Metropolitan Tikhon (

secular name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of registration of the birth and which then ap ...

Marc Raymond Mollard; born July 15, 1966, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canoni ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and the Primate of the

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

, holding the rank of ''Metropolitan of All America and Canada.'' Previously, he was the ruling

of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania. He was elected as Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America on November 13, 2012 at the 17th All-American Council in Parma, Ohio.

Life

Marc Raymond Mollard was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 15, 1966, the oldest of three children born to Francois and Elizabeth Mollard. He was reared in the Episcopal Church. After brief periods living in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, he and his family settled in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Phila ...

, where he graduated from Wyomissing Area High School in 1984. In 1988 he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in French and Sociology from

Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Frankl ...

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population among ...

. After graduation, he moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, where he attended services at Ss. Peter and Paul Church (

). In 1989 he was received into the Orthodox Church from the Episcopal Church. In the fall of the same year, he began studies at

St. Tikhon's Seminary Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (russian: Свято-Тихоновская духовная семинария) is an Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christian seminary located in South Canaan Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania. It is ...

in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. One year later he entered the

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

community at St. Tikhon's Monastery as a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

. After receiving his

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree from St. Tikhon's in 1993, Mollard was appointed as an instructor in

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

Studies there. He continues to serve as senior lecturer in Old Testament, teaching master's-level courses in the

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

s, the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

, and

Wisdom Literature Wisdom literature is a genre of literature common in the ancient Near East. It consists of statements by sages and the wise that offer teachings about divinity and virtue. Although this genre uses techniques of traditional oral storytelling, it ...

. He is also an instructor in the seminary's extension studies program, offering courses in the lives of the Old Testament saints, the liturgical use of the Old Testament, and the Old Testament in

patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

literature. In 1995 Mollard was

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

d to the lesser schema by Archbishop

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 ...

and given the name Tikhon in honor of St.

Tikhon of Moscow Tikhon of Moscow (russian: Тихон Московский, – ), born Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin (russian: Василий Иванович Беллавин), was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). On 5 November 1917 ( OS) he was ...

. Later that year he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

to the Holy

Diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

and Holy Priesthood at St. Tikhon's Monastery. In 1998 he was elevated to the rank of

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

and in 2000 to the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...

. Archimandrite Tikhon collaborated with Hegumen

Alexander (Golitzin) Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Ale ...

in the publication of ''The Living Witness of the Holy Mountain'', published by St. Tikhon Seminary Press (1996). He illustrated this book about

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the peni ...

. In December 2002, Tikhon was appointed by Metropolitan Herman to serve as deputy abbot of St. Tikhon's Monastery. During the Fall Session of Synod of the OCA on October 20–23, 2003, Archimandrite Tikhon was elected as Bishop of South Canaan and Auxiliary to Metropolitan Herman. Tikhon was consecrated to the episcopacy at the monastery on Saturday, February 14, 2004 by Archbishop Herman, becoming Bishop of South Canaan. At a special session of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America held on May 27, 2005, Bishop Tikhon of South Canaan was elected as Bishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania. On October 29, 2005, Bishop Tikhon was officially installed as the ruling

hierarch An ordinary (from Latin ''ordinarius'') is an officer of a church or civic authority who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute laws. Such officers are found in hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ...

of the Diocese of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania during

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...

at the Saint Stephen Cathedral. For a part of 2011 he was temporary administrator of the Diocese of the Midwest. On May 9, 2012 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. On November 13, 2012 Archbishop Tikhon was elected Metropolitan of All America and Canada, of the

. He is the second convert to be elected to this office, following his predecessor.

References

External links

Bishop Tikhon installed as ruling hierarch of the Diocese of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania
- OCA Web site.

* ttp://www.antiochianladiocese.org/news_090203_1.html Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania {{DEFAULTSORT:Mollard, Tikhon 1966 births Living people Primates of the Orthodox Church in America Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Anglicanism Franklin & Marshall College alumni Old Testament scholars Clergy from Boston 21st-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops 20th-century Eastern Orthodox priests Archimandrites 20th-century American clergy 21st-century American clergy Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class