Orthodox Church in America

The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern

Orthodox Christian church based in North America. While the
OCA is in full communion with most Eastern Orthodox churches
in the world, the OCA's autocephaly is not fully recognized. The Orthodox Church in
OCA consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, America
monasteries and institutions in the United States, Canada and
Mexico.[2]: 68 [9][10] In 2011, it had an estimated 84,900 members
in the United States.

The OCA has its origins in a mission established by eight Russian

Orthodox monks in Alaska, then part of Russian America, in 1794.
This grew into a full diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church after
the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. By the
late 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church had grown in
other areas of the United States due to the arrival of immigrants
from areas of Eastern and Central Europe, many of them formerly
of the Eastern Catholic Churches ("Greek Catholics"), and from
the Middle East. These immigrants, regardless of nationality or
ethnic background, were united under a single North American
diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.

After the Bolshevik Revolution, Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow

directed all Russian Orthodox churches outside of Russia to
govern themselves autonomously.[11] Orthodox churches in
America became a self-governing Russian Orthodox Greek
Catholic Church in America in 1924 under the leadership of Abbreviation OCA
Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky), popularly called the
Classification Eastern Orthodox
Metropolia (from Russian: митрополия). The Russian Orthodox
Greek Catholic Church in America was granted autocephaly by Orientation Russian
the Russian Orthodox Church in 1970, and renamed the Orthodox Orthodoxy
Church in America. Its hierarchs are part of the Assembly of Polity Episcopal
Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America.
Primate Metropolitan
Unlike most Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States, the OCA Tikhon
does not have an affinity towards any particular foreign nationality, (Mollard)[1]
but most OCA members are ethnically Euro-American, and most
Bishops 14[2]: 68
OCA clergy are those who are born and raised in the United
States. However, the OCA does have other minority ethnic Parishes 700[2]: 68
dioceses for Romanian, Bulgarian, and Albanian immigrants. Monasteries 20[2]: 68
Additionally, as a consequence of history, certain ethnic groups
Language English, Church
(particularly Ruthenian Americans and Alaska Natives) are
disproportionately represented in the OCA compared to the general Slavonic, Greek,
Albanian,
Bulgarian,
population. Liturgical and church traditions, such as forms of Romanian,[3]
singing, vestments, iconography, use of Church Slavonic, and French,[4] Aleut,
architecture broadly reflect those of Russian Orthodoxy. Tlingit, Yup'ik[5]

The OCA states that currently the Russian, Bulgarian, Georgian, Liturgy Byzantine Rite,
Polish, Serbian, and Czech and Slovak churches recognize the Western
autocephaly of the OCA.[8] Among the churches that do not Rite[6][7][a]
recognize it is the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Headquarters Alexandria, VA,
which argues that the Russian Church did not have the authority to United States
grant autocephaly, partly because the Russian Church at the time
was considered to be heavily influenced by the Soviet government. Territory United States,
The Ecumenical Patriarch also cites Canon 28 of the Council of Canada
Chalcedon, which asserted the jurisdiction of the bishop of Possessions Mexico, formerly
Constantinople in dioceses located "among the barbarians" (i.e. Australia and
outside the Roman Empire), as the source of the Ecumenical South America
Patriarchate's authority in the matter.[12][13] The remaining
churches do not recognize the OCA as autocephalous, although Founder St. Alexis of
they do recognize the self-governing nature of the church. While Wilkes-Barre
the subject of political and ecclesiastical dispute, this controversy St. Herman of
does not impair the communion between the OCA and the wider Alaska
Eastern Orthodox Church.
St. Innocent of
Alaska
Official name Recognition Autocephaly
recognized by
According to the April 1970 Tomos of Autocephaly granted by the
Russian Orthodox Church, the official name of the church is The the Russian
Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America.[14] The more (since 1970),
comprehensive March 1970 Agreement of Tomos of Autocephaly, Bulgarian,
however, states in Article VIII that the legal name of the church Georgian, Polish,
was changed to Orthodox Church in America (the Russian and Czech and
language does not use the grammatical articles).[15] Slovak
Churches[8]
History Branched from Russian
Orthodox Church
(1963)
Missionary work Separations Antiochian
Orthodox
The first Native Americans to become Eastern Orthodox were the
Aleuts living in contact with Siberian fur traders in the mid 18th Christian
century. They had been baptized mostly by their Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of
trading partners or during occasional visits by priests serving North America
aboard exploring vessels of the Russian navy. A Russian colony in (1924), American
Alaska was established in 1784 by merchant Grigory Shelikhov. Orthodox
Shelikhov's attempt to colonize Kodiak Island was met with Catholic Church
resistance by the native population. He returned to Russia and (1927)
installed Alexandr Baranov as director of the colony. In order to
Members 84,900 total
convince the Russian imperial court of the seriousness of his
colonial ambitions, Shelikhov recruited volunteers from the adherents,
33,800 regular
attendees[b][2]: 68
Valaam Monastery, an environment that appears strikingly similar Official website www.oca.org (htt
to the Kodiak archipelago's landscape, as well as the Konevsky p://www.oca.org/)
Monastery, to travel to the new colony.[16]

