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A BRIEF HISTORY
HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCH (American Jurisdiction)
By BRO. MICHAEL SAMUCHIN, SSB, PhD Professor, Tennessee State University in collaboration with FR. BASIL CLINTON PHILIPS, SSB FR. JOHN GREGORY SWICK, SSB BRO. THADEUS ROGER HOSMER, SSB
accept the age-old tenets of the Orthodox Christian Faith and, to develop For themselves their own autonomous canonical identity as a united ecclesiast tic jurisdictional structure of that one, Holy, Apostolic, Orthodox Catholic Faith Within the heritage of their own nation's . cultural cultural tradition." XArchbishop Ignatius, SSB May 12, 1934 Published by THE SOCIETY OF CLERKS SECULAR OF ST. BASIL
(The Basilian Fathers) copyright @ 1991-(Revised-1992) by the Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil. ALL rights reserved. No portion of This booklet may be mechanically, electronically or photographically copied, reprinted or reproduced and/or electronically stored on tape recording devices or transferred to computerized floppy/CD disks or other computerized storage drives, or transmitted electronically via modems or other devices, unless explicit permission has first been obtained from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. Republished and copyright by the Basilian Fathers (2007).
HISTORY AND STATUS OF THE HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCH, AMERICAN JURISDICTION
This brief, condensed history booklet is respectfully dedicated in grateful appreciation to the memory of the initial progenitors of Western Rite Orthodoxy in America, Archbishop Aftimios <Ofiesh>, the original mentor of the Rite; Archbishop Ignatius <Nichols>, S.S.B, the first archbishop of the Western Rite American Orthodox Church and first superior-general of the Orthodox order of Basilian Fathers; and, Archbishop Alexander <Turner>, SSB, second archbishop of the American Orthodox Church and second superior-general of the Basilians.
in prayerful thanksgiving, respect and appreciation, this presentation is also dedicated to the memory of the Fathers of the Russian Orthodox Synod of Bishops (St. Petersburg, Russia) who in 1870, first restored the ancient Western Gregorian Rite to Orthodoxy after its absence of 816 years; and, in honored commemoration of and profound gratefulness to the Russian Orthodox Jurisdiction in America without whose compassion, direction and concern, the original American apostolate of the Orthodox Western Rite would not have come into existence.
Beginning with the founding Fathers of the American Nation, America has been a haven of freedom for many religious denominations. People from many nations have immigrated to the United States seeking the right and privilege to pursue a free exercise of their religious beliefs and practices. This concentration of different religions in America is one of the factors, which has contributed to the greatness of America's pluralistic society, which, for the common good, unites itself under the banner of democracy.
The various ethnically-oriented elements of the ancient Orthodox
Church constitutes an important aspect of religious immigration to this country. At first, Orthodox people came to America for economic reasons - to escape poverty, to find a better way to provide for their children and their children’s children. As time went on, other Orthodox people sought refuge here to escape the oppression of political despots and atheistic Communism; they, too, became part of that common bond which brought the first settlers to America.
The first contingent of Orthodox people arrived on this continent Long before the "west was won" and before the territory of the Pacific coastline became integrated into the family of American states. Missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church settled and worked first in Alaska, moving southward into the wilderness and beauty of the Pacific territory. They were the first of the Orthodox Faith to establish a missionary apostolate in America.
As this nation developed, more Orthodox people settled in every part of this vast Land; the Greeks, Ukrainians, Rumanians, Serbians, Syrians, Czechs, Poles, Albanians, among others, each brought to this country the richness of their own cultural traditions unique to their practice of the Orthodox Faith, the composite of which united them as communicants of the one Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, the oldest body of Christians in the world.
While totally united in the Faith of the ancient Christian Church, the presence of so many different ethnic-Orthodox Churches created unprecedented difficulties involving matters of jurisdictional ecclesiastical authority which, within the Orthodox Church, is commonly referred to as 'canonical authority,' i.e., which of the existing ethnic-Orthodox bodies in America possesses the right of episcopal authority over all." The answer was then and remains so today, no single jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church in America can assume any right of ecclesiastical authority over all others, the Russian's first presence in America notwithstanding.
