Peter (L'Huillier) of New York

The Most Reverend Peter (L'Huillier) of New York, is the former Archbishop of New York and New Jersey in the Orthodox Church in America.

Life

Archbishop Peter was born as Paul L'Huillier on December 3, 1926, in Paris, France. He embraced the Orthodox faith in 1945 while enrolled at the St. Denys Institute in Paris. His Eminence also did graduate work at the University of Paris and received a Licentiate of Theology from the Moscow Theological Academy in 1962 and a Doctorate of Canon Law degree in 1985.

The Archbishop began his ecclesiastical life on August 30, 1954, when he was tonsured Monk Peter. On September 4 and 5, 1954, he was ordained hierodeacon and hieromonk by Abp. Boris, Exarch of the Russian Patriarchate in Europe. His priestly work took place at two Orthodox churches in Paris, Three Hierarchs and the Church of our Lady the Joy of Those who Sorrow. In 1960, Abp. Peter was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite. On September 12, 1968, the feast of St. Alexander Nevsky at the former St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery (Lavra) in St. Petersburg (then called Leningrad), Abp. Peter was consecrated Bishop of Chersonese. Participating at that consecration were the Metropolitan of Leningrad, Nikodim (Rotov) and Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh.

As bishop, he was a member of the mother Church which granted autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in America. In 1979, he was invited to come to the young autocephalous church by His Beatitude Metropolitan Theodosius. He was designated as an auxiliary bishop to the Metropolitan, with the title of “Bishop of Brooklyn