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[[Image:Met.theo.jpg|right|frame|Metropolitan Theodosius]]His Beatitude, Metropolitan '''Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington''', was the [[primate]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]] (OCA) from 1977 until 2002.
Metropolitan Theodosius was born in Canonsburg, PA in 1933 to immigrant parents from Galicia, in what is today the southeastern corner of Poland. After completing undergraduate studies at Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, PA, he enrolled in [[Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary]], New York, from which he received a Master of Divinity degree in 1960. He spent the next year pursuing additional studies at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, touring the [[Holy Land]], and visiting Orthodox Christian centers throughout Europe and the Middle East.
Upon returning to the US in 1961, he took [[monasticism|monastic]] vows and was [[ordination|ordained]] to the [[diaconate]] and [[priest]]hood. From 1961 through 1966 he served as [[rector]] of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Church, Madison, IL and as an assistant military [[chaplain]].
In 1967 he was elected and consecrated to the episcopacy as [[Auxiliary bishop|Auxiliary]] to the [[Metropolitan]] and [[Bishop]] of Washington DC and as administrator of the [[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Diocese of Alaska]] effective [[June 1]], 1967. On [[November 17]], 1967 the Great Council of Bishops elected him as the diocesan Bishop of Sitka and Alaska. He was consecrated a [[Bishop]] on [[May 6]], 1967. During his tenure in Alaska he oversaw the rebuilding of historic [[Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel (Sitka, Alaska)|Archangel Michael Cathedral]], Sitka, AK, which had been destroyed by fire. He also initiated regional conferences throughout the diocese and encouraged the establishment of a variety of educational programs and conferences.
In May 1970, as Bishop of Alaska, he headed the OCA's delegation which traveled to Moscow to receive the Tomos, or proclamation, of [[autocephaly]] from the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]. The [[Tomos]] guaranteed the right of self-governance for the Orthodox Church in America. Shortly thereafter, he hosted ceremonies in Alaska marking the [[canonization]] of one of the original Orthodox [[Missionary|missionaries]] to Alaska, the Elder [[Herman of Alaska|Herman]]. The event was significant in that it marked the first time a North American had been entered into the Orthodox calendar of saints.
title=Bishop of Washington DC (OCA)|
years=1967|
after=''unknown''[[Dmitri (Royster) of Dallas|Dmitri (Royster)]]}}
{{succession|
before=[[Amvrossy (Merejko)of Pittsburgh|Amvrossy (Merejko)]]|
title=Bishop of Sitka and Alaska (OCA)|
years=1967 - 1972 |
after= [[Gregory (Afonsky) of Sitka|Gregory (Afonsky)]]}}
{{succession|
before= Amvossy Amvrossy (Merejko)|
title=Archbishop of Pittsburgh (OCA)|
years=1972 - 1977 |
after= ''unknown'' [[Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh|Kyrill (Yonchev)]]}}
{{succession|
before= [[Ireney (Bekish) of New York|Ireney (Bekish)]] |
title=Archbishop of New York, <br>Metropolitan of All America and Canada (OCA)|
years=1977-1981|
after=[[Peter (L'Huillier) of New York|Peter (L'Huillier)]]}}
after= [[Seraphim (Storheim) of Ottawa|Seraphim (Storheim)]]}}
{{succession|
before=—[[Basil (Rodzianko) of San Francisco|Basil (Rodzianko)]]<br><font size="-2">''Archbishop of Washington''</font>|title=Archbishop of Washington, <br> Metropolitan of All America and Canada (OCA)|
years=1981-2002|
after= [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]]}}
{{end box}}
[[Category:Bishops of Washington]]
[[Category:Bishops of Sitka]]
[[Category:Bishops of Pittsburgh]]
[[Category:Bishops of New York]]
[[Category:Bishops of Ottawa]]
[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:20th-21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Metropolitans of the OCA]]
[[Category:St. Vladimir's Seminary Graduates]]
