Paul L'Huillier (December 3, 1926,

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– November 19, 2007,

Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the Adminis ...

) was a prominent

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and the

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of the

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's Diocese of New York and New Jersey.

Biography

Paul L'Huillier converted to

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

in 1945 while enrolled at St. Denys Institute in Paris. On August 30, 1954, he was

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d as a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

and took the name of "Peter". On September 4 and 5, 1954, he was ordained hierodeacon and

hieromonk A hieromonk,; Church Slavonic, Slavonic: ''Иеромонахъ''; ; ; ; ; Albanian language, Albanian: ''Hieromurg'' also called a priestmonk, is a person who is both monk and Priest#Roman Catholic and Orthodox, priest in the Eastern Christianity ...

by Archbishop Boris (Vik),

Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, ...

of the Russian Patriarchate in Europe. In 1960, L'Huillier was elevated to the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

. On September 12, 1968, L'Huillier was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

Bishop of

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(Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe). In 1979 he was invited to serve in the Orthodox Church in America by Metropolitan

Theodosius (Lazor) Metropolitan Theodosius ( secular name: Frank Lazor; 27 October 193319 October 2020, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania) was the primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) from 1977 until his retirement in 2002. He was the first primate of the OCA w ...

. L'Huillier accepted and was installed as Bishop of

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that year. Two years later, he succeeded Metropolitan Theodosius as Bishop of New York and New Jersey. In 1990 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. The author of several books, L'Huillier's final volume spurred some disagreements in Orthodox circles. Published by St. Vladimir's Press, it urged the Orthodox Churches to adopt the Western Christian calculation of Easter, aka '' Paschalion''. This has been a controversial topic for some time in Eastern Orthodox discourse. Some critics of the book emphasized that only the Eastern Paschalion holds to the Nicene Council's 4th century prohibition on celebrating the resurrection before the Jewish Passover. Some argued that abandonment of that stipulation could even imply a subtle subtext of antisemitism, since it would further decouple the connection between Christianity and Judaism. This criticism is made on both historical and contemporary grounds, the latter because Western Christianity annually ignores contemporary Jews' calculation of Passover. Subsequent to L'Huillier's retirement from the episcopate in 2005, the Diocese of New York and New Jersey was combined with the Diocese of Washington ( D.C.) to create the Diocese of Washington and New York. Both during his episcopate and subsequent to his retirement, L'Huillier taught

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Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Or ...

. L'Huillier died in

on November 19, 2007. He was buried at St. Tikhon's Monastery in

South Canaan South Canaan is a second-class township in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township's population was 1,768 at the time of the 2010 United States Census. South Canaan is home to Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary and t ...

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Episcopal succession

References

1926 births 2007 deaths Clergy from Paris Eastern Orthodox Christians from France 20th-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops French emigrants to the United States Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America Bishops of New York 21st-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops 20th-century American clergy 21st-century American bishops {{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub