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Bulgarian Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America

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The states/provinces in which the Bulgarian Diocese has jurisdiction.

The Bulgarian Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America (officially the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church Diocese of the United States of America and Canada[1]) is one of three ethnic dioceses of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Its territory includes parishes, monasteries, and missions located in six states in the United States, as well as one province in Canada – California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Ontario, and Washington, D.C. The former archbishop of the diocese was the Most Reverend Kyrill (Yonchev), who also served as the Archbishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. After his repose on June 17, 2007, Metropolitan Herman served as locum tenens of the diocese until the election of Archimandrite Alexander (Golitzin) on October 4, 2011. On May 5, 2012, he was consecrated as bishop of the diocese during a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint George Orthodox Cathedral in Rossford, OH.

History

From 1963 to 1976, the diocese was under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) and was known as the Bulgarian Diocese in Exile. The diocese had its origins in the decision of Metropolitan Andrew (Petkov), then head of the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia, to regularize his relations with and return to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, with whom he had broken communications with after World War II. Subsequently, he was elected to the rank of metropolitan.[2]

In the late 1950s, Andrew petitioned to be accepted into the Russian Metropolia (now known as the Orthodox Church in America) but had been declined by them for unclear reasons. In 1963, he petitioned and was approved by the Holy Synod in Sofia to be readmitted to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and continue to lead Bulgarian Orthodoxy in North America. One of his clergy, Archimandrite Kyrill (Yonchev), disagreed with his decision to return the diocese to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and therefore left it to join the ROCOR where he was ordained as bishop of the Bulgarian Diocese in Exile. Fearing that the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was strongly influenced by the communist regime in Sofia, many Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox parishes in the United States and Canada (organized under the auspices of the Macedonian Patriotic Organization), voiced their support for Bishop Kyrill and transferred their parishes, or created new ones, under his authority.[3] Bishop Kyrill also persuaded many parishes to accept his authority due partly to Metropolitan Andrew's advanced age.[2]

In 1976, Bishop Kyrill and his diocese left the ROCOR and joined the Orthodox Church in America, thus creating its Bulgarian Diocese.[4]

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Constitution of the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the United States of America and Canada" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b Surrency, Archim. Serafim. The Quest for Orthodox Unity in America: A History of the Orthodox Church in North America in the Twentieth Century. Saints Boris and Gleb Press, 1973.
  3. ^ Методиев, Момчил. Календар и църковна политика през комунизма. // Двери на Православието, 2008. Посетен на 24 май 2010.
  4. ^ Liberovsky, Alexis. "Synopsis of the 5th All-American Council". Archived from the original on 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2007-01-01.

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