Sensing the great need for Orthodox juridical unity in America, seen as the solution to the then prevailing "canonical" problems affecting jurisdictional pluralism, the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow sought to solve the problem by spearheading a movement designed to unite all the American-based Orthodox jurisdictions into a single juridical entity to be known as "The American Orthodox Church."
As we will see later, that Lofty aspiration did take form in the 1920's and 1930's but, for a variety of reasons, it was a futile effort exercised long before its time.
To facilitate the effort, the Russian Church chose two bishops of the Syrian Orthodox Mission in America, first Bishop Raphael Hawaweeny and Later, Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh, to initiate and prosecute the unification process designed to establish only one Orthodox Church in America, the American Orthodox Church. The centuries-old inbred pride of the people of the various jurisdictions in their own cultural traditions, their strong ties with their homeland church authorities, among other considerations, became overwhelmingly insurmountable, causing the demise of the unification effort by the Russian Church.
With the initial plan for the ethnic bodies of orthodoxy to unite as a single American Orthodox Church aborted, the identifying designation "American Orthodox Church" was to take on a totally different posture and purpose when, in 1932, it became the distinctive identity of the original Orthodox Western Rite canonical apostolate in America.
The Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction (HOCAJ) is the direct continuation of the "The American Orthodox Church" established in 1932 by the Late Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh for the constituency of the Orthodox Western Rite.
The current name of the original Orthodox Western Rite apostolate in America, THE HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCH, AMERICAN JURISDICTION, is the result of the 1974 restructuring of the Orthodox Western Rite AMERICAN ORTHODOX CHURCH (The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America), which was instituted in 1932 by the Late Archbishop Aftimios (Ofiesh), then the presiding archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese of Brooklyn.
The American Orthodox Church was originally chartered by a Special Act of the New York Legislature (1932), subsequently revised (1956) under the same Special Legislative Act. It is the embodiment of the Russian Orthodox restoration of the Western Gregorian Rite within Orthodoxy as was first established by the Russian Orthodox Synod of Bishops, St. Petersburg, Russia (1870) and its subsequent establishment in America
(1932) under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese of Brooklyn. headed by Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh
The original restoration of the ancient Orthodox Western Gregorian Rite by the Russian Synod of Bishops in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1870, was the result of a petition submitted to the Russian Synod by Slavic Roman Catholics of Mid-Eastern Europe, and Western European Roman Catholics to receive them into the Orthodox Church. The petitioners had become disenchanted with the Roman Church because of certain dogmas promulgated by the Roman Council of Vatican 1 (1870), chief of which was the dogma of "Papal Infallibility." The petition requested that the Western Rite petitioners be permitted the privilege of continuing to worship in conformance with the ancient western traditions of the Gregorian Liturgy, which, at the time, had been the normal worship service of Western Christians for thirteen centuries.
The Synod of Bishops granted the request of the petitioners and received them into the Russian Orthodox Church. Additionally, the Synod restored the ancient Western Gregorian Liturgy to the family of Orthodox Divine Liturgies. The Western Gregorian Rite had been absent from the Orthodox Church for 816 years. The Gregorian Rite's absence from orthodoxy was one of the tragedies of the Great Schism of 1054 AD that tragic event of church history which separated the Patriarchate of Rome from Orthodox Catholic unity.
The restored Rite was authorized for the exclusive use of the new Western Orthodox converts and other westerners who would subsequently enter the Western Rite apostolate of the Orthodox Church.
The Orthodox Western <Gregorian> Rite found its way to America in 1932 under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church. Authorized for western converts to Orthodoxy, it was established by the Late Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh, then the archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese of Brooklyn, New York. It was under Abp. Aftimios' episcopal authority that the original Orthodox Western Rite archdiocese in America came into being.
Upon completition of the restructuring process, the Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction was chartered under the corporate Laws of the State of Tennessee in 1976. The original NY Charter (1932) remains in force. (and continues to this date as part of this jurisdiction, its attempted takeover by by other parties is illegal under NY State Code and the documents are regarded as "filing a false report" which comes with civil and criminal consequences.).
