Eastern Liturgical Family: Orthodoxy

★226 ★

African Orthodox Church

℅ Rt. Rev. Donald A. Smalls
3010 NW 211th St.
Miami, FL 33169

The African Orthodox Church was founded in 1921 following the consecration of Alexander McGuire (1866–1934) as a bishop by Abp. Joseph Rene Vilatte of the American Catholic Church. The ceremony culminated a long search by McGuire, an African American, for recognition for his ministry. McGuire had joined the Episcopal Church in 1895 and was ordained two years later. He served parishes in Cincinnati, Richmond, and Philadelphia before becoming the archdeacon for the Commission for Work Among the Colored People under William Montgomery Brown, the Bishop of Arkansas. In 1911, he became field secretary for the American Church Institute, but two years later left the country for his native Antigua. He remained there for five years as a pastor. Then in 1918 he moved to New York City to participate in the movement led by Marcus Garvey, and the following year left the Episcopal Church to find his own congregation, the Good Shepherd Independent Episcopal Church.

McGuire seems to have settled on the idea of a separate black church with a recognized apostolic succession. He finally obtained that from Vilatte, and upon his return from his consecration was enthroned as the first bishop of the new African Orthodox Church. The new jurisdiction grew quickly, and within two years had parishes in Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, New Haven, and outside the country in Nova Scotia, Cuba, and Santa Domingo, and soon afterwards congregations in Philadelphia, Boston, Florida, and the Bahamas were added. He also initiated an order of deaconesses. Its major appeal was to African Americans of West Indian heritage.

McGuire died in 1934 and was succeeded by William E. J. Robertson. In the wake of the passing of the leadership, the church went through a period of turmoil and several schismatic churches, all now defunct, emerged as bishops left or were suspended from office. However, the time of trouble passed and Robertson remained in the archbishop's throne until his death in 1962. He was succeeded by Richard Grant Robinson (served 1962–1967). Among Robinson's major accomplishments was the reunion he effected with the last remaining group that had left a generation before, the Holy African Church, then under the leadership of Gladstone St. Clair Nurse. Nurse succeeded Robinson as the archbishop of the reunited African Orthodox Church.

Nurse was succeeded in 1976 by William Miller (served 1976–1981) and Stafford Sweeting, the current archbishop.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Newman, Richard. "The Origins of the African Orthodox Church." In The Negro Churchman. Millwood, NY: Krause Reprint Co., 1977.

Terry-Thompson, A. C. The History of the African Orthodox Church. N.p.: 1956. 139 pp.

Trela, Jonathan. A History of the North American Old Roman Catholic Church. Scranton, PA: The Author, 1979. 124 pp.

★227 ★

African Orthodox Church of New York and Massachusetts

(Defunct)

The African Orthodox Church of New York and Massachusetts was founded in the mid-1930s by Reginald Grant Barrow (1889–1979), a bishop in the African Orthodox Church. Barrow had been born in Barbados but migrated to the United States, where he became one of the founding members of the African Orthodox Church in 1921. In 1925 Barrow became the fourth bishop of the church. In 1934 Abp. George A. McGuire died and was succeeded by Bp. William E. J. Robertson. Robertson resided in Miami, Florida, where the church was incorporated. Church affairs in New York, where the church had its greatest strength, were placed in the hands of Frederick A. Toote, the vicar general. Barrow, Toote, and two bishops, Arthur Stanley Trotman and Robert Arthur Valentine, moved to take control of the church in the northeast by founding a separate jurisdiction, which they called the African Orthodox Church of New York and Massachusetts.

A short time after the founding of the new church, Barrow had a falling out with Trotman, who left to found the African Orthodox Church, Inc. Archbishop Robertson moved legally against both Barrow and Trotman, and in 1938 the court ruled that they were illegitimately using the name African Orthodox Church. Trotman renamed his group the Holy African Church. Barrow soon patched up his differences with Trotman, and his jurisdiction was absorbed into the Holy African Church, which eventually reunited into the African Orthodox Church in 1964.

Sources:

Terry-Thompson, A. C. The History of the African Orthodox Church. N.p.: the author, 1956.

★228 ★

African Orthodox Church of the West

℅ G. Duncan Hinkson
St. Augustine's African Orthodox Church
5831 S. Indiana St.
Chicago, IL 60637

In 1984 Bishop G. Duncan Hinkson, a physician and pastor of St. Augustine's African Orthodox Church, on the southside of Chicago, left the African Orthodox Church and formed a new jurisdiction. While following the teachings and ritual of its parent body, it is administratively independent. Bishop Hinkson consecrated Bishop Franzo King to lead work in San Francisco.

Membership: In 1992, the church had two parishes, one in Chicago and one in California with several hundred members.

Periodicals: Expression. Available from One Mind Temple, 351 Divisadero St., San Francisco, CA 94117.

★229 ★

Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America

517 E. Broadway
Boston, MA 02127

The Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America can be traced to 1908, when the first Albanian parish in the U.S. was established in Boston. In the same year, an Albanian-American immigrant, Fan Stylin Noli, was ordained to the priesthood by Metropolitan Platon of the Russian Orthodox Church in America. Father Noli returned to Albania in 1920 where he had a prominent political career, eventually becoming prime minister. He became a bishop in 1923, but in 1930, he returned to the United States and organized the American parishes into the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America. The archdiocese remained in communion with the Church in Albania until after World War II when a Communist government hostile to the Church took control of the country, and, in the eyes of the archdiocese, subverted the leadership of the Church. While retaining orthodox belief and practice, the Archdiocese became independent. Noli was succeeded by Bishop Stephen Lasko who led the Archdiocese into the Orthodox Church in America in 1971. Metropolitan Theodosius is currently the episcopal administrator.

Membership: In 2002 the archdiocese reported 13 parishes, 5,000 members and 15 priests.

Periodicals: The Vineyard (Vreshta). Send orders to 5490 Main St., Trumbull, CT 06611.

★230 ★

Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America

6455 Silver Dawn Ln.
Las Vegas, NV 89118

In 1950 His Grace Bishop Mark I. Lipa came to the United States with authority from the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople to organize the Albanian faithful. The following year he formed the Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America. It is a member of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas. Bishop Mark died on March 23, 1982.

Membership: In 2001 the diocese reported 2 parishes, 1,300 members, and 2 clergy.

★231 ★

All Faiths Ecumenical Diocese of the South and Southwest

℅ Mt. Rev. Leo E. Rondeau
1204-1206 House St.
El Paso, TX 79903

The All Faiths Ecumenical Diocese of the South and Southwest was founded by Bp. Leo E. Rondeau, who was consecrated in 1985 by Bp. Francis Joseph Ryan of the Ecumenical Orthodox Catholic Church-Autocephalous. Rondeau had originally been consecrated by Charles David Luther of the Western Orthodox Church. Rondeau is assisted by Bp. Raymond Hefner, his auxiliary, also ordained by Luther and consecrated by Ryan.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990.

★232 ★

American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church

312 Garfield St.
Johnstown, PA 15906

The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church was founded in the 1930s by a group of former members of the Roman Catholic Church who had migrated to the United States from Carpatho-Russia. Carpatho-Russia had been forcefully converted from Eastern Orthodoxy to the Roman Catholic Ruthenian Rite by a series of rulers who basically followed the Latin Rite. Once in the United States, a process of further Latinizing Ruthenian Rite parishes began. Among other issues, attempts were made to curtail the assignment of married priests to American parishes.

As early as 1891, a Carpatho-Russian Catholic parish sought to return to Eastern Orthodoxy. It was soon joined by others. Then in 1936, approximately forty parishes which had left Roman jurisdiction organized and selected Orestes P. Chornock as their leader. The next year they designated him their bishop-elect and turned to the ecumenical patriarch in Constantinople for recognition. In 1938 the patriarch consecrated Chornock and authorized the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese as an independent body. In 1966 the patriarch elevated Chornock to the dignity of a metropolitan. The present ruling bishop is the Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko.

The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church is an independent autonomous body directly under the authority of the ecumenical patriarch. It has a working relationship with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, whose archbishop is the exarch of the patriarch. The archbishop intercedes when the appointment of a new bishop is requested by the church and has the task of consecrating him. The church is at one with Eastern Orthodox faith and practice, though its liturgy still retains a few minor peculiarities reflective of its Roman Catholic history. The church is a member of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas.

Membership: In 2002, the church reported 78 parishes, 100,000 members, and 92 priests.

Educational Facilities: Christ the Savior Seminary, Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Periodicals: Cerkovny Vistnik–Church Messenger. • A.C.R.Y. Annual. Send orders to 211 W. Grand Ave., Rahway, NJ 07065.

Sources:

Barringer, Lawrence. Good Victory: Metropolitan Orestes Chornock and the American Carpath-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese. Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1985.

Roman, Jaroslav. "The Establishment of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese in 1938: A Major Carpatho-Uniate Return to Orthodoxy." St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 20 (1976):158.

★233 ★

American Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church

4977 N. Chippewa Rd.
Coleman, MI 48618-0000

The American Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church was founded in 1977 by a group of clergy and laity who were Orthodox in faith but who wished to escape the national and political bigotry that they felt characterized the life of the older ethnic Orthodox churches. The group constituted a synod and elected Fr. Martin de Porres as their bishop. He was consecrated on January 29, 1977, by Most Rev. Thomas Ephraim (the ecclesiastical name of Bishop Dennis Smith) of the Reformed Orthodox Catholic Church and Bishop R. Michael Chaffee of the Byzantine Ecumenical Catholic Church. The church was incorporated in 1980 as the Christist Orthodox Catholic Church, but officially changed its name in 1982. The same year, the church sent a letter and papers to the ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios I, the spiritual head of the Eastern Orthodox communion, seeking to come under his jurisdiction. A Holy Antimensia (blessing) was received in return but, to date, no action has been taken on the church's request for union with the Ecumenical Patriarch.

In 1984, the American Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church aligned itself with the Western Orthodox Catholic Church of California headed by Metropolitan Martin J. Hill. Later that year, following concern being raised about the consecration of Bishop Martin de Porres by only two bishops (instead of the usual three demanded in Orthodox lineages), de Porres was consecrated sub conditione by Patriarch Andre Barbeau (Andre I), head of the Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada, assisted by bishops Andre Letellier and Bruce Rodgers. In 1990 the union between the Western Orthodox Catholic Church of California and the American Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church came to an end.

The American Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church is Orthodox in faith and practice. It accepts the teachings of the seven ecumenical councils. There are two dioceses, one in Michigan where Bishop de Porres resides, and one in southern California under the leadership of R. Michael Cullinan. Besides its parishes in southern California, the church has established St. Francis of Assisi Orthodox Mission and the Queen of Peace Orthodox Center, an ecumenical project working for world peace and brotherhood, in Alger, Michigan (near Flint). There is also a parish in Detroit, Michigan, and a mission in Seattle, Washington, with a ministry to people with AIDS. Women are welcomed into the ministry of the church which will ordain them to the office of deacon.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Queen of Peace Orthodox Newsletter.

Sources:

The American Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church: A Brief History. Alger, MI: American Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, 1994, 50 pp.

★234 ★

American Eastern Orthodox Church

(Defunct)

Since the second century, India has had Eastern Orthodox churches that call themselves Mar Thomas churches. They claim that St. Thomas the Apostle founded them. In the 1930s the Church of England was India's state church. When the Christian Missionary Society of the Church of England attempted to convert members of the Mar Thomas churches, a controversy arose. One of its results was that Bishop Anthony Devan left India and came to the U.S. to locate members of the Mar Thomas churches residing there. He succeeded in locating a few families, and he ordained four priests, thus establishing the American Eastern Orthodox Church. It continues the tradition of the Mar Thomas Christians. It is one in faith and practice with the Orthodox churches. St. Thomas is honored on the Sunday after the Resurrection (Easter), July 19 (his birthday), and October 19 (anniversary of his martyrdom). The Liturgy of St. Basil is used.

Membership: In 1973 there were 5 parishes, 5 mission stations and 1,240 members.

Sources:

Following Christ in the American Eastern Orthodox Church. Las Vegas, NV: St. George Monastery, 1967.

★235 ★

American Exarchate of the True (Old Calendar) Orthodox Church of Greece

c/o Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies
St. Gregory Palamas Monastery
PO Box 398
Etna, CA 96027-0398

Alternate Address: International headquarters: c/o His Eminence, the Most Reverend Cyprian, Metropolitan of Oropos and Fili, Bishop-Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saints Cyprian and Justina, T Th. 46006, 133 10 Ano Liosia, Greece.

The Old Calendar movement in the Greek Orthodox Church had its inception in 1924, when the State Church of Greece, which had hitherto followed the Old or Julian Calendar–a calendar that continues to be followed by the overwhelming majority of Orthodox Christians throughout the World–adopted the Gregorian Calendar. Refusing to accept this innovation, hundreds of thousands of the faithful walled themselves off from communion with the state (new calendar) church, in the hope that they might thereby exert pressure on the Hierarchy to restore the traditional calendar.

One issue that has divided the movement since its separation from the state church is whether any saving Grace (i.e., the efficacious Mysteries) remains in the Church of Greece. The Old Calendarists under Metropolitan Cyprian are the only group acknowledging that such Grace does exist in the state church, in spite of the fact that, in their view, this church has seriously compromised its integrity by actively participating in what the Old Calendarists see as relativistic excesses that characterize much of the contemporary ecumenical movement.

The monastery founded and headed by Metropolitan Cyprian had originally belonged to the state church, but returned to the Julian Calendar in 1967 and broke communion with the New Calendar Church two years later, accepting the authority of the Old Calendarist hierarchy. Metropolitan Cyprian was consecrated in to Episcopacy in 1979. The Old Calendar movement in Greece was disrupted in the early 1980s, and the various factions reorganized themselves into independent groups. The more moderate groups accepted Metropolitan Cyprian as their leader. The Synod of Bishops under Metropolitan Cyprian, the Holy Synod in Resistance, hopes for a future reunion with the state church, viewing a return on the part of the latter to the Julian Calendar and a decisive withdrawal from the ecumenical movement as necessary conditions for the restoration of ecclesiastical communion. In addition to its parishes in Greece, the Holy Synod in Resistance has churches and missions in Austria, Sweden, Italy, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, South Africa, and Australia. Its work in the United States and Canada is based at St. Gregory Palamas Monastery and the Convent of St. Elizabeth the Grand Duchess of Russia, both in Etna, California, where the church's American Exarchate is located. The Holy Synod in Resistance maintains communion with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and the True (Old Calendar) Orthodox Churches of Romania and Bulgaria.

Membership: In 2002 the church reported 1,000 members, with ten parishes, three monastic communities, and thirteen priests in the United States, and one parish and two priests in Canada.

Educational Facilities: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, Etna, California.

Periodicals: Orthodox Tradition.

Sources:

Chrysostomos, Archimandrite, with Hieromonk Ambrosios and Hiero-monk Auxentios. The Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Greece. Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1991.

"Greek Old Calendarists in the U.S.A.: An Annotated Directory." Orthodox Tradition 2, 2 (1985): 49-61.

★236 ★

American Hebrew Eastern Orthodox Greek Catholic Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The American Hebrew Eastern Orthodox Greek Catholic Church is a small Orthodox jurisdiction founded by Bp. Gregory Voris following his consecration by Bp. Robert Marshall of the Evangelical Catholic Church on December 21, 1963. Marshall had originally consecrated Voris in 1957, but in 1963 they participated in a ceremony in which they mutually exchanged consecrations. Also associated with Voris are Bps. David R. Vashon, James Griffis, Ronald I. Bessler, and Kenneth L. Hite.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990.

★237 ★

American Holy Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church

(Defunct)

The American Holy Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church was incorporated in 1933 under the leadership of Cyril John Clement Sherwood, popularly known by his ecclesiastical name, Clement I. His Holiness Clement I had previously belonged to the Benedictine community founded by Archbishop W. H. Francis Brothers of the Old Catholic Church in America. In 1927, however, he received priestly orders from Archbishop Frederick E. J. Lloyd of the American Catholic Church and three years later was consecrated by Bishop William F. Tyarks of the African Orthodox Church. He was then reconsecrated in 1932 by Bishop George A. McGuire of the American Catholic Orthodox Church, and throughout the rest of his life he considered this latter consecration as his true one.

The American Holy Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church followed Eastern Orthodox faith and practice, but it was established as a completely autocephalous jurisdiction, autonomous of all foreign bishops and church bodies. Headquarters of the church were established in Sts. Peter and Paul Church in New York City. For a while Clement issued a periodical, The Voice of the Community. Clement founded a coalition of various independent orthodox and catholic bishops, the Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America. Clement died in 1969. Following his death, leadership of the Patriarchate passed to Archbishop George A. Hyde of the Orthodox Catholic Church of America. In succeeding years, the already weakened organization ceased to exist (though it has recently been re-established by Archbishop Alfred Louis Lankenau) who succeeded Hyde as head of the Orthodox Church in America. At the same time, the American Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Eastern Church was received into the Orthodox Catholic Church in America as its Eastern Rite Diocese, and it ceased to exist as a separate body.

★238 ★

American National Catholic Church (Bridges)

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The American National Catholic Church was founded in 1976 by Richard W. Bridges, whose episcopal orders were conferred in 1980 by Bishops Gregory Voris, C. Engel, and Hans Kroneberg. It adheres to the faith of the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the Three Ecumenical Creeds, and it is designed to use both Eastern and Western rites. While not open to ordaining females to the priesthood, it is open to receiving homosexuals into Holy Orders. Through the 1980s, the church was known as the American Independent Orthodox Church but adopted its present name around 1990. Archbishop Bridges attained some fame in 1990 when he consecrated Fr. George A. Stallings as the bishop of the African-American Catholic Congregation.

Membership: Not reported.

★239 ★

American Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church

PO Box 8041
Charlotte, NC 29202-8041

The American Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church was founded in 1922 by Abp. Vladimir Sehorn, formerly a bishop of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America. Sehorn had been consecrated in 1987 by Apb. Dennis Garrison, then THEOCACNA's Primate-Metropolitan. The new church follows Orthodox faith and practice, the issues involved in its establishment being administrative.

Membership: Not reported.

★240 ★

American Orthodox Catholic Church (Healy)

(Defunct)

One of the several jurisdictions formed by clergy who were with Archbishop Walter A. Propheta's American Orthodox Catholic Church, this jurisdiction of the same name was formed by Bishop Lawrence Pierre, formerly the Auxiliary Bishop for New York and the Eastern States. It continued the beliefs and practices as well as the name of Propheta's Church, being bi-ritualistic (i.e, it allowed both Eastern and Western liturgies be used in its parishs' worship services). Archbishop Pierre was succeeded by Archbishop Patrick J. Healy as primate. Upon the death of Healy in 1984, the jurisdiction dissolved.

★241 ★

American Orthodox Catholic Church (Irene)

851 Leyden St.
Denver, CO 80220

The American Orthodox Catholic Church (Irene) was founded in 1962 and incorporated three years later. Its presiding head is a female-bishop known only as Archbishop Irene, consecrators unknown. Spokesperson of the Church is Bishop Emeritus Milton A. Pritts, who had been consecrated by Archbishop Walter A. Propheta of the American Orthodox Catholic Church.

The church is orthodox in faith and practice, accepting the forms presented in the Service Book edited by Isabel Florence Hapgood, and the principles enuciated in such standard orthodox volumes as Fr. John Meyendorff's The Orthodox Church. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is used. It differs in the following: 1) It would consider otherwise qualified women and homosexuals for the priesthood; and 2) It believes that apostolic succession is not necessary to the establishment of a valid church or ministry. A resolution passed by the Grant Synod of the Church, January 6, 1979 stated, "We now hold with the Churches of England, Sweden, Congregational, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Christian Scientists, and others who are determined to revive lay selection and authority of the congregation to avoid the further creation of hierarchies."

Although renouncing the necessity of apostolic succession and the idea of building further hierarchies, the church has claimed to have a ministry with valid apostolic episcopal orders and claims to have built an elaborate hierarchy. The jurisdiction, divided into 53 dioceses, is spread over all of North America. Apart from Bishop Pritts, the names of Church officers and bishops and the addresses of their diocesan headquarters have not been available for publication.

Membership: Not reported. There is some doubt as to the size of this Church in light of the unverifiable nature of its claims and the inability to locate any parishes associated with Bishop Pritts or Archbishop Irene.

★242 ★

American Orthodox Catholic Church (Kochones)

810 E. Walnut St.
Pasadena, CA 91101

The American Orthodox Catholic Church was founded in 1969 as the Church of God in the Lord Jesus Christ by Bishop Steven A. Kochones (1931-). Kochones was raised as a member of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, but left the jurisdiction as a young man. In 1956 he was ordained as a minister in the Independent Assemblies of God, a Protestant church of pentecostal faith, after he had experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in tongues. After some years as a pentecostal minister, Kochones was drawn back to his Orthodox heritage and in 1967 accepted ordination as an Orthodox priest by Archbishop Walter A. Propheta of the American Orthodox Catholic Church (Propheta).

In 1969 he established the Church of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, an independent church in fellowship with the American Orthodox Catholic Church (Propheta). It combined Orthodox faith with pentecostal piety and some insights from messianic Judaism. Kochones developed a system of seven sacraments and seven sacramentals. The seven sacraments were baptism and confirmation, confession and absolution, holy eucharist and holy communion, ministry and priesthood, marriage and home life, private and public prayer, and preaching and teaching. The seven sacramentals were: bowing/kneeling to pray/praise; choruses, hymns, and psalms in singing; clapping or uplifted hands in prayer; dancing and singing in the Holy Spirit; music and drama; making the sign of the cross and smiting the breast; and tongues, prophecy, and interpretation. The church used Jewish symbols such as the Star of David in its iconography, and speaks of God as Yahweh. It acknowledged the continuing validity of the seventh-day sabbath, and services are held on both Saturday and Sunday.

The church observes the biblical dietary laws as found in Leviticus. Women, otherwise meeting ordination requirements, may be ordained to the priesthood.

In 1979, following a burglary at the headquarter's church in Pasadena, at which time the corporation papers and seal were stolen, the church's name was changed (for legal reasons) to the Catholic Church of God. The church's symbol combined a latin cross, a star of David, and the Jewish seven-stemmed candelabra. The name chosen also reflected a trend within the church to bring it more in line with the perceptions of the historical and ancient church being made by Kochones. Included in this trend was a new emphasis on apostolic succession, and Kochones began to seek consecration as a bishop. He was consecrated in 1980 by Bishop David Baxter of the Orthodox Church of America.

In 1989 The Catholic Church of God changed its name to the American Orthodox Catholic Church, though it remains separate from the jurisdiction of the same name of late founded by Archbishop Propheta.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Orthodox Messenger.

Sources:

The Christian Liturgy. Pasadena, CA: Church of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, 1977. 9 pp.

The Feast of Passover. Pasadena, CA: Church of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, n.d. 8 pp.

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990. 524 pp.

★243 ★

American Orthodox Catholic Church (Propheta)

Current address not obtained for this edition.

History. The American Orthodox Catholic Church was incorporated in 1965 by Walter A. Propheta (1912-1972), a former Ukrainian Orthodox priest. In 1964 he was consecrated to the episcopacy by Archbishop Theoklitos of Salamis of the Old Calendar Greek Jurisdiction, Greece. The following year he was elevated to archbishop by Archbishop Theodotus and Archbishop Joachim Souris, Old Calendar Greek Jurisdiction, United States. He continued with the task of building an independent and indigenous American Orthodoxy as already initiated by his direct predecessor The Most Rev. Aftimios Ofiesh, Archbishop of Brooklyn, who in 1927 received canonically and formally from the Synod of Bishops of the American Dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church the mandate to initiate an American Orthodox Catholic Church. As Archbishop and Patriarch Wolodymyr I (as Propheta was ecclesiastically known), he ordained and consecrated a number of clergymen who became part of his jurisdiction. Some of them left the jurisdiction and founded their own autonomous groups and others were received into different jurisdictions as a result of the struggle for the control of the church after Propheta's death.

Archbishop John A. Christian (d. 1984), consecrated to the episcopacy and elevated to archbishop by Archbishops Propheta, Theodotus, and Souris, was elected and enthroned as Propheta's successor in a synod held in 1972.

Archbishop Dom Lorenzo O.S.B., was consecrated to the episcopacy on 1977 by the Most Rev. Ryzy-Ryski, Archbishop of New England and New Hampshire and by the Most Rev. Lawrence Pierre, Archbishop of New York, both of the American Orthodox Catholic Church jurisdiction. Archbishop Christian, on 1978, just before his retirement, elevated him to Archbishop for the Metropolitan See of New York, and appointed him as Apostolic Administrator of the Jurisdiction. The American Orthodox Catholic Church Holy Synod, in 1982, ratified and approved this appointment and confirmed him as the Metropolitan Primate of the Church.

Beliefs. The American Orthodox Catholic Church is Orthodox in doctrine and follows the decrees of the seven Ecumenical Councils. It adheres to the Nicene Creed and requires only adherence to the traditional Orthodox text. It allows the Western text to be used if the disputed filioque clause is understood in an Orthodox sense of a single procession. (Note: The filioque clause, "from the Son," was added to the Nicene Creed by the Roman Catholic Church and is generally not used in Eastern Orthodox Churches. It refers to a complicated theological argument concerning the relation of the Holy Spirit to the Trinity.) The church professes that charity, godliness, and truthfulness are more important than strict doctrinal definitions. A variety of rites are allowed, though the Eastern is most frequently used.

Organization. The church follows an episcopal polity and is governed by the Primate and the Holy Synod. The practice of a celibate clergy is by and large maintained, but secular deacons and priests may be married before ordination. (Special dispensations for marriage after ordination may be granted by the Holy Synod.) On disciplinary issues, the church follows the canons of the Ecumenical Councils.

Membership: In 1992 the church reported five congregations and two monasteries in the United States, a European Exarcate with several congregations in Italy, and a Latin-American Exarcate with several churches in Brazil and Argentina. Membership is estimated to be several thousand.

Educational Facilities: God's Benevolence Institute, Spokane, Washington.

