Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America
Encyclopedia
The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America (formerly the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America) is an Eastern Orthodox organization of church Hierarchs in North and Central America.
The history of the Assembly began when delegates from the fourteen Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches met at the Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy, Switzerland
on June 6-12, 2009. At that time, the Conference decided to sanction the establishment of Episcopal Assemblies in twelve regions of the so-called Eastern Orthodox Diaspora which are beyond the boundaries of the Autocephalous Churches. Such assemblies will have the authority to propose future administrative structures for the Church in their respective regions.
The first conference of the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America was held at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York on May 27-28, 2010 under the chairmanship of Archbishop Demetrios of America.
One of the major decisions reached at the Episcopal Assembly's first meeting was the dissolution of the Synod of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of America (SCOBA), and to assume all of SCOBA's functions, agencies and ministries.
Other issues discussed included requests to partition the present region of the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America into two distinct regions of the United States and Canada, as well as to merge Mexico and Central America with the Assembly of South America.
Although autonomy is an issue for North and Central American churches, there was no direct statement from the assembly regarding autonomy for the Church in North and/or Central America.
Shortly after the May 2010 meeting the name of the assembly was changed to Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America to avoid possible confusion with the Episcopal Church of the United States.
The history of the Assembly began when delegates from the fourteen Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches met at the Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
on June 6-12, 2009. At that time, the Conference decided to sanction the establishment of Episcopal Assemblies in twelve regions of the so-called Eastern Orthodox Diaspora which are beyond the boundaries of the Autocephalous Churches. Such assemblies will have the authority to propose future administrative structures for the Church in their respective regions.
The first conference of the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America was held at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York on May 27-28, 2010 under the chairmanship of Archbishop Demetrios of America.
One of the major decisions reached at the Episcopal Assembly's first meeting was the dissolution of the Synod of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of America (SCOBA), and to assume all of SCOBA's functions, agencies and ministries.
Other issues discussed included requests to partition the present region of the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America into two distinct regions of the United States and Canada, as well as to merge Mexico and Central America with the Assembly of South America.
Although autonomy is an issue for North and Central American churches, there was no direct statement from the assembly regarding autonomy for the Church in North and/or Central America.
Shortly after the May 2010 meeting the name of the assembly was changed to Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America to avoid possible confusion with the Episcopal Church of the United States.
Attendees of the Inaugural Assembly (2010)
Of the sixty-six Hierarchs in the region, the following fifty-five were present at the founding Assembly in 2010:- Archbishop Demetrios (Trakatellis) of America, Chairman
- Metropolitan Philip (Saliba)Philip (Saliba)Metropolitan Philip is the Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America, which is the leadership position for the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Metropolitan Philip has held this position since 1966.- Education :Philip was education at Balamand...
of New York, Vice Chairman - Archbishop Justinian (Ovchinnikov) of Naro-Fominsk, Vice Chairman
- Bishop Basil (Essey) of Wichita, Secretary
- Archbishop Antony (Scherba) of Hierapolis, Treasurer
- Metropolitan Iakovos (Garmatis)Metropolitan Iakovos (Garmatis) of ChicagoMetropolitan Iakovos of Chicago was elected to the episcopacy of the Greek Orthodox Church by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1969. He was enthroned by Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America on May 1, 1979, as...
of Chicago - Metropolitan Constantine (Bahan) of Irinoupolis
- Metropolitan Athenagoras (Aneste) of Mexico
- Metropolitan Methodios (Tournas)Metropolitan Methodios (Tournas) of BostonMetropolitan Methodios of Boston is the spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston which includes all of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont and the Connecticut towns of Danielson, Enfield, New London and Norwich...
of Boston - Metropolitan Isaiah (Chronopoulos) of Denver
- Metropolitan Nicholas (Smisko) of Amissos
- Metropolitan Alexios (Panagiotopoulos) of Atlanta
- Metropolitan Nikitas (Lulias) of Dardanellia
- Metropolitan Nicholas (Pissare) of Detroit
- Metropolitan Gerasimos (Michaleas) of San Francisco
- Metropolitan Evangelos (Kourounis) of New Jersey
- Metropolitan Paisios (Loulourgas) of Tyana
- Archbishop Yurij (Kalistchuk)Archbishop Yurij (Kalistchuk)Archbishop Yurij is Archbishop of Toronto in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.-Youth:...
