WELCOME!
Welcome to the website of The Orthodox Archdiocese of America (New York).
We hope you will find these pages informative. Please contact us for further information.
What is Orthodoxy?
The Holy Catholic Church was established by Our Lord Jesus Christ in A.D. 33. It has remained unchanged down to the present day. Due to the Great Schism in A.D. 1054, the Eastern Byzantine Church began referring to themselves as the Orthodox Church to differentiate themselves from the errors of the Roman Catholic Church.
Orthodox Christianity is timeless. Its worship and liturgy have a sense of profound sacredness not found anywhere else. Its appeal is in the beauty of its truth and sincerity. It is not the official property of the Eastern Churches, neither is it dependent upon some bishopric of a foreign nation. It is the timeless Christian Faith that has been handed down to us through the Apostles.
Why is there a need for a Western-Rite Orthodox Church?
Rome has fallen into modernism and Eastern Orthodoxy has fallen into phyletism. America has a need for all Christians who acknowledge the Tradition and Faith of the Undivided Church, and who observe a Western expression of that Faith, to unite in an Orthodox Catholic Church.
The basis of this is not compromise but sincere conviction that in order to be faithful to Christ we must return to our roots, to a time when the Church was one in both East and West.
The vehicle for this is the joining together of Bishops who hold the same Faith into a Synod of Bishops to pray, grow, and work toward the unity of the Traditional Orthodox Church.
What Liturgy is used?
The standard will be that of the Mediolanum 1474 Roman Liturgy. Within the Roman Family of uses (Roman, Old Catholic, Anglican) the ancient Roman Rite holds pre-eminence. However, a form of the Anglican Use has also been acknowledged by the Orthodox. Bishops will decide, in consultation with the Rectors and People of parishes, which Liturgy will be best suited to minister to the people of each place. Note: The pre-schismatic Orthodox West, like the East, had several liturgies.
Please see the Library for more information about Liturgies and Propers for the Liturgy.
What is our mission?
Our mission is to facilitate, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Saviour and the following of Him as Lord within His Body, the Orthodox Catholic Church.
With whom are you in communion?
We are in spiritual communion with all Canonical Orthodox of good will as we hold the Orthodox Faith. However, they may choose not to be in communion with us. Our Archdiocese is an active member of the Holy Orthodox Metropolia of Western Europe and America, which was born of the Archeparchy of San Julius. This was established in 1995 from the Patriarchate of Kiev. The Holy Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ravenna and the Old Calendarist Churches of Cyprus and Greece are fully united in Eucharistic communion. We are also in communion with The Orthodox Church of Italy.
Please see the Library for further information.
This website is a work in progress. Please check back with us often for the latest information.
“Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must be Eastern.
The West was fully Orthodox for a thousand years,
and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies.”
St. John Maximovitch
Copyright 2019 - The Orthodox Archdiocese of America (New York)
Christ is baptized! In the River Jordan!
Χριστός βαφτίστηκε! Στον ποταμό Τζόρνταν!
Христос крестився! На ритзи Йордани!
January 6, A. D. 2019
The Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ
To His Beatitude Epiphanius, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, the Most Reverend and Right Reverend Hierarchs, Very Reverend and Reverend Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of The Orthodox Church of Ukraine:
Dearly Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ in Ukraine.
“Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and of him to whom men commit much they will demand the more.” – Luke 12:48b
You have received a great gift from the Protos among us. It is our fervent prayer that you use it wisely and that you attempt to build bridges whenever possible even if you are rebuffed. Those who have followed your journey know that, like the rest of Orthodoxy, you desired a Local Church in your own nation. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union you have requested that at different times and in different ways and your requests where always unheeded.
No one more that your fellow Orthodox Christians in the Americas understand the desire for a Local Church. The world is watching and most Orthodox Christians of good will pray for the success of your autocephaly.
May Christ our God, through the intercession of His most Holy Mother, continue to protect the people of Ukraine.
Fraternally in Christ,
Archbishop of New York