The volunteers, led by Archimandrite Joasaph Bolotov, departed Saint Petersburg on 21 December 1793,
and arrived at Kodiak Island on 24 September 1794. When they arrived, they were shocked by the harsh
treatment of the Kodiak natives at the hands of the Russian settlers and Baranov. They sent reports to
Shelikhov detailing the abuse of the local population, but were ignored. In response, however, the Holy
Synod created an auxiliary episcopal see in Alaska in 1796, and elected Fr. Joasaph as bishop.[17] Fr.
Joasaph and a small party returned to Russia in 1798 for his consecration and to offer first-hand accounts of
what they had seen. During their return voyage to the colony in May 1799, their ship sank and all aboard
died.[17] In 1800, Baranov placed the remaining monks under house arrest and forbade them to have any
further contact with the local population.[16]

Despite the lack of leadership, the Eastern Orthodox mission in Alaska continued to grow. In 1811,
however, the Holy Synod officially closed the episcopal see.[17] It was not until 1823 that the Holy Synod
sent instructions for a new priest to travel to Alaska. John Veniaminov of Irkutsk volunteered for the
journey, and left Russia in May 1823. He and his family arrived at Unalaska Island on 29 July 1824.[18] In
1840, after the death of his wife, Veniaminov accepted monastic tonsure and, taking the name Innocent,
ordination as the Bishop of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands, making him the first ruling bishop
of the Alaskan mission since Bishop Joasaph. Bishop Innocent was elevated to archbishop in 1850. For his
missionary and scholarly work that had focused on blending indigenous Alaskan languages and cultures
with Orthodox tradition, Innocent became a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church in America in 1977, and
is referred to as the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas.[16]

Growth

In 1868, the first Orthodox church in the contiguous United States was established in San Francisco,
California. From the late 19th century until World War I, there was a wave of immigration to the U.S.
Within this wave of new people, were immigrants from traditionally Orthodox Christian regions of the
world. There were many immigrants from the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires, which formed the
backbone of the diocese. Numerous parishes were established across the country throughout the rest of the
19th century. Although these parishes were typically multi-ethnic, most received support from the
missionary diocese. In 1872 the diocesan see was relocated from Alaska to the city of San Francisco,
California in the United States. The mission itself was instituted as a separate Diocese of Alaska and the
Aleutian Islands on June 10, 1870, subsequent to the sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867.[16][19] In
November 1870, the first Eastern Orthodox church in New York City was consecrated.[19]

Eastern Catholicism was viewed with suspicion by several Latin Church bishops in the United States;
some, such as Archbishop John Ireland of Saint Paul, Minnesota, were actually hostile, especially
concerning the matter of married clergy. In 1891, Alexis Toth brought a group of 361 Eastern Catholics into
Eastern Orthodoxy. From then until his death in 1909, Toth brought approximately 20,000 Eastern
Catholics from 65 independent communities to Eastern Orthodoxy. By 1917, 163 Eastern Catholic parishes
consisting of more than 100,000 faithful had been converted. For his efforts, Toth was glorified as a saint
by the OCA in 1994.[16]

