Bishops
honoring our past + opening to the future
We descend from the first attempt to unite the ethic groups of Eastern Orthodoxy in North America. While our Church is small, we have a rich history extending all the way back to Christ and the Apostles. We envision a Church and a people united, not by uniformity to belief but by love for one another.
Saint Raphael of Brooklyn
In 1904, he became the first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated in North America; the consecration was performed by Saint Tikhon and Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky).
Archbishop Aftimios
In 1917, Aftimios (Ofiesh) was consecrated by Archbishop Evdokim Meschersky. He was elevated to the rank of archbishop by Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York in 1923. On February 2, 1927, he was granted autocephaly as the ruling bishop of The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America.
Bishop Emmanuel
Prior to his episcopal consecration, Fr. Emmanuel (Abo-Hatab) served as the archdeacon of St. Raphael of Brooklyn. On September 11, 1927, he was consecrated Bishop of Montreal by Archbishop Aftimios and Bishops Theophilus (Pashkovsky) and Arseny (Chagovtsov) In 1931, he left the American Orthodox Catholic Church and rejoined the Russian Metropolia as Bishop of Brooklyn until his repose in 1933.
Bishop Sophronios
Sophronios (Beshara) was ordained a priest of the Syrian mission of the Russian Orthodox Church by Bishop Aftimios Ofiesh in 1917. On May 26, 1928, Sofronios was consecrated the Bishop of Los Angeles by Archbishop Aftimios, assisted by Metropolitan Elias of Tyre and Sidon and Bp. Emmanuel Abo-Hatab.
Bishop Joseph
Fr. Joseph (Zuk) helped lead 500,000 Catholics to Orthodoxy. In September 1932, Fr. Joseph was consecrated by Archbishop Aftimios and Bishop Sophronios to serve the Ukrainian diocese and to help develop a pan orthodox Christianity for North America. On February 23, 1934, Bishop Joseph died in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was poisoned at lunch on orders from Joseph Stalin.
Bishop John
On November 7, 1933, Bishop Sophronios assisted by Archbishop Benjamin (Fedchenkov) of the Russian Exarchate of North America and Metropolitan Theophan (Noli) of the Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.consecrated Fr. John Chrysostom (More-Moreno). He was the first black Orthodox bishop in North America. He shortened the name of the Church to the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church in America (EOCCIA).
Bishop Gregory
On June 22, 1958, Bishop John Chrysostom (More-Moreno) consecrated Gregory and his brother John Adair as Bishops in the EOCCIA. In 1955, Fr. Gregory Adair, established the American Review of Eastern Orthodoxy, a journal which ran until 1973.
Bishop John
Consecrated along side his brother, Gregory on June 22, 1958, Bishop John served as a suffragan bishop until Gregory's retirement. Bishop John helped found Three Hierarchs Seminary and served as the first rector of the Church of St. John Chrysostom in Maitland, Florida. In 1982, he founded St. Francis of the Woods in Coyle, Oklahoma.
Bishop Mark
Rev. Dr. Mark (Louis) Shultz was consecrated by Bishop John in 1980. He served as a faculty member of Three Hierarchs Seminary until it closed.
Bishop Nicholas
Bishop Nicolas Bellos was consecrated alongside Bishop Mark by Bishop John in 1980.
Bishop Dismas
Ordained a priest by Bishop Gregory and later consecrated by Bishop John, Bishop Dismas (Markle), was elected Presiding Bishop of the EOCCIA on September 27, 1981.
Bishop Aidan
In 2015, Bishop Dismas ordained Fr. Columba "Brad" Wilson to serve as priest at St. Francis of the Woods. On September 1, 2019, Bishop Dismas consecrated Fr. Columba as Bishop Aidan of the Prairie. The Church was renamed the Ecumenical Orthodox Catholic Church in America, as an acknowledgement of its open and inclusive theology and practice.