Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

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 United States and Canada, who had come chiefly from the vilayets of Adana, Aleppo, Beirut and Damascus (the birthplace of the community's founder, Saint Raphael of Brooklyn).

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, Saint 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 City 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.[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]

The Archdiocese is a participating member of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of America, however, due to stalled communication between the Patriarchate of Antioch and the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Jerusalem, Metropolitan Joseph no longer attends meetings of the Assembly.

Metropolitan Philip died in 2014 and was succeeded by Metropolitan Joseph Al-Zehlaoui.[3]

The Antiochian Archdiocese is divided in nine territorial dioceses and one vicariate. Some of the territorial dioceses extend partially into the territory of Canada. These dioceses include:

• Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic (chancery in Charleston, West Virginia)
• Eagle River and the Northwest (chancery in Eagle River, Alaska)
• Los Angeles and the West (chancery in Los Angeles, California)
• Miami and the Southeast (chancery in Coral Gables, Florida)
• New York and Washington DC (chancery in Englewood, New Jersey)
• Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York (chancery in Montreal, Canada)
• Toledo and the Midwest (chancery in Toledo, Ohio)
• Wichita and Mid-America (chancery in Wichita, Kansas)
• Worcester and New England (chancery in Worcester, Massachusetts).[4]

Among the nine Byzantine Rite territorial dioceses exists the Western Rite Vicariate, a non-territorial diocese created from remnants of the Society of Saint Basil in 1961, three years after the Western Rite was approved for use by the archdiocese in 1958. It oversees all Antiochian parishes serving the Roman or Anglican uses of the Western Rite, as opposed to the Byzantine Rite used by the other Antiochian dioceses.

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. Gillquist retired in December 2011 and died in July 2012. Fr. Michael Keiser was named as his successor as head of the department.[5]

The archdiocese also includes Ancient Faith Ministries among its departments, with its well-known Ancient Faith Radio division, an Internet-based radio station with content themed around Orthodox Christianity, including both streaming stations and more than 100 podcasts.

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.[6]

St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral, Brooklyn

While American converts play a substantial role in the life of the Archdiocese, being well represented among both clergy and laity, all senior Bishops of the Antiochian Archdiocese are of Levantine descent.

• Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America
• Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America

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.[7]

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