Archbishop Joseph elected Metropolitan by Holy Synod of Antioch
His Eminence, Archbishop Joseph, has been elected Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America by the Holy Synod of Antioch, meeting in Balamand, Lebanon on Thursday, July 3, 2014. Axios!
Metropolitan Joseph was consecrated to the Holy Episcopacy on June 30, 1991 at Saint Mary Cathedral in Damascus, after many years of serving as a deacon and a priest. His Eminence was born in Damascus, Syria, in 1950. His Eminence was consecrated with the title, Bishop of Katana in Syria, and served as Patriarchal Assistant and Secretary of the Holy Synod of Antioch. In 1995, he was sent by Patriarch Ignatius to America and assigned to the West Coast Chancery by His Eminence, the late Metropolitan Philip. After self-rule status was awarded to the Archdiocese, Bishop Joseph was enthroned at Saint Nicholas Cathedral by Metropolitan Philip as the first Bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West on September 12, 2004. On December 11, 2011, at the Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos in the Patriarchal Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand in Lebanon, Patriarch Ignatius elevated Bishop Joseph to the rank of Archbishop, in honor of his many years of service as a bishop both in the Archdiocese and in the Patriarchate of Antioch.
Additional updates and information may be found on the web site of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America at www.antiochian.org.