Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington and All of America and Canada celebrated his 60th birthday

On July 15, Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), celebrated his 60th birthday. Clergy, monastics, and the faithful offered their congratulations and wishes for a long life to the primate, who has led the church for more than ten years.

Metropolitan Tikhon was born in 1966, studied French and sociology, and in 1989 converted to Orthodoxy from the Episcopal Church. His spiritual journey is inextricably linked to St. Tikhon’s Theological Seminary, where he first studied and later taught the Old Testament. After taking monastic vows in 1995, the future primate rose through the ranks from hierodeacon to archimandrite and rector of the seminary.

In his ecclesiastical ministry, Metropolitan Tikhon rose through the ranks of bishop and archbishop before being elected Primate of the OCA in November 2012 at the 17th Pan-American Council. During his tenure, he strengthened the church’s administrative structures, presided over three synods, ordained six bishops, and made a number of official visits to other local Orthodox Churches. In 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary for his contributions to theology.

As a reminder, recently, the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), Metropolitan Tikhon , sent a letter of support to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry following the damage to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra as a result of the Russian Federation’s rocket attacks on Kyiv. The Primate of the OCA expressed deep sorrow and condemned the attacks on one of the most important holy sites of the Orthodox world.