Abp. Aftimios' mission, canonically assigned him by the Moscow Synod of Russian Orthodox Bishops, was to carry on the work of uniting all ethnic Orthodox bodies in America into a single American Jurisdiction, a work begun in the early 1900's under his predecessor, the Russian consecrated Late Syrian Bishop Raphael Hawaweeny.
Archbishop Aftimios was consecrated to the episcopacy in 1917 by the Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Evdokin, assisted by the Russian bishop of Pittsburgh, Bishop Stephen Dzubaj and the Russian Exarch for Canada, Bishop Nemolovsky, each directly affiliated with the Synod of Moscow.
Foreign motherland judicial and patriarchal (Antioch and Constantinople) influences and domestic inter-jurisdictional interferences forced the Moscow Patriarchate to direct Abp. Aftimios to abandon the unification effort, to disband the Russian archdiocese in Brooklyn and turn over its property and assets to the Syrian Orthodox Church.
Archbishop Aftimios complied but not before he secured the future capability of his archdiocesan Western Rite component to continue under its own administrative competence and valid apostolic ecclesial authority. He accomplished this through his own archdiocesan synod, which authorized the establishment of an archdiocesan entity exclusively for the constituency of the Western Rite and the consecration of Father William Albert Nichols, SSB, as its first archbishop.
Father Nichols, a World War I U. S. Navy chaplain and former Episcopalian priest, was ordained to the Orthodox priesthood by Abp. Aftimios who assigned him as pastor of the Orthodox Western Rite parish in Upper-Manhattan, the very first Western Rite canonical parish in the United States.
Acting under Abp. Aftimios' direction, Fr. Nichols founded the nonmonastic Order of The Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil, commonly known as 'The Basilian Fathers,' becoming its first superior-general. The Order, composed of both ordained clerics and dedicated professed Laymen, became the missionary arm of the Western Rite work under Fr. Nichols' Leadership and Abp. Aftimios' episcopal authority and guidance.
Subsequently, Abp. Aftimios, assisted by two of his auxiliary bishops,
Ukrainian Bishop Joseph Zuk and Syrian Bishop Sophronios Bashira, consecrated Fr. Nichols, Sept. 30, 1932, as the first canonical archbishop of the Orthodox Western Rite archdiocese. Thus began the first Orthodox Western Rite archdiocesan apostolate in America canonically instituted under Russian Orthodox auspices. Archbishop Nichols took Ignatius as his episcopal name.
Archbishop Ignatius, ably assisted by his archdiocesan chancellor, Fr. Tyler Turner, SSB, directed the affairs of the Basilians until ill health forced him to call for the election of a successor as superior general. The workload of his dual role as archdiocesan ordinary and Basilian superior-general became altogether too much for the ailing archbishop to handle. Father Turner was elected the second superior general of the order of Basilian Fathers.
Father Turner's election provided the archbishop the opportunity to devote full attention to the development of the fledgling Western Rite archdiocese. it soon became evident to all concerned that the weakened condition of the archbishop's health required the assistance of a coadjutor archbishop. The brotherhood of the order prevailed upon the archbishop to give serious consideration to the selection of a coadjutor and several candidates were recommended to him.
In 1939, Father Turner was consecrated as the Coadjutor Archbishop. The new Coadjutor Archbishop chose the episcopal name of Alexander and, upon Abp. Ignatius' demise, he became the second canonical archbishop of the Western Rite's American Orthodox archdiocese.
The following several years were difficult ones for Abp. Alexander. Not only was he seriously handicapped due to a Lack of operating funds, he was also confronted, as was Archbishop Ignatius before him, with serious efforts designed to discredit the Orthodox Western Rite apostolate. These efforts emanated from sources, which, for a variety of reasons, felt, threatened by the appearance of the Orthodox Western Rite on the American religious scene.
During the first 25 years of the Orthodox Western Rite's existence in America, a near-similar Liturgical rite was being widely used for regular worship within four well known unrelated traditional Liturgical churches. of these four, one befriended Archbishop Alexander and sympathetically defended his work. Two others were particularly disturbed about the restoration of the ancient Gregorian
Rite within Orthodoxy in this country.
