OCA elects head for Bulgarian Diocese

(OCA) - At their opening session at Saint Sergius of Radonezh Chapel here on Tuesday morning, October 4, 2011, the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America elected Archimandrite Alexander [Golitzin] to the vacant See of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese.

Archimandrite Alexander was nominated for the vacant see at the diocese’s Fifth Congress-Sobor held in Toledo, OH on Saturday, June 9, 2011.

In June 2010, the diocese initiated its search for a candidate for a successor to His Eminence, the late Archbishop Kirill. At the close of the first phase of the search, the diocesan search committee had reviewed the names of 22 possible candidates. After thorough review and discussion, the list was reduced to six names.

All six men were contacted and their suitability as candidates was further reviewed. The search committee then settled on two candidates — Archimandrite Alexander and Archpriest Paul Gassios.

A native of Saint Innocent Church, Tarzana, CA, Archimandrite Alexander received a BA in English from the University of California at Berkeley and an M. Div. from Saint Vladimir’s Seminary. He spent seven years pursuing doctoral studies at Oxford University in England under His Eminence, Metropolitan Kallistos [Ware]. During this time, he also spent two years in Greece, including one year at Simonos Petras Monastery on Mount Athos.

After receiving his D.Phil. in 1980, he returned to the US, where he was ordained to the diaconate in January 1982 and to the priesthood two years later. In 1986, he was tonsured to monastic orders. He served OCA missions in northern California and headed the Diocese of the West’s mission committee. In 1989, he took a teaching position at Milwaukee’s Marquette University in the Theology Department, a position that he holds today.

The Bulgarian Diocese includes 19 parishes and missions and one monastery.

Information on Archmandrite Alexander’s consecration and related matters will be posted as it becomes available.