Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

The Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
Saint Mary's Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Livonia, Michigan.
Founded	1895 (Syro-Arabian Mission) 1924 (Archdiocese)
Founder	St. Raphael of Brooklyn
Recognition	Autonomy Granted by Patriarch Ignatius IV in 2003
Primate	Metropolitan Joseph of New York and All North America
Headquarters	358 Mountain Road. Englewood, NJ
Territory	United States Canada
Language	English, Arabic, Greek
Members	74,600 (United States) (27,300 regular attendees)
Parishes	276
Website	http://www.antiochian.org/

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, often referred to in North America as simply the Antiochian Archdiocese, is the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in the United States and Canada. Originally under the care of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Syro-Levantine Orthodox Christian immigrants to the United States and Canada were granted their own jurisdiction under the Church of Antioch in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. Internal conflicts divided the Antiochian Orthodox faithful into two parallel archdioceses—those of New York and Toledo—until 1975, when Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) became the sole Archbishop of the reunited Antiochian Archdiocese. The Holy Synod of Antioch granted the Archdiocese an autonomous status referred to as Self-Rule in 2003, and by 2014 the Archdiocese had grown to over 275 parish churches.

History

The Antiochian Orthodox followers were originally cared for by the Russian Orthodox Church in America and the first bishop consecrated in North America, Saint Raphael of Brooklyn, was consecrated by the Russian Orthodox Church in America in 1904 to care for the Syro-Levantine Greek Orthodox Christian Ottoman immigrants to the USA and Canada, who had come chiefly from the Vilayets of Adana, Aleppo, Beirut and Damascus (the birthplace of the community's founder St Raphael).

After the Bolshevik Revolution threw the Russian Orthodox Church and its faithful abroad into chaos, the Syro-Levantine Greek Orthodox Christian faithful in North America, simultaneously shaken by the death of their beloved bishop St Raphael, chose to come under the direct care of the Damascus-based Patriarchate of Antioch. Due to internal conflicts, however, the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in North America were divided between two archdioceses, those of New York and Toledo.

In 1975 the two Antiochian Orthodox archdioceses were united as one Archdiocese of North America (now with its headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey). Since then it has experienced significant growth through ongoing evangelization and the immigration of Orthodox Arabs from the Middle East. Its leader from 1966 until 2014 was Metropolitan Philip Saliba. Six other diocesan bishops assisted the metropolitan in caring for the nine dioceses of the growing archdiocese, which is the third largest Orthodox Christian jurisdiction in North America, with 74,600 adherents in the United States, 27,300 of whom are regular church attendees. As of 2011, it also has 249 parishes in the United States with two monastic communities. Metropolitan Philip died in 2014 and was succeeded by Metropolitan Joseph Al-Zehlaoui.[1]

On October 9, 2003, the Holy Synod of the Antiochian Orthodox Church granted the archdiocese's request to be granted self-rule status to allow it to better govern itself, improve and increase its outreach efforts, internally organize itself into several dioceses, and progress further on the road to the administrative unity of the Orthodox Church in the Americas.[2]

Structure

The Antiochian Archdiocese is divided in nine territorial dioceses. Some of them, extend partially into the territory of Canada. These dioceses include: Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic (chancery in Charleston, WV); Eagle River and the Northwest (chancery in Eagle River, AK); Los Angeles and the West (chancery in Los Angeles, CA); Miami and the Southeast (chancery in Coral Cables, FL); New York and Washington DC (chancery in Englewood,NJ); Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York (chancery in Montreal, Canada); Toledo and the Midwest (chancery in Toledo, OH); Wichita and Mid-America (chancery in Wichita, KS); Worcester and New England (chancery in Worcester, MA).

Evangelism

Many conservative former Anglicans have turned to the archdiocese as a jurisdiction, some joining and leading Western Rite parishes with liturgy more familiar to Western Christians. The current mission of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is to "bring Orthodoxy to America" and has a very active Department on Mission and Evangelism which was chaired by Fr. Peter Gillquist who led the mass conversion of the Evangelical Orthodox Church to Eastern Orthodoxy. Gullquist retired in December 2011 and died in July 2012. Fr. Michael Keiser was named as his successor as head of the department. The archdiocese broadcasts Ancient Faith Radio, an Internet-based radio station with content themed around Orthodox Christianity.

As a result of its evangelism and missionary work, the Antiochian Archdiocese saw significant growth between the mid-1960s and 2012. The archdiocese had only 65 parishes across the United States in the mid-1960s and by 2011 this number had increased to 249 parishes.

Relations with Other Christian Bodies

The archdiocese had formerly been a member of the National Council of Churches (NCC), but its archdiocesan convention voted unanimously on July 28, 2005, to withdraw fully from that body, citing increased politicization and a generally fruitless relationship, making it the only major Orthodox jurisdiction in the US to take such a step.[3][4]

Episcopacy

Brooklyn cathedral

While American converts play a substantial role in the life of the Archdiocese, being well represented among both clergy and laity, six current Antiochian bishops in America are of Arab descent.

Metropolitan Archbishop

• Metropolitan Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui) of New York and All North America

Auxiliary Bishops

• Bishop Antoun (Khouri) of Miami and the Southeast
• Bishop Basil (Essey) of Wichita and Mid-America
• Bishop Thomas (Joseph) of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic
• Bishop Alexander (Mufarrij) of Ottawa, Eastern Canada, and Upstate New York
• Bishop John (Abdalah) of Worcester and New England
• Bishop Anthony (Michaels) of Toledo and the Midwest
• Bishop Nicholas (Ozone) of Brooklyn

Titular Bishops

• Bishop Demetri (Khoury) of Jableh, Auxiliary from 1995-2003, Titular from 2013-present

Former Metropolitan Archbishops

Diocese of New York

• Metropolitan Victor (Abo-Assaley), 1924-1935
• Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir), 1936-1966
• Metropolitan Philip (Saliba), 1966-1975

Diocese of Toledo

• Metropolitan Samuel (David), 1936-1958
• Metropolitan Michael (Shaheen), 1958-1975

Archdiocese of New York and All North America

• Metropolitan Philip (Saliba), 1975-2014

See also

• Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America
• Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America

Notes

1.^ 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.

External links

• Official Website of the Archdiocese
• Official Website of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch
• Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (OrthodoxWiki article)