In recognition of the expansion of the church beyond Alaska, Bishop Tikhon (Belavin) petitioned the Holy
Synod to change the diocese's title to the Diocese of the Aleutians and North America. This was approved
in February 1900.[20] He consecrated an auxiliary bishop for Alaska in 1903, and in 1904 he consecrated
Raphael Hawaweeny to administer to the Arab parishes. In 1905, Bishop Tikhon relocated the diocesan
administration from San Francisco to New York City.[16]
 In a report to the Holy Synod that year, Bishop Tikhon proposed
dramatic changes in the operation of the diocese. Recognizing the
needs of the growing multi-ethnic Orthodox community, he
recommended reforming the missionary diocese into a self-
supporting American diocese, composed of numerous ethnic
auxiliary dioceses. His plan called for Russian (New York), Arab
(Brooklyn), Serbian (Chicago), and Greek dioceses. Additionally,
he called for the formation of a governing council, composed of
clergy and laity, which would meet to discuss administrative and
canonical issues. On 5 March 1907, the first All-American Sobor
convened in Mayfield, Pennsylvania. Following Archbishop
The first All-American Sobor was
Tikhon's reassignment to Russia that year, however, few of his
held March 5–7, 1907.
reforms were implemented.[16][21]

During this period, education and charity was a focus of the

diocese. In 1905, Archbishop Tikhon oversaw the creation of an Eastern Orthodox seminary in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. St. Platon's Seminary moved from Minneapolis to Tenafly, New Jersey, in 1912
and enrolled 78 students from then until 1923. In 1916, an unaccredited Russian women's college was
established in Brooklyn. An immigrant society and orphanage also were established, as well as the first
Orthodox monasteries in the United States (Saint Tikhon's Monastery for men in 1905 and Holy Virgin
Protection for women in 1915).[16]

By 1917, the American diocese was the largest in the Russian Orthodox Church. It had grown from ten
parishes in 1890 to more than 350. Most of the funding for the diocese was provided by Russian Church,
via the Imperial Missionary Society. The connections between the American diocese and the Russian
Church would be severely compromised by the events of that year.[16]

Revolution and turmoil

The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent establishment

of the Communist Soviet government ushered in a period of
repression for the Russian Orthodox Church. Church property was
confiscated and, when Patriarch Tikhon resisted, he was
imprisoned from April 1922 until June 1923.[20] On 20 November
1920, Patriarch Tikhon formally authorized Russian Orthodox
bishops to set up temporarily independent organizations, until such
time as normal communications with and governance from the
patriarchate could be restored.[11] The Albanian Orthodox Church in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Ethnic groups within the American diocese began to re-align
themselves with other national churches. In 1918, a group of
Ukrainians in Canada formed the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church in Canada, and in 1922, the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of America was established. In 1926, the Serbs aligned with the Serbian Orthodox
Church.[22] As a result of the realignments, Aftimios (Ofiesh) and Platon chartered the American Orthodox
Catholic Church in 1927.[23][24]

In Soviet Russia, a splinter group known as the Living Church gained official state recognition in place of
the Russian Orthodox Church in 1922. In the United States, a group of Living Church clergy led by John
Kedrovsky attempted to depose ruling American hierarch Bishop Alexander (Nemolovsky). Bishop
Alexander, in addition to the political and ethnic struggles of his diocese, had also to deal with mounting
Church debt as a result of the loss of funds from the Russian Church. He was forced to mortgage Church
property to pay creditors and was replaced, in 1922, by Archbishop Platon (Rozhdestvensky), who had
previously served as archbishop of the diocese from 1907 to 1914.[16]

After Archbishop Platon's return, he was elected Metropolitan of All America and Canada at the third All-
American Sobor in November 1922.[25] Soon after, Communist authorities in Russia (in collaboration with
the Living Church) attempted to seize church assets in the United States. In response, the fourth All-
American Sobor convened in April 1924. During the Sobor, the historic step of declaring the North
American diocese to be temporarily self-governing was taken. This was meant to be necessary only until
relations with the Russian Church could be normalized, and the justification for the move was the earlier
decree by Patriarch Tikhon.[16][26] The diocese was officially incorporated as the Russian Orthodox Greek
Catholic Church of America.[27]

Despite the conditions set out by Tikhon's decree for this temporary autonomy not being met, the American
diocese of the Russian church declared self-governance in 1924, against the protests of the patriarchate,
with which it had communication and which was capable of governance had its American branch been
willing. The refusal of the American branch to submit to the patriarchate thus based itself officially on a
document whose conditions it had not met. In reality, however, it was a fear of Communism and a belief
that the patriarchate had been compromised which fueled the rebellion, paired with a desire on the part of
the Metropolia to dissociate itself from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) of which it
had allegedly been part.[28]

