Dallas, April 30, 2026
Photo: st-marymagdalene.org
The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America has announced that it has accepted His Eminence Archbishop Alexander’s request to retire from his position as Archbishop of Dallas and the South.
The retirement will take effect on July 23, following the conclusion of the regular Diocesan Assembly of the Diocese of the South. After that date, Abp. Alexander will be relieved of his duties as diocesan bishop of the South but will continue to serve as the ruling bishop of the Bulgarian Diocese, the OCA reports.
Abp. Alexander, 78, has led the Diocese of the South since 2016, when he was elected to succeed His Eminence Archbishop Dmitri of blessed memory. He was elevated to the rank of Archbishop the following year.
Born in Burbank, California, in 1948, Abp. Alexander was raised in the Orthodox faith and pursued extensive theological education. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Divinity from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. He continued his studies at the University of Oxford under Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) and spent time in monastic formation in Greece, including at Simonos Petras Monastery on Mount Athos.
He was consecrated to the episcopacy in 2012 as Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese, succeeding His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill, before taking on his additional role in the South four years later.
The Holy Synod expressed “profound gratitude to Archbishop Alexander for his years of devoted service to the Diocese of the South and to the Orthodox Church in America.”
The Diocese of the South has also been served by a vicar bishop, His Grace Bishop Gerasim of Fort Worth, since 2021.
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