Remarks: Among the most active centers of the American Orthodox Catholic Church has been God's Benevolence Institute headed by Bishop Patrick McReynolds. The institute is an interdenominational association for ancient studies and practices with the goal of establishing a monastery of "canons regular and secular," the Community of God's Benevolence. McReynolds had originally started the community after being ordained for an independent ministry by Bishop Michael A. Itkin of the Community of the Love of Christ (Evangelical Catholic). In 1975 he was consecrated by Edward C. Payne and became suffragan bishop of the Independent Catholic Church. In 1981 he left Payne and subsequently became a bishop in the American Orthodox Catholic Church.

McReynolds is one of the most educated of the independent bishops, having received his master's degree from Fordham and as of 1988 being enrolled in a Ph.D. program at UCLA. Prior to his moving to Los Angeles, California, McReynolds built the institute's work in Spokane, Washington, where there is a small congregation, God's Benevolence Orthodox Catholic Church. In 1988, there were five fellows and 25 associate fellows in the institute in Spokane and a second chapter being built in Los Angeles.

Sources:

American Orthodox Catholic Church, Ecclesiatical History. Los Angeles: Archdiocese of So. California and the Western Province, 1974.

Propheta, Walter M. Divine Liturgy for 20th Century Christians. New York: American Orthodox Church, 1966.

★244 ★

American Orthodox Church (Maryland)

PO Box 321
Monkton, MD 21111-0321

The American Orthodox Chruch was founded in 1992 by four former bishops of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America. Two of the bishops, Dennis Garrison and Paul Vincent Dolan had, at one time, been Primate-Metropolitan of THEOCACNA. The new denomination is Orthodox in faith and practice, and continues the vision an American Orthodoxy first enunciated by Abp. Aftimios Ofiesh.

As organized, the church has four dioceses: Baltimore (Mary-land), headed by Archbishop Garrison; Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), headed by Archbishop Dolan; Hickory (North Carolina), headed by Bp. D. Michael Martinat; and the Diocese of the Ozarks, headed by Bp. Victor Prentice.

Membership: Not reported.

★245 ★

American Orthodox Church (Philippines)

San Antonio, Los Vanos
Laguna 3732, Philippines

The American Orthodox Church was established in 1981 by Harold Donovan as the Orthodox American Catholic Church, Diocese of the Ozarks under a charter from the Orthodox Church of the Philippines. Donovan was originally consecrated by Bishops Howard Fris and John Kenelly of the Old Roman Catholic Church, Archdiocese of Chicago. However, in 1982, Donovan was reconsecrated by Archbishop John A. Christian of the American Orthodox Catholic Church (Propheta) in order to establish formal continuity with the original American Orthodox Church established by Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh in the 1920s. Donovan took the religious name of the late archbishop and is currently known as Archbishop Aftimios Donovan. On January 1983, Archbishop Christian, in cooperation with the Orthodox Church in the Philippines, established an exarchate known as the North American Synod of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church (shortened to its present name the following year).

The Church follows Eastern Orthodox belief and practice. The liturgy of St. Germain is used and sacraments are administered according to the American Rite of St. Germain, an abbreviated and modified formula based upon the Byzantine Rite.

The exarchate retains formal ties to both the Orthodox Church in the Philippines and the American Orthodox Catholic Church headed by Archbishop Christian. Its parish work includes two missions in Los Angeles, one to Oriental-Americans and one to Hispanic-Americans.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Seminary of the Orthodox Catholic Church in the Philippines, Manila, Philippines.

Periodicals: The Orthodox Catholic. Send orders to Box 389, Ozark, MO 65721.

Sources:

The Liturgy. Springfield, MO: American Orthodox Church, 1983.

★246 ★

American Orthodox Exarchate: Archdiocese of North America

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The American Orthodox Exarchate: Archdiocese of North America was founded in 1989 by the Most Rev. Donald L. Locke (1930-), its Metropolitan Archbishop. Archbishop Locke was ordained to the priesthood by James F. Mondok, who had left the Western Orthodox Church in America the previous year and founded Christ Catholic Orthodox Church. Locke was consecrated as a bishop in Christ Catholic Orthodox Church in February 1988. In December 1988 he was elevated to archiepiscopal status by Most Rev. Andre Barbeau of the Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada.

The Exarchate exists as an autocephalous and autonomous jurisdiction under mandate from the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. Locke is open to relationships with sister orthodox churches and has invited bishops from the Ukranian Eastern Orthodox Church (Most Rev. Ignatius Cash), Apostolic Orthodox Church of Canada (Most Rev. Renee Bergeron), and the Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada (Most Rev. Walter G. Allard).

The Exarchate includes parishes with both an Eastern and Western orientation and congregations may use either the Orthodox liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (in English) or the modified Roman Catholic liturgy. Priests may use both Eastern and Western style liturgical garments as the occasion demands.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: The St. Clement's School for Theological Studies, Maine.

Sources:

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990. 524 pp.

★247 ★

American Synod: Holy Orthodox Catholic Church

℅ Abp.
12245 E. 14th Ave., No. 110
Aurora, CO 80011

Alternate Address: The Orthodox, Byzantine, Old Calendar Diocese of Berkeley, 1671 Golden Gate Ave. 2, San Francisco, CA94115.

The American Synod: Holy Orthodox Catholic Church was established in 1969 in Denver, Colorado, by bishops of the earlier existing American Orthodox Catholic Church. The Metropolitan since the Church's inception has been the Most Rev. Colin James Guthrie. The church underwent a reorganization in 1984 and, for a brief while, took the name of the Holy Synod of Denver (1984-1986).

The church has had congregations and ministries in a number of western and midwestern states. During the 1970s, it counted among its members Abp. Bartholomew Cunningham, who was noted for his efforts to extend Orthodoxy among Americans at large and for his positive and friendly contacts with ethnic Orthodox hierarchs.

The American Synod is organized into two dioceses, the Archdiocese of Denver and the Diocese of Berkeley. The latter diocese follows the Old Calendar observance.

The church traces it episcopal orders to independent Old Calendar Greek Archbishop Christopher Contogeorge and Albanian Archbishop Theophan Noli, who in the 1940s established Orthodoxy in New England among people not traditionally or ethnically Orthodox.

Membership: Not reported. In 1992, there were parishes in California, New Mexico, and Washington, D.C.

Sources:

Guthrie, Colin J. A Brief History of the American Synod, Holy Orthodox Catholic Church. Denver, CO: Office of the Metropolitan Archbishop,1991.

★248 ★

American World Patriarchs

19 Aqueduct St.
Ossining, NY 10562

Uladyslau Ryzy-Ryski (1925-78), a Belarusan priest, was consecrated in 1965 by Archbishop Walter A. Propheta of the American Orthodox Catholic Church as the Bishop of Laconia, New Hampshire and the New England States. During this period he also met Archbishop Peter A. Zurawetzky of the Old Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America, who on November 4, 1967, in the presence of a congregation of four, elevated him to the status of Archbishop. Without leaving Propheta's jurisdiction, Ryzy-Ryski began to create archbishops-patriarchs for each national/ethnic group and, quite apart from any laity demanding leadership, to build a hierarchy which he envisioned as international in scope. The World Patriarchate was very loosely structured, and established in large part by the elevation to patriarchial status of other independent bishops not otherwise required to recognize Ryzy-Ryski's authority or come under his jurisdiction. In 1972, as one of the last acts before his death, Propheta excommunicated Ryzy-Ryski from the American Orthodox Catholic Church, an action which merely spurred the growth of the American World Patriarchs, who established patriarchs for Canada, Hungary, Germany, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Haiti, Santo Domingo, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, El Salvador, Nigeria, the West Indies, Norway, Sweden, Formosa, and the Ukraine. Only rarely were new congregations established as a result of a patriarch being named. Occasionally, the new patriarch could claim a small following.

In connection with the American World Patriarchs, Ryzy-Ryski organized the Peoples University of the Americas, an educational center designed to meet the needs of various ethnic and immigrant groups in the Bronx, New York. A well-educated man, with a good academic background, he led a faculty which offered a wide variety of courses in the humanities, and especially in English as a second language. The school also provided the World Patriarchs with a seminary.

Since the death of Patriarch Uladyslau Ryzy-Ryski in 1978, the work has continued under his brother, Archbishop Emigidius J. Ryzy, who holds the title of Apostolic Administrator of All American World Patriarchates. He is assisted by Archbishop Adam Bilecky, Patriarch II of the American World Patriarchate Archbishop Frank Barquera, and Bishop Piot Huszoza.

Membership: In 1988 the church reported 19,457 members, 17 congregations, and 54 priests in the United States. There were also one congregation and three priests in Canada. Affiliated work was to be found in 17 foreign countries. The newest work in Ryzy-Ryski homeland, Belarus. There are a reported 54,542 members worldwide.

Educational Facilities: Peoples University of the Americas, American College and Seminary, Bronx, New York.

Universidad de los Pueblos de las Americas, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

★249 ★

Anglican Catholic Byzantine Orthodox Church

260 Lauer Rd.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

The Anglican Catholic Byzantine Orthodox Church was founded in the late 1990s by Paul Victior Verhaeren and Wayne Moore Hay, both of whom had been consecrated in 1997, first by Ronald D. Nowland, a bishop in the line of Carlos Duarte Costa of the Brazilian Apostolic Catholic Church and then by Irwin R. Young, Jr., a bishop in the Old Catholic Church succession of Arnold Harris Mathew. Both bishops carried several lines of Apostolic succession. Verhaeren, now known as Stephanos I, serves as the church's patriarch and Hay as its metropolitan. Through its lines of succession the church has drawn its authority from both Eastern and Western rites. This is reflected in the several liturgies it promotes–a corrected Tridentine Mass, St. Tikhon's Mass based upon the Book of Common Prayer, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and a specially approved Gallican Liturgy.

While drawing on various traditions, the church is basically Orthodox in it use of the Nicene Creed without the filioque clause inserted by the Roman Catholic Church in the eleventh century and its adherence to the seven ecumenical councils of the undivided church. The western church has continued to hold councils, the most recent being Vatican II. It accepts seven sacraments (rather than two as held by the Anglicans and Protestants) and believes in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Great emphasis is also placed on church tradition from the seven councils and the early fathers of the church which are honored as being agreeable to Holy Scripture and the church's authority.

Authority in the Anglican Catholic Byzantine Orthodox Church is placed in its bishops as Orthodox bishops in apostolic succession. There are at present four bishops in the church. Though relative new and still in an initial growth phase, the church has established parishes in New York, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Washington, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. There is a single congregation in South Africa.

Membership: Not reported. The church has 10 parishes and missions in the United States and one in South Africa. It has a membership estimated to be in the hundreds.

Sources:

Anglican Catholic Byzantine Orthodox Church. http://www.angelfire.com/ma/marycentral/. 1 February 2002.

★250 ★

Antiochean Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

358 Mountain Rd.
Englewood, NJ 07631

In 1895, the Russian Orthodox Church began a Syrian Mission in the United States to provide spiritual guidance for Orthodox Christians from the Eastern Mediterranean basin. In 1904, the first Orthodox bishop ever consecrated in North America, Archimandrite Raphael Hawaweeny, became the bishop of the Syrian Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church. Then in 1914 Metropolitan Germanos came to the United States and began organizing Syrian churches. These two efforts paralleled each other until 1925 when an independent church was created. In 1936, Archimandrite Anthony Bashir was elected and consecrated bishop by the American Syrian churches. He became metropolitan of New York and all North America in 1940 and provided leadership for 30 years.

In the 1936 election in which Bashir was elected to the bishopric, Archimandrite Samuel David of Toledo, Ohio, polled the second highest number of votes. On the same day that Abp. Bashir was consecrated in New York, Russian bishops consecrated Samuel David as archbishop of Toledo. Abp. Samuel David was condemned and excommunicated in 1938 but then recognized the following year. The Antiochean Orthodox Archdiocese of Toledo, Ohio, and Dependencies that he led existed as a separate body until 1975.

In 1966, the Mt. Rev. Philip Saliba succeeded Bashir and became primate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of New York and All North America. Archbishop Philip has been a leader in promoting the use of English in the liturgy. He has given priority to missions and has emphasized the cause of Orthodox unity in North America and abroad.

In 1958, Archbishop Samuel David died, and hope for reunion of the two Antiochian churches emerged. Abp. Michael Shaheen succeeded Archbishop Samuel and conducted talks toward union, which were finally consummated in 1975. The new Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America selected Archbishop Philip as head of the church with the title of Metropolitan. There are four auxiliary bishops: Bishop Antoun, Bishop Joseph, Bishop Basil, and Bishop Demetri.

Membership: In 2002, the archdiocese reported 240 parishes and missions, 350,000 members, and 400 priests and deacons.

Periodicals: The Word. Send orders to 1777 Quigg Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15241-2071. • Again. Send orders to Box 106, Mt. Hermon, CA 95041.

Remarks: In February 1987, the former Evangelical Orthodox Church (EOC) was received as a body into the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, thus ending for its members a pilgrimage that began almost two decades earlier. The Evangelical Orthodox Church had its roots in the late 1960s, when a number of the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ left their positions. Some launched independent ministries; some affiliated with various independent evangelical churches. In the early 1970s seven of these leaders–Peter Gilquist, John Braun, Dick Ballew, Ken Berven, and Jack Sparks–banded together as the New Covenant Apostolic Order (NCAO).

The formation of the NCAO afforded a context for study which led to a concentrated reappraisal of a common view of Evangelical Protestant Christians that the first century church had become corrupted over the centuries until restored by Evangelicals in relatively modern times. Gathering in Chicago in 1979, the leaders of the movement announced the formation of the Evangelical Orthodox Church to supercede the NCAO and to call Evangelicals back to their historic roots. Special emphasis was placed upon ritual, a subject largely neglected in Evangelical circles. The new church immediately turned its attention to a search for valid Orthodox episcopal orders. Initial talks were held with the Orthodox Church in America. While a major obstacle was overcome when the leaders of the EOC professed their belief in the Blessed Virgin Mary as theotokos, the Mother of God, the talks eventually reached a stalemate. Finally, the EOC was able to work out an arrangement with the Antiochian Church by which the leaders dropped their designation as bishops and were reordained by Archbishop Philip.

Over the years the leaders of the EOC have written a number of books which received wide circulation within Evangelical circles. Most of these were published by Thomas Nelson, where Gilquist worked as an editor, and included Gilquist's Why We Haven't Changed the World and It Ain't Gonna Reign No More by Jon Braun. Most notable among them was The Mindbenders by Jack Sparks, an anticult book that led to a lawsuit for libel by the Local Church, one of the groups treated in the volume, and its eventual withdrawal by the publishers.

Sources:

Braun, Jon E. It Ain't Gonna Reign No More. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1978.

The Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom. Santa Barbara, CA: Evangelical Orthodox Church, Santa Barbara Diocese, n.d.

Sparks, Jack. The Mindbenders. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1977.

★251 ★

Apostolic Catholic Church of the Americas

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Apostolic Catholic Church of the Americas was founded as the American Orthodox Catholic Church in Colorado in 1962, with Robert S. Zeiger as its Archbishop of Denver and Primate. He was consecrated in 1961 by Archbishop Peter A. Zurawetzky as an Orthodox bishop for Westerners.

The Anglican Church of the Americas was found by Gordon A. Da Costa in Indiana in 1971. In 1976, a synod was held at Marion, Indiana, at which Da Costa and others became members of the American Orthodox Catholic Church. At that time, the American Orthodox Catholic Church, in order to avoid confusion with Archbishop Walter A. Propheta's church in New York, took an alternative official name, the Apostolic Catholic Church of the Americas, which became its most commonly used designation.

Da Costa was elected Archbishop Primate of the Apostolic Catholic Church of the Americas. Zeiger, who had resigned as head, was elected chancellor. There was no actual merger of the American Orthodox Catholic Church and the Anglican Church of the Americas. However, Da Costa continued parallel activities as head of the Anglican Church of the Americas for some time in order to carry out responsibilities for those of his clergy who wished to continue as members of that church.

In 1977, Zeiger resigned and submitted to the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church. As a condition for union with Rome, he was required to agree not to exercise his office as bishop or priest. In 1981, Zeiger returned to Orthodoxy. At that time, he became a cofounder of the Holy Synod of Denver in 1984. This venture floundered after a dispute in 1986. At that time, Zeiger returned to the Apostolic Catholic Church of the Americas as Archbishop ad personam of Lakewood, Colorado. Zeiger has since been arrested twice in connection with pro-life activities.

Archbishop C. F. Quinn of Dallas, Texas, was elected Archbishop Primate Coadjutor with the right of succession to Da Costa in 1986. Quinn succeeded as primate in 1988, when Da Costa could no longer serve. Da Costa died in 1991, and Quinn continues as Archbishop Primate.

The Apostolic Catholic Church of the Americas employs Western liturgy, accepts as the rule of faith the Sacred Scriptures and Divine Tradition as expressed in the writings of the church Fathers and the dogmatic degrees of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. The church makes clerical celibacy optional, even for bishops. It rejects females as candidates for the priesthood. Church property is held in lay trusteeship. The church is in the Apostolic succession; Catholic, not Protestant; Orthodox, not Roman; and American, not a foreign mission.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: The Door. Send orders to 4201 Fairmount St., Dallas, TX 75219.

Sources:

The Order of Daily Prayer. Dallas: Diocese of Texas, Apostolic Catholic Church, n.d.

★252 ★

Apostolic Orthodox Catholic Church

PO Box 1834
Glendora, CA 91740

The Apostolic Orthodox Catholic Church was founded by Bps. Richard J. Ingram and Charles Ingram, both former bishops in the Western Orthodox Church in America. Richard J. Ingram had been consecrated on June 17, 1984, by Charles David Luther, assisted by Bps. Peter Brennan and Alan Maxwell Bain. He was also consecrated sub conditione in 1988 by Bp. Luis Fernando Castillo-Mendez, assisted by several of his fellow bishops in the Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira, Josivaldo Pereira de Oliveira, Galvao Barros, and Walbert Rommel Coelho. Richard Ingram consecrated Charles Ingram on September 10, 1989, and before the end of the month, both had resigned from the WOCA. The Apostolic Orthodox Catholic Church is like its parent body in faith and practice, the differences leading to its founding being primarily administrative.

Membership: Not reported.

★253 ★

Association of Occidental Orthodox Parishes

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The use of the Western Rite in Orthodox Churches has experienced a revival during the twentieth century as Eastern Orthodoxy has flourished in the West. It has a long history, though little noticed due to the predominance of the Roman Rite. It was the opinion of some, verified by such examples as the Western Rite Vicariate within the Antiochean Orthodox Church, that Western Rite parishes do not remain Western within a predominantly Eastern Rite church body. The Orthodox Church of France is a totally Western Rite diocese founded in 1953 by Fr. Evgraph Kovalevsky and several other priests who withdrew from the Russian Orthodox Church. As priests in Lithuania they had followed a Western Rite, and Father Kovalevsky had pastored a Western Rite parish opened in 1944 in Paris. That parish became the source of several others.

After leaving the Russian Orthodox Church, the priests and their parishes affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Bishop John Maximovitch ordained several new Western Rite priests and saw to the publication of the liturgy, the old Gallican Rite according to Saint Germain, Bishop of Paris (555-576), not to be confused with the eighteenth-century occultist of the same name. The death of Bishop John led to a break with the Russian Church, and, as relations worsened, Kovalevsky, who had been consecrated in 1964, led his followers in forming an autonomous diocese. But he died in 1970 without having a successor consecrated. Finally, in 1972, the Patriarch of Romania agreed to consecrate Pere Gilles Hardy as the new bishop of the Orthodox Catholic Church of France. He is known as Bishop Germain. The Western Rite was reintroduced to America by Fr. Stephen Empson who founded a parish in New York City. In 1981 he organized the Association of Occidental Orthodox Parishes to further promote Western Rite Orthodoxy.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Unofficial: Axios. Send orders to 800 S. Euclid St., Fullerton, CA 92632.

★254 ★

Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of the Americas and Europe

(Defunct)

The Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of the Americas and Europe was founded in 1934, according to the church seal. Its bishop was Joachim Souris, who was consecrated in 1951 by Abp. Joseph Klimovich of the Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America, assisted by several others. At that time, he also joined Klimovich as a member of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America. In 1967 he associated with the rival Holy Synod of the Orthodox Catholic Churches of the Americas and Europe founded by Peter A. Zurawetzky.

As of the mid-1970s, the single Diocese of Brooklyn and New Jersey of the church consisted of one small parish/mission, the Church of St. Fanourios and Sts. Anargyroi, located in Newark, New Jersey.

★255 ★

Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church is an independent Orthodox jurisdiction founded by Mt. Rev. Paul W. Seese, formerly with the Western Orthodox Church in America. He had been consecrated in 1989 as a bishop by Mt. Rev. Richard J. Ingram of the Western Orthodox Church in America, assisted by Mt. Rev. Patrick M. Cronin of the Independent Catholic Church of America and Timothy W. Browning of the Byzantine Orthodox Catholic Church. The Western Orthodox Church, though an Orthodox body, follows a Western Rite, and Seese, wishing to follow an Eastern Rite, withdrew in 1991.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Pruter, Karl. The Directory of Autocephalous Bishops of the Apostolic Sucession. San Bernadino, CA: Brogo Press, 1906. 104 pp.

Ward, Gary. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit: Apogee Books, 1990. 524 pp.

★256 ★

Autocephalous Slavonic Orthodox Catholic Church (in Exile)

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Autocephalous Slavonic Orthodox Catholic Church (in Exile) dates its existence to the coming of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius to Moravia in the ninth century. Worship was established according to the Greek Orthodox Church, and in 1620 a jurisdiction of the Podcarpathian Church was founded. It was always a small jurisdiction in a predominantly Roman Catholic land. Following World War I, when Czechoslovakia declared its independence, Orthodox believers asked for their own independent church. Under the Serbian Orthodox patriarch, the church was organized in 1921, and a bishop, Gorazd Pavlik, was consecrated. However, in early 1923, the ecumenical patriarch consecrated a rival archbishop named Sabbazd. Both churches existed side by side until the Nazi occupation and World War II, during which they both disappeared. In 1946 the church reappeared under the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow who appointed an Exarch to head the small group.

Some perceived the action of the Russian patriarch to be a takeover of the Czechoslovakian church and in 1946 a group of priests and laity formed an underground church movement. In 1968, one of the leaders of this movement, Bishop Filotej, fled the country and settled in America, where he founded the Slavonic Orthodox Church. In 1968 he consecrated Bishop William Andrew Prazsky as his coadjutor archbishop, and after Archbishop Filotej's death in 1970, Archbishop Andrew became the head of the church.

Archbishop Andrew soon established communion with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in the United States of America and in 1969 accepted provisional reconsecration from Abp. Hryhorij Osijchuk (1898-1985) and Archbishop Hennadij. In 1980, the episcopal leadership of the two churches united their efforts into a single sobor, or synod, which had oversight of both churches. Archbishop Andrew stepped aside at that time in favor of Archbishop Hryhorij. In 1985, following the death of Archbishop Hryhorij, Archbishop Andrew was elected Metropolitan Archbishop of the united sobor.

Metropolitan Andrew Prazky passed away on December 16,1990. The bishop of New York, Alexis Nizza, was elected and enthroned on May 19, 1991, as Archbishop Metropolitan Primate. The leadership is shared with His Grace Efthimious Kontargiris elected as Archbishop co-adjutor the same day. The sobor of bishop withdrew from the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, though the Slavonic church, now a completely independent body, is still in communion with it. A dialogue with the Ecumenical Patriarch has begun in the hope of the eventual union of the Slavonic Orthodox Church with the mother see in Constantinople.

The Slavonic Church is Orthodox in faith and practice. The church's strength is in the Bronx where it ministers to Slavic Americans of various national backgrounds, many first generation immigrants.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Clarke, Boden. Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. San Bernardino, CA: Borgo Press, 1986.

★257 ★

Autocephalous Traditional Orthodox Catholic Church

Box 17105
St. Bernard, OH 45217

The Autocephalous Traditional Orthodox Catholic Church is a small Orthodox jurisdiction founded in 1963. It is headed by the Mt. Rev. Athanasius K. Armstrong.

Membership: Not reported. There are 41 priests in the United States and seven in Canada. Missionary branches are reported in Japan, the Philippine Islands, Russia, Poland, Singapore, Mexico, and in Africa.

★258 ★

Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church (Diocese of North and South America)

519 Brynhaven Dr.
Oregon, OH

The reestablishment of relations between the Orthodox Church in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church (Diocese of North and South America and Australia) and the resultant manifestation of that accord in the joint visitation of North American parishes in 1963 by Bishop Andrey Velichky, metropolitan of the American church and Bishop Preiman, metropolitan of Nevrokop, Bulgaria, led to major protests throughout the Church. Bishop Andrey was accused of violating the declaration made in 1947 that the Bulgarian Church in America would not accept any orders from the Church in Bulgaria. In March 1963, protesting leaders representing 18 churches and missions met in Detroit, Michigan, and reconstituted themselves as the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church (Diocese of the United States of America and Canada) and elected Archimandrite Kyrill Yonchev as their bishop.

They turned to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia for support. The Russians, also cut off from their homeland by a hostile regime, gave the new Bulgarian jurisdiction their canonical protection and their bishops consecrated bishop-elect Yonchev in 1964 at their monastery in Jordanville, New York.

The Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church differs from its parent body only in matters of administration. It lays claim to all properties belonging to the undivided Church in America though it has not been able to take control of them. It is stanchly anti-Communist.

Membership: In the mid-1970s, the church reported 21 parishes and missions.

★259 ★

Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada, and Australia

550 A, W. 50th St.
New York, NY 10019

Bulgarians arrived in the United States throughout the nineteenth century and by 1907 were numerous enough to begin establishing congregations. The first parish was formed in Madison, Illinois. Soon, the Holy Synod in Sofia established a mission to oversee their American members. Finally, in 1937, a diocese was created and Bishop Andrey Velichky came from Bulgaria as its head. Bishop Andrey returned to Bulgaria during World War II and worked on various projects among which was the handling of negotiations between the ecumenical patriarch in Istanbul and the Bulgarian patriarch which led to the healing of a 70 year-old broken relationship.