Despite the declaration of self-governance, Kedrovsky and the Living Church were awarded the church's
diocesan cathedral in New York City. To prevent further loss of property, the diocese allowed individual
parishes to take ownership of their properties, which made them effectively independent. This, combined
with the increasing number of ethnic parishes aligning themselves with other Orthodox jurisdictions (as
well as some non-Orthodox), led to a unique situation in Orthodox America whereby multiple jurisdictions
overlapped geographically. The remainder of the American Church became known informally as the
Metropolia (or under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan). Following Patriarch Tikhon's death, the Russian
Orthodox Church, led by Metropolitan Sergius, began cooperating with the Soviet government. In 1933,
the Russian Church declared the Metropolia to be schismatic.[16]

A third Russian church, the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad (also known as the Karlovtsy
Synod and later, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia or ROCOR), formed in 1921. The synod
saw itself as representing all Russian Orthodox abroad, including the Metropolia. The Metropolia
cooperated with the synod at first but severed relations with them in 1926, citing the synod's increasing
claims of authority in America. The synod, for its part, suspended Metropolitan Platon and his clergy.[27] In
1935, an agreement entitled "Temporary Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad" was signed
that normalized relations between the Metropolia and the ROCOR. The 6th All-American Sobor, held in
1937, affirmed that while the Metropolia remained autonomous, it reported to the ROCOR in matters of
faith.[16][22][29]

The ROCOR, forced to leave Yugoslavia toward the end of World War II, eventually established its base of
operations in New York City. In 1946, it was decided at the 7th All-American Sobor that the Metropolia
would sever its ties with the ROCOR and attempt to return to the Patriarchate of Moscow. This return was
proposed with the stipulation that the Metropolia be allowed to retain its autonomy. When this condition
was not met, the Metropolia continued as a self-governing church.[16][22][30]

Although there were periodic attempts at reconciliation between the Metropolia and the Russian Church
over the next few decades, no serious progress was made. During this time, the ethnic character of the
Metropolia began to change. Since many Russian immigrants to America aligned themselves with the
vocally anti-Communist ROCOR, the Metropolia experienced its growth increasingly through the addition
of English-speaking converts. As a result, the ethnic makeup of the Metropolia began to shift away from a
purely Slavic one that had included mainly Russians, Ukrainians, Galicians, and Rusyns.[16]

Move toward unity and independence

Prior to the 13th All-American Sobor in November 1967, a proposal was prepared to change the name of
the church from the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America to the "Orthodox Church in
America". The Council of Bishops, already aware of the proposal, forbade a vote on the matter. After much
debate however, a non-binding straw poll was permitted. The result of the poll was decidedly in favor of
the name change. As a result, the decision to deal with the matter at another Sobor (to be held in two years)
was made.[16][31]

In the early 1960s, the Metropolia resumed communication with the Patriarch of Moscow. In 1968, the
Metropolia and the Russian Church communicated informally to resolve long-standing differences.
Representatives from the Metropolia sought the right of self-governance, as well as the removal of Russian
jurisdiction from all matters concerning the American Church. Official negotiations on the matter began in
1969. On 10 April 1970, Patriarch Alexius I and fourteen bishops of the Russian Church's Holy Synod
signed the official Tomos of Autocephaly, which made the newly renamed Orthodox Church in America
the fifteenth autocephalous Orthodox Church.[16][27] The name change, as well as the granting of
autocephaly, was officially accepted at the 14th All-American Sobor (also known as the 1st All-American
Council in recognition of the Church's new-found independence) in October 1970.[32]

The granting of autocephaly by the Moscow Patriarchate was strongly condemned by the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople as an act that exceeded the former′s authority and violated the canons.[33]
Apologists for the OCA's autocephaly claim that the decree did not need the approval of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, as it was an internal matter for the Russian Orthodox Church to decide. Many autocephalous
churches, the Russian Church included, were not recognized as such for many years, albeit their
autocephaly was granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.[8][13] All canonical Orthodox churches recognize
the OCA as canonical and its sacraments as valid, however.

