His Grace, Bishop Alexander was enthroned as the second Bishop of Dallas and the South at Saint Seraphim Cathedral, Dallas, TX, during the second weekend of June 2016.
The celebration opened on Friday afternoon, June 10 with a reception for diocesan and guest clergy and their wives. Great Vespers, celebrated by Priest Photius Avant and Deacon Steven Kroll, followed at the cathedral. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon and several members of the Holy Synod of Bishops joined clergy and faithful from across the diocese and beyond and enjoyed the reception that followed in the cathedral hall.
On Saturday, June 11, Metropolitan Tikhon presided at the celebration of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. In addition to Bishop Alexander, concelebrants included His Eminence, Archbishop Melchisedek of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania; His Eminence, Archbishop Irenee of Ottawa and Canada; His Grace, Bishop Paul of Chicago and the Midwest; and His Grace, Bishop Daniel of Santa Rosa. Many clergy from the Diocese of the South and elsewhere also served. Bishop Alexander delivered the homily.
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Tikhon presented the archpastoral staff to Bishop Alexander, who was canonically elected by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America during their Spring Session on March 29, 2016. Bishop Alexander succeeds His Eminence, Archbishop Dmitri, who in retirement fell asleep in the Lord at the age of 87 on August 28, 2011. A banquet followed.
Established in the late 1970s, the Diocese of the South has grown to number nearly 80 parishes and missions and three monastic communities spanning 14 states.
Bishop Alexander [Golitzin] was born in Burbank, CA in 1948 and was raised at Saint Innocent Church, Tarzana, CA. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Divinity degree from Saint Vladimir’s Seminary. He spent seven years pursuing doctoral studies at Oxford University in England under His Eminence, Metropolitan Kallistos [Ware]. During this time, he also spent two years in Greece, including one year at Simonos Petras Monastery on Mount Athos.
After receiving his D.Phil. in 1980, Bishop Alexander returned to the US. He was ordained to the diaconate in January 1982 and to the priesthood two years later. In 1986, he was tonsured to monastic orders. He served OCA missions in northern California and headed the Diocese of the West’s mission committee.
In 1989, he accepted a position with the Theology Department at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, a position that he left at the end of April 2012. While teaching at Marquette, he had been attached to Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, Milwaukee, WI. For 22 years, he preached, taught and served at Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, and witnessed to the Gospel and to Orthodox Christian theology at Marquette University. He helped attract a dozen Orthodox Christian students to doctoral work in theology at Marquette.
In June 2010, the Bulgarian Diocese initiated a search for a candidate to succeed His Eminence, Archbishop Kirill [Yonchev], who reposed in the Lord in 2007. In October 2011, the Holy Synod of Bishops elected Archimandrite Alexander as Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese. He was consecrated to the episcopacy as Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese during a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint George Cathedral, Rossford, OH on May 5, 2012.
