Alaskan Church Lands Returned to Sitka Diocese

After years of their management by the central ecclesiastical administration the church lands in Alaska have been returned by the American Orthodox Church (OCA) to the ownership of the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska. The lands were formally signed over to the Alaskan Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) this past Wednesday in the presence of Bishop Benjamin (Pederson) of San Francisco, locum tenens of the Diocese of Sitka. The return of the lands means that the Alaskan Orthodox faithful now legally own their churches and cemeteries. The decision to return the lands was taken by the Metropolitan Council of the OCA. More here.

OCA Metropolitan, Bishop Visiting Czech Republic

Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) has begun a visit to the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church at the invitation of Metropolitan Christopher (Pulec) of Prague. Metropolitan Jonah will be accompanied on his visit to the Orthodox Church in the Czech Republic by the OCA's Bishop Benjamin (Peterson) of San Francisco. More here.

Alaskan Diocesan Assembly Postponed Indefinitely

Bishop Benjamin (Peterson) of San Francisco of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) has accepted a request from the chancellor and deans of the OCA's Diocese of Sitka and Alaska that the special diocesan assembly scheduled for August, at which the Diocese was to nominate a candidate for election as Bishop of Sitka, be cancelled indefinitely to allow the Diocese more time to both find and get to know potential candidates for the vacant Sitka cathedra. More here.

Californian Orthodox Monastery Breaks Ground for New Church

This past St. Lazarus' Saturday Bishop Benjamin (Peterson) of San Francisco of the American Orthodox Church blessed the site of the future church of St. Barbara's Monastery in Santa Paula, California. The church will be dedicated to Sts. Barbara and Eugene. More here. Hat tip to Byzantine Texas for posting this first!

Bishop Benjamin Visits Nondalton, AK; Opposes US Mine Opening

On Theophany this year Bishop Benjamin (Peterson) of San Francisco of the American Orthodox Church celebrated the festal services in Nondalton, Alaska, to highlight the plight of the Athabaskan Orthodox village and its neighboring villages, which have been targeted by US companies to be turned into the world's largest open pit copper and gold mine. The Diocese of Sitka and Alaska is strongly behind the villages' efforts to halt the development of the mine, which has already been approved by the US-backed government of Alaska. More here.