Realizing that they were being faced with the active presence of an ancient western Liturgical tradition restored by a recognized valid apostolic church, some individuals unofficially took it upon themselves to openly denounce the existence of the Orthodox Western Rite. They feared that, if the Orthodox Western Rite were to gain widespread acceptance, it might be able to draw converts from their well-established constituencies and/or attract other converts who otherwise would seek entrance into their respective churches.
Ironically, the form of Liturgical worship of each of the above four western religious entities, which were in vogue a quarter of century ago, have been replaced with modern adaptations which have Little or no resemblance to the form or rubrics of the ancient Gregorian Rite.
Among some of the older ethnic-Orthodox bodies, the fear existed that the Orthodox Western Rite might appeal to some of their people desiring a more "Americanized western expression" of the Orthodox Faith. However, their objections have not been as openly severe as those projected by individuals within certain western Liturgical entities. The older Orthodox bodies realize that the Orthodox Western Rite did come into existence under valid Orthodox auspices, but, unlike some within the western churches, some of the Orthodox elements have simply ignored the fact. Several other older Eastern Rite Orthodox bodies have, of course, adopted the Western Rite as a missionary adjunct within their jurisdictions.
Despite the ever-present problems attending these kinds of objections, Archbishop Alexander and the Western Rite apostolate prevailed. The adversities involved only served to strengthen the archbishop's resolve to do everything he could to carry on the work of the Orthodox Western Rite begun by Archbishops Aftimios and Ignatius. For the most part, Archbishop Alexander refrained from counteracting the objections through the employment of polemics. Instead, he initiated a series of scholarly publications in which the position of the apostolate was clearly defined and the Faith of Orthodoxy expertly examined and taught.
His publications, "The Basilian" and "Orthodoxy" became widely known throughout the Christian world, and were highly sought and read by religious scholars of many denominations. Most major Orthodox, Roman
Catholic, Anglican and Protestant seminaries were furnished with a complimentary subscription to these two publications. Abp. Alexander became one of the most prolific, sought-after Orthodox writers of his time. Indeed, as time went on, he was often invited to give Lectures at prominent institutions of religious education. The Jesuit operated Ford ham University being just one of the many institutions which, from time to time, invited Abp Alexander as guest Lecturer.
As time moved on and with the advent of the now-popular modern-day Ecumenical Movement, the once annoying objections began to subside. Unfortunately, the weight of the annoying objections eventually took its toll upon the archbishop and orchestrated within him the feeling that, perhaps the interests of the Orthodox Western Rite might be better served if it were to once again become affiliated with one of the older ethnic-Orthodox jurisdictions.
In 1956, the archbishop began a search to find an ethnic-Orthodox jurisdiction willing to assume a responsibility for the Western Rite. Several jurisdictions responded favorably and, in 1957, negotiations began with the Antiochean Orthodox Archdiocese of New York, which resulted in the creation of the Western Rite Vicariate within the Antiochean jurisdiction.
Not all Basilian members were favorably disposed to the idea of uniting the order with any jurisdiction. Hence, the Basilian membership decided that the Order would retain its own Legal autonomous status apart from the Syrian Church and, to accept gracefully the decision of the few members who elected to affiliate themselves with the Antiochean Vicariate as Western Rite priests.
By unanimous decision of the Basilian brotherhood, it was agreed that its members who entered the Antiochean Vicariate would not lose their Basilian status or membership. In fact, Abp. Alexander, being one of the members deciding to enter the Vicariate, was not forced to relinquish his status as the Order's superior-genera L by either the Order itself or the Antiochian Vicariate, a fact unprecedented in the annals of Orthodox Western Rite history.
Prior to his entry into the Antiochean Vicariate, the archbishop, almost single handedly, supported the Basilian apostolate from his earnings as a professional technical consultant with Columbia Records. His masterful recordings were among the first introducing and
explaining the techniques of modern stereophonic music to the American public. Alexander’s devoted wife, Mary, also greatly contributed financially to the apostolate from her earnings as a professional Librarian at the New York City Public Library.