Soon after the war ended, Archbishop Andrey returned to America. In 1947 he incorporated the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of America, Canada, and Australia. The constitutional assembly meeting in March of that year realigned its relationship to the Church in Bulgaria by declaring that while it saw itself as part of the whole of Bulgarian Orthodoxy, it could not accept orders from the church leaders in Sofia as long as a Communist regime ruled their homeland. They then proceeded to formally elect Andrey as their leader. The Holy Synod reacted by declaring the election null and void. The American diocese ignored the Synod and for the next fifteen years the diocese operated independently of the church leaders in Sofia. In 1962 the church in Bulgaria recognized the Metropolia and reestablished a working relationship. In 1969 the jurisdiction was divided into two dioceses, and in 1972 Bp. Joseph Znepolski succeeded Archbishop Andrey as Metropolitan. In 1989 the two dioceses were again merged into one under Metropolitan Joseph.

The Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese follows standard Orthodox faith and practice. It is a member of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas.

Membership: Not reported.

★260 ★

Byelorussian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in the U.S.A.

℅ Archbishop Mikalay, Primate
c/o Archbishop Mikalay, Primate
Church of St. Cyril of Turau
524 St. Clarens Ave.
Toronto, ON, Canada M6H 3W7

Byelorussia, now an independent country after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, is located west of Russia, north of Ukraine, and east of Poland. A national church had been established there in 1291 under Greek jurisdiction, called the Metropolia of Kiev in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Belarus). At that time the city of Kiev was under the authority of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Subsequent elected church heads were, or Metropolitans, were Belarusans.

With time the church came under the control of the Moscow head of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1922 the Bishop of Miensk, Metropolitan Melchizedeck, called a council of clergy and laity under his leadership, and attempted to organize a Belarusans Church independent of Moscow. This action met the furious disapproval of both the communist government and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. Before long all the pro-Belarusan leaders, bishops, priests, and laity had been arrested and sent to Siberia, and the church reverted to its dependent status. During the German occupation of Belarus in 1942, the church again attempted to organize independently, but their effort ended with the defeat of the German Occupation forces.

The Belarusan Autocephalous Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. is one of two Orthodox groups serving Belarusan immigrants. It emerged among refugee Belarusans in Germany after the War. Their own bishops had turned to the Russian Church, while the clergy and laity followed the Ukrainian Church. Metropolitan Palikarp not only blessed the reorganization of the church among the Belarusans, but in 1948 granted permission for one of his bishops, Siarhej, to leave his jurisdiction and join the new church. In 1949, accompanied by his former Ukrainian colleagues, Siarhej consecrated a second bishop for the church, bishop Vasil. As the church spread among immigrants worldwide, two more bishops, Andrej (Alexander Kryt) and Mikalay (Michael Macukievic) were consecrated in 1948.

The present primate of the church is Archbishop Mikalay, elected in 1984 at a General Convention at the church in Highland Park, New Jersey. He resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Membership: Not reported.

★261 ★

Byelorussian Orthodox Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

When refugees and immigrants from Byelorussia came to the West after World War II, some organized as the Byelorussian Autonomous Orthodox Church and elected their own bishops. Others formed independent congregations and sought the canonical blessings of other Orthodox bishops. The Byelorussian Orthodox Church consists of three congregations who placed themselves under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Iakovos, head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, in his role as Exarch in America for the ecumenical patriarch. Besides the congregation in South River, New Jersey, parishes are found in Chicago and Toronto.

Membership: Not reported.

★262 ★

The Byzantine Catholic Church, Inc. (Independent Jurisdiction)

PO Box 3682
Los Angeles, CA 90078

The Byzantine Catholic Church, Inc. assumed its present form in 1984 by a merger of the Byzantine Old Catholic Church and the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, Eastern and Apostolic. The Byzantine Old Catholic Church, Inc. was an Old Catholic jurisdiction and now an Orthodox Catholic Jurisdiction whose history is intimately tied to the career of its leader, Mar Markus I, the duly elected Patriarch, in 1967.

As a child, Miller had been adopted child. In the early 1960s, he joined the North American Orthodox Catholic Church, in which he was ordained in 1964 after completing his seminary training. Mar Markus was consecrated by Christopher Maria Stanley, who was assisted by Bp. John Joseph Frewen, in Kentucky in 1965. The church was incorporated in 1964.

In 1966, Stanley commissioned him to work with the Orthodox Old Catholic Church headed by Bishop Claude Hamel in the hopes of engendering expansion and growth among the churches, but a myriad of problems ensued due to conflicts with Hamel's leadership. Thus, he separated his work from Hamel and changed the name of the jurisdiction to the Orthodox Old Roman Catholic Church II, to try to salvage some of the work for expansion in 1967, after Stanley fell ill and died. He then moved to Los Angeles, California, and in 1967, the synod of Bishops unanimously elected Mar Markus to succeed Stanley as Patriarch.

In the mid-1970s, he reorganized the church and changed the name back to the North American Orthodox Catholic Church as it was called when he was originally consecrated. During this period he was moving both theologically and liturgically away from the Old Catholicism toward Eastern Orthodoxy. In April 1975, having respectfully waited until after the deaths of his foster parents, he changed his name legally to Mark I. Miller, the name of his natural parents.

In 1981, the church reorganized again, the result being the formation of The Byzantine Old Catholic Church, Inc.. The reorganization occurred during a period of great flux in the congregations. After the new church was formed, Mar Apriam I (Archbishop Richard B. Morrill), who headed the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, Eastern and Apostolic (HOCCEA), joined with Archbishop Miller Mar Markus in the formatio of a Sacred Synod of Bishops. Mar Apriam became president of the Synod and Mar Markus vice-president and Chief Justice of the Spiritual Court of Bishops, in addition to his own juridiction.

A further merger in mid-1984 united the BOCC and the HOCCEA and led to the formation of The Byzantine Catholic Church, Inc. However, before the year was out, Morrill withdrew with approval and reconstituted the HOCCEA. Mar Markus remained as head of the The Byzantine Catholic Church, Inc. which came into full communion with the reconstituted HOCCEA, their differences being purely administrative.

The possible merger of Morrill's jurisdiction with The Byzantine Catholic Church, Inc. was again raised and in 1991 a synod was called with that idea on the agenda. However, before it could meet, Mar Apriam died. When the synod did meet, it agreed to unite the various segments of the church previously under Mar Apriam under Mar Markus.

Beliefs. The Byzantine Catholic Church, Inc. is Orthodox Catholic in faith and practice. It celebrates the Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil in the vernacular of its various jurisdictions. The church also has a growing Western Rite Vicariate which is Orthodox Catholic in creed and tridentine in liturgical practice.

Membership: In 1997 The Patriarchated reported over 500 congregations worldwide. Affiliated congregations are spread throughout the United States. Outside the United States affiliated congregations are found in Great Britain, France, Italy, Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, Haiti, South America and have a reported membership of over 100,000.

Educational Facilities: St. John's Theological Seminary, Los Angeles, California.

L'Institute Orthodoxe Ecumenique de St. Jean Chrysostome, Port au Prince, Haiti.

★263 ★

Byzantine Orthodox Catholic Church (Armstrong)

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Byzantine Orthodox Catholic Church is a small Orthodox jurisdiction founded in the 1980s by Bishop Harry C. Armstrong. On December 3, 1988, assisted by bishops of the Western Orthodox Church in America, consecrated of Timothy W. Browning as a second bishop for the church.

Membership: Not reported.

★264 ★

Byzantine Orthodox Catholic Church (St. Peters)

6329 E. 55th Pl.
Indianapolis, IN 46226-1647

The Byzantine Orthodox Catholic Church is a small Orthodox jurisdiction founded in 1986 in Cincinnati, Ohio, by Most Rev. Donald St. Peters.

Membership: In 2002, the church had 12 congregations served by 32 priests. Foreign congregations were found in Germany and the West Indies.

Sources:

Pruter, Karl. The Directory of Autocephalous Bishops of the Apostolic Succession. San Bernadino, CA: Brogo Press, 1906. 104 pp.

Ward, Gary. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit: Apogee Books, 1990. 524 pp.

★265 ★

Byzantine Universal (Catholic) and Orthodox Church of the Americas

(Defunct)

The Byzantine Universal (Catholic) and Orthodox Church of the Americas was founded in 1942 by Antoine Joseph Aneed (1881-1970), a Lebanese-American. Though never a large jurisdiction, The Byzantine American Church has played an important role among independent Catholic and Orthodox churches because of Aneed's having possessed Roman Catholic episcopal orders. As a young man, in 1909 Aneed was ordained as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church and served for a short time as secretary of the archbishop of the Melkite-Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, one of the uniate Eastern-rite churches within Roman Catholicism. He then moved to the United States and was there in 1911 when Melece Sawoya defied Pope Pius X and came to the United States on a pastoral visit to some of the Melkite parishes.

Aneed was consecrated by Sawoya on October 9, 1911, to serve as his assistant bishop. However, the Vatican did not recognize that consecration. The consecration was recognized by Sawoya's successor and by Abp. S. G. Messmer of Milwaukee, who allowed Aneed to use the title Exarch. During the 1920s, while working within the Syrian community in San Francisco, Aneed began to associate with some of the independent Catholic and Orthodox bishops on the west coast, especially E. R. Verostek of the North American Old Roman Catholic Church-Utrecht Succession and Lowell Paul Wadle of the American Catholic Church. In 1929 he moved to New London, Connecticut, to serve St. Ann's Church. He remained as St. Ann's until 1937, but at some point he left the Roman Catholic Church and in 1942 formed a separate jurisdiction.

The situation became muddled in 1944 when Aneed, in spite of carrying Roman Catholic orders, was consecrated sub conditione by Wadle and Verostek. He engaged in a second important service in 1945 when he exchanged consecrations with Wadle, Henry Joseph Kleefisch, Charles Hampton, and Wallace David de Ortega Maxey. Kleefisch, an independent Orthodox bishop then became a bishop in Aneed's church. In 1946 Aneed was named Patriarch of his church. In 1949 Aneed consecrated Nicolas Urbanovitch and assigned him as bishop of Canada.

The Byzantine Universal Church survived until Aneed's death in 1970 but soon dissolved. His influence remains in those bishops who claim to derive their apostolic authority from him.

Sources:

Aneed, Antoine Joseph. A Brief History of he Catholic Church of St. George in Milwaukee, Wis., and a Sketch of the Eastern Church. Milwaukee, WI: The Author, 1919.

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990. 524 pp.

★266 ★

Catholic Apostolic Church in America

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Though officially reconstituted in 1983, the Catholic Apostolic Church in America continues an unbroken existence from 1950 when Stephen Meyer Corradi-Scarella established an American outpost of the Catholic Apostolic Church in Brazil. The Catholic Apostolic Church in Brazil was formed in 1946 by Dom Carlos Duarte Costa, a former bishop of the Roman Catholic Church who had been excommunicated by Pope Pius XII because of his criticism of the church during World War II. Among those who Costa consecrated was Dom Luis F. Castillo-Mendez, who succeeded him as patriarch of the church in 1949. Corradi-Scarella was consecrated by Mendez in 1949 and established the church as an exarchate with headquarters in New Mexico. During the 1960s, following the death of Costa, Corradi-Scarella lost touch with the Brazilian group and began to associate with the various Old Catholics in the United States. By 1970 he called his jurisdiction the Diocese of the Old Catholic Church in America.

The church grew slowly until the 1970s. In 1973 Corradi-Scarella was joined by Francis Jerome Joachim, a priest ordained by Archbishop Bartholomew Cunningham of the Holy Orthodox Church, Diocese of New Mexico. Joachim brought an Eastern Orthodox perspective with him, in contrast to Corradi-Scarella's Catholic tradition, but soon became his chief associate. Corradi-Scarella arranged for Joachim's consecration by Archbishop David M. Johnson of the American Orthodox Church, Diocese of California, on September 28, 1974. Two months later, on December 1, 1974, Corradi-Scarella, then almost seventy years old, resigned in favor of Joachim.

Under Joachim the small jurisdiction grew, at one point having almost 100 clergy, but lost significant strength due to the defections of many to other independent jurisdictions. In 1980 Joachim renamed his jurisdiction the Western Orthodox Church in America (formerly the National Catholic Apostolic Church in America). At the request of Mendez, Joachim changed the name of the church back to the Catholic Apostolic Church of North America. In 1985, Joachim was name Primate of All North America and the church recognized as the Autocephalous Catholic Apostolic Church in Brazil in North America.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: St. John Chrysostom Theological Seminary, San Francisco, California.

St. Charles Academy of Theology, San Francisco, California.

Periodicals: Journal Apostolica.

★267 ★

Celtic Orthodox Christian Church

c/o Deaconess Elizabeth, Cele De
Box 72102
Akron, OH 44372

The Celtic Orthodox Christian Church, founded in the 1990s, is one product of the revival of interest in Celtic religious life, especially in the Christian community, in the last generation. The church sees itself as continuing the faith and practice of the Christian Church in the West prior to 1000 and it traces its history to Saint Irenaeus of Lyon (c.115-c. 202 C.E.) who resided in Gaul (modern France). Irenaeus was a student and disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna, and St. Polycarp was reputedly a student of the Apostle John. The church uses the Liturgy of the Lorrha "Stowe" Missal in its worship, the only surviving Celtic liturgy. It is also the only surviving Eucharistic liturgy according to the form used by churches of the British Isles, France, Germany, Switzerland, and northern Italy prior to 900 C.E.

Celtic churches were largely replaced by the Roman Catholic (Latin-Rite) by 1172. The suppression of the Celtic church began in England during the seventh century and was continued by Charlemagne in the ninth century. Suppression followed in Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The last stronghold, Ireland, gave way in the twelfth century following the synod of Cashel in 1172. The suppression meant that no line of apostolic succession through Celtic bishops survived into the modern era. The revived church received its apostolic succession through independent bishops representing the lineage of the Antiochean Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church.

In using the term Orthodox, the Church does not, however, identify with Eastern Orthodoxy; rather, the term "Celtic Orthodox" is interpreted to mean that the church is committed to the belief and practice of the undivided church (which split into Roman and Eastern in the eleventh century C.E.). That belief and practice is believed to have been held by the saints of the Celtic churches, whose writings are especially valued.

The church follows the belief promulgated by the seven ecumenical councils. It stands apart from both Eastern Orthodoxy and the Roman Catholic Church in its understanding of original sin that is expressed in its understanding of Mary, Jesus' mother. It uses the term Theotekos (Birthgiver of God), and understands that Mary was free from both the stain of a sinful life and the guilt inherited from Adam. In that respect, she is like all people. Original Guilt is seen as an error attributed to St. Augustine (354-430 C.E.). The idea of original guilt requires the further error of the Immaculate Conception, which posits Mary's freedom from the stain of original guilt. In contrast, the Celtic Church teaches that while original sin is a deficiency that causes individuals to tend toward sin, it does not impart guilt nor does it cut people off from God's grace. Guilt follows from sin committed by an individual.

The church does not admit women to the priesthood; however, it offers females the opportunity in the ordered religious life as a Celi De (or Culdee), a Companion or Servant of God. The Celi De serve through prayer, teaching, and/or service. They may be male or female, married or monastic. Contemporary Celi De look to St. Maelruain, who in 755 C.E. established a monastery at Tallaght. The writings of that monastery have survived, including the Rule of St. Maelruain.

The church is currently led by Abbot-Bishop Maelruain, Cele De, Metropolitan and Archbishop of Armagh. He is assisted by Bishop Timothy, Cele De, of Nashville and Glasgow, and Bishop Photius, Cara Cele De, of Iona.

It's Internet site is http://CelticChristianity.org.

Membership: Not reported. In 2002, the church reported four parishes.

Periodicals: Celtic Orthodox Christian Monthly.

Sources:

Celtic Orthodox Christian Church. http://celticchristianity.org/. 28 February 2002.

★268 ★

Charismatic Orthodox Church

St. Augustine, FL

The Charismatic Orthodox Church was founded in 1989 by Bishop Symeon John I. Born Mark D. Kersey into a family who were members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, as a young man the future bishop began a spiritual search that led him to become a Baptist pastor. From there he became influenced by Pentecostalism and found its teachings on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and modern activity of the gifts of the spirit (as mentioned by the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 12) to be both biblical and appealing. He also was led to Eastern orthodoxy by his study of church history, but found that no church accepted both his belief in charismatic gifts and Orthodoxy.

After receiving consecration as a bishop in a lineage of apostolic succession, Bishop Symeon John I founded the Charismatic Orthodox Church in 1998. The new church attempts to continue the Eastern orthodox tradition while being thoroughly charismatic. It affirms the Nicene and Apostles Creed. It is Eastern in theology and spiritual focus while allowing both Eastern and Western practice including worship formats. It attempts to blend three streams of what some call the Convergence Movement, meaning that its is Orthodox (faith), Charismatic/Liturgical (in style), and Evangelical (practice). Women may serve as deacons (evangelists, prophets, and teachers), but not as priests or bishops.

The church has a primary presence on the Internet and its bishops travel around the United States to oversee the needs of the scattered faithful. The Transformation Theological & Rabbinical Institute, the church's training school, operates primarily by correspondence through e-mail. Men may apply for ordination as a priest, bishop, monastic, or deacon.

The church is divided into four dioceses including one in West Africa. Missions are supported in China, the Czech Republic, and Belgium. The cathedral congregation in St. Augustine is currently meeting in rented facilities.

Membership: Not reported. Congregations are located in Massachusetts, Indiana, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Florida. There are parishes in several states.

Educational Facilities: Transformation Theological & Rabbinical Institute, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Augustine, Florida.

Sources:

Charismatic Orthodox Church. http://userpages.aug.com/~mdkersey/index.html. 28 February 2002.

★269 ★

Church of Greece

℅ Metropolitan Demetrios
Holy Cross Church
50 Goddard Ave.
Brookline, MA 02140

Alternate Address: International Headquarters: c/o His Beatitude Serephim, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ag Philotheis 21, GR-10556 Athens, Greece.

The Church of Greece, that is, those ancient churches in the Orthodox tradition that used Greek as their dominant language and continued a Greek heritage, operated on a territorial basis from the old patriarchates at Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Constantinople (now Istanbul). Over the centuries, each of these churches assumed jurisdiction in different territories and relinquished territories as new autonomous national churches and patriarchates were created. In the twentieth century, with the massive movements of people, the lines between jurisdictions have blurred.

In 1850, the Church of Greece was granted autonomy, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate relinquished jurisdiction over most of the country. However, he retained jurisdiction over the Americas. Thus the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America to which most Americans who are Greek Orthodox belong, is affiliated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. However, over the twentieth century, Greek immigrants who wished to remain attached to the Church of Greece have moved to America and organized a diocese. It is at one in faith and belief with all of Orthodoxy, but administratively separate.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Orthodxy. Regensburg: Ostkirchliches Institute, 1996.

★270 ★

Church of the True Orthodox Christians of Greece (Synod of Bishop Gregory)

c/o Holy Trinity Church
38-10 20th St.
Astoria, NY 11105

Alternate Address: International headquarters: The Holy Synod of the Prelacy, 22 Constantinoupoleos St., Athens 11854, Greece.

The Church of the True Orthodox Christians of Greece considers itself the one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, alone in preserving the unadulterated Apostolic Faith, continuing unbroken the Apostolic Succession, and preserving all the sacred traditions without adding to or subtracting from them. One such tradition is the church calendar, used by the church from the beginning of its history.

On March 10, 1924, supported by the revolutionary military government, the state church of Greece replaced the Old (Julian) calendar with the New papal (Gregorian) calendar. This change was implemented without the consensus of the whole church, and against prior consensus of the church reached in 1583, 1587, and 1593, at the Pan-Orthodox Synods, which forbade, condemned, and anathematized any change to the church calendar. However, the calendar change was mandated by a 1920 Encyclical of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, as a first step toward the ecumenical communion of all Christian denominations and the amalgamated unification of Orthodoxy and, in the church's view, all the heresies.

Because of this change, the new-calendar state church of Greece became schismatic and cut itself off from the Orthodox Church. The Greek Orthodox who respectfully abided by the historical church decisions regarding the calendar, and whose conscience militated against the schismatic innovation, refused all communion with the state church. In 1935 they gained episcopal oversight when three Church of Greece bishops accepted the Orthodox Confession of Faith. The three bishops quickly ordained four new bishops, among whom was Bishop Matthew of Vrestheni. However, within a few months, a significant difference of opinion arose among the Old Calendar bishops concerning the status of the state church. Metropolitan Chrysostomos released a statement saying that by adopting the Gregorian Calendar, the state church was in a position of potential schism and that, if no other heretical moves were made, it retained the grace of the Holy Spirit and valid sacraments.

Bishop Matthew steadfastly rejected Metropolitan Chrysostomos' position and cut the latter off from the main body of the Old Calendarists. He argued that the Church of Greece was in schism and that grace was no longer present in its sacraments. In 1948, two years before his death, Bishop Matthew consecrated four more bishops. The other Old Calendar factions did not recognize these consecrations, arguing that it takes more than one bishop to perform the ceremony. Nevertheless, Metropolitan Chrysostomos, who has three more bishops on his side, refused to ordain new bishops and left no successors when he died in 1955; this was seen as proof that he recognized the state church as orthodox. Moreover, two of the bishops aligned with him entered into full communion with the state church.

In 1971, Bishop Matthew's successors attempted to unite with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, on the basis of an Orthodox confession of faith, but their communion broke down when the latter violated this confession. The issue of the position of the state church continued to divide the several Old Calendar factions and even though various bishops of the other Old Calendar groups have moved toward the Matthew position, the fragmentation has not yet been overcome.

In 1995, the Church of the True Orthodox Christians of Greece defrocked Archbishop Andreas and two other bishops because of their views regarding the veneration of icons.

Membership: Not reported. Currently there are parishes in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Montreal, and Toronto.

Sources:

Chysostomos, Archimandrite, with Hieromonk Ambrosios, and Hieromonk Auxentios. The Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Greece. Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1986.

"Greek Old Calendarists in the U.S.A.: An Annotated Directory." Orthodox Tradition 2, no. 2 (1985): 49-61.

★271 ★

Community of St. James the Just

c/o Most Rev. Clyde Ramon Allee
PO Box 92497
Long Beach, CA 90809-2497

The Community of St. James the Just is an autonomous Orthodox jurisdiction formed in 1960 in Los Angeles by then Fr. Clyde Ramon Allee to serve the spiritual needs of those who could not attend a regularly scheduled Divine Liturgy due to incapacity, location, or vocation. In 1988, after Fr. Allee's consecration by Bp. Alan Bain (assisted by Bsps. John Lester Peace and Morris Saville), the community became fully self-governing. Mar Ramon traces his apostolic succession through the lineages of his consecrators from Antioch (Melkite Greek Catholic and Syrian Orthodox), Constantinople (Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox), and Rome (Utrecht Old Catholic).

Bishops, priests, and deacons now serve in Texas, California, Tennessee, Great Britain and the Philipines. Their ministries include hospitals, convalescent homes, and hospices; prisons, military, and veterans organizations; and also parish congregations. English-language translations of Eastern and Western Orthodox liturgies are used as the pastoral needs require. Dialogue with other Orthodox and Catholic jurisdictions seeking reciprocal communion is ongoing.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990. 524 pp.

★272 ★

Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church in America

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Among the several bodies claiming to carry on the mission of Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh, the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church in America can make one of the strongest cases for being the real antecedent body of Aftimios' independent jurisdiction. The first bishop consecrated by Aftimios was Bishop Sophronius Bishira in 1931. Aftimios' retirement and Bishop Joseph Zuk's unexpected death just months after his consecration by Ofiesh, left Sophronius in charge. He turned to Metropolitan Benjamin Fedchenkov of the Moscow Exarch (now the Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada), one of several warring Russian Orthodox factions, and with his blessing, consecrated John More-Moreno in 1933. Sophronius soon left the United States and More-Moreno took up the task of creating an American Orthodox church, in 1951, by forming the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church in America.

The church follows the practice of Orthodoxy in both liturgy and theology. For many years it published the influential monthly periodical, the American Review of Eastern Orthodoxy (suspended in 1980).

Membership: In 1974 the church reported 4 churches, 13 clergy, and 315 members.

★273 ★

The Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, North American Synod (EOCC)

℅ Most Rev. George Michael Jachimczyk
PO Box 15302
San Antonio, TX 78212-8502

The Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, North American Synod (EOCC) was originally founded in the 1980s as an Eastern Rite Division of the Independent Catholic Church (based in Nashua, New Hampshire), and incorporated separately in Texas in 1989 as the Independent Byzantine Catholic Church (IBCC). When the Independent Catholic Church disbanded, the IBCC affiliated with The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church of North America (THEOCACNA) based in Denver, Colorado, and took its present name. When the Denver jurisdiction also disbanded, the EOCC reformed as a new jurisdiction, independent of any other group. Most Rev. George Michael Jachimczyk was named the first bishop.

The church is at one in faith and practice with the other Eastern Orthodox churches. The founders saw the EOCC as having a special ministry to open a path of spirituality to those disenfranchised from their native (ethnic) churches without losing the tradition embodied in the rites of the church. They self-consciously tried to incorporate different practices from different churches (including the Roman Catholic) into the liturgical life. The church also adopted the Gregorian calendar (as opposed to the Julian calendar used by the more conservative Orthodox churches).

In practice, clergy are allowed to marry. The church has instituted a female deaconate. Candidates for the clergy are considered quite apart from their sexual orientation. However, the church has strict rules concerning anyone accused of molesting a minor. The church is led by its presiding bishop and administered by its Board of Directors with the presiding bishop serving as president. The church is based in a monastery in San Antonio where the religious order it supports, the Community of Divine Charity, is based. There is also a mission in Miami, Oklahoma.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

The Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, North American Synod. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/5793/. 10 May 2002.

