=27&IndexViewpagetypeID=9&sitecode=HQ&pageno=toc Eastern Christian Churches: OCA] 1 Article by Ronald Roberson, a Roman Catholic priest and scholaron the OCA] on the CNEWA web site
* [http://www.ocanews.org/ OCANews.org: Orthodox Christians for Accountability], a website critical of the OCA's administration
[[Category:Jurisdictions|OCA]]