In 1960, only four members of the order of Basilian Fathers decided to enter the Antiochean Orthodox Western Rite Vicariate, namely, Abp. Alexander, the superior-general, *Fathers Basil Jackson, **James Fontain and Wm. Francis Forbes. They were received NOT AS BASILIANS but as regularized incardinated Orthodox Western Rite priests of the Antiochean Vicariate.
As previously stated, the remaining Basilian members elected not to become affiliated with the Vicariate and continued their Western Rite apostolate exclusively within the Basilian Order. The Basilian order never relinquished its cherished historic Legal autonomous status in favor of the Syrian jurisdiction. The Late Archbishop Antony Bashir with the consent of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch established the Syrian’s Western Rite Vicariate in 1958.
(* Father Jackson Left the Syrian Jurisdiction shortly after his reception and hasn't been heard from since. **Fr. Fontain transferred out of the Vicariate and was received into the Albanian Orthodox Church as an Eastern Rite priest. 0ather Forbes remained within the Vicariate for a Little under 15 years. Archbishop Alexander, being married, was received as a Mitered Archpriest and as Vicar General of the Vicariate, a post he held until his death in 1971.>)
Subsequent to the death of Abp. Alexander, Father Wm. Francis Forbes, SSB, was elected superior-general of the Basilians in 1973, a post he currently retains. Father Forbes began to realize that the direction of the Syrian Western Rite Vicariate had shifted away from its original purpose, the preservation of the Western Gregorian Rite within orthodoxy. It had opened its ranks to other Liturgical interests, the Russian Church had originally established not requiring its more recent additions to conform to the norms of the Western Rite as in 1870, to which the Basilians had long been faithful.
As the superior-general of the Basilians, he was also acutely aware of the fact that the Order, being a separate entity unaffiliated with the Syrian Vicariate, had received very little guidance and had no
significant experience of growth over the period of near fifteen years, both factors causing its regular membership to dwindle considerably. Fr. Forbes reached the obvious conclusion that, unless the Basilian order becomes revitalized, properly restructured and received the immediate attention of its elected Leadership, it would soon cease to exist.
With the seriousness of the Basilian situation, coupled with the problem concerning the Vicariate's obvious direction, Father Forbes made the decision to withdraw from the Syrian Vicariate and assume his duties as superior-general of the Basilian Fathers on a time-time basis.
In the Late summer of 1974, Father Forbes began the arduous task of restructuring both the Basilian Order's Western Rite apostolate and its original archdiocesan ecclesial structure.
During the same year, Learning of the precarious Basilian situation, two bishops, within the Aftimios/Ignatius Lineage of Apostolic Succession, offered to restore the episcopacy to the Basilian Order. They requested Father Forbes to accept episcopal consecration at their hands for that purpose.
A restoration of the episcopacy to the Basilians was essential for without it, it would be impossible to ordain new priests and deacons for the Order's apostolate. Archbishop Alexander, SSB, was no Longer available for such episcopal responsibilities within the Order. He died in 1971.
The emergent nature of the Basilian situation moved Father Forbes to accept consecration by the two bishops who offered it. On October 20, 1974, the Late Archbishop Thomas Jude Baumler and the retired bishop, the Late Bishop John Chrysostom Martin consecrated Father Forbes to the episcopacy, thus restoring the Basilian Order to its original status and function within the traditional. essential ecclesial norms of orthodoxy.
(NOTE: For an episcopal consecration to be valid and canonically correct, Orthodox Canon Law requires the participation of a minimum of two, preferable three, consecrating bishops. Only under certain critical emergent circumstances, may a priest be validly consecrated to the episcopacy by a single bishop; such an occurrence is extremely rare within both Roman and Orthodox Catholicism.)
To compliment the restructuring of both the Basilian order and the original jurisdictional structure under which the Basilians functioned, Archbishop Baumler created a Western Rite diocese at Nashville, Tennessee, assigning Bishop Forbes as its ordinary.