★274 ★

Ecumenical Orthodox Christian Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Ecumenical Orthodox Christian Church was founded in 1991 with orders from the Russian and Albanian Orthodox Churches. Its leader is His Beatitude, the Most Blessed Sergius (Quilliams), who is assisted by Bps. Yuri Spaeth, Jr. (Florida) and Ignatius Cash (Erie, Pennsylvania). The Ecumenical Orthodox Christian Church is an Old Calendar church adhering to the Julian Calendar in its liturgical practice. It is strictly Orthodox, accepts the teachings of the Seven Ecumenical Councils of the third through seventh centuries, and uses an English translation of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in its celebrations. As with most Orthodox, it rejects the filioque addition to the Nicene Creed made by the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages.

The church has separated itself from most independent Roman, Old Catholic, High Anglican, and Orthodox jurisdictions in which it finds unacceptable doctrine and practice. It does not allow Western Rites within the church, and priests must wear the proper vestments, including a hat indicative of their marital status. The church's "Synodical Statutes" offer detailed instruction on the proper dress of a priest and furnishing of a sanctuary in which the liturgy is to be celebrated. It rejects the doctrines of papal infallibility, papal supremacy, and purgatory. It also rejects the idea of using unleavened bread in the Eucharist. The church adheres to the idea of Mary as theotokos (birth giver of God) and affirms Mary's holy (but not immaculate) conception, her assumption into heaven, and the role as one who can make supplication for the believer, but it rejects the title of Mary as co-redemtrix.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Holy Wisdom Correspondence Seminary, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

★275 ★

Ecumenical Orthodox Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Ecumenical Orthodox Church is a small jurisdiction founded by Bp. Stanley J. Anjulis, who was consecrated in 1986 by Bp. Denise Mary Michele Garrison of the American Orthodox Church (now the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America). He remained in Garrison's jurisdiction for only a year, although he was appointed vicar general of the church. In 1987 he left to found his independent work.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990.

★276 ★

Estonian Orthodox Church in Exile

Current address not obtained for this edition.

In 1944 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics gained political hegemony over Estonia. Primate of the Estonian Orthodox Church Archbishop Alexander fled to Sweden where he organized The Estonian Orthodox Church in Exile. The church is under the Greek Orthodox Church's ecumenical patriach in Constantinople and at one in faith and worship with the Greek Orthodox Church.

In 1949 the V. Rev. Sergius Samon established the first congregation of the Estonian Church in North America at Los Angeles. Large numbers of Estonians had come to the United States and Canada following World War II. Congregations were subsequently established in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City. Canadian parishes were established in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.

Membership: In the mid-1970s, the church reported 1,700 members in North America.

★277 ★

Evangelical Apostolic Church of North America

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Evangelical Apostolic Church of North America, formerly known as the Autocephalous Syro-Chaldean Church of North America, derives from the Ancient Holy Apostolic Catholic Church of the East through the Metropolitan of India, Mar Basilius, who in 1902, consecrated Mar Jacobus (Ulric Vernon Herford) bishop, to bring the line to England. In 1952, Mar Georgius (Hugh George de Willmott Newman) was brought into the episcopal lineage by Mar Paulus (William Stanley McBean Knight), successor to Mar Jacobus.

Mar Georgius consecrated Charles D. Boltwood bishop in 1952. In 1959, Bishop Boltwood was elevated to Archbishop of the Free Protestant Episcopal Church in England. That same year, Archbishop Boltwood consecrated John Marion Stanley bishop of Washington state, in the United States. Bishop Stanley subsequently withdrew from the Free Protestant Episcopal Church and formed the Syro-Chaldean Archdiocese of North America, taking the name of Mar Yokhannan. In 1969, Mar Yokhannan received into the Syro-Chaldean Archdiocese of North America, Mar Jacobus (James A. Gaines), who had received consecration in the Ukranian Orthodox succession.

The series of events which led to the formation of this body began at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Syro-Chaldean Archdiocese, December 13-14, 1974. The synod designated Archpriest Bertram S. Schlossberg as bishop-elect with the task of organizing a Diocese of New York. By that action, Father Schlossberg came under the direct authority of Mar Jacobus, who had received authority from the Archdiocese for the Eastern half of the United States. Together, on April 16, 1976, they incorporated their new work as the Autocephalous Syro-Chaldean Archdiocese of the Eastern United States of America. On October 31, 1976, Mar Jacobus and Mar Yokhannan consecrated Father Uzziah bar Evyon (Schlossberg). In December, the diocese of the Northeast was erected with Mar Uzziah as bishop.

On April 2, 1977, Mar Yokhannan released Mar Jacobus and Mar Uzziah from "all canonical obedience" and then withdrew from the Syro-Chaldean Archdiocese to join the Patriarchal See Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, Eastern and Apostolic, located in California. Mar Jacobus and Mar Uzziah then recognized all the work within the Eastern Archdiocese and in October 1977 incorporated the Autocephalous Syro-Chaldean Church of North America. Mar Jacobus was archbishop and Metropolitan. Mar Uzziah was bishop of the Northeast. Upon his retirement in 1978, Mar Jacobus elevated Mar Uzziah to be Metropolitan of North America.

Since 1978, the church has grown slowly, concentrating on proclaiming the Gospel to the unsaved and ministering to the broken and wounded in the Spirit of Isaiah 61. The Northeastern Diocese was erected as a mission diocese with the expectation that smaller local dioceses would be carved out of it. The intention was that the church would be organized along small diocesesan lines, each diocese being a city or county. In the years since, the Diocese of Fairfield in Connecticut and the Diocese of Westchester in New York have been created. In addition to New York and New England, the church has work in Florida, a mission parish in the Philippines, and a mission in the Middle East.

In 1991, the Episcopal Synod agreed to change the name of the church from the Autocephalous Syro-Chaldean Church of North America.

The Evangelical Apostolic Church follows the Orthodox theology of the Church of the East. It affirms the Bible as the Word of God and both the Apostle's and Nicene Creeds. It keeps seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation or chrismation, holy communion, reconciliation, annointing for healing, holy matrimony, and holy orders. It uses a simplified English-language version of the Liturgy of Mar Addai and Mar Mari as its official liturgy, but allows parishes freedom in their use of the liturgy. There are several alternative forms which are also authorized. The church is evangelical, believing that all persons need to repent and be converted to Christ; catholic, stressing the historical doctrines, sacraments, and practices of Christianity; and charismatic, emphasizing the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is strongly opposed to the acceptance of homosexuality and other forms of sexual liberalism that it considers to be a sin. The church stands opposed to the practice of abortion. Women are ordained to the diaconate, but not the priesthood.

Membership: In 1991, the church reported 1,000 members. There were 16 clergy, including three active bishops in three dioceses with five parishes altogether.

Educational Facilities: Christ the King Seminary and School of Discipleship, Rockville, Connecticut.

★278 ★

Finnish Orthodox Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The first Orthodox missionaries reached Finland in the tenth century and founded Valamo Monastery. While the church has remained small, it has persisted. Finland gained independence from Russia in 1919 and a wave of nationalism swept the church. In 1923 the church was given autonomy under the Greek Orthodox Church's ecumenical patriarch in Constantinople. The following year a non-Russian bishop was named primate. The church is Orthodox in faith and practice and uses the Finnish and Russian languages. The selection of archbishops must be submitted to Constantinople for approval.

In 1955 the first attempts to call together Orthodox Finns residing in the United States found most already attached to Russian congregations, but a small mission chapel was established in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was not able to minister to the 1,300 Orthodox Finns and ceased to exist in 1958. A new plan was implemented in 1962 by Fr. Denis Ericson of Lansing, Michigan. Using Lansing as a base, he travels to four worship stations. Services are in English, but Finnish hymns and customs are preserved.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Purmonen, V., ed. Orthodoxy in Finland: Past and Present. 2nd ed. Kuopio, Finland: Orthodox Clergy Association, 1984.

Venkula-Vauraste, L. "800 Years of Orthodox Faith in Finland." Look at Finland 5 (1977): 42-47.

★279 ★

Free Orthodox Church International

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Free Orthodox Church International, formerly known as the Greek Orthodox Eparchy of Lincoln, was founded in 1984 by the Most Rev. Dr. Melchizedek, the Archbishop-Metropolitan. Trained as a Roman Catholic, the future archbishop converted to Orthodoxy in 1983. He affiliated with the Holy Orthodox Synod for Diaspora and Hellas, a free Holy Synod which had been organized in Greece in 1950, and began to work within its jurisdiction. He moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1986 and the following year became the pastor of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Church. He was consecrated in 1993. In 1994 the American work became autocephalous as a step in adjusting to the American situation.

As a free jurisdiction, the church is not affiliated with either the Church of Greece (or any other national jurisdiction) or any of the ancient Patriarchates. Archbishop Melchizedek believes that since society has abandoned patriarchal structures, the church has no scriptural mandate to continue them. It is, however, at one with the Orthodox world in faith and practice and accepts the authority of the Holy Scriptures and the Seven Ecumenical Councils. It recognizes any jurisdiction that teaches and practices the Orthodox faith in nonjudgmental Christian love. Members of the church are encouraged to devote their lives to the service of Christ according to their own life experience.

The church has some opinions that differ from the main body of Orthodoxy. It accepts the authority of the inter-testament books commonly called the Apocrypha. It denies the doctrine of original sin. The church allows bishops to marry. Baptism is by triple immersion in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The church retains the power to pronounce the forgiveness of sin through the sacrament of forgiveness (confession, penance, and counseling). Life is sacramental but focused in holy baptism, crismation, absolution of sins, the Eucharist, holy anointing of the sick, priesthood, and matrimony.

Various rites have been approved for workshop in the several parishes including the Sarum Rite, the Tridentine Roman Rite, the Liturgy of St. Chrysostomos, the Qurbana, and the Gallican Rite. Worship in the vernacular is recommended but Greek and Latin allowed. Among the structures sponsored by the church is the noncommunal Oblate Order of the Blessed Virgin Theotekos whose members offer themselves to the life of the Blessed Virgin in the spirit of the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). When received, the new member is given a blue robe and matching scapular which is worn on special occasions, though on a day-to-day basis members do not dress in special clothing. They are also assigned an individual obedience, in most cases a specific daily prayer to follow.

The church has formal communion with the Diocese of Emmaus, Christ Catholic Church International, the Free Orthodox Catholic Church of Germany, and the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America, and fraternal relations with the Federation of St. Thomas Christian Churches, the Holy Catholic Apostolic Orthodox Church, and the Shekinah Glory Mar Thoma Orthodox Church. It is a member of the Nebraska Interchurch Ministries and the International Federation of Orthodox Catholics United Sacramentally (FOCUS).

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: St. Elias School of Orthodox Theology, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Periodicals: The Pilgrim.

★280 ★

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America

8-10 E. 79th St.
New York, NY 10021

As early as 1767 Greek Orthodox Christians settled in New Smyrna, Florida. Greek merchants in New Orleans established Holy Trinity, the first Greek Orthodox Church in America, in 1864. Other parishes sprang up across the country. No attempt was made to organize the parishes until 1918 when the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America was organized. Archbishop Alexandros headed the archdiocese from 1922. He began the extensive work of bringing the many Greek parishes under his jurisdiction. The greatest progress in this direction was made by his successor, Metropolitan Athenagoras Spirou, who became the ecumenical patriarch in 1948.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese has over the years become the largest in the United States. It has ten districts, each headed by a bishop, and Archbishop Iakovos, as chairman of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops and Exarch for the ecumenical patriarch, has been a recognized spokesman of the Greek Orthodox community to the outside world.

Currents of change that have flowed through the Orthodox world have made Archbishop Iakovos a subject of intense controversy as he emerged as a founding father of the modern ecumenical movement. As criticism has been directed against the growing openness of Patriarch Athenagoras toward Rome and the World Council of Churches, Archbishop Iakovos has been criticized for approving this openness and initiating contact on his own in the United States with various Protestant and Catholic bodies. Ultra traditionalists see such ecumenical activity as compromising Orthodox faith. Mt. Athos, the most famous Orthodox monastery, has become a center of traditionalism and at times has been critical of Archbishop Iakovos and of changes in the contemporary church, which has always been done under the aegis of the mother church and headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey.

Liturgy being the most important aspect of Orthodox church life, changes affecting liturgy are met with extreme resistance when not in conformity to early church tradition and the esslesiology of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In 1922, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, following the mandate of the Ecumenical patriarchate, accepted the Geogorian calendar. Some other patriarchates continue to use the Julian calendar. For the canonical orthodox Churches, the calendar controversy has benn a non-issue.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Holy Cross School of Theology, and Hellenic College, Brookline, Massachusetts.

Periodicals: Orthodox Observer.

Sources:

Constantelos, Demetrios J. The Greek Orthodox Church. New York: Seabury Press, 1967.

——. An Old Faith for Modern Man. New York: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, 1964.

The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Brookline, MA: Greek Orthodox Theological Institute, Press, 1950.

Geanakoplos, D. A Short History of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (330-1990): "First Among Equals" in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Brookline, MA Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1990.

Litsas, Fotios K. A Companion to the Greek Orthodox Church. New York:

Department of Communication, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, 1984.

Poulos, George. A Breath of God. Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1984.

★281 ★

Greek Orthodox Church of America

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Greek Orthodox Church of America was formed on December 1, 1971, at a meeting held in Miami, Florida, for the purpose of forming a federation of independent Greek Orthodox Churches. Many of these churches had grown out of local schisms and were headed by priests who had left the jurisdiction of Archbishop Iakovos. Members object to what they see as a movement "to Catholicize and Protestantize the church." They hope to preserve Greek faith, language, and traditions. They believe in local control of property, not archdiocesan ownership. As of 1974 the church was without episcopal supervision but was seeking it from various sources.

A moving force in the Greek Orthodox Church of America is Fr. Theodore Kyritsis. He was defrocked by Archbishop Iakovos and went under the jurisdiction of Bishop Petros of the Hellenic Orthodox Church in America. Bishop Photios of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of New York was installed as archbishop in Memphis in St. George's Greek Orthodox Church which Kyritsis pastored, and has since then been a vocal opponent of Archbishop Iakovos.

Membership: In the mid-1970s the church had 10 parishes scattered around the United States from Miami to Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Tennessee.

★282 ★

Greek Orthodox Church of America

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Greek Orthodox Church of America (not to be confused with the other church of the same name) was established in the mid-twentieth century as the outpost of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria (Egypt). In the first century C.E., Christianity spread among the Greek-speaking residents of Egypt and from them to the Coptic-speaking peoples. In the fifth century C.E., the Patriarch of Alexandria became a monophysite, a position denounced by the Council at Ephesus in 451, and a new Patriarch, Proterios, was installed in his place. The mass of Coptic-speaking peoples followed the deposed patriarch, but a small minority stayed with the Patriarch of Alexandria, whose jurisdiction extended across North Africa. It was substantially reduced by the Muslim conquest of the territory but has survived to the present. The American exarchate was organized among Greekspeaking migrants to North America from North Africa.

In 1964 the exarchate received a young priest into its jurisdiction by the name of Makrogambrakis. He had migrated to America the year previously and served under Bishop Petros of the Hellenic Orthodox Church. In 1983 Makrogambrakis was consecrated as Bishop Dionysios and named Exarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church of America. Several years later, the exarchate was granted autonomy and as Archbishop Dionysios, he became primate of the new church.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Clarke, Boden. Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. San Bernardino, CA: Borgo Press, 1985.

★283 ★

Greek Orthodox Diocese of New York

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Greek Orthodox Diocese of New York was formed in 1964 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by priests and laity formerly under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America. They objected to the administration of Archbishop Iakovos and are the only Orthodox body in the West which allows the laity the sole right to elect the bishops and to keep the monies of the church under the control of the members. Oxford-educated Bishop Photios was elected archbishop, and Theocletos of Salimis, auxiliary bishop. The installation of the archbishop took place in St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Memphis, where Archbishop Photios resided for several years.

Archbishop Photios has gathered the largest group of Greek Orthodox followers not under Archbishop Iakovos. In 1965 jurisdiction was extended to Australia. Archbishop Photios was in communion with the late Bishop Dionisije of the Serbian Orthodox Free Diocese of the United States and Canada and Bishop Alexis of Adelaide, Australia, of the Byelorussian Autocephalic Church.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Spasovic, Stanimir. The History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America and Canada, 1941-1991. Trans. by Nedeljko Lunich. Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Printing House of the Serbian Patriarchate, 1998.

★284 ★

Greek Orthodox Missionary Archdiocese of Vasiloupolis

44-02 48th Ave.
Sunnyside/Woodside, NY 11377

The Greek Orthodox Missionary Archdiocese of Vasiloupolis was founded in 1970 when Archimandrite Pangratios Vrionis was elected and consecrated by Romanian Bp. Theofil Ionescu, Russian Patriarchial Dositheus Ivanchenko, and Albanian Apb. Christoforus Rado to serve among the Greek-Americans who had migrated to Long Island from Albania, Romania, and parts of Russia. Vasiloupolis (royal city) refers to Queens, New York, where Metropolitan Pangratios was consecrated. The church grew out of a refugee program started by the late Fr. Alexander Tzulevitch, pastor of St. Nicolas Russian Orthodox Church in New York City. At a "Synod of the Diaspora", Archimandrite Pangratios was chosen to be the archbishop over these people who had declared their desire for a leader who was traditionalist with a multicultural background, an American citizen, and missionary-minded. In addition, he would have to be approved by the exiled royal families of Greece and Romania.

Through the 1970s, Metropolitan Pangratios moved to build the archdiocese which had grown primarily through the addition of conservative ethnic parishes. He is assisted by five titular bishops: Michael Pangratios (Rouse) of New Carthage, Kyrill Esposito of Taormina, Elias Milazzo of Apollonia, George DimitrePias of Palation and Metropolitian, and Leontios de Noronhos of Brazil and Argentina. Together with Metropolitan Pangratios they constitute the Hierarchial Consistory.

In 1999, the Archdiocese was accepted fully as a sister church by the Old Calendar and Traditionalist Church of Greece under Abp. Maximos Vallianatos (Auxentios) jurisdiction and continues so to the present.

The archdiocese is Orthodox in faith and takes a traditionalist stance, although it does accept and maintain, through a canonical Orthodox manner, Western Rite Orthodox parishes. It is an Old Calendarist group, meaning its liturgical life follows the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar. It opposes what it considers to be the modernist trends and attempts at liturgical reform represented in the churches which make up the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America.

Membership: In 2002 the archdiocese reported 42 parishes and 8 monasteries.

Remarks: Among Metropolitan Pangratios' consecrators had been Archbishop Christoforus Rado, who around 1958 had founded the Independent Albanian Orthodox Church of St. Paul. Archbishop Christoforus died in 1974. While some of his parishes joined the Orthodox Church of America, some came under Pangratios who consecrated Stavros Skembi to lead them. Pangratios also inherited the following of Greek-Romanian Bishop Theofil. In 1981 Pangratios consecrated Stephen Degiovanni to minister to a group of Italo-Greek immigrants located on Long Island, New York, and New Jersey.

Sources:

Blighton, Paul. Memoirs of a Mystic. San Francisco, CA: Holy Order of MANS, 1974.

Book of the Master Jesus. 3 vols. San Francisco, CA: Holy Order of MANS, 1974.

The Golden Force. San Francisco, CA: Holy Order of MANS, 1967. Lucas, Philip Charles. The Odyssey of a New Religion: The Holy Order of MANS from New Age to Orthodoxy. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995.

Spasovic, Stanimir. The History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America and Canada, 1941-1991. Trans. by Nedeljko Lunich. Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Printing House of the Serbian Patriarchate, 1998.

★285 ★

Greek Orthodox Missions to the Americas

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Greek Orthodox Missions to the Americas was founded in 1963 as a loose confederation of independent Greek parishes. In 1976 Fr. Garasimos Vlosoplos was consecrated as the metropolitan for the church, and the following year it was incorporated. Metropolitan Garasimos heads the small jurisdiction from the church in Astoria, New York. Both Greek and English-language liturgies are used.

Sources:

Clarke, Boden. Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. San Bernardino, CA: Borgo Press, 1985.

★286 ★

Hellenic Orthodox Church in America

22-68 26th St.
Astoria, NY 11105

At the time the state Church of Greece adopted the Gregorian calendar in place of the Old (Julian) Calendar it had followed for centuries, pockets of opposition began to arise immediately. Continued adherence to the Old Calendar also emerged among Greek Orthodox believers in the United States. In 1952, Bishop Petros, then a monk from Mt. Athos, arrived in the United States from Greece as the representative of the Old Calendarists to pull together the scattered American believers. In 1962, he was consecrated as bishop of Astoria (New York), where he had established his headquarters, and Exarch of the American work. He was consecrated by two bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Throughout the years of its existence, the Old Calendar Movement had been split by an ongoing controversy over the presence of grace in the state Church of Greece, given its abandonment of the traditional liturgical calendar. The moderate faction held to the position that grace remained in the state church. In 1974, however, Archbishop Auxentios, the head of the synod of the moderates, issued a statement (seemingly in an attempt to placate the more extreme group which denied the presence of grace in the state church) in which he accepted the essence of the extreme position.

As a result of Archbishop Auxentio's action, Petros left his jurisdiction and reorganized his work independently as the Hellenic Orthodox Church in America. He follows the traditional belief and practice of Orthodoxy. By 1967, he had five churches and some 9,000 members. St. Sincletike Convent is located in Farmingdale, New York. He started a newsletter, The Voice of Orthodoxy, and a radio show of the same name. Membership in the jurisdiction is centered among Greek Americans on Long Island.

Membership: Not reported. In 1985 there were parishes in Astoria, Bethpage, and Hensonville, New York.

Periodicals: The Voice of Orthodoxy.

Sources:

Chrysostomos, Archimandrite, with Hieromonk Ambrosios, and Hieromonk Auxentios. The Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Greece. Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies: 1986.

"Greek Old Calendarists in the U.S.A.: An Annotated Directory." Orthodox Tradition 2, no. 2 (1985): 49-61.

★287 ★

Holy African Church

(Defunct)

The Holy African Church emerged around 1937 under the leadership of Bp. Arthur Stanley Trotman, formerly a bishop of the African Orthodox Church. Following the death of Abp. George A. McGuire in 1934, leadership of the church passed to Abp. William E. J. Robertson, then head of the church's work in Miami, Florida. The primary membership of the church was in New York and the northeast, and Trotman joined Bps. Reginald Grant Barrow, Robert Arthur Valentine, and Vicar General Frederick A. Toote in the founding of a new church, the African Orthodox Church of New York and Massachusetts, to continue the church apart from the Miami jurisdiction. The new church soon had its own problems as Barrow and Trotman disagreed and Trotman left to found the rival African Orthodox Church, Inc. In the meantime, Robertson filed suit against both churches, claiming that they should not be able to take the name of the African Orthodox Church and confuse people by establishing a rival organization. The court agreed and in 1938 ruled against both Barrow and Trotman. Trotman moved quickly to reorganize his jurisdiction as the Holy African Church. A short time later Barrow and Trotman reconciled, and Barrow merged his work into the Holy African Church.

Trotman was succeeded as head of the church successively by Robert Arthur Valentine (1945), Frederick A. Toote (1954), and Gladstone St. Clair Nurse (1959). Once all the people involved in the schisms of the 1930s were dead, Nurse was able to work out an agreement with the African Orthodox Church by which in 1964 the Holy African Church merged into its parent body.

Sources:

Terry-Thompson, A. C. The History of the African Orthodox Church. N.p.: the author, 1956.

★288 ★

Holy Apostolic Orthodox Catholic Church

(Defunct)

The Holy Apostolic Orthodox Catholic Church was founded in the mid-1960s with headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. During the 1970s it claimed to have a seminary and an elaborate hierarchy, including two archbishops and one bishop in the United States, and additional archbishops in West Germany, the Canal Zone, Hong Kong, and Switzerland. During the 1980s, no manifestation of the church or its founder Archbishop Mark Cardinal Evans has been seen. The Church professed the Orthodox faith as based in the Nicene Creed without the filoque clause and used the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom without alteration.

Sources:

Ecclesiatical Proclamation, Divine Liturgy. Home Missions Department of the Holy Apostolic Orthodox Catholic Church, 1965.

★289 ★

Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America

733 Tick Rd.
Mountain View, AZ 72560

The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America was canonically established on February 2, 1927, with the approval of the Russian Patriarch. Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh was appointed first archbishop of this church and headed it until his death in 1966. The church was incorporated in February 1, 1928, and continues as the same church and same corporation. It is a Western Rite jurisdiction but includes some Eastern Rite clergy and liturgies.

Prior to the death of Archbishop Aftimios the chuch had only one bishop after the deaths of Dr. Joseph Zuk and Bishop Sophronios (leaving only Archbishop Aftimios). Upon the death of Aftimios the church continued "in locum tenens" until its clergy were able to obtain consecration in acceptable lines. Metropolitan Victor Prentice was corporate vice president under locum tenens prior to his election in 1997 as Metropolitan President of the Church.

The church reports that its name, over the years, has been used by others in the independent movement who have claimed to be this church or related to it, as a "status symbol" because of the 1927 charter. However, because the charter was issued to Archbishop Aftimios, who subsequently incorporated the church, and the church has continued without cessation, the claims are untrue and misleading.

Membership: In 2002 the church reported a membership of 4,274.

★290 ★

Holy Eastern Orthodox Church, Italio-Byzantine

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Orthodoxy established itself in southern Italy and Sicily in the Greek communities which had established themselves in ancient times. Most of these Greek churches came under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church after the Synod at Bari in 1097 A.D. Only two bishops refused to submit and they led their Orthodox followers into what became an increasingly underground church. The church survived in spite of severe measures to convert its members to Catholicism. Cut-off from mainline Orthodoxy, however, it developed several peculiarities, including a married bishopric. It also has a mobile episcopacy, in part due to the persecution it felt, and began to designate their bishops as being "in" a See location rather than "of" a See City. Thus, their present Primate is Bishop Umile Natalino, Bishop in Veneto. The Church became fully autonomous in 1428.

The first Italian Orthodox priests came to America in 1904 and established parishes in Brooklyn, Newark and Philadelphia. Progress was slow until 1979 when two men, Emilio Rinauldi and Luciano Gaudio, were elected Bishop in Newark (NJ) and Las Vegas (NV) respectively. They were consecrated by a deputation of bishops from Italy headed by the late Primate Constantino, Bishop in Catania.