of Toronto - Bishop Christophoros (Rakintzakis) of Andida
- Bishop Vikentios (Malamatenios) of Apameia
- Bishop Savas (Zembillas) of Troas
- Bishop Andonios (Paropoulos) of Phasiane
- Bishop Ilia (Katre) of Philomelion
- Bishop Ilarion (Rudnyk) of Edmonton.
- Bishop Andriy (Peshko) of Krateia
- Bishop Demetrios (Kantzavelos) of Mokissos
- Bishop Daniel (Zelinskyy) of Pamphilon
- Bishop Antoun (Khouri)Antoun KhouriHis Grace the Right Reverend Bishop Antoun of Miami and the Southeast is a diocesan bishop of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.-Early years:...
of Miami - Bishop Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui) of Los Angeles
- Bishop Thomas (Joseph) of Charleston and Oakland
- Bishop Mark (Maymon)Mark (Maymon) of ToledoHis Grace the Right Reverend Bishop Mark of Baltimore is an auxiliary bishop of the Orthodox Church in America. He presently serves in the Diocese of the South....
of Toledo - Bishop Alexander (Mufarrij) of Ottawa
- Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral)Hilarion (Kapral)Metropolitan Hilarion — bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia , Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York, First-Hierarch of ROCOR ; he is the first in its history First-Hierarch of ROCOR, approved by the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate...
of New York - Bishop Job (Smakouz) of Kashira
- Bishop Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Montreal
- Bishop Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland
- Bishop Theodosius (Ivashchenko) of Seattle
- Bishop George (Schaefer) of Mayfield
- Bishop Jerome (Shaw) of Manhattan
- Metropolitan Christopher (Kovacevich)Christopher KovacevichChristopher was metropolitan bishop of Libertyville and Chicago in the Serbian Orthodox Church . As such, he was Primate of Serbian Orthodox Christians in America...
of Midwestern America - Bishop Maxim (Vasilijevic)Maxim (Vasilijevic) of Western AmericaBishop Maxim was enthroned as bishop of the Diocese of Western America of the Serbian Orthodox Church on July 30, 2006. Previously, he was the Bishop of Hum, Vicar bishop in the Metropolitanate of Dabro-Bosna, in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.He is a professor of patrology at the...
of Western America - Archbishop Nicolae (Condrea) of Chicago
- Bishop Ioan Casian (Tunaru) of Vicina
- Metropolitan Joseph (Bosakov) of America and Australia
- Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen)Jonah (Paffhausen)Jonah , Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada, is the primate of the Orthodox Church in America . He was elected on November 12, 2008, and installed to his see on December 28, 2008, in Washington, D.C...
of Washington - Archbishop Nathaniel (Popp)Nathaniel (Popp)Archbishop Nathaniel is an American Romanian Orthodox clergyman, the current archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America's Romanian Episcopate....
of Detroit - Archbishop Seraphim (Storheim) of Ottawa
- Bishop Nikon (Liolin)Nikon (Liolin)Bishop Nikon is an Albanian bishop who serves as the head of the Orthodox Church in America's Albanian Archdiocese and New England diocese....
of Boston - Bishop Tikhon (Mollard) of Philadelphia
- Bishop Benjamin (Peterson)Benjamin (Peterson)Bishop Benjamin is the Bishop of the Orthodox Church in America's Diocese of the West....
of San Francisco - Bishop Melchisedek (Pleska) of Pittsburgh
- Bishop Alejo (Pacheco y Vera) of Mexico City
- Bishop Irineu (Duvlea) of Dearborn Heights
- Bishop Irénée (Rochon) of Quebec City
- Bishop Michael (Dahulich) of New York