The Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as Autocephaly, autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, commun ...

(OCA). Its territory includes

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es,

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, and missions located in two states in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

–

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The

diocesan chancery A diocesan chancery is the branch of administration which handles all written documents used in the official government of a Catholic or Anglican diocese. It is in the diocesan chancery that, under the direction of the bishop or his representativ ...

is located in South Canaan Township, Pennsylvania.

Bishops

* Adam (Filippovskiy) (1935-1944) * Nikon (de Greve) (September 19, 1947 - May 7, 1952) *

Demetrius (Magan) Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumi ...

(c. 1953-1964) *

Cyprian (Borisevich) Archbishop Kiprian ( secular name Boris Pavlovich Borisevich, russian: Борис Павлович Борисевич, pl, Borys Borisewicz; August 15, 1903 - December 14, 1980) was bishop of the Orthodox Church in America, archbishop of Philadelp ...

(1964 - 14 December 1980) *

Herman (Swaiko) Metropolitan Herman (born Joseph Swaiko, 1 February 1932 – 6 September 2022) was the primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). As the head of the OCA, he was the Archbishop of Washington and New York, and Metropolitan of All America ...

(March 17, 1981 - July 22, 2002) *

Tikhon (Mollard) Metropolitan Tikhon (secular name Marc Raymond Mollard; born July 15, 1966, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an Eastern Orthodox bishop and the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, holding the rank of ''Metropolitan of All America and Canada.'' ...

(February 14, 2004 - November 13, 2012) * ''

Melchisedek (Pleska) In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...

'' (13 November 2012 - 18 March 2014)

locum tenens A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

Mark (Maymon) Mark Alan Maymon (born June 22, 1958) is an archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America and the current Archbishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania. Formerly a diocesan bishop of the see of Toledo and the Midwest in the Antiochian Orthod ...

(since March 18, 2014)

Deaneries

The diocese is grouped geographically into three

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

, each consisting of a number of parishes. Each deanery is headed by a parish

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, known as a

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

. The deans coordinate activities in their area's parishes, and report to the diocesan bishop. The current deaneries of the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania are: * Frackville Deanery – Pennsylvania * Philadelphia Deanery – Delaware and Pennsylvania * Wilkes-Barre Deanery – Pennsylvania

Diocesan Departments

The diocese has several active departments, including * the Missions department * the Office of Church School Education and Curriculum * the Office of Young Adult Activities * the Liturgical Life Committee, and the Office of Vocations. A Diocesan Revitalization committee has also been created for the purpose of revitalizing all parishes within the diocese, to foster spiritual growth and address the various challenges facing the Diocese today.

External links

Official site

Official Diocesan Youth Department site

Official Diocesan Summer Camp site
{{OCA dioceses

Eastern Pennsylvania The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the nor ...

Christianity in Delaware Eastern Orthodoxy in Pennsylvania