The Church is Orthodox in theology. The two bishops have administrative responsibility for that section of the United States in which they reside. Bishop Gaudio announced plans to build a monastic complex in New Mexico. The Church was affiliated with the Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction headed by Bishop James Francis Miller which merged into the Orthodox Catholic Church of America.

Membership: Not reported.

★291 ★

Holy Eastern Orthodox Church of the United States

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Holy Eastern Orthodox Church of the United States (Orthodox Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Metropolitan See) dates itself to 1927 and the establishment of the American Orthodox Church under Bishop Aftimios Ofiesh, as authorized by the American bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1971 Archbishop Trevor Wyatt Moore and the priests under his jurisdiction incorporated the Orthodox Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Moore had been consecrated in the Ofiesh lineage, on July 11, 1971, by Archbishops Peter A. Zurawetzky and Uladyslau Ryzy-Ryski. A month later Ryzy-Ryski, head of the American World Patriarchs, in his plan to establish a hierarchy of patriarchs representing the various ethnic groups, elevated Moore to archbishop with jurisdiction for the English-speaking world. Then, in 1972, he designated Moore a metropolitan.

From the very beginning, the archdiocese was incorporated independently as a self-protective measure against any irregularities, heterodoxy, or heresy that might develop within the American World Patriarchs. Within a few years, Metropolitan Trevor saw a significant drift within the American World Patriarchs as evidenced by its following an unacceptable pan-ecumenism, developing anti-Russian attitudes, espousing the use of a self-created Western liturgy, and most importantly, failing to perpetuate the necessary conditions set forth by the synod of Russian bishops in 1927 for the American Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Trevor had rigorously followed those conditions in theology, liturgy, and otherwise.

As a result of the irregularities, the archdiocese severed all connections with the American World Patriarchs in 1976, when the official name became the Holy Eastern Orthodox Church of the United States, an abridgement of the original name given to Ofiesh's jurisdiction, the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America.

Metropolitan Trevor asserts that his jurisdiction is the only remnant of the original jurisdiction headed by Archbishop Ofiesh in that it is the only one which adheres to all of the conditions set forth in the original charter and constitution. It has remained truly Orthodox in all aspects of its life and, while independent, acknowledges the primacy of the Russian jurisdiction and preserves a filial relationship to the Orthodox Church of Russia by the Patriarchial Authority of Moscow and All Russia. [Note: In Orthodox practice, the first Orthodox Church to initiate work in a new couthry is generally acknowledged to have canonical primacy for that country. In the case of the United States, the Russian Orthodox Church was present for a century prior to any other Orthodox jurisdiction's establishment of a parish.]

Beliefs. The church is strictly Eastern Orthodox in faith and practice and adheres to the Byzantine rite. It holds to the Nicene Creed and follows its Eastern text.

Organization. The church is episcopal in polity. It is organized into the Metropolitan See of Philadelphia, the Orthodox-Greek Catholic Missionary Eparchy of Trenton and All New Jersey, and the Orthodox-Greek Catholic Diocese of Providence and All New England. Congregations can be found in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida, Illinois, and Nebraska. There is a mission church in Puerto Rico.

The church has been most attuned to the issues that have dominated the established churches in the United States, particularly in matters of social concern. It has spoken out forcefully on peace and nonviolence. It operates a social service center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and through its affiliated Society of the Helpers of Saint Herman of Alaska, a mental health ministry in Florida. It has been active in civil rights and interracial and intercultural efforts, particularly in Spanish-speaking communities. Through it all Metropolitan Trevor has become one of only a few independent Orthodox leaders to gain some recognition from the larger Christian community, through his authorship of several books and service as an editor-at-large for the Christian Century magazine.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Tserkobnost.

★292 ★

Holy Orthodox Catholic Church

℅ Paul Gilbert Russell
5831 Tremont
Dallas, TX 75214

This body began in 1965 as the American Orthodox Church but changed its name in 1972 to the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church. It is headed by Bishop Paul G. Russell, who was consecrated on August 22, 1976 by Bishops David Baxter and William Henry. The group accepts the idea of female priests and would ordain a homosexual to Holy Orders, but in all other respects the Church holds to the Orthodox-Catholic faith. It is headquartered in Dallas and claims six priests and three parishes. Membership is unknown.

Membership: Not reported.

★293 ★

Holy Orthodox Catholic Church

℅ The Order of the Servants of Jesus
PO Box 350
Clarkdale, GA 30020

The Celtic Rite Orthodox Diocese is a rite of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church that wishes to bring the strength of Celtic spiritual expression into the twentieth century. The diocese considers itself Christian, Orthodox and Celtic; that is, Christian in love and mission; Orthodox in theology, beliefs, and practices; and Celtic in the expression of spirituality and heritage. The diocese uses the vernacular in worship and freely experiments with an array of ancient and modern music. The Order of the Servants of Jesus is a small ordered community affiliated with the diocese. The church is a member of the International Federation of Orthodox Catholics United Sacramentally (FOCUS).

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Pruter, Karl. The Directory of Autocephalous Bishops of the Apostolic Sucession. San Bernadino, CA: Brogo Press, 1906. 104 pp.

Ward, Gary. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit: Apogee Books, 1990. 524 pp.

★294 ★

Holy Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America

c/o The Most Blessed Metropolitan Michael, Archbishop
Box 687
New Albany, OH 43054

The Holy Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America (HOCPA) traces its origin to Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost, having survived through schisms and heresies. According to church history, Orthodox missionaries reached the North American continent via exploratory voyages long before the arrival of Columbus in 1492. By the mid-1800s various ethnic jurisdictions, predominately the Russian Orthodox Church, were firmly planted in America. In 1921 the Holy Synod of Moscow, under the authorization of Patriarch Tikhon, gave its consent to the formation of a group of Orthodox bishops in North America. This was the first definitive act by an "old world" jurisdiction to establish an Orthodox body indigenous to the Americas.

At its earliest beginnings, the American Patriarchate bishops ordained and consecrated, even outside their ethnic boundaries, to ensure canonical clergy to serve their churches in America. The church acknowledges a tremendous debt to Archbishop Palladios Rudenko of the Holy Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church in Exile and to Archbishop Athenagoras Spyrou, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, who became the Ecumenical Patriarch in 1948.

In Orthodoxy, valid Apostolic Succession ensures heredity from the historical church of the Apostles. HOPCA's unbroken line derives from Archbishop Sophronios Bashira, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America; Metropolitan Theophan Noli, Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese; Metropolitan Christopher Contogeorge, American Exarch, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria; and Archbishop Benjamin Fedchenkov, Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow.

On March 1, 1945, Archbishop Athenagoras Spyrou issued a letter, on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, confirming the canonical character and validity of the ecclesiastical acts of Metropolitan Christopher Contogeorge. It was Contogeorge who consecrated Archbishop Nicholas Kedroffsky for the Moscow Patriarchate, who then consecrated Metropolitan Joseph Klymowycz, who would become HOCPA's first Archbishop.

On October 14, 1950, canonical Orthodox bishops met at Springfield, Massachusetts, to formally break all ties with Moscow and function as an American Jurisdiction working independently of Russia. Three months later (January 15, 1951), Metropolitan Joseph Klymowycz and Archbishop Peter A. Zurawetzky met in Albany, New York, to incorporate the Holy Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America–erected and existing under the canonical authority and blessings of the Holy Synod–inseparably joined in Faith with the Great Church of Constantinople and with every other jurisdiction of the 300 million worldwide Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church.

In March 1951, HOPCA established The Standing Episcopal Conference of Orthodox Bishops that bound several bodies in unity of Faith and communion in the Seven Sacraments. Its founding members included canonical Orthodox bishops from the Greek, Alexandrian, Albanian, Ukrainian, and Russian jurisdictions. Member bishops continue to be "equals among equals" in all matters of Church administration and discipline; HOPCA serves as moderator for the group.

All members of HOPCA profess the Word of God as being inspired in Holy Scripture, the Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), seven Holy Mysteries (Sacraments) instituted by Christ, veneration of the Theotokos, the ever-virgin Mary as Mother of God, and intercession of saints. Absolute adherence to the dogmatic definitions of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787) is demanded. Members promise to remain faithful to the written and oral traditions that have been taught (II Thess. 2:15), including the articles of the Nicene Creed, Holy Scriptures, and the decisions of the Local, Ecumenical, and Pan-Orthodox Councils. Ordination to the priesthood is has been limited to men since Apostolic times, but either the married or celibate state within all levels of sacerdotal life is permitted. Respect for the legitimate Eastern and Western Liturgical Rites of Orthodoxy is maintained; however, the co-mixing of different liturgical traditions is not tolerated.

HOPCA is headed by its Archbishop-Primate, Metropolitan Michael, whose jurisdiction extends throughout the Archdiocese of Columbus, Ohio, and Dependencies. The Internet address is http://www.orthodoxpatriarchate.com.

Membership: In 2002 the Holy Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America reported 14,500 members in 56 congregations with 72 ordained priests and deacons. The Standing Episcopal Conference of Orthodox Bishops reported a worldwide membership of approximately 10 million in more than 2,500 congregations.

Educational Facilities: St. Alexis Toth Orthodox Seminary, Ontario, Canada;

Three Hierarchs Seminary, Columbus, Ohio.

Periodicals: Our Missionary, The Chancery, 4636 Commons Park Dr., New Albany, OH 43054. • The Monastic Newsletter, 4977 N. Chippewa Rd., Coleman, MI 48618.

★295 ★

Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction

Current address not obtained for this edition.

History. The Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction, though restructured in 1974, was originally established as the American Orthodox Church by the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese of Brooklyn in 1932 under the episcopacy of Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh for the communicants of Western Rite Orthodoxy. Aftimios' mission, assigned him by the Moscow Patriarchate, was to unite the various ethnic-Orthodox jurisdictions in America into a single American jurisdiction. The unification effort failed due to both foreign and domestic influences and the Russian Church directed Aftimios to abandon the mission, disband the diocese of Brooklyn, and turn over its cathedral and assets to the Syrian Orthodox Church.

Aftimios had established the orthodox Western (Gregorian) Rite in America in January 1932 and ordained the former Episcopal Church priest William Albert Nichols to the orthodox priesthood. With the understanding that he would follow the Gregorian rite, Aftimios assigned him as pastor of the very first canonical Orthodox Western Rite parish in America located in New York City.

As directed, Aftimios began closing down the affairs of the Brooklyn Archdiocese. Among his last actions before turning over the archdiocese to the Syrian Orthodox Church, Aftimios, assisted by Bishop Joseph Zuk and Sophronios Bashira, consecrated Nichols to the episcopacy on September 30, 1932. They named him archbishop of the newly established Western Rite archdiocese under the identity of the American Orthodox church. Nichols took the name "Ignatius" as his episcopal name.

The Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil, commonly known as the Basilian Fathers, was founded by Aftimios and Nichols as the missionary arm of the newly formed Western Rite apostolate, with Nichols as the superior general. Eventually, as Nichols' health failed, Fr. Tyler Turner, S.S.B., was elected superior-general of the Order and was subsequently consecrated in 1939. Taking the religious name Alexander, he succeeded Ignatius as head of the Western Rite archdiocese of the American Orthodox Church.

In 1960, of the 19 then active members of the Order of Basilian Fathers, four were incardinated as priests in the Antiochean Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, then led by Metropolitan Archbishop Anthony Bashir. Two years previously, the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch had authorized Bashir to establish a Vicariate for the Western Rite communicants.

The Basilian Order, as such, did not become part of the Syrian Vicariate. It remained an autonomous entity unto itself committed to the Western Rite apostolate. Nearly two years after Alexander's death, Fr. William Francis Forbes, S.S.B., was elected a superior general of the Order in 1973. In the summer of 1974, following a tenure of 15 years with the Syrian jurisdiction, Father Forbes withdrew from the Vicariate to give full time to the Western Rite apostolate of the Basilians. On October 20, 1974, two bishops within the Aftimios-Ignatius line of succession, Archbishop Thomas Jude Baulmer and Bishop John Chrysostom Martin, consecrated Forbes to the episcopacy, thus restoring the original line of apostolic succession to the Basilians and the American Orthodox Church. Shortly thereafter, Bishop Forbes restructured both the Basilian Order and the American Orthodox Church. He sold the Basilian Motherhouse in New York and moved the entire operation of the Order and the church to Antioch, a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, where the Cathedral of St. Basil is located.

Beliefs. The church is thoroughly Orthodox in faith and sacramental practice. It accepts the original Nicene Creed and the doctrinal affirmation of the seven Ecumenical councils. The majority of the parishes are Western Rite. Though the Eastern Rite is allowed, few choose to follow it.

Organization. The ecclesiastical order of the church is vested in its Synod of Bishops which has five members. The Synod has authority over its Metropolitan-Archdiocese of Nashville, the Archdiocese of Boston (Bridgewater) Massachusetts, and the Dioceses of Philadelphia, Louisiana (New Orleans), and Montreal-Quebec. The religious order of Basilian Fathers remains a part of the church. The American (Western Rite) Jurisdiction is responsible for its own ecclesiastical affairs and is not subject to any other Orthodox body, foreign or domestic. It has no connection with any group claiming to American Orthodox and/or deriving authority from either Archbishops Aftimios, Ignatius, or Alexander.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: St. Basil's Seminary, a tutorial structure for preparing priests.

Periodicals: The Communicator. • The Reconciler. Send orders to c/o Emmaus House, 27 N. Walker, Taunton, MA 02780.

Sources:

Samuchin, Michael. A Brief History of the Holy Orthodox Church (American Jurisdiction). Antioch, TN: Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil,1992.

★296 ★

Holy Orthodox Church, Diocese of New Mexico (Cunningham)

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Holy Orthodox Church, Diocese of New Mexico was formed by Archbishop Bartholomew Cunningham a former priest of the Roman Catholic Church and seminary professor. Cunningham was consecrated by Bishops Colin James Guthrie and Robert S. Zeiger of the American Orthodox Catholic Church on June 23, 1968 and served under Guthrie until the present Holy Orthodox Church, Diocese of New Mexico, was established in 1970. The church is Orthodox in faith and practice. It is open to the ordination into the priesthood of otherwise qualified homosexuals but rejects females for holy orders.

Archbishop Batholemew died in 1984 and the future status of the Diocese is in question.

Membership: In the early 1980s, the church reported 15 parishes and a few hundred members, primarily in New Mexico and Illinois.

★297 ★

Holy Orthodox Church in America

PO Box 192-B
Preston Hollow, NY 12469

The Orthodox Church in America grew out of the early interest in Christian Mysticism of Rosicrucian George Winslow Plummer. Plummer had been one of the founders of the Societas Rosicruciana in America, covered in a separate item in this Encyclopedia, in 1907 and became its leader when Sylvester Gould died two years later. In the 1920s, Plummer's particular interest in mysticism led him to found the Seminary of Biblical Research through which he issued lessons on Christian mysticism. About this same time he founded the Anglican Universal Church and sought consecration from a Puerto Rican bishop, Manuel Ferrando.

In 1934 Plummer was reconsecrated by Bishop William Albert Nichols of the American Orthodox Church, originally founded by Lebanese Orthodox bishop, Aftimios Ofiesh and took the religious name, Mar Georgius. Following his consecration, he reconsecrated three of his bishops of the Anglican Universal Church and incorporated as the Holy Orthodox Church in America. The Holy Orthodox Church in America (Eastern Catholic and Apostolic) accepted through Nichols the mandate of Bishop Ofiesh to develop an American Eastern Orthodoxy.

The Holy Orthodox Church, while endorsing the canons of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, has remained intimately connected to the Rosicrucian organization which Plummer headed. The original episcopal leadership was drawn from the S.R.I.A. and the original parishes were all located in cities with an S.R.I.A. group. The liturgy of the church is that of St. John Chrysostom, however, a special emphasis is placed upon spiritual healing and special services for that purpose are held weekly.

Plummer died in 1944 and was succeeded by Archbishop Theodotus Stanislaus DeWitow (formerly Witowski). When Dewitow died, the church was without a bishop from 1969 to 1981. The work was carried on by three deaconesses, two of whom, Mrs. G. E. S. DeWitow (a.k.a. Mother Serena), widow of the last archbishop, and Lucia Grosch were consecrated in 1981 by Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit of the Church of Antioch. Mother Serena died in 1989. She was succeeded by Archbishop Matriarch Lucia Grosch, who is the current presiding bishop.

Membership: In 1997 the church reported that it had two churches, one chapel, and a membership of approximately 100.

Periodicals: Mercury.

★298 ★

Holy Orthodox Church in North America

850 South St.
Box 129
Roslindale, MA 02131

The Holy Orthodox Church in North America is the American branch of the Church of the True Orthodox Christians of Greece (the Synod of Archbishop Maximos). The church was established as a result of the problem that emerged in the State Church of Greece in 1924 when the Gregorian Calendar replaced the older Julian Calendar and ecumenical events between the state church and Non-Orthodox bodies began to occur. Rejecting these developments, the old calendar faithful saw a need to organize separately. In 1963, Archbishop Auxentios (1912–1994) became their leader. The old calendar movement had also found some response in America, and parishes began to emerge there in the 1930s. The State Church of Greece, in the meantime, declared the sacraments of the old calendarists invalid and instituted a persecution by which the faithful were killed and their churches destroyed or confiscated.

In 1974, Archbishop Auxentios issued an encyclical in which he declared that the sacraments of the State Church of Greece were devoid of grace, hence invalid. This encyclical earned him the animosity of the State Church; in the western Hemisphere, his American Exarchate, under the leadership of Bishop Petros, left him. Then in 1987, Archbishop Auxentios jurisdiction in America was again augmented by the addition of a number of parishes that had withdrawn from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Since its formation following the Russian revolution, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia had become the bastion of conservative traditionalist eastern orthodoxy. It stood against the subversion of the Russian Church under the hostile antireligious regime and opposed changes in the orthodox community which had entered into the post-World War II spirit of dialogue and ecumenical accommodation with both Protestants and Roman Catholics. In the United States, priests and believers from a variety of ethnic backgrounds were drawn to this church. Among the issues disturbing twentieth-century Orthodoxy were the increasing ecumenical activities and statements and joint prayers which were contrary to centuries-old Orthodox Church traditions. Many saw the involvement in ecumenism as a serious compromise of the Orthodox Faith, and the Russian church opposed these developments.

In 1986, clergy within the Russian Church, some of whom were Greek-Americans, leveled a series of charges concerning the Russian Churchs change of course and its not disciplining clergy who had participated in extracanonical ecumenical events. This protest was brought to a head by encyclicals published by the Russian bishops which confirmed the charges made by these clergy. As a result, in December 1986, a group of 17 congregations, 25 clergy, and two monasteries, left the Russian Church and placed themselves under Bps. Akakios and Gabriel, two Greek Old Calendar bishops. That arrangement did not work out administratively, and in the fall of 1987, the group placed themselves under Archbishop Auxentios.

In June 1988, Auxentios made his first visit to the United States to meet with his new following. At the churchs Holy Synod in July 1988, Hieromonk Ephrem of Transfiguration Monastery was elected to the Episcopate and consecrated on August 17. In 1991, the Diocese of Toronto was created and Bishop Markarios (consecrated in Greece in January 1991) was placed in charge. Following the death of Archbishop Auxentios in 1994, Archbishop Maximos was selected to succeed him.

Membership: In 1995 the church reported 25 congregations, 41 clergy, and three monastic establishments in the United States and Canada with over 2,000 members. The church is the largest of the Greek Old Calendar Orthodox churches. Affiliated branches are found in Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, Italy, and France.

Periodicals: Orthodox Christian Witness. Send orders to 10300 Ashworth Ave., N, Seattle, WA 98133-9410; Orthodox Light. Send Order to 28 Flintwood Ct., Willowdale, ON Canada M2S 3P2; The True Vine. Send orders to Box 129, Roslindale, MA02131; The Struggler. Send Orders to Box 383, Topsfield, MA01983-0583.

Sources:

Sister Churches: Five Hundren Year After Florence. Boston: Holy Orthodox Church in North America, 1994.

★299 ★

Holy Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church in Exile

103 Evergreen S.
West Babylon, NY 11704

The Holy Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church in Exile was organized in New York City in 1951 among immigrants who had left the Ukraine, primarily that part formerly controlled by Poland, as a result of the disruptions of World War II. A diocese was formed under the guidance of Archbishop Palladios Rudenko, former bishop of Krakiv, Lviv and Lemkenland, and Archbishop Ihor Huba, former bishop of Poltava and Kremenchuk, both refugees then living in the United States. The church was incorporated in 1960.

Membership: In 1972 the church had only two parishes, one in West Babylon and one in Syracuse, New York.

★300 ★

Holy United Catholic and Apostolic Church

PO Box 703
Browns Mills, NJ 08015

The Holy United Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church traces its history to 901 C.E. and the founding of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, Order of Saint Gregory of Nyssa by Father Jakot of Worms and Fr. Hugo of Cologne. The occasion for the founding of this Orthodox church in what was nominally Roman Catholic territory was the recovery of the lost writings of Gregory of Nyssa (a fourth-century bishop). In 1065, eleven years after the Great Schism between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, envoys from Constantinople arrived in Cologne and consecrated Bishop Johann as the German Orthodox bishop. The lineage of Bishop Johann was passed on through the centuries.

The relatively small church suffered greatly through the Reformation era (sixteenth century) but survived to the present. The German Orthodox bishops participated in several conferences following the establishment of the Old Catholic Church in the 1870s. In 1873, Abp. Wilhelm Von Strom (1840–1928) was the co-consecrator of German Old Catholic bishop Joseph Hubert Reinkens. He was succeeded by Abps. Otto Stefan Von Strom and Hansel Johnann Von Strom. Abp. Hansel Johann Von Strom consecrated James Stroms as archbishop and enthroned him as Patriarch of the Order of Saint Gregory of Nyssa in 1988. Following Archbishop Hansel's death in 1996, Archbishop Paul II (James Stroms) moved the headquarters to the United States and the following year brought Saint Gregory Seminary from Cologne to Saint Paul Cathedral in Hyder, Alaska. In 1997 he was formally enthroned as Archbishop of the Holy United Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church of America (German-American Rite).

The church is Orthodox in faith and practice. The church operates through seven regional divisions, four archdioceses, and three dioceses. The church has been active ecumenically. In 1995, Archbishop Paul II was consecrated into the Order of Saint Gregory of the West African Rite by Patriarch Behazin Optat of Lagos, Nigeria. In 1996 he brought the church into the Holy Patriarchate of the Americas. Archbishop Paul II is also the Commander in Chief of the United Chaplain's Service and Association.

Membership: In 1997 the church reported 70,000 members in 38 congregations worldwide and 20,000 members in five congregations served by 14 priests in the United States. There were 200 members in two congregations in Canada. Foreign congregations were found in Germany, Poland, and Nigeria.

Educational Facilities: Saint Gregory Seminary, Hyder, Alaska.

Periodicals: Orthodox Newsletter.

Sources:

Barrett, David B. World Christian Encyclopedia. New York: Oxford, 1982.

★301 ★

Hungarian Greek Catholic Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Hungarian Greek Catholic Church was a short-lived orthodox jurisdiction that grew out of attempts to extend the influence of Eastern Orthodoxy into Hungary. During the chaos of World War I, the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church announced the extension of his jurisdiction into Hungary, a predominantly Roman Catholic country. The action gave an idea to Istvan Theodosius de Nemeth, a Roman Catholic priest, who decided that an independent Hungarian Orthodox church would have a following. However, it would be 20 years before the idea came to fruition.

In 1933 de Nemeth founded the Greek Oriental Hungarian Orthodox Church. He was consecrated as bishop of that church the following year by Moran Mor Ignatius Ephrem I, Patriarch of the Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. The small jurisdiction continued through the years. In 1968 de Nemeth consecrated a man named de Nagy as his successor.

The Hungarian Greek Catholic Church was brought to America at some point after World War II by Stefan Boros, a priest who migrated to America from Hungary. For a period he functioned as a priest in the American Catholic Church, but by the early 1960s had established the Hungarian Greek Catholic Church in New York.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990. 524 pp.

★302 ★

Independent Greek Orthodox Holy Archdiocese of North and South America

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Independent Greek Orthodox Holy Archdiocese of North and South America was started in 1975 by Archbishop Dorotheos Flengas. Archbishop Dorotheos was born in Greece, and after completing his studies at the University of Athens, he became a priest in the Greek Orthodox Church. He came to America in 1953. He left the Greek Orthodox Church and in 1958 was consecrated as a bishop. He died in 1981. He was succeeded by Metropolitan Andreas. The Archdiocese is aligned with other independent bishops and churches in Greece.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: St. Fanourios Greek School, Elizabeth, New Jersey.

★303 ★

Macedonian Orthodox Church

120 S. Napoleon Ave.
Columbus, OH 43213

Another schism in the Serbian Church occurred in 1947 when under pressure of the government a new church was created to serve the geographic area of Macedonia, now existing in Yugoslavia, Greece, and Bulgaria, though its strength was in South Serbia. In 1959 the patriarchate was "forced" to recognize it as autonomous but under the Belgrade patriarch, and Bishop Dositej was placed at its head. In 1967 Dositej proclaimed separation and independence, an act not recognized by the patriarch (or anyone but Marshall Tito) and thus became schismatic.

The Macedonian Church was begun in Gary, Indiana, in 1961 during a visit of Rev. Spiridon Tanaskovski. Other parishes were established in Syracuse, New York, and Columbus, Ohio. They are under the jurisdiction of Bishop Kiril who resides in Skoplje, Yugoslavia. In 1972 a schism developed in the Sts. Peter and Paul Macedonian Orthodox Church in Gary, Indiana. As a result of disputes, Reverend Tanaskovski left and founded a new church, St. Clement Ohridski, which he claims is loyal to the American flag and not to Tito.

Membership: Not reported.