The OCA was a member of the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA), together
with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of
North America (AOCA) and the other member jurisdictions. In 2010, SCOBA was dissolved with the
creation of the new Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, which was
mandated by Orthodox patriarchates in 2009 at a meeting in Switzerland. Serious consideration has been
given recently to a possible merger between the OCA and the AOCA. Both groups share a significant
common history, in that a Syrian priest, Raphael Hawaweeny, was sent by the Moscow Patriarchate in the
late 19th century as a missionary to Arabic-speaking Orthodox Christians living in North America. Raphael
was ordained a bishop in 1904, and his flock eventually became the AOCA. Bishop Raphael was
canonized in March 2000 by the OCA as St. Raphael of Brooklyn.

Financial scandal

In 2005, former treasurer, Protodeacon Eric Wheeler publicly accused the OCA administration of financial
misconduct. Wheeler alleged that millions of dollars in donations to the church were improperly used for
personal expenses or to cover shortfalls in church accounts.[34]
A 32-page report was released on 3 September 2008, that addressed the financial scandal and
recommended "discipline" for five individuals, including then-primate Metropolitan Herman, his
predecessor Metropolitan Theodosius, and two former treasurers as well as a former comptroller.[35][36]
The same report recommended then-primate Metropolitan Herman immediately resign or retire from his
post or risk being defrocked.[36]

One day after the report was released, Herman resigned from his position as metropolitan.[37] That
November, the OCA elected a new Primate at its 15th Annual All-American Council. Metropolitan Jonah
(Paffhausen) was chosen because he had recently been appointed as a bishop (only 11 days prior) and was
viewed to not be involved with the previous financial scandal.[38] Metropolitan Jonah immediately took a
strong stance against the previous scandal and became a very public metropolitan, seeking to repair damage
done by the previous scandal and bring the OCA into the public realm. Metropolitan Jonah also sought to
improve relations with non-Orthodox groups and especially sought to repair the relations between the OCA
and traditional Anglican groups. He was invited twice to speak at the conference of the Anglican Church in
North America, in 2009 and 2012.

Less than four years after his election, Metropolitan Jonah was asked by the Holy Synod, in a unanimous
decision, to resign from his position. While wary of initially releasing information about the resignation, the
Holy Synod felt prompted to release a public statement about his release due to rumors that had spread
about their intentions. The statement they released on the official website of the OCA detailed several
administrative decisions Metropolitan Jonah had made that the Holy Synod felt put the church and its
members at risk.[39] In the statement, the Holy Synod clarified the reason they withheld information initially
was to protect the reputation and integrity of Metropolitan Jonah as well as protect anyone involved in the
specific decisions made by him.

On 13 November 2012, an extraordinary All-American Council elected Archbishop Tikhon (Mollard) of

Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania as the Metropolitan of All-America and Canada. He was installed
on 27 January 2013. Metropolitan Tikhon is a convert to the Eastern Orthodox faith and a long-time monk
of St. Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.

Response to 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 24 February 2022, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Metropolitan Tikhon issued a statement
saying, in part, 'I ask that the hostilities be ceased immediately and that President Putin put an end to the
military operations. As Orthodox Christians, we condemn violence and aggression.'[40] On 28 February
2022, he made an urgent appeal for OCA members to contribute to a fund to aid Ukrainian refugees to be
administered by the Orthodox Church of Poland. As of 8 March 2022, over US$433,000 had been
raised.[41]

On 13 March 2022, Tikhon sent a letter to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, imploring him to use his influence to
help put an end to the war.[42]

The OCA continues to recognize the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as the sole canonical Orthodox church in
Ukraine, and therefore does not accept communion with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.[43]

Membership
The exact number of OCA parishioners is debated. According to the 2006 edition of the Yearbook of
American and Canadian Churches, the OCA has 1,064,000 members, an increase of 6.4 percent from
2005. This figure places the OCA as the 24th largest Christian church in the United States, and the second
largest Eastern Orthodox church in the country, after the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.[44]

In 2000, a study by Alexei D. Krindatch, of the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute, presented a
substantially lower figure — 115,100 adherents (baptized Orthodox who attend services on at least an
occasional basis and their children) and 39,400 full members (persons older than 18, paying annual Church
membership fees). The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, by comparison, was listed as having 440,000
adherents.[45] In response to the study, an OCA representative stated the church had "around 750,000
adults and children."[46]

