Diocese of the Midwest nominates episcopal candidate

Episcopal-candidate, Hieromonk Matthias

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (OCA) - Priestmonk Matthias [Moriak] was nominated as the candidate for Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest at a special diocesan assembly at Saint Mary Cathedral here Wednesday, October 6, 2010.

It is anticipated that Father Matthias' name will be submitted to the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America for canonical election in November 2010. His consecration to the episcopacy and enthronement are slated to be celebrated in May 2011.

The special assembly opened with the celebration of a Service of Prayer Invoking the Holy Spirit by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, Locum Tenens of the Diocese of the Midwest.

In addition to Father Matthias, Archpriests Paul Gassios and David Mahaffey were candidates.

Father Matthias' selection came on the second round of voting, in which he received the greater number of votes. A call to present him by acclamation followed.

Father Matthias is currently under the omophorion of His Grace, Bishop Michael of New York. He serves Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery, Otego, NY. Carpatho-Russian via Carpatho-Russian no less. Two former ACROD priests now serving as bishops for the OCA. It has been said that the Diocese of the South will not be getting a bishop until the Midwest is dealt with. One hopes this will speed the process for Dallas.

Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

And also, from Fr. Ted's Blog:

In the Special Assembly held at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Minneapolis called for the sole purpose of nominating a man to become the next bishop of the Diocese of the Midwest, the Assembly selecting Archimandrite Matthias Moraik from among the three candidates. The 61 year old Fr. Matthias’s name will now be brougth to the OCA’s Synod of Bishops in November for their consideration to make him bishop-elect of the Diocese.

In what was the first election of a bishop for the Diocese in decades (and perhaps the first episcopal election in Diocesan history), the delegates assembled first to pray – a prayer service which lasted longer than the actual voting process. One might wonder, why pray for seasonable weather and the abundance of the fruits of the earth when all that was on the agenda was the election of a bishop? For me, it put the selection process in its proper context. The election of a bishop is not more important than the peace of the world and the salvation of our souls. Though the bishop is essential for the Church, he still functions in the context of the entire world, which is the primary concern of both God and the Church.

The prayers did affect me in the sense that they made me think about our goal – to discern what God’s will is for our diocese. We are trying to determine which man has God chosen to be our bishop. It didn’t matter what I liked or thought, I had to think about God’s choice. It made me think seriously about which man I would vote for, to rethink my vote before casting it.

No one got the required 2/3 vote on the first ballot, so a second ballot was given with only the names of the top two nominees: Fr. Paul Gassios and Fr. Matthias Moriak. The mood of the Assembly remained serene. On the second ballot Fr. Mattias got the majority vote and then by unanimous acclaimation was chosen as our nominee to put forth to the Synod of Bishops.

In selecting Fr. Matthias the assembly chose someone who was not part of the Diocese (as Fr. Gassios was), nor even part of the OCA (as Frs. Mahaffey and Gassios are). Fr. Moriak only recently joined the OCA. He also was the only one of the three candidates who clearly was a monastic, though he also is a widowed priest.

The actual consecration of the new bishop is being planned for May, 2011 – almost 1 1/2 years after the death of Archbishop Job.