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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.
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 Fort Worth|Jonah (Paffhausen)]] as its new metropolitan. He is scheduled to be formally installed on [[December 28]], 2008.
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 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.
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 deposition of the Alaska]]*[[Albanian Archdiocese (OCA chancellor, the former Protopresbyter )|Albanian Archdiocese]]*[[Robert S. KondratickBulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]. The *[[http://www.ocanews.org/ Archdiocese of Canada (OCA News)|Archdiocese of Canada] website, a privately operated site with no connection to the administration, has been publishing reports and editorials on the scandal since January ]*[[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Diocese of 2006, including allegations Eastern Pennsylvania]]*[[Diocese of division within the Mexico (OCA's holy synod. In August 2007, the )|Diocese of 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 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]
* Most Reverend [[Lazar (Puhalo) of Ottawa|Lazar (Puhalo)]], Archbishop of Ottawa
update
{{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 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)|
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===
According to Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff, who is on the administrative committee of the OCA's Department of Evangelization and the board of directors of the [[Orthodox Christian Mission Center]], the OCA's American contintental membership (i.e., not including Alaska, Canada, or the ethnic dioceses) "has been declining between 6 and 9% for nearly 20 years. The OCA's Census population in 1994 was 29,775; in 2004 it stood at 27,169."[http://www.oca.org/PDF/Evangelization/2004.Parish-Revitalization-notes.pdf] Despite these sobering figures, however, the OCA's dioceses of the West and South, as well as many parishes in other dioceses, have reported steady growth.
A 2010 United States Census of Religious Bodies, of which Alexei Krindatch, a statistician who has done extensive work on Orthodox churches and congregations, is part, estimated that in the United States there are approximately 85,000 people who consider themselves adherents to the OCA, of which about 40% (approximately 34,000) are actually regular church attendees. [http://www.hartfordinstitute.org/research/2010-USOrthodox-Census.pdf] (See also [[Demographics]])
==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 and New York|Jonah Tikhon (PaffhausenMollard)]], Archbishop of [[Diocese of Washington and New York(OCA)|Washington]], Metropolitan of All America and Canada.* Most Reverend [[Dmitri Nathaniel (RoysterPopp) of DallasDetroit|Dmitri Nathaniel (RoysterPopp)]], Archbishop of Dallas Detroit and the [[Diocese Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of the South America (OCA)|SouthRomanian Episcopate]]. * Most Right Reverend [[Nathaniel Nikon (PoppLiolin) of DetroitBoston|Nathaniel Nikon (PoppLiolin)]], Archbishop Bishop of Boston, [[Diocese of Detroit New England (OCA)|New England]] and the [[Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America Albanian Archdiocese (OCA)|Romanian EpiscopateAlbanian Archdiocese]].* Most Right Reverend [[Job Benjamin (OsackyPeterson) of ChicagoSan Francisco|Job Benjamin (OsackyPeterson)]], Archbishop Bishop of Chicago San Francisco and the [[Diocese of the Midwest West (OCA)|MidwestDiocese of the West]].* Most Right Reverend [[Seraphim Alejo (StorheimPacheco y Vera) of OttawaMexico City|Seraphim Alejo (StorheimPacheco-Vera)]], Archbishop Bishop of Ottawa Mexico City and [[Archdiocese Exarchate of Canada Mexico (OCA)|CanadaExarch of Mexico]]* Right Reverend [[Nikon Melchisedek (LiolinPleska) of BostonPittsburgh|Nikon Melchisedek (LiolinPleska)]], Bishop of Boston, Pittsburgh and [[Diocese of New England Western Pennsylvania (OCA)|New EnglandWestern Pennsylvania]] and , ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of [[Albanian Archdiocese Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Albanian ArchdioceseEastern Pennsylvania]].* Right Reverend [[Tikhon Michael (MollardDahulich) of PhiladelphiaNew York|Tikhon Michael (MollardDahulich)]], Bishop of Philadelphia and [[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania New York and New Jersey (OCA)|Eastern PennsylvaniaNew York, and New Jersey]].* Right Reverend [[Alexander (Golitzin)]], ''Locum Tenens'' Bishop of Pittsburgh Toledo and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]] and the [[Diocese of Western Pennsylvania the South (OCA)|Western PennsylvaniaDiocese of the South]],.* Right Reverend [[Benjamin David (Mahaffey) of Sitka|David (PetersonMahaffey) ]], Bishop of San FranciscoSitka and the [[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Benjamin Diocese of Alaska]].* Right Reverent [[Paul (PetersonGassios)]], Bishop of San Francisco Chicago and the [[Diocese of the West Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the WestMidwest]].* Right Reverend [[Alejo Irénée (Pacheco y VeraRochon) of Mexico City |Alejo Irénée (Pacheco-VeraRochon)]], Bishop of Mexico City and Canada.* Most Reverend [[Exarchate Mark (Maymon) of Mexico Philadelphia|Mark (OCAMaymon)|Exarch of Mexico]], Archbishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania.
===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 [[Daniel (Brum) of Santa Rosa|Daniel (Brum)]], Bishop of Santa Rosa
===Retired bishops===
* Most Blessed [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]], Archbishop of [[Diocese of Washington and New York (OCA)|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
* Right Reverend [[Nikolai (Soraich) of Sitka|Nikolai (Soraich)]], Bishop of Sitka and [[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Alaska]]
* Right Reverend [[Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago|Matthias (Moriak)]], Bishop of Chicago and the [[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: [[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-bodypgdefault.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]]
[[fr:Église en Amérique]]
[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă din America]]
[[ru:Американская православная церковь]]