In 2004, Jonathan Ivanoff stated in a presentation at the OCA's Evangelization Conference that the church's
census population in 2004 was 27,169, and that membership from 1990 to 2000 declined 13 percent. It
further stated that the OCA population in the continental United States declined between six and nine
percent per year.[47]

In 2011, The Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches, published by Holy Cross Orthodox Press
and based on research by Alexei Krindatch, was released. It has extensive data on various Eastern Christian
denominations in the United States, including both Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox groups (as
well as groups considered uncanonical by those two groups). The publication is endorsed by the Assembly
of Canonical Orthodox Bishops and is being used by various Assembly committees as part of their research
and planning. The Atlas lists the United States membership of the OCA as 84,900, 33,800 of which it says
are regular church attendees. It lists the OCA as having 551 parishes and 19 monasteries in the United
States.[2]: 68 It also indicates the states with the heaviest concentration of OCA parishes are, in order:
Alaska (with 86), Pennsylvania (with 83), California (with 43) and New York (with 41).[2]: 70

Structure

Episcopacy

The supreme canonical authority of the OCA is the Holy Synod of Bishops, composed of all the church's
diocesan bishops. The ex officio chairman of the Holy Synod is the metropolitan. The Holy Synod meets
twice annually; however, special sessions can be called either by the metropolitan or at the request of at
least three diocesan bishops.[48]

Metropolitan

The primate of the OCA is the metropolitan. He also serves as the bishop of one of the church's dioceses.
With the other bishops of the church, the metropolitan is considered the first among equals. His official title
is "Metropolitan of All-America and Canada". His role is to manage the welfare of the church, and to act as
its representative with other Orthodox Churches, religious organizations, and secular authorities. The
metropolitan is elected, when necessary, by the Holy Synod at an All-American Council (a general council
of OCA clergy and laity). There are no age or term limits for the metropolitan, and he may retire at any
time, but usually does so only for health-related reasons.[49]

Dioceses

The diocese is the basic church body that comprises all the parishes of a determined geographical area. It is
governed by the Diocesan Bishop, with the assistance of a Diocesan Assembly and a Diocesan Council.
The OCA is currently composed of twelve geographic and three ethnic dioceses (Albanian, Bulgarian, and
Romanian). The boundaries of the ethnic dioceses overlap those of certain geographic ones. These dioceses
are the result of smaller ethnic jurisdictions joining the OCA at some point in its history, usually after having
broken from other bodies. Dioceses are established by the Holy Synod whenever needed, and the Synod
may also modify the boundaries of an existing diocese.[50]

All-American Council

According to the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America, the All-American Council is the "highest
legislative and administrative authority within the Church."[51] The Council is composed roughly of the
Metropolitan, all bishops, priests, and selected lay delegates. The purpose of the All-American Council is to
discuss and vote on Church matters. When necessary, the Council has also elected new metropolitans.

The period between All-American Councils is set at three years, although this is not always the case. The
first thirteen Councils (held from 1907 to 1970) are referred to as All-American Sobors, reflecting the
American Church's jurisdictional ties to the Russian Orthodox Church. The fourteenth Sobor (held in 1970)
is jointly known as the 1st All-American Council, reflecting the autocephalous status of the OCA. The most
recent All-American Council (20th) was held in July 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. [52]

Metropolitan Council

The Metropolitan Council is the permanent executive body of the Church's administration. It is tasked with
implementing the decisions of the All-American Council, as well as handling the Church's budgetary
concerns. The Council is headed by a chairman (the current Metropolitan), and is composed of the OCA's
chancellor, secretary, treasurer, and selected clergy and lay delegates. It usually meets twice per year but, in
December 2006, a rare joint meeting between the Metropolitan Council and the Holy Synod of Bishops
was held.[53]

See also
Christianity portal

Eastern Orthodox Church organization

Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Orthodox Church of Ukraine

Notes
a. As of 5 April 2021, there is only one Western Rite mission, located in Edmonton, under the
Archdiocese of Canada.
b. The number of adherents given in the Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches is
defined as "individual full members" with the addition of their children. It also includes an
estimate of how many are not members but regularly participate in parish life. Regular
attendees includes only those who regularly attend church and regularly participate in
church life.[2]

References
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External links
Official website (https://oca.org)
Orthodox Church in America on OrthodoxWiki

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