★304 ★

Mercian Orthodox Catholic Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Mercian Orthodox Catholic Church (formerly known as Mercian Right Catholic Church) views itself as the continuing church body originally established in the United States by Apb. Joseph Rene Vilatte (1854-1829). Archbishop Vilatte was consecrated in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1892 by Mar Julius I of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church. He returned to the United States to establish the American Catholic Church. Vilatte was succeeded by Frederick E. J. Lloyd (1859-1933), and Lloyd by Daniel C. Hinton. When Hinton died, an era of confusion began in the small, but widely scattered, American Catholic Church. There were several claimants to the leadership, though the corporation eventually fell into the hands of Lowell Paul Wadle, a theosophically oriented bishop who took the American Catholic Church into the orb of the Liberal Catholic Church.

The Mercian Orthodox Catholic Church continues the Eastern or Catholic Orthodox thrust initiated by Vilatte. In this respect, they regard Abp. Joseph G. Sokolowski as the rightful inheritor of Vilatte's leadership. Sokolowski was consecrated in 1970 by Abp. Joseph John Skureth. He served as a bishop for several years under Francis Xavier Resch in the Archdiocese of the Old Catholic Church in America. However, he broke with Resch's successor, Walter X. Brown, in 1975. Sokolowski founded an independent jurisdiction, St. Paul's Monastery Old Catholic Church. In the late 1970s the jurisdiction began to use the name Orthodox Catholic and gradually added the name Mercian. In 1987, Sokolowski consecrated Stephen Robert Thomas, announced his retirement (at 84 years old), and named Thomas as his successor.

The Mercian Orthodox Catholic Church is a Western Rite Orthodox Church. It adopted the Liturgy of St. Germain for use throughout the church under the leadership of Sokolowski. Through the 1970s and 1980s revisions of the liturgy were undertaken, resulting in a new Mercian Liturgy that was approved in 1987 for the church's worship. The term "Mercian" was adopted by the church in the late 1970s and identifies the jurisdiction with Christ the Merciful while keeping it free from any association with a particular ethnic or national group.

The church is Orthodox in faith and practice. There are seven sacraments, and in Orthodox fashion (as opposed to Roman Catholic practice) the church separates the service of Holy Unction (for the ill) from the service of Last Rites (for the dying).

The Mercian Church experienced significant growth through the 1980s and spread into Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, West Africa, Belgium, and Japan. Two diocese were initially established in the United States: the Primatial Diocese (Colorado Springs, Colorado) and the Diocese of St. Michael (La Porte, Indiana). Later the Missionary Diocese of St. Gregorios was designated in California and the Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle in Minnesota. Besides St. Paul's Monastery in Indiana, the church established several schools including Notre Dame de Lafayette University in Aurora, Colorado. Then in 1994, the upward progress of the church was halted when the state of Colorado's Commission on Higher Education moved against the university and its administration. It was charged with engaging in deceptive business practices in that it was offering degrees in nonreligious subjects beyond the authorizations of their charter and implying to its students, primarily correspondents, that it was an accredited institution.

The action of the state has led to a process of adjudication against the church and Archbishop Stephen Thomas which is continuing as this edition goes to press. The church has continued in its national and international work and has supported those charged in the Colorado case.

Membership: Not reported. In 1990 the church reported 2,500 members, 24 priests, and 18 congregations in the United States. There were two congregations and one priest in Canada.

Periodicals: The Mercian Messenger.

Sources:

Thomas, Stephen R. The Mercian Rite Church: A Catholic Alternative. Colorado Springs, CO: SCM Publications, 1988. Brochure.

——. The Mercian Rite of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Colorado Springs, CO: SCM Publications, [1988].

★305 ★

Old Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America

66 N. Brookfield St.
Vineland, NJ 08360

Not all of the independent Polish Catholic Churches founded in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century joined with the Polish National Catholic Church. Some of these parishes had associated with independent Old Catholic bodies which had grown out of the work of Archbishop Joseph Rene Vilatte and his American Catholic Church, especially the Old Catholic Church in America headed by Archbishop W. H. Francis Brothers and the Polish Catholic Church of Bishop Stephen Kaminski. In 1937 some of these churches joined with several parishes of Slavic (Lithuanian) background and came together to form the Polish Old Catholic Church. They incorporated in New Jersey and elected Bishop Joseph Zielonka as their leader. Zielonka had been consecrated some years previously by Paolo Miraglia-Gulotti and had served as a bishop under Brothers.

Under Zielonka's capable leadership the church grew and by the time of his death in 1961 consisted of 22 parishes. Most were located in New Jersey with others in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The growth phase under Zielonka, however, was completely reversed under his successor, Peter A. Zurawetzky. Zurawetzky, Zielonka's suffragan, had been consecrated in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1950. Patriarch Joseph Klimowicz of the Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America; Archbishop Konstatin Jaroshevich (a Byelorussian prelate who had been consecrated by Archbishop Fan Stylin Noli of the Albanian Orthodox Church); Archbishop Zielonka; Metropolitan Nicholas Bohatyretz of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church; and Old Catholic Bishop Peter M. Williamowicz participated in the consecration service.

Among his first acts, Zurawetzky changed the name of the Church to Christ Catholic Church of the Americas and Europe, an expression of a desire to move beyond ethnic and language barriers in his jurisdiction so that all nationalities might feel welcome. The future looked promising, but problems began to plague the newly named Church almost immediately. First some churches and clergy did not accept Archbishop Peter's leadership. They also did not like the name change. Second, Fr. Felix Starazewski asserted a claim to be the legitimate successor of the late Bishop Zielonka, and he and his church in South River, New Jersey, refused to honor the jurisdiction of Archbishop Peter. His defection led the way and other congregations departed for either the Polish National Catholic Church or one of the other independent Catholic or Orthodox bodies.

Third, and most importantly, Zurawetzky shifted his attention away from building his jurisdiction through expanding parishes and membership to growth by uniting with other independent Old Catholic and Eastern Orthodox bodies. He thus brought into his jurisdiction the divisiveness which had led to the splintering of these independent groups in the first place, and exacerbated the situation by assuming the title of Patriarch in America. Gradually all of his time and energy were poured into the actualization of a dominating vision, an American Patriarchate. At the same time his churches, consisting largely of Eastern European ethnic parishes, were being further reduced by the inevitable processes of Americanization.

By 1965, the Church having been reduced to a handful of communicants and clergy, a new possibility emerged. Rev. Karl Pruter, who had come from the Free Catholic Movement in the Congregational Church, was ordained by Archbishop Peter, and organized a nonethnic congregation in Boston, out of which a second congregation emerged. The Church of St. Paul was organized in Hobbs, New Mexico, by Fr. Daniel Smith. Then Zurawetzky moved to enlarge the Patriarchate. Assisted by Archbishop Uladyslau Ryzy-Ryski, he consecrated Pruter who consented to the consecration only on the condition that they be set aside as an independent jurisdiction to be called, Christ Catholic Church, Diocese of Boston, now known simply as Christ Catholic Church. Then, Smith was consecrated, but after a short while in Hobbs, he moved to Denver and withdrew from Archbishop Peter's jurisdiction altogether. Another briefly successful venture was the establishment of the Monastery of Our Lady of Reconciliation at Glorieta, New Mexico, in 1969. Fr. Christopher William Jones was a successful author and minister to many of the disenchanted youth of the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, shortly after Archbishop Peter consecrated him, he too left to form an independent, self-governing jurisdiction.

As of the mid-1980s, Archbishop Peter has no congregations in his jurisdiction, but maintains a chapel at Vineland, New Jersey, and a home in Chicago. He continues his efforts to build the Patriarchate.

Membership: As of 1985 there are no parishes in the Patriarchate, though several clergy remain affiliated.

Periodicals: Our Missionary. Send orders to 5520 W. Dakin, Chicago, IL 60641.

★306 ★

Orthodox American Church

Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God
33-11 89th St.
Jackson Heights, NY 11372

Orthodox American Church is a small Orthodox jurisdiction that focuses upon the inner teachings of Orthodoxy but does so apart from the monastic tradition (where such inner teachings are usually found). It recognizes that there are a variety of mystical traditions within Orthodoxy, each of which contribute to the fullness of the body of Christ. The church offers a step-by-step program that leads from fundamental and foundational concepts to the most advanced teachings of the inner life. This program is based on the mystical interpretation of the New Testament supplemented by prayerful reading of and meditation on the Psalms. At the same time, members are introduced to spiritual exercises based on the practice of the Cross of Light and the Tree of Light (kabbalah), along with the set Feasts of the Orthodox Church. In addition, the church strives to follow The Way of the Holy Cross, and the iconographic representations known as the "Twenty-two holy pictures" (tarot) are seen as depicting the way of the Eternal Life. Meditation and prayer on the tarot are seen as a means of opening the consciousness to eternal truth and eventually full illumination.

Members are invited to participate in the mystical lesson and the church's worship services. Devotion and reception of Holy Communion in and at the Divine Liturgy is a sine qua non of this spiritual path. This mystical path does not involve the disciplined practice of the Jesus Prayer, one of the more famous Orthodox practices.

The church lays claim to a line of apostolic succession from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, though it emphasizes that it is completely independent of the older Russian jurisdictions. It is also an English-speaking church.

The church is led by its three bishops: John Schneyder, James Johnson, and Nathanael Paprock.

Membership: Not reported. There are parishes in New York, Texas, and Connecticut.

Sources:

Orthodox American Church. http://qcunix1.qc.edu/~mmlqc/oac/. 10 May 2002.

★307 ★

Orthodox Catholic Autocephalous Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Orthodox Catholic Autocephalous Church was founded in the 1980s by Bp. James E. Henderson. Henderson had been consecrated by Abp. Trevor Wyatt Moore of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Church in the United States, and for a number of years Henderson functioned as a bishop in that church. The Orthodox Catholic Autocephalous Church resembles its parent body, as the occasion for the split was primarily administrative.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990.

★308 ★

Orthodox Catholic Church

℅ Most Rev. Carlos A. Florido, Presiding Bishop
544 Oak St.
San Francisco, CA 94127

The Orthodox Catholic Church was founded in the mid-1980s by Carlos A. Florido. Florido was born in Cuba and became a priest in 1961. He subsequently moved to the United States. In 1983 he was consecrated as a bishop by Lewis S. Keizer of the Independent Church of Antioch and shortly thereafter founded the Independent Catholic Church headquartered at the St Francis of Assisi Church in San Francisco. At a later date that church became known as the Orthodox Catholic Church. In 1990 Florido consecrated Katherine Kurtz as a bishop in charge of an order community, the Third Order of St. Michael, based in Kilmacanogue, County Wicklow, Ireland.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit: Apogee Books, 1990.

★309 ★

Orthodox Catholic Church in America

℅ Walter X. Brown
W 1207 W. River Dr.
Oconomowoc, WI 53066

The Orthodox Catholic Church in America, until recently known as the Archdiocese of the Old Catholic Church of America, began in 1941 when Bishop Francis Xavier Resch, who had been consecrated by Archbishop Carmel Henry Carfora of the North American Old Roman Catholic Church, broke with that jurisdiction and began the independent Diocese of Kankakee, centered upon his parish in Kankakee, Illinois. In a short time he had parishes in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. However, these parishes, consisting primarily of first generation Eastern European immigrants, developed a more broadly based constituency as the second generation became Americanized. In 1963, Resch consecratd Fr. Walter X. Brown to the episcopacy. Brown moved the headquarters to Milwaukee, where the church developed a seminary, several programs for the treatment of alcoholism and drug abuse, and several new parishes.

During the 1980s, under Brown's leadership, the church has moved steadily from an Old Catholic to an Eastern Orthodox position. The church accepts both the Eastern and Western Orthodox tradition of the seven ecumenical councils and the unanimous opinion of the fathers of the Christian Church. The faith, practices, and discipline of the Eastern Orthodox churches has been adopted. The seven sacrements are practiced, and the Nicene Creed is followed in the church's own statement of faith. Individual parishes may use either the Western Gregorian or Eastern Byzantine rites.

The church supports two monastic communities, one Eastern and one Western, in Milwaukee. It became a charter participant in the recently organized Holy Orthodox Synod of America, a council of independent Orthodox jurisdictions in America which seek to facilitate cooperation within the larger American Orthodox community.

Membership: In 1988, the church reported 2,100 members, ten congregations, and 16 clergy in the United States. Churches are located in Dallas and Lubbock, Texas; Erie, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; Racine, Madison, Watertown, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Davenport, Iowa; St. Petersburg, Florida; Ludington, Michigan; Brooklyn, New York; and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Educational Facilities: Holy Cross Theological Seminary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Periodicals: The Messenger.

Remarks: In 1986 the Orthodox Catholic Church in America entered into an agreement of intercommunion with the Orthodox Catholic Church of America, headed by Archbishop Alfred Louis Lankenau. The two jurisdictions jointly formed the Holy Orthodox Synod of America, a confederation of independent Orthodox bishops for the purposes of sharing and fellowship.

Sources:

Holman, John Cyprian. The Old Catholic Church of America. Milwaukee, WI: Port Royal Press, 1977.

Resch, Francis X. Compendium Philosophiae Universae. Lake Village, IN: The Author, 1950.

★310 ★

Orthodox Catholic Church in America (Verra)

℅ Michael Edward Verra
238 Mott St.
New York, NY 10012

The Orthodox Catholic Church, known through the mid-1980s as the American Catholic Church, Archdiocese of New York, was established in 1927 by Fr. James Francis Augustine Lashley. Father Lashley, himself an African American, was moved to establish a Catholic jursidiction to serve those African Americans who were drawn to the Roman Catholic faith but felt rejected by the Roman Catholic Church. He also fostered the religious vocation of African American men called to the priesthood who were refused admission to Catholic seminaries because of their race.

In 1932, Bishop William F. Tyarks, of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, consecrated Father Lashley in the lineage of Archbishop of Joseph Rene Vilatte, an episcopal lineage originating in the Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch and the East. Lashley built a substantial jurisdiction, which in the mid-1960s reported 20 congregations (nine in the United States and 11 in the West Indies). Lashley died in the mid-1980s and was succeeded by Bishop Verra.

The Orthodox Catholic Church in America does not consider itself independent but a part of the Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The church takes as its standards of faith the Sacred Tradition, the accumulated teachings of the fathers of the Christian Church; the Holy Bible; the truths of the Seven Ecumenical Councils; and the Synod of Jerusalem of 1692, all believed to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. It specifically rejects the universal episcopal jurisdiction and infallibility of the Pope, the Filioque clause in the Apostles Creed; purgatory; indulgences; the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary; limbo; and the use of unleavened bread in the Divine Liturgy. The church uses a Western Rite liturgy in conformity with its Orthodox Catholic beliefs concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the changing of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ by the holy spirit in the eucharist. Both icons and statues are used. Clergy may marry.

Membership: As of 2002, the church had two parishes and three priests in the United States and two parishes and two priests in Trinidad.

★311 ★

Orthodox Catholic Church of America

℅ Alfred Louis Lankenau
PO Box 1222
Indianapolis, IN 46206

Several jurisdictions derive their orders from Archbishop Joseph Rene Vilatte, founder of the American Catholic Church through the orders given to the African Orthodox Church. In 1926 William F. Tyarks, a priest in the American Catholic Church who had been ordained by Vilatte's successor, Archbishop Frederick E.J. Lloyd in 1916, left Lloyd's jurisdiction and with other priests and members formed the American Catholic Orthodox Church. The group applied to the African Orthodox Church for orders and Archbishop George A. McGuire consecrated Tyarks in 1928.

In 1930 Tyarks consecrated one of the priests who had come from the American Catholic Church with him, Cyril John Clement Sherwood (1895-1969). Sherwood soon left Tyarks and was reconsecrated by McGuire in 1932. The next year he formed the American Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Eastern Church. Sherwood's career overlapped that of Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh's activity, and Sherwood became acquainted with his vision of a united American Orthodoxy. He incorporated it in an ecumenical organization, the Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America.

Among Sherwood's bishops was George A. Hyde, whom the Patriarch consecrated in May 1957. Hyde had formed the Eucharistic Catholic Church in Atlanta, Georgia in 1946. This first exclusively gay ministry in America continued until 1959 when Hyde moved to Washington, D.C., and formed the Society of Domestic Missionaries of St. Basil the Great, an order of priests. The following year he left Sherwood and formed the Orthodox Catholic Church of America. He believed that Sherwood was too narrowly Eastern in his approach to liturgy and theology and wanted to restructure the church making it open to Western rite Orthodox practice. In spite of leaving Sherwood's jurisdiction, Hyde continued to participate in the ecumenical Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America.

In 1969 Sherwood died. At a meeting of the Synod the next year, Hyde was elected to succeed him as head of the Patriarchate, and the Holy Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Eastern Church voted to become the Eastern Rite Diocese of the Orthodox Catholic Church of America. Thus Archbishop Hyde took control of all the work begun by Sherwood.

Doctrinally, the Orthodox Catholic Church of America follows the teachings of the Seven Ecumenical Councils and rejects the doctrinal innovations such as purgatory, papal infallibility, the immaculate conception, communion in one kind only, and an unmarried clergy. The church uses both the Eastern and Western rites in its liturgy. Under Hyde's administration, the Church was active in promoting a ministry to homosexuals and is the ultimate source of the presently existing Eucharistic Catholic Church. After Hyde's retirement, this and other special ministries were discontinued in favor of work directed to all people.

In 1983 Hyde retired and Alfred Louis Lankenau, bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis and Chicago, was elected to succeed him. Under the new archbishop, the Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America, which had ceased to function during the 1970s, has been revived and several Catholic and Orthodox jurisdictions have affiliated. In 1983, the Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction, headed by Archbishop James Francis Miller, which had broken from the church of the same name headed by Archbishop William Francis Forbes, merged into the Church. Bishop Perry Sills of the Western Rite Orthodox Church was incardinated in 1988.

Membership: The church reports parishes located in Maine, New York, Rhode Island, Indiana, Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and New Mexico with mission parishes in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and California. There are 32 priests and 960 members.

Remarks: In 1986 the Orthodox Catholic Church of America entered into an agreement of intercommunion with the Orthodox Catholic Church in America led by Archbishop Walter X. Brown and jointly formed the Holy Orthodox Synod of America. The synod is a confederation that independent Orthodox bishops may join.

Sources:

Bernard, R. J. A Faith for Americans. Anderson, SC: Ortho, 1974.

The Divine Liturgy. Elberton, GA: Orthodox Catholic Church of America, 1966.

Hyde, George Augustine., ed., The Courage to Be Ourselves. Anderson, SC: Ortho-Press, 1972.

——. The Genesis of the Orthodox Catholic Church of America. Indianapolis, IN: Orthodox Catholic Church of America, 1993.

★312 ★

Orthodox Catholic Church of North and South America

Box 1213
Akron, OH 44309

The Orthodox Catholic Church of North and South America was inspired by the ideal of the American Orthodox Church founded by Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh under the guidance of Patriarch Tikhon of the Russian Orthodox Church. A new attempt to bring this into reality began with Bishop Joseph W. Alisauskas, Jr.(d. 1980), who had been consecrated in 1968 by Archbishop W.H. Francis Brothers of the Old Catholic Church in America. Early in the 1960s, Brothers had taken his jurisdiction into the Russian Orthodox Church but in 1967 withdrew and reconstituted the Old Catholic Church in America. Alisauskas left Brothers jurisdiction in 1969 and formed the Orthodox Catholic Diocese of Connecticut and New England, a name selected to designate accurately its geographic extent. In choosing the name, he was also drawing upon the impulse of Archbishop Joseph Rene Vilatte, who had ordained Brothers in 1910 and consecrated him in 1913. The church adopted a new constitution in 1976, at which time it assumed its present name.

Associated with Alisauskas was the Holy Protection of the Mother of God Monastic Community of Cleveland co-founded by Roman Bernard, a layman. Bernard was ordained by Alisauskas and in 1978 consecrated Bishop of Ohio City and Cleveland. The same year, Alisauskas was elevated to the rank of metropolitan and, upon his death on August 26, 1980, was succeeded by Archbishop Roman.

The Orthodox Church of North and South America is Orthodox in faith and practice, but follows a variety of liturgical rites including the Orthodox-Byzantine, the Ambrosian-Milanese, a modified (de-protestantized) Anglican, the Gallican (but only in the van der Mensbrugghe translation, approved by the 1985 synod meeting), and the Roman Tridentine.

This jurisdiction grew significantly in 1988 when the Catholic Orthodox Church of Guatemala and Latin America, some 200,000 strong, affiliated with it, bringing several parishes and priests plus a seminary with 46 students. At the 1990 Synod held at Akron, Ohio, a bishop (Jose Imre of Tiquisate, Guatemala) was consecrated by Archbishop Roman and Bishop Emanuel of Montreal, Quebec, for Central America.

In addition to its spiritual activities, this independent Orthodox body has a strong consciousness. Father Andres Giron, once a member of the Guatemalan Parliament, has been a member of the United Nations Human Rights Commission for quite some time. He is also the president and founder of ANACAMPRO, a collective farm system for poor and disenfranchised peasants without land. In the United States there are two facilities caring for the homeless (St. James House in Philadelphia and Holy Cross Home in Cleveland), while N.T.S./St. Paul's Mission in Glassport (Pittsburgh area), Pennsylvania, locates jobs, free of charge, for the unemployed.

Membership: In 1997 the church reported 28 parishes and missions and 11 mission stations, two of which are in the United States (in Warren, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), semi-monastic communities (in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; and Barberton, Ohio), and a Shrine of St. Jude also in Barberton. Among the personnel are two bishops, 13 priests, three sub-deacons, 3 seminarians in the U.S., and nine members of religious communities (including monastics) with a total membership of approximately 214,300.

Educational Facilities: St. Nicholas Seminary, Akron, Ohio.

Seminario de San Jose, Nueva Conception, Escuintla Province, Guatemala.

Periodicals: The Orthodox Catholic Voice (5/year). • The Image (monthly). Send orders to 594 5th Ave. NE, Barberton, OH44203. • The Western Orthodox Catholic (periodic). Send orders to Box 27-406, Willow Station, Cleveland, OH 44127. • The Clarion. Available from St. Michael's Monastery, PO Box 8219, Phoenix, AZ 85066.

Remarks: According to Archbishop Roman, Archbishop Brothers had always considered himself head of the Western Orthodox Catholic Church of America and had a large, oval, episcopal ring (used for sealing official documents) which bore that designation. Vilatte, consecrated by the Oriental Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, had been permitted to use the title, Exarch of the Old Catholic Church in America, a tacit admission of the Patriarchate's equation of "Old Catholic" and "Western Orthodox." Since that time the name "Old Catholic" has taken on a variety of meanings not envisioned by the Patriarchate in 1892.

★313 ★

Orthodox Catholic Church of the Americas

c/o The Archdoces of Louisiana
311 Hickory Ave.
Harahan, LA 70123

The Orthodox Catholic Church of the Americas is a small independent Catholic jurisdiction founded in 1986 by Msg. Antonio Fuoco. Most of its work is among French Canadians, and it is also known by its French name Eglise Catholique Orthodoxe des Ameriques. Fuoco was consecrated in 1983 by Abp. Andre Barbeau of the Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada, assisted by Andre Letellier and Jean-Marie Breault. He assumed the ecclesiastical name Mar Petros Johannes. In 1985 Fuoco founded the Religious Order of Saint Michael (Communaute Ecclesiale Oecumenique de Saint-Michel), over which he serves as superior general.

The group's Internet address is at http://www.gnofn.org/~orthodox.

Membership: Not reported.

★314 ★

Orthodox Christian Fellowship of Mercy

PO Box 1107
Thonotosassa, FL 33592

The Orthodox Christian Fellowship of Mercy is a relatively new independent Catholic jurisdiction that has emerged out of the dissolution of the American Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, Holy Synod of the Americas. The Holy Synod had formerly existed as the Diocese of Florida of the American Catholic Church, but had become independent as an Eastern Orthodox body, though keeping the American Catholic Church's stance toward an inclusive ministry that opened its doors to women and to gay and lesbian people in all areas of ecclesiastical life. On November 4, 2000, Fr. John Columba, a tonsured Stavrophore monk with the church, was consecrated as a bishop. Less than two months later (December 31, 2000), Metropolitan Archbishop Vladimir Sergius II resigned as primate and appointed the new bishop to assume the primacy. However, he also dissolved the corporation, and in 2001 reorganized his own ministry as the Pride Church International, which developed a primary relationship to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered community.

In the wake of the events at the end of 2000, Bishop John Columba reorganized the church as a separate jurisdiction, the Orthodox Christian Fellowship of Mercy. Bishop John Columba has developed a ministry to the "neglected" elements of society–the aged and AIDS patients in nursing homes, alcoholics and addicts, and the imprisoned. He envisions the opening of a hospice that will combine elements of a home environment with the spirituality of a monastic community. It would combine healthy diet, some gardening, prayer and meditation, and modern and alternative medical care into a healing environment. Through his life, the bishop moved from a Baptist to an Eastern Orthodox perspective, his current perspective in one shaped by an appreciation of Gnosticism, Buddhism, Theosophy, and Creation Spirituality. He is also working with the teachings of famed British Spiritualist healer Harry Edwards (1893-1976).

The ministries of the small jurisdiction are limited to supplying religious services at meetings of the Society for Creative Anachronism, providing prayer and counseling at Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities, intercessory prayer for healing, and spiritual counseling over the Internet.

Membership: Not reported. Currently there is only one other clergy in the decimated jurisdiction, a retired bishop.

Sources:

Orthodox Christian Fellowship of Mercy. http://fellowship-ofmercy.faithweb.com/. 10 May 2002.

★315 ★

Orthodox Church in America

c/o Dioces of the Midwest
933 N. LaSalle Dr.
Chicago, IL 60610

The Orthodox Church in America is the oldest continuously existing Eastern Orthodox body in North America in general and the United States in particular. As the first Orthodox church began to arrive, it assumed a hegemony over what became in the nineteenth century a multi-ethnic Orthodox community, and many of the presently existing independent Orthodox churches in America began as parishes and/or a diocese within what is today known as the Orthodox Church in America.

