Philadelphia Archbishop Elected OCA Metropolitan

The Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) has elected Archbishop Tikhon (Mollard) of Philadelphia as Metropolitan of Washington and All America and Canada. Axios! The election closed the special All-American Council in Parma, Ohio, held to nominate a new first hierarch for the OCA to succeed Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen). The Council was held on the old style feast of St. John (Kochurov) of Chicago, and was lifted up in the prayers of many, no doubt especially by Sts. John of Chicago and John (Maximovich) of San Francisco, before whose relics a supplication for the Council was held by cathedral clergy in San Francisco on 12 November.

Archbishop Tikhon was a frontrunner on the Council's first and second ballots, but was second in number of votes to Bishop Michael (Dahulich) of New York. There were no disruptions of the Council by supporters of Metropolitan Jonah, who himself only received seventeen votes on each round of voting, and there was no effort on anyone's part to have the election held off so that the former metropolitan could be reinstated. Metropolitan Tikhon's election was received by the Council with joy, and he was warmly acclaimed when he was presented to the Council.

OCA, ROCOR Bishops Concelebrate at Historic South Canaan Monastery

As part of the recent new style feast day celebrations at St. Tikhon of Zadonsk's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, Bishops Tikhon (Mollard) of Philadelphia of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) and George (Schaefer) of Mayfield of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) concelebrated the Divine Liturgy in the presence of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God. The concelebration was the first between hierarchs of the ROCOR and what now is the OCA at the historic South Canaan Monastery in nearly 70 years. More here.

Archbishop Justinian, Bishop Tikhon Concelebrate in Philadelphia

This past weekend Bishop Tikhon (Mollard) of Philadelphia and Archbishop Justinian (Ovchinnikov) of Narofominsk, head of the patriarchal Russian Orthodox representation to the American Orthodox Church, concelebrated the Sunday Liturgy in Philadelphia's Cathedral of St. Andrew. After the Sunday Liturgy the two hierarchs concelebrated a memorial for the World War II dead remembered during today's Victory Day celebrations in the former USSR. More (in Russian) here.

Bishop Tikhon Responds to Washington Post Article

Bishop Tikhon (Mollard) of Philadelphia, in his capacity as secretary of the Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church, has posted an excellent response to the Washington Post's recent article on Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) here.

OCA Hierarchs Present at ROCOR Synodal Meeting

At the recent session of the Synod Abroad of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia on 8 December Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington and Bishop Tikhon (Mollard) of Philadelphia of the American Orthodox Church participated as guests of the Synod Abroad. This was the first such hierarchical interaction since the efforts of Metropolitans Anastasy (Gribanovsky) and Leonty (Turkevich) of blessed memory in the 1950s to reconcile the North American Metropolia (now the OCA) and the ROCOR. More here.

OCA/ROCOR Joint Statement

The American Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad have finally released the November joint statement of their dialogue commissions. The statement reviews the long history of the OCA and the ROCOR both in North America and worldwide and commits both to working together for the sake of unity and Orthodoxy, confirming the restoration of full communion between the two churches as a result of the union of the Moscow Patriarchate and the ROCOR in 2007.

The commissions that drafted the statement were led by Bishops Tikhon (Mollard) of Philadelphia of the OCA and George (Schaefer) of Mayfield of the ROCOR (both converts to Orthodoxy interestingly enough), but the statement itself has been approved by both the Holy Synod of the OCA and the Synod Abroad of the ROCOR. The full statement can be found here.