2021 marks 50 years since the Albanian Archdiocese was received into the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), and December 20 is the 45th anniversary of the reception of the Bulgarian Diocese. These anniversaries are significant not only for their respective Dioceses, but for the entire Church. The reception of these Dioceses into the OCA in the 1970s, as well as the renewal of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate’s affiliation with the OCA in 1970, came in response to the call for unity by the newly-autocephalous OCA.
At the First All-American Council convened in October 1970, the bishops, clergy and laity of the newly-autocephalous OCA addressed a landmark ”Message to all Orthodox Christians in America” calling for jurisdictional Church unity on the North American continent even while acknowledging the diversity of backgrounds and traditions and respecting national and cultural heritages. This was a clarion call to “witness to the truth of our Orthodox faith on this continent” in unity so “‘that all may be one… that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.’ (Jn. 17:21).” The full text of that appeal is published online.
Both the Albanian Archdiocese and the Bulgarian Diocese trace their roots to the establishment of parish communities within the Diocese of the Aleutians and North America at the very beginning of the 20th century. The first Albanian parish in North America was founded in Boston in 1908 following the ordination of Father Theofan (Fan) Noli by Archbishop Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of the Aleutians and North America in accord with the vision for a united multi-ethnic Church in America as set forth in a 1905 report (see pages 4-5) by his predecessor, Saint Tikhon, Enlightener of North America. With the numeric growth of Albanian communities in America, the Second All-American Sobor in 1919 proposed Father Theofan for ordination to the episcopacy. However, due to political upheaval in Russia, canonical election by the Holy Synod could not take place. With the emergence of a sovereign Albanian state, Father Theofan became increasingly involved in Albanian politics. In 1923, he was ordained a bishop and elected Primate of the Church in Albania. At the same time, he briefly served as the country’s Prime Minister in 1924. However, political turmoil soon forced him to flee Albania and he eventually returned to the US in 1932 and established the Albanian Archdiocese under the Church in Albania but with the increasing suppression of religious expression by the totalitarian regime in Albania and irregular contact with the Mother Church, the Archdiocese de facto increasingly functioned autonomously. After Metropolitan Theofan’s repose in 1965, he was immediately succeeded by Bishop Stephen (Lasko) who signed an agreement, dated October 14, 1971 with OCA Primate, Metropolitan Ireney (Bekish) just days before the Second All-American Council to formally affiliate the Archdiocese with the OCA. Bishop Stephen reposed in 1975. Subsequent ruling hierarchs have been Bishop Mark (Forsberg) in 1979-84 and Archbishop Nikon (Liolin) from 2003 until his repose in 2019. A search is now underway for a candidate to be the next hierarch of the Archdiocese. Of the 13 Archdiocesan parishes that joined the OCA in 1971, 11 remain active today.
Meanwhile, the first Bulgarian parish of the Diocese of the Aleutians and North America was established in Madison, IL in 1907. Years later, the Bulgarian and Macedonian communities in America formed a diocese under the Church in Bulgaria, but with the appearance of the communist regime in Bulgaria, a break developed between the Bulgarian Diocese in America and the Patriarchate in Bulgaria. Over a decade later, when the Diocesan Bishop together with some clergy and parishes returned to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate, a group of clergy and parishes headed by Father Kyrill (Yonchev) joined the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) where, in 1964 he was elevated to the episcopacy to shepherd the newly-formed Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo. In 1976, Bishop Kyrill and his diocese petitioned to be received into the OCA. On December 20, 1976, Bishop Kyrill signed an Agreement with Metropolitan Ireney that formalized the affiliation of his diocese with the OCA. He continued to oversee the Bulgarian Diocese until his repose in 2007. He was succeeded by Bishop (now Archbishop) Alexander (Golitzin) whose episcopal ordination took place in 2012. The 9 parishes that joined the OCA within the Bulgarian Diocese in 1976 have grown to 15 parishes and 2 monastic communities today.
Copies of the agreements from the OCA Archives signed by the diocesan hierarchs of the Albanian Archdiocese and Bulgarian Diocese stipulating the conditions of their affiliations with the OCA are posted online for the first time in links provided above.
The formal Agreement renewing the 1960 affiliation of Romanian Episcopate with the then North American Metropolia (informal name of the OCA before autocephaly) was signed just two months after the OCA’s Message calling for unity.
While nurturing immigrants from their ancestral homelands and American-born faithful who share their cultural heritage within their diocesan flocks, these three dioceses continue to work toward a united Orthodox presence on this continent “without domination of any group by any other” in order to more effectively witness the Good News to all people. The Message of the First All-American Council is as germane today as it was 50 years ago, as, together on this continent, we seek to worship God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.