The Jurisdiction had grown considerably during its first year of restructuring - 1974-75, and had obtained a sufficient number of bishops warranting the restoration of the Synod of Bishops. Within orthodoxy, it is essential that its own Synod of Bishops govern a jurisdiction. The Synodal restoration became a reality in the fall of 1975.
In 1976, the Synod canonically elevated Bishop Forbes to the dignity of Archbishop and elected him as the presiding Metropolitan of the Synod. The Synod also elevated the diocese of Nashville to archdiocesan status naming it the Metropolitan See of the Jurisdictional Synod. This action restored the ecclesiastical posture of the original Orthodox Western Rite apostate to the position it was in 1960 when several of the Basilian members became affiliated with the Syrian Vicariate.
Archbishop Baumler had assisted Bishop Forbes with the preliminary restructuring of the jurisdiction and remained with it until his death. Like Abp. Baumler, retired Bishop Martin also remained with the Jurisdiction until his death.
By the time Father Forbes had returned to the Basilian Order on a time-time basis, exercising his responsibilities as superior-general, a number of unaffiliated groups were styling themselves as "The American Orthodox Church." In order to distinguish the original Orthodox Western Rite Jurisdiction in America clearly from the several groups claiming a similar posture of identity, the original Orthodox Western
Rite Jurisdiction, first officially known as The American Orthodox Church, was Legally re-chartered under the religious non-profit corporate Laws of the State of Tennessee as "The Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction." Its original State of New York Legal charter of religious corporate enablement remains in force to this day.
In the summer of 1977, Archbishop Forbes closed the motherhouse of the Basilians in Mt. Vernon, NY, sold the property and moved the administrative function of the Basilians to Antioch, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville, thus consolidating the administrational juridical affairs of both the Basilians and the Metropolitan See in one centralized Location.
As it had always been since the institution of the original establishment of the Orthodox Western Rite under Abp. Aftimios, the Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction remains thoroughly Orthodox in all aspects of the faith, including the administration of the sacraments and the preservation of the Liturgical traditions of the ancient Orthodox Gregorian Rite. It accepts both the original Nicene Creed and the definitive Doctrinal affirmations of the seven Ecumenical Councils.
Two bishops of the Synod recommended that, as part of the restructuring process, the Jurisdiction open its apostolate to include communicants of the Eastern Rite. The Synod also established a modified Anglican Book of Common Prayer-1928 Liturgy, called the "Salisbury Rite" for Anglican converts coming into the Jurisdiction. The Salisbury Rite was carefully modified so that it would be in conformity with Orthodox theology and Liturgical norms.
Today, there is a presence of the Eastern Rite only within the Archdiocese of Bridgewater <Boston The Salisbury Rite no Longer exists within the Synod of the American Jurisdiction. The majority of parishes continue within the Liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Gregorian Rite. Through experience, it was painfully discovered that a plurality of rites couldn’t exist harmoniously within any diocesan structure where one rite's communicant strength far outnumbers the minority rite. If for no other reasons, inter-rite competitiveness and its accompanying presance aspects, prohibit a successful, harmonious coexistence of more than one rite within a single diocesan structure.
The Canons direct the ecclesiastical authority of a Jurisdiction to be vested in its Synod of Bishops. As currently structured, the Synod of Bishops of the Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction is composed of one presiding metropolitan-archbishop and three active hierarchs, namely, Archbishop-Archbishop Wm. Francis Forbes, SSB, Nashville; Archbishop Richard B. McLennan, SSB, (Bridgewater <Boston>); Bishop John Joseph Lehman, SSB, (Lousiana <New OrLeans>); Missionary Bishop EmanueL SiLva, SSB, (Canada <MontreaL>); and, Retired bishop of PhiLadeLphia, Bishop James E. Henderson, SSB. Each bishop, including the presiding metropolitan, and his diocese is subject to the ecclesiastical authority of the Synod. The Metropolitan See of Nashville is temporarily administering the Philadelphia diocese, currently vacant due to the illness of its ordinary.
The Basilian Fathers remains a missionary Order of the Synod.