The OCA began in Alaska with the arrival of missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1794 eight monks and two novices arrived on Kodiak Island to follow up on the work of converting the Native Americans already begun by a generation of Russian lay people in the Aleutians. Among these ten was Father Herman, later canonized by the church. In 1824 John Veniaminov, a married priest, was sent to the Aleutians. After the death of his wife, he was consecrated the first bishop of a missionary diocese. Bishop Innocent had an outstanding career in Alaska, building the first cathedral at Sitka, among other accomplishments. He was called in 1868 to be the Metropolitan of Moscow, the highest office in the church and finally in 1977 canonized.

The sale of Alaska to the United States left the Missionary Diocese on its own. It moved its headquarters to San Francisco in 1872 and changed its name to the Russian Orthodox Church, Diocese of the Aleutian Islands and North America. The period during the episcopacy of Bishop Nicolas beginning in 1891 was a time of noted growth. The Alaskan Mission was expanded, and the work in Canada and the Eastern United States began.

In 1905 the diocese moved its headquarters from San Francisco to New York City. Its growth was recognized by its elevation to the rank of archdiocese. Under the archbishop was a bishop for Alaska and an Arabic-speaking bishop, Raphael Hawaweeny, who as Bishop of Brooklyn had oversight of Orthodox from the Middle East. Two additional bishops in Cleveland and Pittsburgh were soon added. The church progressed steadily until disrupted by events in Russia during World War I.

The Russian Revolution proved a disaster for the American Russian church. Russian Orthodox Christians had always carried a special loyalty for the royal family which had been executed by the new government in Moscow. Also, money from Russia which had always assisted in the support of the archdiocese was abruptly curtailed, to be almost immediately followed by a wave of immigration by refugees looking to the church for spiritual guidance and support. The patriarch of Moscow was arrested and the American church split over loyalty to him versus acceptance of the new government. Representative of what was termed the Living Church (those supportive of the Communist regime) arrived in the United States in 1923. At a synod of the Russian Church in 1924 in Detroit the credentials of the "Living Church" were rejected and the church asserted its administrative, judicial and legislative independence from Russia. It assumed a new name, the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America and declared the imprisoned Archbishop Platon, "Metropolitan of All America and Canada," an action which led then to be popularly called the "Metropolia." Their major loss came in court. Before they were able to legally validate their separation from Moscow, the "Living Church" representatives were able to win the transfer of the title of St. Nicolas Cathedral in New York City into their hands.

In 1925 Archbishop Platon died. He was succeeded by Archbishop Sergius who in 1927 issued a declaration calling for loyalty and cooperation with the new Russian government. Prior to this declaration, the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America had cooperated with other Russian bishops around the world caught outside of Russia and also cut off by the Revolution. Following the declaration, Metropolitan Platon declared his loyalty to Sergius, but specifically denied him any power to make administrative decisions concerning the American church. In spite of the challenges of the several competing branches of Russian Orthodoxy, one staunchly opposed to any cooperation with the Church under Communist domination (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia), and the other administratively tied to the Patriarch of Moscow (the American Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Catholic Church), the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America retained the support of most American believers.

During the years following the turmoil of the Russian Revolution, the Metropolia assumed the position that it would give recognition to the spiritual authority of the patriarch in Moscow, if he would recognize its administrative autonomy. However, the Church in Russia continued its support of those parishes in the Exarchate who recognized his complete authority. Finally, in 1970, the separation of the Metropolia from the church in Russia was ended when the patriarch of Moscow, His Holiness Alexis, granted autonomous status to the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America, renamed the Orthodox Church in America. The Exarchate was dissolved and most of its parishes moved into the OCA.

For quite different reasons, the creation of the Orthodox Church in America created a controversy within the larger American Orthodox community. For many years there had been various attempts to move away from the ethnic divisions within American Orthodoxy. In creating the Orthodox Church in America, the Russian community asserted its status as the oldest Orthodox church in North America and as such the most fitting focus of Orthodox unity. Other Orthodox groups, particularly the Greek Archdiocese, saw the emergence of the OCA as a unilateral effort not deserving of recognition.

The OCA is headed by its archbishop, Metropolitan Theodosius, whose jurisdiction extends throughout the western hemisphere. There are nine dioceses in the United States, one in Canada and an exarchate in Mexico. Also under its canonical jurisdiction are the autonomous Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese and the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America. The latter places the OCA in a peculiar position, having a relationship with the Romanian Episcopate while holding membership in the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops which includes the rival Romanian Orthodox Church of America.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary, South Canaan, Pennsylvania.

St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Tuckahoe, New York.

Periodicals: The Orthodox Church. Send orders to PO Box 675, Rte. 25A, Syosset, NY 11791. • The Canadian Orthodox Messenger. Send orders to 369 Alfred St., Kingston, ON, Canada K7K 4H6.

Sources:

Koulomzin, Sophie. The Orthodox Christian Church through the Ages. New York: Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America,1956.

The Orthodox Liturgy…According to the Use of the Church of Russia. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1964.

Tarasar, Constance. Orthodox America, 1794-1976: Development of the Orthodox Church in America. Syosset, NY: Orthodox Church in America, Department of Archives and History, 1975.

★316 ★

Orthodox Church of America

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Orthodox Church of America was formed on June 29, 1970 by Bishop David Baxter. Bishop Baxter had been consecrated the previous year by Archbishop Walter A. Propheta of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, assisted by bishops John A. Christian, and Foster Gilead. The church uses the Western Rite, but places emphasis upon its Eastern orders and Eastern spirituality. Its basis of faith is the Nicene Creed, the Seven Sacraments, and the necessity of Orders in the Apostolic Succession.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: St. Herman Seminary, Morrilton, Arkansas, a correspondence school.

★317 ★

Orthodox Church of Canada

901-580 Dundas St.
London, ON, Canada N6B 1W9

The Orthodox Church of Canada is an independent conservative Orthodox body whose Primate, Abp. Andrei Brennan, holds orders that derive from the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the American Orthodox Church, and the former Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of the Americas and Europe. It has a stated goal of becoming a national Orthodox body for Canada. It is Orthodox in faith and practice and a charter member of the Synod of Autonomous Canonical Orthodox Churches in North America.

Membership: Not reported. As of 1998, affiliated congregations were primarily in Ontario.

Sources:

http://netministries.org/see/churches/ch051832/.

★318 ★

Patriarchial Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A.

c/o St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral
15 E. 97th St.
New York, NY 10029

Following the Russian Revolution, the members of the Russian Orthodox Church in both Russia and the United States were split over rejecting or acknowledging the new government which had risen to power. Within the United States, especially after the arrest of the Patriarch of Moscow, the sentiment was largely against any accommodation and the American archdiocese declared itself administratively autonomous of the homeland. Meanwhile, within the Soviet Union, a reorganization of the church by leaders of the so-called "Living Church," those who supported accommodation to the Communist government occurred. With government backing, they assumed control of the church and elected John Kedrowsky as the new bishop for the West. Kedrovsky arrived in America in 1923 prepared to take up his leadership role. However, at the same synod meeting in 1924 at which the church declared its autonomy, Kedrovsky's credentials were rejected. As the official representative of the church in Russia, however, he did find some support, and in 1926 won possession of the headquarters' cathedral in New York City.

Kedrovsky's situation was further complicated in 1933 by the arrival of Metropolitan Benjamin Fedchenkov. In the year that Bishop John had lived in the United States, the church in Russia had regained some stability and the Living Church faction had died away. Metropolitan Benjamin represented a more acceptable accommodationist position and he gained some support. He established the American Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Catholic Church. However, for another decade Bishop John, succeeded by his son Nicholas Kedrowsky, whom he had consecrated, kept possessiono St. Nicholas Cathedral. Finally in 1945, after the death of both Bishop John and Nicolas, the Kedrovsky faction was left without either support of the Church in Russia or an episcopal leader. Rev. John Kedrovsky, Bishop John's other son signed the cathedral over to the Exarchate.

Negotiations continued sporadically in an attempt to work out differences between the church authorities and the larger autonomous Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America. These reached fruition in 1970. The Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America became the Orthodox Church in America and recognized the Patriarch of Moscow as its spiritual authority. The patriarch, in turn, recognized its autonomous status. As part of the agreement, the Exarchate was disolved. At the time of the disolution of the Exarchate, it was agreed that any parishes which wished to remain under the direct administrative authority of the Moscow patriarchy could remain outside of the Orthodox Church in America. These several parishes reformed as the Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada. A vicar bishop was placed in charge of the approximately 40 parishes. St. Nicholas remained with the patriarchal parishes and served as its headquarters. Over the years parishes have been allowed to transfer to the OCA. The church is also a member of the National Council of Churches.

Membership: In 2001, the church reported 9,780 members in 38 parishes served by 45 priests.

Sources:

Pokrovshy, M. St. Nicholas Cathedral of New York, History and Legend. New York: St. Nicholas Cathedral Study Group, 1968.

★319 ★

Reformed Orthodox Catholic Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Reformed Orthodox Catholic Church is a small Orthodox jurisdiction founded by Most Rev. Thomas Ephraim (the ecclesiastical name of Bishop Dennis Smith). Smith had originally been consecrated on July 1, 1971, in Miami, Florida, by Archbishop Richard E. Drews, head of the Reformed (Slavonic) Orthodox Church of Florida, assisted by Archbishops Mark Karras and George Erline. He later left Drews' jurisdiction.

Membership: Not reported.

★320 ★

Reformed (Slavonic) Orthodox Church

808 W. Sunrise Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311

The Reformed (Slavonic) Orthodox Church is a small Orthodox jurisdiction founded by Archbishop Richard E. Drews. Drew was originally consecrated on October 4, 1969, at St. Fanourios Orthodox Church, Woodside, New York, by Archbishops Lowell Paul Wadle of the American Catholic Church, assisted by Archbishops Mark Karras and George Erline. He later founded the Reformed Orthodox Church in Florida.

The church is Orthodox in belief and practice. The liturgy is in English.

Membership: Not reported.

★321 ★

Romanian Orthodox Church of America

19959 Riopelle
Detroit, MI 48203

The Romanian Orthodox Church of America, officially known as the Romanian Orthodox Missionary Archdiocese in America and Canada, had its beginning in the formation of the first Romanian Orthodox parish in North America, formed at Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1902. It was followed two years later by a parish in Cleveland, Ohio, the first in the United States. These parishes and others to follow functioned under the hegemony of the Russian Orthodox Church. A diocese was created in 1929 and a bishop assigned in 1935. Bishop Policarp Morusca returned to Romania at the beginning of World War II and after the war was detained and finally in 1948 involuntarily retired by the new Romanian government. In 1950 a new bishop, consecrated and sent by the Church in Romania arrived. The appearance of Bishop Andrei Moldovan divided the American church which had a bylaw providing for the consecration of a bishop only after the election by a diocesan congress.

The majority of the American Romanian Orthodox reject Moldovan. The Romanian Orthodox Church in America began with the 12 parishes that accepted him. They organized as the Canonical Missionary Episcopate in the United States, Canada, and South America. The church is fully Orthodox in faith and practice, a member of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the United States, and differs from the larger Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America in administration.

Membership: In 1980 the church had 13 parishes and 12,835 members in the United States, with 19 additional parishes in Canada and one in Venezuela.

Periodicals: Credinta–The Faith.

★322 ★

Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America

2535 Grey Tower Rd.
Jackson, MI 49201-9120

The first Romanian Christians came to America at the end of the nineteenth century. A parish of the Romanian Orthodox Church was organized in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1902, and two years later St. Mary's Church was founded in Cleveland. Individual congregations cooperated with Russian bishops but were related directly to the hierarchy in Romania. After a quarter of a century, a church congress was held in Detroit and in 1929 the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate (diocese) of America was organized. In 1935 the first bishop, His Grace Policarp (Morusca) came to the United States and settled in Grass Lake, Michigan.

The second bishop, the Most Rev. Archbishop Valerian (Trifa) was succeeded by the Most Rev. Archbishop Nathaniel Popp the current ruling bishop of the episcopate. Canonically, the episcopate is under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church in America.

Membership: In 2001, the episcopate reported 70 parishes, 100,000 members, and 120 clergy, including 18 parishes and 13 clergy in Canada.

Educational Facilities: St. Andrews House, Detroit, MI.

Periodicals: SOLIA, The Herald. Send orders to PO Box 185, Grass Lake, MI 49240-0185. • Lumina Lina. • Joyous Light SOLIA CALENDAR annual Almanac.

Remarks: In 1939 Bishop Polycarp went to Romania, but due to political events could not return. After World War II, he was detained by the Romanian government and in 1948 placed in retirement. The Romanian patriarchate, without the knowledge or consent of the American diocese, consecrated a new bishop, the Reverend Andrei Moldovan, the parish priest in Akron, Ohio, who had gone to Romania to be consecrated without the concurrence or support of the American parishes. His return to the United States created a major crisis as the status and bylaws of the diocese provided for ordination of bishops only after election by the diocesan congress. The majority party (48 parishes) declared themselves in full separation from the Romanian patriarchate. Later, in 1951, they elected Viorel (Valerian) D. Trifa, who had recently arrived in the United States as their bishop. Through a fraternal tie, Trifa was able to bring the episcopate under the canonical protection of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America (now the Orthodox Church in America), which recognized Trifa's church as a self-governing body.

The episcopate faced a second major crisis in the 1970s when Bishop Trifa was charged with concealing an alleged role in Nazi atrocities in Romania. In 1980 he surrendered his United States citizenship, and in 1984 went into exile in Portugal. He died there in 1987 and was succeeded by Bp. Nathaniel Popp, the present leader of the episcopate.

Sources:

Beliefs of Orthodox Christians. Jackson, MI: Romanian Orthodox Episcopate, n.d.

50th Anniversary, 1938-1988. Vatra Dedication. Jackson, MI: Publishing Department, Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in America, 1988.

Holy Liturgy for Orthodox Christians. Jackson, MI: Romanian Orthodox Episcopate, n.d.

Lascu, Traian. Valerian, 1951-1984. Madison Heights, MI: Knello Printing Services, 1984.

Trifa, Valerian D. Holy Sacraments for Orthodox Christians. Jackson, MI: Romanian Orthodox Episcopate, n.d.

★323 ★

Russian Orthodox Church in America

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Russian Orthodox Church in America (not to be confused with either of the large Russian Orthodox jurisdictions, the Orthodox Church in America or the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia), traces it history to the career of Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh (1880-1971) who in the 1920s was part of a short-lived experiment by the then Russian Orthodox jurisdiction in America to create an American Orthodox church. Ofiesh, of Syrian ancestry, was consecrated as a bishop in 1917, elevated to archbishop in 1923, and subsequently formed the American Orthodox Church in 1927. The church came to a crossroads when the Russian bishops withdrew support and in 1932 moved Ofiesh out of his church in Brooklyn, New York. He pushed forward with the independent effort, but lost what little support remained within the larger Orthodox community in 1933 when he married. The bishops consecrated by Ofiesh would through the twentieth century become the source for a number of small Orthodox groups.

The Russian church in America is based in a monastic community, the Monastery of Saint John the Wonderworker, founded in 1987 in Wyoming by two monks of northern European descent and moved to Denver in 1994, and a seminary, also in Denver. The seminary offers a course of study via the mail. Contact with both is made through email. The church is led by its two bishops, Symeon Ioannovskij and Bishop Marcarius.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: St. Innocent of America Theological Seminary, Denver, Colorado.

Sources:

Russian Orthodox Church in America. http://www.russianorthodox.org/russorth.html. 10 May 2002.

★324 ★

Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

℅ His Eminence Vitaly, Metropolitan
75 E. 93rd St.
New York, NY 10028

Following the Russian Revolution and the cutting of lines of authority and communication between the Patriarch of Moscow and bishops serving Russian Orthodox communities outside of Soviet control, attempts were made to reorganize the church. In 1921 a conference of Russian Orthodox bishops in exile met at Sremski Karlovtsy, Yugoslavia. Among the participants was Metropolitan Platon, leader of the American archdiocese. Metropolitan Platon continued to work with the Council of Bishops Abroad until 1926 when he ran into conflict over the movement toward autocephalous status of the American church. Metropolitan Platon declared the Council of Bishops an uncanonical organization. The Council dismissed Platon and assigned Bishop Apollinary in his place.

Bishop Apollinary was elevated to archbishop in 1929 and, after a short period of leadership, he died in 1933. He was succeeded by Bishop Vitaly. Efforts to heal the schism between the Church Abroad and the autonomous Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America (popularly called the Metropolia) led to a temporary reproachment in 1935 which continued through the period of World War II. In the mid-1940s, however, it became evident that the larger body wished some realignment with the Patriarch of Moscow and, in 1946, it broke completely with the Church Abroad. The American followers of the Church Abroad asserted their continuity with Russian Orthodoxy in America and declared the Metropolia schismatic. Since that time the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has been the major voice of the anti-Soviet faction of Russian Orthodoxy, and it has tried to continue the traditional practices of the Russian Church.

Membership: In 1994 the church reported 177 parishes in the United States, 25 parishes in Canada, and 37 parishes in South America. There were approximately 100,000 members in the United States. There are affiliated congregations on every continent.

Educational Facilities: Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, Jordanville, New York.

Periodicals: Orthodox Life. Available from Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY 13361. • Orthodox America. Send orders to Box 3132, Redding, CA 96099.

Sources:

A Cry of Despair from Moscow Churchmen. New York: Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, 1966.

Fiftieth Anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Montreal: Monastery Press in Canada, 1971.

Rodzianko, M. The Truth About the Russian Church Abroad. N.p. 1975.

★325 ★

Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Arrendale)

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Sacred Heart Catholic Church was founded in 1980 by Archbishop James Augustine Arrendale and other former members of Archbishop James Francis Augustine Lashley's American Catholic Church, Archdiocese of New York. Arrendale was consecrated on August 10, 1981 by Bishop Pinachio, who was assisted by Bishops Donald Anthony and William Wren. The group adheres to the teachings of the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the three Ecumenical Creeds. Archbishop Arrendale died in 1985 and the future course of the Archdiocese is in doubt.

Membership: Not reported.

★326 ★

St. Anne's African Orthodox Church

2485 NW 65th
Miami, FL 33054

The Protestant Episcopal Church, like all American denominations with both episcopal leadership and a significant black membership, faced the problems and pressures related to electing and elevating their first black member to the bishopric. Within the Episcopal Church the cries for a bishop drawn from among black members grew even louder after the Civil War. They were refused, the leadership arguing that, since the church did not recognize racial distinctions, it could not elevate a man to the bishopric just because he was black. A step toward the solution came in 1910 with the creation of black "suffragan" bishops, bishops without right to succession and without vote in the house of bishops.

Among those who complained that suffragans were not enough was Dr. George A. McGuire (1866-1934), an Episcopal priest who had emigrated from the West Indies. In 1921 he left the Protestant Episcopal Church and founded the Independent Episcopal Church. McGuire had had a distinguished career in the Episcopal Church, serving parishes in both the United States and Antigua, and he had been considered for the post of Suffragan Bishop of Arkansas. He declined in order to study medicine at Jefferson Medical College, where he graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1910. Upon graduation, he served at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was then called to be the Secretary of the Commission for Work among the Colored People under the Church's Board of Missions.

After several years as Secretary, he moved back to Antigua, where he remained for six years building the church where he was baptized, St. Paul's in Sweets. When fellow West Indian Marcus Garvey formed the United Negro Improvement Association, Mc-Guire returned to the United States to support him. Working with Garvey only strengthened his dissatisfaction in serving a church where black people were systematically denied positions of leadership, and he became determined to pursue an independent course.

On September 2, 1921, in the Church of the Good Shepherd in New York City, a meeting of independent black clergy resolved itself into the first Synod of the African Orthodox Church and designated McGuire as its bishop elect. The synod then entered into negotiations with the Russian Orthodox Church in America in their search for episcopal orders for their newly elected bishop. The Russians indicated a willingness to consecrate McGuire, but only if they controlled the newly created jurisdiction. The idea of non-Black control had no appeal to either McGuire or his followers. They then turned to the American Catholic Church, headed by Archbishop Joseph Rene Vilatte. Vilatte was willing to confer orders and ask little or nothing in the way of control. On September 29, 1921, Bishop Vilatte, assisted by Carl A. Nybladh, consecrated Dr. McGuire in the Church of Our Lady of Good Death in Chicago.

The church experienced slow but steady growth, although most of the individual congregations were small. The priests were seldom full-time clergy, although every church was encouraged to contribute something to their support. McGuire emphasized education and led in the organization of a seminary for the training of clergy. The first class numbered 14 men. The school provided professional training for its students, while accommodating to the generally lower educational level of its applicants. It has not tried to become an accredited degree-granting institution.

Archbishop McGuire led the church until his death in 1934, and it enjoyed peace and stability. After his death the leadership of the church fell into the hands of Archbishop William E. J. Robertson. Shortly after his elevation to the archbishopric, dissatisfaction arose among the group of clergy, and a schism, the Holy African Church, was created. The dissidents were led by Bishop Reginald Grant Barrow, who had been McGuire's closest associate. In time, Barrow was succeeded by Bishop Frederick A. Toote and then Bishop Gladstone St. Clair Nurse. Bishop Nurse led the efforts to reunite the two factions. On February 22, 1964, the two bodies joined together under Robertson, who adopted the Patriarchal name of Peter IV. Just prior to the merger he consecrated several bishops, an obvious effort to insure his continued control of the church. Nurse did not protest Robertson's action, and upon the death of the Patriarch was elected by the bishops to be the new primate of the church. He quickly brought all the elements of the church together, and upon his death, leadership passed very easily to Archbishop William R. Miller, who served as the church's Primate from 1976 until August 1981. At the Annual Synod of the Church, he resigned and was succeeded by Archbishop Stafford J. Sweeting.

The denomination remains small in the United States, but it has affiliated parishes in the West Indies and Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda). Recently, the church lost one of its strongest parishes when Bishop G. Duncan Hinkson of Chicago left to found the African Orthodox Church of the West. The church was also formerly known as African Orthodox Church.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Endich Theological Seminary, New York, New York.

Periodicals: The Trumpet. Available from Rev. Fr. Harold Furblur, Box 1925, Boston, MA 02105.

Sources:

Burkett, Randall K. Garveyism as a Religious Movement. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1978.

The Divine Liturgy and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church. Chicago: African Orthodox Church, 1945.

Newman, Richard. "The Origins of the African Orthodox Church." In The Negro Churchman. Millwood, NY: Kraus Publishing Co., 1977.

Terry-Thompson, Arthur C. History of the African Orthodox Church. New York: The Author, 1956.

★327 ★

Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church for the U.S.A. and Canada

St. Sava Monastery
Box 519
Libertyville, IL 60048

Few churches have been so affected by the changes in modern Europe as the Serbian Church. Present maps (if they show it at all) reveal Serbia as a part of Yugoslavia, a country welded together out of a number of pre-World War II, pre-Tito states. An independent Serbian Orthodox Church had been established in 1219 under Archbishop St. Sava. A patriarchate was established in the fourteenth century. From 1389 to 1815, Serbia was under Turkish rule and the church suffered severe persecution, but a nineteenth century revival followed independence from Moslem control.

In 1765, Serbian autonomy was ended, and the church returned to the jurisdiction of the ecumenical patriarch in Constantinople, who began a Hellenization program. In 1832 the archbishop of Belgrade was given the title metropolitan, and in 1879, as a result of the Congress of Berlin, the Serbian Church regained autonomy. In 1920 it joined with the independent Serbian churches in Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dalmatia, and Croatia to form the Serbian patriarchate. The seat was established in Belgrade, and its independence recognized by the ecumenical patriarch in 1922.

Immigrants from Serbia began to arrive in the U.S. in significant numbers in the 1890s. In 1892 Archimandrite Firmilian arrived and began to organize parishes. The first was in Jackson, California, but others soon followed in Chicago; Douglas, Alaska; and McKeesport, Steelton, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All of these early parishes were placed under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church in America. The Serbian Church began to seek autonomous status as early as 1913. With Russian encouragement, Serbian Father Mardary was sent to the United States to organize an independent diocese in 1917. In 1919 the Russians elevated him to archimandrite. In 1921 the Serbs separated from the Russian Orthodox Church and Mardary became the administrator. In 1926 he was consecrated bishop for the American diocese. The Serbian Church grew slowly in this country until World War II, when a flood of refugees came into the United States. St. Sava Monastery at Libertyville, Illinois, was built soon after Bishop Mardary's consecration, and the church headquarters are currently established there. On November 14, 1970, King Peter, deposed monarch of Yugoslavia, died; he was buried in the Monastery.

The changes in political structure in Yugoslavia after World War II drastically altered the American diocese. In 1940 Bishop Dionisije Milivojevich was sent to the United States to assume authority for the church. Because Dionisije was a vocal anti-Tito spokesman and defender of the Serbian monarchy, Marshall Tito, the new ruler of Yugoslavia, encouraged the Belgrade patriarch to release Milivojevich of his duties. At the same time, Tito moved against the church by confiscating all church property, thus placing the church under his financial control. The American Archdiocese was divided into three dioceses. Milivojevich was left in charge of the Midwest. He rejected the actions of the patriarch in Belgrade, which he interpreted as coming from an atheist government bent on absolute control of the church. He was suspended from office and excommunicated the following year. He appealed the actions of the Belgrade patriarch to the clergy and laity of the American church and individual congregations, and priests began to take sides. Each side filed suit against the other, and two churches have evolved: the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States and the Free Serbian Orthodox Church–Diocese for the U.S.A. and Canada.

The Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States of America and Canada is the canonical body loyal to the Mother Church with its Patriarchal See in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. In 1963 it was reorganized into three dioceses. Leading the church is Bishop Firmilian of the Midwestern American Diocese headquartered at Libertyville, Illinois. During the period of the 1960s and 1970s when the headquarters property of the church at St. Sava Monastery was being contested in the court and under the control of Bishop Milivojevich, the Midwestern Diocese erected a large church building in Chicago which served (until 1980) as its temporary headquarters. The Western American Diocese is headquartered in Alhambra, California, and the Eastern American Diocese in Edgeworth, Pennsylvania. In 1983 the Canadian parishes were separated from the Eastern Diocese and organized into a new Canadian Diocese. The Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States of America and Canada is a member of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops. Through its ties to the church in Belgrade, it is also a member of the World Council of Churches.

