Archbishop of America
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Archdiocese of America, better known as the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, is a jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. It was formally constituted in 1922 and has had seven incumbents. The Archdiocese currently covers the United States and one parish in the Bahamas, and is mostly Greek-American in composition and culture.
The following individuals have held the office of Archbishop of America:
- Alexander (Demoglou), Archbishop of America (1922–1930)
- Athenagoras, Archbishop of America (1931–1948)
- Timotheos, Archbishop of America (1949–1949)
- Michael, Archbishop of America (1949–1958)
- Iakovos, Archbishop of America (1959–1996)
- Spyridon, Archbishop of America (1996–1999)
- Demetrios, Archbishop of America (1999 to present)
The Diocese of the Aleutians and North America was a pan-ethnic and missionary jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Russian Orthodox Church from 1900 to 1922. (Before this period it was known as the "Diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska" from 1870 to 1900; before that, it was part of the Diocese of Kamchatka, Russia, from 1840 to 1870, and before that, of the Diocese of Irkutsk, Russia. From the 1920s until 1970 it was the "Metropolia of All America and Canada" [a/k/a the "Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America"], and since 1970 it has also been known as "The Orthodox Church in America," covering the United States, Canada, Mexico, and two parishes in Australia.) From 1905 to 1922, its incumbents held the title of Archbishop:
- Saint Tikhon, Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska, 1898-1900, Bishop of the Aleutians and North America, 1900-1905, Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America, 1905-1907.
- Platon, Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America, 1907-1914.
- Evdokim, Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America, 1914-1918.
- Alexander (Nemolovsky), Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America, 1919-1922.
Since 1922 its incumbents and primates have held the title of Metropolitan of All America and Canada. Today it is majority-Russian in ecclesiastical heritage, but with significant Romanian, Albanian, Bulgarian, and Mexican (in Mexico) jurisdictions and at least one Arab parish - all largely English- (or Spanish-)speaking - as well as increasing numbers of transfers from other Orthodox jurisdictions, and converts to Orthodoxy.
The Russian Exarchate of North America was another jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church under its Patriarchate of Moscow from 1933 to 1970. While most of its bishops were titled Metropolitans of varying Sees, the final one was
- Jonathan, Archbishop of New York and the Aleutians, 1967-1970.
Moscow was permitted to replace this Exarchate, and a diocese in Canada, with a non-diocesan patriarchal vicariate in each country, the United States and Canada, when it and the Metropolia were reconciled, and Moscow recognized the Metropolia's autocephaly, in 1970. These vicariates, the "Russian Orthodox Church in the USA" and in Canada, are commonly referred to as the "Patriarchal Parishes."