While the Jurisdiction now enjoys cordial relations with various Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant religious entities, it refrains from interfering in the internal judicial affairs of other religious bodies.
The American Jurisdiction is totally responsible for its own ecclesiastical affairs. It is not subject to the juridical authority of any other Orthodox body, foreign or domestic. It has no affiliation with any of the groups claiming identity as "the" 'American Orthodox Church.' Similarly, groups claiming to posses episcopal authority from either Archbishop Aftimios, Ignatius or Alexander have no connection and/or affiliation with either this Jurisdiction or its subordinate Order of Basilians.
The Jurisdiction had a mission extension in England but it no Longer exists due to the demise of its missionary priest.
As within all Liturgical churches today, there is a Lack of priestly vocations. Currently, the number of active priests within HOCAJ is insufficient to meet the need of the normal transitions caused by illness, retirement, death and/or defections. Better than 90% of the clergy are engaged in secular professions and/or employment and provide for their own support. The church depends heavily upon the apostolate of the worker-priest ministry which is divided between the
parochial parish, military, campus, Law enforcement and hospital chaplancy ministries.
The St. Basil’s Seminary, established in 1944 by Archbishop Alexander, SSE, and no Longer exists as a resident-educational facility. It does continue, however, as a tutorial facility for the American Jurisdiction.
Candidates for Orders must successfully complete the prescribed course of studies under the tutorial system before being ordained. Candidates study under the supervision of their bishop or designated qualified priests.
Generally, in addition to completing the jurisdiction's required tutorial course of studies, sacerdlotal candidates must possess a degree from a recognized seminary and/or college. A waiver of the college degree requirement is occasionally granted to candidates who are unusually proficient in theological knowledge and possess adequate church administrative experience.
Currently, in addition to the required tutorial studies, the majority of the ordained clergy have received theological training in Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Episcopalian or other recognized seminaries. ordained clergy received from recognized main-Line apostolic churches possessing valid sacerdotal orders, take a special course designed to compliment their transition to the Orthodox priesthood.
Clergy received from Protestant denominations complete the tutorial program of studies before being ordained to the deaconate and priesthood.
Unfortunately, the smallness of the Jurisdiction prohibits the maintenance of a resident seminary facility; hence, until such is possible, the tutorial system will continue to serve the jurisdictional requirements.
"The Communicator," is the official Jurisdictional publication and is published at intervals whenever funding permits. Various theological,
The Archdiocese of Nashville from time to time for the benefit of the clergy, Laity and other interested people, publishes historical and administrative papers.
"The Reconciler" is published monthly by the Archdiocese of Bridgewater <Boston>. Weekly newsletters are published by the Diocese of Louisiana <New Orleans> and the Basilian Mission in Brooklyn, New York.
The Archdiocese of Nashville publishes liturgical pew missals. Miscellaneous pamphlets of general Orthodox interest are also published by the Archdiocese of Nashville, whenever funding permits.
St. Basil’s is the Archdiocesean’s-Archdiocesean's cathedral parish. As such, it is also the Synodal cathedral parish, cathedra <seat> of the presiding Metropolitan of the Synod of Bishops.
The principal Synoclal hierarchical activities of the Jurisdiction are held at St. Basil's Cathedral, such as episcopal consecrations and other important Liturgical services of general Synodal and/or Local archdiocesan interest.
Until 1990, the cathedral parish utilized other church properties Leased from Local Nashville churches. Today, it owns its own cathedral property at 355 Tusculum Road, Nashville, 37211. The cathedral building, dedicated in 1991, was purchased from a Methodist Church. It has been completely renovated to include a beautiful sanctuary fully equipped for Liturgical services, a sacristy for vesting, an office for the rector, a youth center where Sunday School is conducted, a meeting room for its sponsored Boy Scout Troop 492, a Library, Living quarters for the rector and a common room where the parish's social activities are held. The common room area is equipped with a complete kitchen. A separate storage building has been erected to house the Boy Scout Troop's camping and training equipment.
A Pastoral Board, composed of members of the cathedral parish, assists the rector in the daily operations of the cathe
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