New Haven, Connecticut, October 30, 2023
Photo: dneoca.org The Diocese of New England of the Orthodox Church in America has been without a bishop for several years, since His Eminence Archbishop Nikon of Boston and New England and the Albanian Archdiocese reposed in the Lord on September 1, 2019.
Last month, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington and All America and Canada and other OCA hierarchs consecrated Archimandrite Nikodhim (Preston) as the new hierarch for the Albanian Archdiocese, and the New England Diocese is another step closer to filling its vacant cathedra.
On Saturday, October 28, the delegates of the diocese’s Special Nominating Assembly overwhelmingly nominated Fr. Benedict Churchill to be considered by the Holy Synod for election as their new hierarch. Met. Tikhon, who has served as Locum Tenens for the diocese for the past four years, said this would be the first item on the agenda for the upcoming Holy Synod meeting, the diocese reports.
His Beatitude reported to the diocese back in June that the Search Committee had met with and vetted Fr. Benedict.
Fr. Benedict is currently the priest of St. George’s Orthodox Church in Edenton, North Carolina, in the OCA’s Diocese of the South. His biography from his parish website reads:
Father Benedict received his B.A. from St. John’s University in Minnesota in 1969, his Licentiate in Mediaeval Studies from the Pontifical Institute of the Mediaeval Studies in Toronto in 1975, his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1979, and his M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Seminary in 2010. He held adjunct positions at both Fordham University and New York University, and he worked for Xerox Corporation from 1983 until he retired in 2006. He was ordained to the diaconate in 2009 and to the priesthood in 2010. He does translations of liturgical texts from Greek and Slavonic, and occasionally sets them to monophonic chants. He maintains a website with Slavonic liturgical texts, and he enjoys music and reading. A former SCUBA instructor, he also engages from time to time in non-violent exercise. The priest at St George’s Orthodox Church in Edenton, North Carolina, Father Benedict is Editor at St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
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