In 1992, major steps were taken to heal the division between the two bodies of Serbian Orthodox believers in North America. On February 15, following discussions with the Patriarchate in Belgrade, bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of New Gracanica, concelebrated the Divine liturgy with Patriarch Pavle. The action formally healed the schism. Only the formalities of working out the legal and administrative issues remained. As of the beginning of 1998, a common Constitution is being worked out for the entire Serbian Church in North America. Once agreed upon and accepted, territorial reorganization of the churches and dioceses will take place, so that administrative unity can follow.

Membership: In 1986 the church reported 67,000 members, 68 parishes and missions, and 82 priests.

Periodicals: The Path of Orthodoxy. Send orders to Box 36, Leesdale, PA 15056.

Sources:

Slijepchevich, Djoko. The Transgressions of Bishop Dionisije. Chicago: The Author, 1963.

Velimirovich, Nicholai D. The Faith of the Saints, Catechism of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Libertyville, IL: Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese for the United States of America and Canada, 1961.

——. The Life of St. Sava. Libertyville, IL: Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese, 1951.

★328 ★

Traditional Orthodox Christian Church (TOCA)

306 Mendocino Ave., Apt. 314
Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Traditional Orthodox Christian Church (TOCA), also known as the Russian-Greek Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, was founded by Archbishop Seraphim, its Metropolitan. A priest of a Russian orthodox jurisdiction, he left to join the Serbian Orthodox Church. He affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of New Jersey in 1997 and was consecrated in 1998 as a missionary bishop by Archbishop Andreas, the head of the Archdiocese. The Archdiocese is an independent Old Calendar Orthodox church under the leadership of Archbishop Joachim Souris. Souris, who resided in the United States in the middle of the twentieth century, was associated with Archbishop Christopher Contogeorge and Archbishop Peter A. Zurawetzky (of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Catholic Churches of the Americas and Europe) and the source of several lineages of independent orthodoxy. He currently resides in Athens, Greece.

TOCA follows traditional orthodox belief (Nicene Creed) and practice (in the Greek orthodox liturgy) but has opposed the adoption in the twentieth century of the Gregorian calendar that has replaced the Julian calendar which had been used for centuries in the Eastern Orthodox churches, and by the Greek Orthodox Church that was established as an independent entity again in the nineteenth century. They also oppose the ecumenism in which the majority of the national Orthodox churches now participate. Through Archbishop Souris, TOCA asserts its own apostolic succession.

The new jurisdiction is small with only a few parishes affiliated with it. Also affiliated with it are St. John the Baptist Hermitage in Hawaii and the Holy Theotokos Community in Buena Vista, California. Assisting the Metropolitan is Archbishop Ignatius.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Traditional Orthodox Christian Church. http://www.netministries.org/see/churches/ch03236. 19 March 2002.

★329 ★

Turkish Orthodox Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Turkish Orthodox Church was established in 1926 when excommunicated priest Paul Eftymios Karahissaridis claimed to have had his sentence of excommunication lifted by two members of the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church and that Bishops Cyril of Erdek and Agathangelos of Prinkipo consecrated him. Karahissaridis became popularly known as Papa Eftim. The new church grew out of a controversy begun by Papa Eftim's demanding a Turkish Church independent of the Greek Orthodox ecumenical patriarch in Constantinople. In 1933 Papa Eftin introduced a Turkish language version of the Divine Liturgy and ordained his son Socrates Ermis Karahissaridis and nephew Nicholas Doren to the priesthood. (Ermis became Eftim II.) The relations of the Turkish movement and the ecumenical patriarch have remained shaky and very much tied to Turkish-Greek relations. In 1962 Eftim II succeeded his ailing father as head of the church. Papa Eftim died in 1968.

On December 6, 1966, the Turkish Orthodox Church came to the United States with the appointnment of the Most Rev. Civet Kristof (a.k.a. Christopher M. Cragg) as metropolitan archbishop of New York and patriarchal exarch and primate of the Turkish Orthodox Church in America. Cragg, a well-educated black American of Ethiopian ancestry, had been consecrated by Archbishop Christopher Maria Stanley in 1965 and named Auxiliary Bishop of New York for the American Orthodox Catholic Church headed by Archbishop Walter A. Propheta. He edited the jurisdiction's periodical, the Orthodox Catholic Herald, which became the first periodical for the Turkish Orthodox Church. Kristof issued the first copies of Orthodoks Mustakil, the new periodical for the Turkish Orthodox Church, in 1969.

Membership: In 1969 the church reported 14 churches and 6 mission parishes.

Remarks: The Turkish Church continued to exist throughout the 1970s but during the early 1980s, Archbishop Cragg moved to Chicago and opened a health clinic. His stationary carried the title, American Orthodox Church, Diocese of Chicago and North America.

Sources:

Kristof, Most Reverend Metropolitan. A Brief History of the Turkish Orthodox Church in America (Patriarchal Exarchate). New York: Turkish Orthodox Church in America, Exarchal Office, [1967].

★330 ★

Ukrainian Autocephalic Church of North and South America

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Ukrainian Autocephalic Church of North and South America was founded by Abp. Wasyl Sawyna. Sawyna had reportedly been consecrated in 1959 by independent Ukrainian Bp. Evhen Batchynskiy, then a resident of Switzerland. Sawyna came to public attention when in 1964 he participated in the consecration of James Parker Dees, founder and primate of the Anglican Orthodox Church. Subsequently, efforts to obtain information about Sawyna and his jurisdiction, then headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, proved fruitless. While his consecration probably occurred as reported, it also seems likely that his jurisdiction was a paper organization which had no active parishes and is now totally defunct.

Sources:

Piepkorn, Arthur C. Profiles in Belief. New York: Harper & Row, 1977.

★331 ★

Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America (Ecumenical Patriarchate)

St. Andrew's Ukrainian Orthodox Diocese
90-34 139th St.
Jamaica, NY 11435

A new era in the relationship between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Ukrainians was opened in the late nineteenth century when many immigrants, especially from Western Ukraine, came to the United States and Canada. Prior to World War I, no universally recognized Ukrainian Orthodox jurisdiction existed in North America and many Ukrainians converted back to Orthodoxy under the Russian Church hierarchs in America, with the predictable result that their ethnic heritage was once again submerged.

The movement to re-establish direct ties between the Ecumenical Patriarch and his Ukrainian children received a new impetus on April 9, 1929, when a Church Congress was held in Allentown, Pennsylvania, attended by 15 clergy and 24 laymen. At this meeting, the decision was made to form a separate Ukrainian Orthodox diocese. A second Congress took place in New York in July 1931, when Fr. Dr. Joseph Zuk, was nominated to be the first bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America and Canada. Bishop Zuk would be able to serve the diocese until his untimely death in February 23, 1934.

A new bishop, Fr. Bohdan Shpylka, was consecrated on February 28, 1937, in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral in New York by Archbishop Athenagoras, the future Ecumenical Patriarch. During Bishop Bohdan's tenure, many pastoral visits were made and a Cathedral and adjoining building at 4th Street and Avenue C in New York was acquired along with a monastery in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Bishop Bohdan passed away in November 1, 1965.

On January 28, 1967, Fr. Andrei Kuschak was consecrated in New York by Archbishop Iakovos. Through careful diligent management he was able to improve the precarious financial position of the diocese including the acquisition of the current Cathedral of St. Andrew in Jamaica, New York. His missionary travels included meetings with His All Holiness Patriarch Dimitrios, Patriarch Elia IV of Antioch, Patriarch Maximos of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Justin of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and Archbishop Michael Ramsey of Canterbury, England. Bishop Andrei was elevated to Metropolitan in 1983 at the same time that Fr. Nicholas Smisko was consecrated as Auxiliary Bishop. Metropolitan Andrei passed away on November 17, 1986.

The current Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America and Canada, Bishop Vsevolod of Scopelos, was consecrated on September 27, 1987 by His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos. His efforts have aimed at generating a new spirit of respect among the members for the Orthodox faith and Ukrainian heritage. Special emphasis has been placed on rejuvenated youth program.

Membership: In 1977 the church reported 28 parishes, 25,000 members and 35 priests. A 1980 survey indicated 23 parishes 3,465 confirmed members and an additional 2,000 adherents.

Periodicals: Ukrainian Orthodox Herald.

★332 ★

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada

9 St. John's Ave.
Winnipeg, MB, Canada R2W 1G8

At the time of the Russian Revolution, the Ukrainian National Republic came into existence and Ukrainian Orthodox Christians began asserting their independence. Full separation from the Russian Orthodox Church and the proclamation establishing an autonomous national body came about in 1919. As news of the Revolution spread, immigrants to Canada acted quickly to found an independent jurisdiction. Approximately 150 delegates met in July 1918 at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Growth of the new jurisdiction was augmented by the movement of Eastern rite congregations of the Roman Catholic Church into Orthodoxy. At the time Rome was attempting to have the Eastern churches adopt the Latin rite.

In 1919 Metropolitan Germanos of the Antiochean Orthodox Church agreed to take the new church under his jurisdiction as a temporary measure. Rev. S. W. Sawchuk became the administrator. He traveled to Europe to attempt to secure a bishop, but was prevented entry to the Ukraine by Soviet officials. In 1924 Abp. John Theodorovich arrived in the United States to care for the Ukrainian Orthodox. The Canadians accepted him as their spiritual head, though Reverend Sawchuk continued to administer the church. In 1946 Archbishop Theodorovich asked to be relieved of his Canadian obligations. The Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Exile suggested that Bp. Mstyslaw Skrypnyk lead the Canadian work which was growing into the largest segment of Ukrainian Orthodoxy outside of Ukraine. He began his tenure in 1947 and retired in 1950. In 1951 Skrypnyk was succeeded by Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko and an assistant, Abp. Michael Horoshij. The jurisdiction is currently headed by Metropolitan Wasyly. In 1990 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada entered into eucharistic union with the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The church also operates St. Andrew's Theological College, affiliated with the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. It was the only center for Ukrainian Orthodox theological education of its kind outside of the former Soviet Union and was used by other Ukrainian jurisdictions of the United States, England, and Western Europe. In recent years, several additional Ukrainian Orthodox theological institutions have been opened.

Membership: In 2002 there were 140,000 members in 250 congregations, and 85 priests.

Educational Facilities: St. Andrew's Theological College, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Periodicals: Visnyk. • Ridna Nyva.

Sources:

Bilon, Peter. Ukrainians and Their Church. Johnstown, PA: Western Penn. Branch of the U.O.L., 1953.

★333 ★

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.

Box 495
South Bound Brook, NJ 08880

History. Ukrainian Christians, primarily Roman Catholic followers of the Uniate Eastern Rite, arrived in the United States and organized parishes in the nineteenth century. However, they soon encountered efforts of the Roman Church in America to further Latinize the Uniate parishes. In response, some left and joined the Russian Orthodox Church, in spite of what many felt were imperial designs against Ukrainians. In 1915 a Ukrainian National Church was founded. It placed itself under independent Catholic bishop, Carmel Henry Carfora, head of the National Catholic Diocese in North America and later primate of the North American Old Roman Catholic Church, with an understanding that it would affiliate with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church when and if it was allowed to exist in the Ukraine. In 1917, as the Russian Revolution progressed, the Ukrainian National Republic came into existence and, in 1919, it proclaimed the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church the official church of the land. Unable to find a bishop who could give them orders, the clergy and lay leaders assembled at a church council in 1921 and consecrated several candidates for bishop by the laying-on-of-hands of all present. In this manner Archpriests Wasyl Lypkiwsky and Nester Sharayiwsky were elevated to the office of bishop. Lypkiwsky was designated metropolitan.

The Ukrainian-Americans immediately began to establish an independent church. An initial All-Ukrainian Orthodox Council of the American Ukrainian Orthodox Church met in 1922. It petitioned for a bishop and two years later John Theodorovich, who had been consecrated by Metropolitan Lypkiwsky, arrived to head the new church. He established his see in Philadelphia in 1926.

The arrival of Bishop John (who had been consecrated in 1921 in the Ukraine by the Autocephalous Church) led other Uniate congregations to leave the Roman jurisdiction and become Orthodox. In response Rome appointed a bishop over its Ukrainian parishes. However, the new bishop soon came into conflict with many of the members. They broke with Rome and, not yet resolved to become Orthodox, formed the independent American-Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. During the 1920s, the parishes decided to become Orthodox and looked to Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh, head of the American Orthodox Church, for episcopal leadership. In 1932 he consecrated Joseph Zuk (d. 1934) as the bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America. He was succeeded by Bishop Bohdan Shpylka.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America existed side-by-side for several decades as competitors. Several attempts at union failed. However, in 1948, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America elected Mstyslaw Skrypnyk, then head of the Ukrainians in Canada, as their new Archbishop and named Bishop Bohdan as the auxiliary. Resigning from his Canadian post, Skrypnyk took the lead in seeking ways to unite the two churches. Through several gatherings in which members of both churches participated, the barriers to union were removed. As agreed to in the negotiations, Archbishop John was reconsecrated in order to silence any objections to the regularity of his original consecration.

Archbishop John was elected metropolitan of the new church, Archbishop Skrypnyk headed the consistory, and Archbishop Hennadij became the auxiliary bishop. Bishop Bohdan did not join the union, and with several parishes continued to exist separately as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America (Ecumenical Patriarch).

Archbishop Skrypnyk emerged as the most potent leader in the new church and eventually succeeded to the post of metropolitan, which he still retains. He developed the Saint Andrews the First called Memorial Center, the headquarters complex in South Bound Brook, New Jersey which now includes the seminary, St. Sophia Press (the publishing enterprise), a museum and archives, and the Home of Ukrainian Culture.

Beliefs. The church is at one in faith and practice with all of Orthodoxy. It accepts the Nicene Creed. It adheres closely to a rule against instrumental music and uses only vocal music in its worship.

Organization. The church is headed by its primate, Metropolitan Mstyslaw, archbishop of Philadelphia. He is assisted by archbishops in Chicago and New York. The archbishop is also designated the metropolitan of the church in diaspora. In this task he is assisted by archbishops in Paris, France and Australia. Eparchies have been established for Latin America, Great Britain, Western Europe, and Australia and New Zealand. A sobor of bishops meets every two years. In some countries, general sobors of synods of the church meet every three years to establish general and specific administrative policies. The church is also served by the United Ukrainian Orthodox Sisterhoods and the Ukrainian Orthodox League of the USA. The church is in communion with the Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox Church in Canada.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: St. Sophia Orthodox Theological Seminary, South Bound Brook, New Jersey.

Periodicals: Ukrainian Orthodox Word (Ukrainian and English editions). • Bipa (Faith). Send orders to 201-63 27th St., Bayside, NY 11360. • UOL Bulletin. Available from St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 7047 Columbia Ave. Hammond, IN 46324.

Sources:

Bilon, Peter. Ukrainians and Their Church. Johnstown, PA: Western Pa. Branch of the U.O.L., 1953.

★334 ★

Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Western Rite Metropolia

PO Box 1303
Seaside, CA 93955

On May 2, 2001, in the State of Ohio, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Western Rite Metropolia was incorporated to serve the larger Orthodox faith community in North America and to express the faith of Americans from all cultural backgrounds and ancestry. The Metropolia traces its history to 1884 and the arrival of Father Ivan Wolansky, an Eastern Rite Roman Catholic priest, in America from Ukraine. At the time, the Latin-Rite Roman Catholics who dominated the American church were quite hostile to the presence of Eastern-Rite communities. That hostility would lead to the defection of many Ukrainians and others to Orthodoxy.

However, more important to the history of the Metroplia was the attempt early in the twentieth century made by Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh to create an Orthodox church that would be truly American. His initial support from the Russian Orthodox Church was stopped when the Episcopal Church, which provided substantial subsidy for the Russian Church, objected. It claimed that it was the American equivalent of the Orthodox Church. Ofiesh continued his efforts though with little success. He did leave behind a lineage of bishops with Orthodox church orders, a lineage that included among others Archbishops Sophronios Bashira, Christopher Contogeorge, Nicholas Kedroffsky, Joseph Klymowycz, and Peter A. Zurawetzky.

Zurawetzky was the primary consecrator (1978) of Metropolitan Nicholas Llnyckyj. In 1989, Metropolitan Nicholas, assisted by Bishop Christopher Jones and Bishop David Quilliams, consecrated Metropolitan Yuri Spaeth. On January 17, 1999, Metropolitan Yuri, assisted by Archbishop Matthew McCarthy, consecrated Archbishop Michael Damian-Benedict Palladino. On April 25, 2001, Metropolitan Michael Damian-Benedict, assisted by Bishop Martin-Benedict Tindall and Bishop Brendan Nuadha Donovan, consecrated Metropolitan Archbishop Brian Joseph Kennedy, a Benedictine monk.

Archbishops Michael Damian-Benedict and Brian Joseph Kennedy, along with Archbishop Joseph Thaddeus and Archpriest-Abbot John-Sebastian, became the founding core group of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Western Rite Metropolia. They were further assisted by Bishop Martin-Benedict, Bishop Brendan-Nuadha, and Abbot David Francis of Alberta, Canada. In forming the new church, the group was somewhat inspired by the example of the Orthodox Church of France which had in the 1930s been able to create a Western Rite Orthodoxy using the Gallican Rite.

The Metropolia acknowledges the Ecumenical Patriarch, the honorary head of the Eastern Orthodox community, but ascribes no jurisdiction to him in the West. The church sees as its task to build an Orthodox church that is at one in essentials with the Eastern churches, but that may be identified with North America and the West as a cultural base and have its faith expressed in Western terms. It is not a different faith from their fathers and mothers who came to North America from ancient Scythia (Ukraine) but it is expressed in Western terms. The Metropolia believes that there is only one holy orthodox church and that it is larger than any one nationality, culture, or tradition.

The church recognizes the teachings of the seven Ecumenical councils as summarized in the Nicene Creed. It has established its authority through bishops in apostolic succession. It rejects the primacy of the pope and the doctrine of papal infallibility. While having the highest respect for Mary as the immaculate, ever-virgin Mother of God, it rejects the idea of the Immaculate Conception. It also holds that the vision of the children at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, was a deception of Satan. It does not admit females to the priesthood.

Those who wish to get in contact with the Metropolia are invited to address it via email through its Internet site.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Western Rite Metropolia. http://www.apostle1.com/j-e-uoc-wrm1.htm. 20 March 2002.

★335 ★

United American Orthodox Catholic Church

1000 Lake Maurer Rd.
Excelsior Springs, MO 64024

The United American Orthodox Catholic Church is one of several independent Orthodox jurisdictions that emerged in the 1980s out of the Western Orthodox Church in America. It began in 1988 as a regional meeting of the Western Orthodox Church held at St. Anthonys Monastery in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Abbot David L. Jones of St. Anthonys and Fr. Michael Kilarsky were chosen as bishops, with Jones selected as presiding bishop. Jones and Kilarsky were consecrated in February 1989 by Bps. Ignatius Cash, Patrick M. Cronin, Max Broussard, and Joseph Turnage.

Early attempts at recognizing a variety of liturgical expressions served only to confuse and frustrate both the clergy and the lay people. Instead of serving to unite people under the teachings of the ancient Christian church, it served to divide. By September of 1992, the organization was reduced to only Bishop David and a handful of clergy and faithful who desired to pursue development of a truly united American Orthodox church. All subsequent activity has centered on reestablishing the work begun early in this century by Bps. Aftimios Ofiesh and Metropolitan Theophan Noli, both of whom appear in Bishop David's succession.

The group continues today to practice the eastern Orthodox faith according to the canons of the ancient and undivided Christian Church. Only the usual Eastern Rite liturgies are used, although Bishop David believes that there is room for a Western Rite liturgy. The church maintains a fraternal relationship with the Orthodox Church of France and steers those interested in Western orthodoxy to that group.

Membership: In 2001 the church reported 30 members in 2 congregations served by 3 clergy.

Educational Facilities: The Monastery of St. Anthony coordinates a clergy training program in cooperation with local pastors.

Periodicals: The Semantron.

Sources:

Church Manual. Excelsior Springs, MO: United American Orthodox Catholic Church, n.d.

★336 ★

United Orthodox Church

202 International Ave.
Hyder, AK 99923

The United Orthodox Church, headed by Abp. Gregory Robertson, is an Orthodox church with a Russian Orthodox Church heritage and lineage, but believes that the church was never intended to be structured along ethnic or national lines. It is also a conservative body that rejects what it considers to be the Russian Church's departure from tradition and participation in the larger ecumenical movement. The church staunchly adheres to the Nicene Creed, and rejects prayer or common worship with Christians (deemed heretics). The church also has married bishops (believing that the naming of unmarried bishops was an expedient adopted by the church which is no longer needed) and does not allow women to participate vocally (such as having membership in church choirs) in liturgical worship.

The church is a member of the Synod of Autonomous Canonical Orthodox Churches of North America.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Saint Gregory Seminary, Hyder, Alaska.

Sources:

Pruter, Karl. The Directory of Autocephalous Bishops of the Apostolic Sucession. San Bernadino, CA: Brogo Press, 1906. 104 pp.

Ward, Gary. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit: Apogee Books, 1990. 524 pp.

★337 ★

Universal Shrine of Divine Guidance

℅ Most Rev. Mark Athanasios Constantine Karras
PO Box 1771
Camarillo, CA 93011

Father Mark Karras, the American-born son of Greek parents, was consecrated in the Church of Saints Damian and Cosmas in Newark, New Jersey, on July 17, 1966, and on the following day elevated to the position of Archbishop of Byzantium by Abp. Peter A. Zurawetzky, Patriarch of the Orthodox Patriarchate of America. He was assisted by independent Greek Apb. Joachim Souris, the American Exarch of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. In the month following his consecration, Archbishop Karras founded the Universal Shrine of Divine Guidance, assisted by Veronica Perweiler (nee Szcente Janos, of the ancient noble House of Hungary), whom he consecrated as "Abbess" the following year.

The Universal Shrine views itself as continuation of the Apostolic Church based upon Pentecost. The first stage was the regulatory period of Judaism and the second the instructional stage of Christianity. In the third stage, a period of fulfillment through enlightenment and grace will ensue. Archbishop Karras promulgates a pure philosophy of faith in God and spiritual values, a universal faith emphasizing moral achievement and merit. At the heart of the doctrine is the Christian teaching of love. To protect the church against ridicule, in 1974 Archbishop Karras moved in the American courts to counter the author, publishers, and filmmakers of the book and film known as "The Exorcist" for the unauthorized use of his name and work.

He is the Supreme Prelate of the ancient (312 C.E.) dynastic Christian Order of Saints Constantine the Great and Helen of the Byzantine House of the Lascaris Comnenus of Constantinople. Under his auspices, the Universal Shrine upholds the princple of the Americas as New Byzantium which is the outcome of Western Christian civilization based upon the influence of the influence of Byzantium.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Karras, Mark. Christ Unto Byzantium. Miami, FL: Apostolic Universal Center, 1968.

★338 ★

Western Orthodox Catholic Church of California

℅ Most Rev. Martin J. Hill
4109 Louisiana St.
San Diego, CA 92104-1691

The Western Orthodox Catholic Church of California is a small Orthodox jurisdiction founded and led by Bp. Martin J. Hill. Hill was ordained to the priesthood in 1981 by Charles David Luther of the Western Orthodox Church in America and consecrated two years later by Francis Jerome Joachim. Hill subsequently established the Western Orthodox Catholic Church as an independent jurisdiction. The church is Eastern orthodox in faith but follows a Western ritual format.

In August 1993, Hill consecrated Douglas Rees as auxiliay bishop. In 1994 Rees was installed as Bishop of Camarillo and Central California and then elected to succeed Hill as the presiding bishop. Rees also serves as the Superior General of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and the Director of St. Sergius Seminary. In 1996 Hill founded the interdenominational semicomtemplatice Order of Agia Sophia (Holy Wisdom Fathers) for the study and teacing of mysticism for Christians.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit: Apogee Books, 1990.

★339 ★

Western Orthodox Church in America

200 Fifth St.
Santa Rosa, CA 95401

The Western Orthodox Church grew out of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil founded by former Roman Catholic Church bishop, Carlos Duarte Costa, which had been brought to the United States by Bishop Stephen Meyer Corradi-Scarella, an independent bishop in New Mexico. In 1973 Corradi-Scarella gave Fr. Charles David Luther, a priest he had ordained, directions to found the Community of the Good Shepherd as a fellowship of priests and priests-in-training. In 1977 the name was changed to Servants of the Good Shepherd. The Community accepts qualified men into the priesthood, trains them and assists them in starting mission churches, usually as worker-priests.

In 1977 Luther was consecrated by Bishop Charles R. McCarthy assisted by Jerome Joachim and Wallace David de Ortega Maxey. In 1974 Joachim had succeeded Corradi-Scarella as head of the National Catholic Apostolic Church in America. In 1980 he renamed his jurisdiction the Western Orthodox Church in America. After his consecration Luther brought the Servants of the Good Shepherd into Joachim's jurisdiction. He became bishop of the Diocese of Altonna and was later (l981) made archbishop. In 1983, however, Joachim and Luther decided to become independent of each other. Joachim and his following became the Catholic Apostolic Church in America, while Luther retained the name, Western Orthodox Church in America.

The Western Orthodox church in America, while possessing Catholic orders, is Orthodox while following a Western Rite. In 1984, Luther consecrated Richard J. Ingram as Bishop of Hobart (Indiana) and James F. Mondok as Bishop of Euclid (Ohio). The Church is affiliated with the Ecumenical Church Federation, a fellowship of independent bishops and other Christian leaders organized by Bishop Alan Bain, Archbishop for the British Isles of the Apostolic Episcopal Church.

Membership: In 1981 there were 25 priests and over 100 seminarians studying for the priesthood affiliated with the Servants of the Good Shepherd.

Educational Facilities: Duarte Costa University, Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Duarte Costa School of Religion, Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Periodicals: The Herald. Send orders to Box 2733, Des Plaines, IL 60017-2733.

Sources:

A Brief Description of the Servants of the Good Shepherd. Altoona, PA, [l980].