New Bulgarian Orthodox Bishop of Toledo Consecrated

Archimandrite Alexander (Golitzin) was consecrated Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarians today by Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington and all the serving hierarchs of the American Orthodox Church (with the exception of Bishop Alejo of Mexico City). Axios! The consecration service was well attended, with many clergy and faithful from the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Toledo, the Midwest, and East and West Coasts of the United States in attendance. More here.

OCA Elects New Bishop for Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese

The Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) has formally elected Archimandrite Alexander (Golitzin) as Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarians to lead the OCA's Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese. Axios! Bishop-elect Alexander is to be consecrated in May 2012. More here.

OCA Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese Nominates Candidate for Bishop

The fifth diocesan congress of the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of North America of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) has nominated Archimandrite Alexander (Golitzin) for election by the OCA's Holy Synod as its next ruling bishop. More here.

Bulgarian Orthodox Church Receives OCA Bulgarian Orthodox Parish in Toronto

With the blessing of Patriarch Maxim (Rachev) of Sofia, Metropolitan Joseph (Bosakov) of New York of the patriarchal Bulgarian Orthodox Church in North America and Australia has received St. George's Church in Toronto, formerly a parish of the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Toledo and North America of the American Orthodox Church, into his care.

There is no notice of the transfer on the website of the OCA and no indication of whether the transfer occurred with the blessing of Bishop Melchisedek (Pleska) of Pittsburgh, locum tenens of the OCA's Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese, or not. The transfer comes not long after the announcement of episcopal candidates for the OCA's diocese, neither of whom were of Bulgarian or Macedonian heritage and one of whom was actually Greek. More here.

Update (2:02pm): I've just heard back from the office of Bishop Melchisedek and am told that he said that St. George's Church "has not been released to any other jurisdiction."

OCA Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese Announces Episcopal Candidates

The Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of North America of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) has finally announced the names of the candidates for its cathedra, which became vacant following the death of the Diocese's founder, Archbishop Kyrill (Yonchev) of Toledo, four years ago.

Of the candidates one, [widowed] Archpriest Paul Gassios, spent time in his youth as part of a Protestant church. The other, Archimandrite Alexander Golitzin, is a well known scholar who teaches at Milwaukee's Marquette University. Neither are ethnically Bulgarian or Macedonian (Fr. Paul is Greek-American and Fr. Alexander is a Russian-American).

The two candidates will have time to get to know and be known by the Diocese before the nomination of one for election by the Holy Synod of the OCA as Bishop of Toledo at the upcoming Diocesan Congress in July. More here.

Fourth Diocesan Sobor of the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of the OCA

Over the weekend the Bulgarian Orthodox diocese of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) held its fourth diocesan council (собор) at its cathedral in metro Toledo, Ohio, this past weekend. The council was supposed to nominate a candidate for election as Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarians to succeed Archbishop Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh and the Bulgarians, but after a presentation by the episcopal search committee the council gave it more time to enable the candidates under consideration to visit more of the diocese's widely scattered communities. The council was led by Bishop Melchisedek of Pittsburgh, the locum tenens of the diocese, and included a presentation by Fr. Callinic (Berger), an hieromonk of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in America (ROEA). The news release from the OCA can be found here.