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Dcn. Philip then came to the country where he would embark upon his life's work—the United States. At first, he continued his theological studies at [[Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts)|Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology]], Brookline, Massachusetts (1956), but left in 1956 to earn a B.A. in History at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan (1956-1959), serving at nearby St. George Church (also in Detroit) as a [[deacon]].
In 1959, he was ordained to the holy [[priest|priesthood]] on [[March 1]] by Metropolitan [[Antony Anthony (Bashir) of New York]] and appointed to pastor St. George Church in Cleveland, Ohio, where he served from 1959 to 1964. He then went on to complete his theological education at [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] in Crestwood, New York, earning the M.Div. degree in 1965.
In 1966, while still a priest and only 35 years of age, he was elected to serve as primate of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|North American archdiocese]] of the [[Church of Antioch]]. In June of that year, he was elevated to the rank of [[archimandrite]] by Metropolitan [[Elias (Kurban) of Tripoli]]. On [[August 14]], 1966, he was consecrated to the sacred [[bishop|episcopacy]] and made an [[archbishop]] at St. Elias Monastery in Lebanon, performed by Patriarch [[Theodosius VI (Abou Rjeily) of Antioch|Theodosius VI of Antioch]]. His enthronement as Metropolitan of New York was held in New York on [[October 13]] of that year.
