ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK AND ALL NORTH AMERICA

ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK AND ALL NORTH AMERICA. Under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch (q.v.), and historically the Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of New York and All North America, this group of approximately two hundred parishes in the United States and Canada is ruled by Archbishop Philip Saliba (q.v.) and four suffragans. Its formal origins date from the early 1930s when Antony Bashir (q.v.) was consecrated archbishop for America by the Antiochene patriarchate in order to care for the communities of Arabic-speaking Orthodox from Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. Before this, these peoples were served by the Russian-trained Arab, Bishop Raphael Hawaweeny (q.v.), of the Russian Orthodox Missionary Diocese and Archbishop Victor Abu-Assaly.

The Archdiocese has been a leader in encouraging the translation of liturgical services into English and in the promotion of Western-rite Orthodox communities. Archbishop Philip is an important member of the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America (q.v.), of which his predecessor was a key founder, as well as a persistent advocate of the canonical normalization of the chaotic diaspora.