History of the OCA

Первые миссионеры прибывают на Аляску

Восемь православных миссионеров из Валаамского монастыря в северной Карелии, Россия, прибыли в Кадьяк, Аляска. Они оказали глубокое влияние на коренное население Аляски и привели многих к православной христианской вере.

Отец Иоанн Вениаминов — Апостол Америки

Отец Иоанн Вениаминов прибыл на Аляску и продолжил миссионерскую работу. Среди его многочисленных достижений было перевод Священного Писания и богослужебных текстов на местные диалекты, для чего он также разработал грамматику и алфавит.

Около 1840 года отец Иоанн был избран в епископат, приняв имя Иннокентий. Он посетил Калифорнию и православную общину в Форт-Росс, к северу от Сан-Франциско, а затем вернулся в Россию, где был назначен митрополитом Московским.

Приход в Сан-Франциско

Приход был основан в Сан-Франциско сербами, русскими и греками — сегодня это Свято-Троицкий собор ПЦА. Постепенно были основаны и другие приходы по всей территории Соединенных Штатов.

С большими волнами иммигрантов из Центральной и Восточной Европы, Ближнего Востока и Южной Европы в конце XIX века, штаб-квартира Североамериканской православной епархии сначала переехала в Сан-Франциско, а затем в Нью-Йорк.

A United North American Diocese

By the early 1900s, almost all Orthodox communities — regardless of ethnic background — were united in a single diocese under the Russian Orthodox Church. This was a remarkable expression of Orthodox unity on American soil.

Bishop Raphael Hawaweeny became the first bishop for Arab-Americans and the first Orthodox Christian consecrated to the episcopacy in North America. He and the parishes under his direction were an integral part of the North American Diocese.

The Russian Revolution and Its Consequences

The Russian Revolution severely hindered communications between the North American Diocese and the Church in Russia. In the early 1920s, Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow — who had himself served as Bishop of the North American Diocese for ten years — issued a decree calling on dioceses outside Russia to organize themselves autonomously.

At a Council of all hierarchs, clergy, and parish delegates, it was decided that the Church in North America could no longer maintain strict administrative ties with Russia, especially as Patriarch Tikhon had been arrested. He died in 1925.

Rise of Multiple Jurisdictions

Various ethnic groups that had been part of the single diocese organized separate dioceses and placed themselves under their respective Mother Churches. This gave rise to the present situation of multiple overlapping jurisdictions in North America based on ethnic background — rather than the canonical principle of a single Church in a given territory.

At that time, the OCA was known as the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of North America, or simply The Metropolia.

Autocephaly — The Orthodox Church in America Is Born

In the early 1960s, The Metropolia entered into dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to regularize its status. In 1970, it once again entered into communion with Moscow, which promptly granted it autocephaly — full administrative self-governance.

At a Council held at Saint Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, it was decided that the Church should be renamed The Orthodox Church in America. This marked a turning point: for the first time, an Orthodox Church on American soil was fully self-governing.

Signing of the Autocephaly Agreement, 1970. Photo: OCA Archives.