Archbishop Alexander (Golitzin)

Archbishop Alexander (Golitzin) (1948-____)

Golitzin may be spelt Golitzyn, Golitzen, Galitsin, Golitsin, Golitsyne, Galitsin, Galitzin, Galitzine, Holytsin.

Simonopetra may be spelt Simonos Petra, Simonos Petras.

Early life of Alexander George Golitzin

Alexander George Golitzin was born on 27 May, 1948, in Burbank, California, USA, to Yuri Alexandrovich Golitzin and Carol (born Higgins) Golitzin. Later, the couple received from the Lord 3 other children : John, Katherin and George.

Alexander George is a descendant of the Golitzin princely family through his father, Prince Yuri (George) Golitzin, who had emigrated to California as a child with his extended family from Moscow following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. They arrived in 1923, at Seattle, Washington, after having made the perilous journey across Siberia to Harbin, China, and then having managed to find transportation across the Pacific Ocean. Later, in California, Prince Yuri A Golitzin was ordained to the Holy Diaconate.

As he grew up, Prince Yuri and his family were regularly attending Saint Innocent Orthodox Church in Tarzana, California. This was a parish of the Diocese of the West of The Orthodox Church in America.

During many of those years, it was the Archpriest Sergei Glagolev who was the pastor.

Alexander George Golitzin received his primary and secondary education in his home city in Los Angeles County.

Bereavement, 1951

On Friday, 4 May, 1951, Alexander's grandfather, Prince Alexander Vladimirovich Golitzin, M.D., fell asleep in the Lord in Los Angeles, California. His grandmother, Lyubov Vladimirovna Galitzina (born Glebova) had reposed in the Lord on 13 October, 1948.

On Sunday, 6 May, 1951, at 8:00 p.m., a panikhida (memorial service) was sung at the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Virgin Mary in Los Angeles.

On Monday, 7 May, 1951, at 10:00 a.m., the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Lay-person was offered at the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Virgin Mary in Los Angeles. Jenea A Hamreck, Funeral Directors, was entrusted with the arrangements.

Prince Alexander Golitzin was survived by his children Marina, Natalia, Olga, George and Alexander.

Bereavement, 1963

On Friday, 13 September, 1963, Deacon George (Yuri) A Golitzin fell asleep in the Lord in Encino, California, age 46. He had suffered from cancer, and he reposed in the UCLA Medical Centre.

On Saturday, 14 September, 1953, at 8:00 p.m., a panikhida (memorial service) was served at Saint Innocent Orthodox Church in Tarzana (Encino) California.

On Sunday, 15 September, 1963, at 8:00 p.m., the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Deacon was served at Saint Innocent Orthodox Church in Tarzana (Encino) California.

On Monday, 16 September, 1963, at 9:30 a.m., the Memorial Divine Liturgy was served, followed by a Memorial Litiya, at Saint Innocent Orthodox Church in Tarzana (Encino) California.

Deacon George (Yuri) Golitzin was survived by his wife Carol, his children Alexander, John, Katherin and George, his brother Alexander (a film-producer, as was Deacon George), and his sisters Natalia and Marina.

Higher education

After having completed his primary and secondary education, Alexander studied at the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in English in 1970.

In 1970, he entered Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York, where he received the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 1973.

Then, under the guidance of Protopresybter John Meyendorff, he spent 7 years in doctoral studies at Oxford University in Oxford, England, where he earned the Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) in Theology in 1980.

His dissertation about Saint Dionysius the Areopagite was written under the direction of Bishop Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia.

In the final years of his doctoral studies, he spent a year at Simonopetra Monastery on Mount Athos, where he became a disciple of the Elder Aimilianos (Vafeidis).

At Simonopetra Monastery

After his doctoral studies, Alexander returned to the USA.

Ordinations : 1982 ; 1984

Alexander George Golitzin was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on 23 January, 1982, by Bishop Basil (Rodzianko) of San Francisco and the Diocese of the West.

Deacon Alexander Golitzin was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on 26 February, 1984, by Bishop Basil (Rodzianko) of San Francisco.

Pastoral service

While he was in California, Father Alexander was active in missionary work. He served in missions in northern California (including Archangel Gabriel Mission in Phoenix, Oregon), and he was chairman of the mission committee of the Diocese of the West.

Later, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he assisted the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at Marquette University, and he was attached to Saints Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Church. There, he preached, taught, heard confessions, and assisted in the liturgical and pastoral work.

Moreover, for several years he also served at the major services at the Saint John Chrysostom Monastery at Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.

He contributed, together with Father Michael Prokurat, to the establishment of an Orthodox scholarly presence in Berkeley, California (now the “Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute”), 1981.

Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute

Monastic tonsure, 1986

In 1986, Priest Alexander was tonsured to be a monk, and he received the monastic name of Alexander (after a different Saint Alexander from his baptismal saint) from Elder Aimilianos (Vafeidis) at Simonopetra Monastery on Mount Athos.

Simonopetra Monastery

Hieromonk Alexander (Golitzin) was later elevated to the dignity of igumen.

Teaching and Scholarship : 1989-2012

Father Alexander continued his studies, teaching and writing.

From 1989 until 2012, he taught Patristics at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, first as an assistant professor, then as an associate professor, and eventually as a full professor.

His research has concerned the beginnings of Christian mystical and ascetical traditions, and their subsequent developments in the Greek- and Syriac-speaking Near East, with a particular interest in continuities and parallels with, respectively, Second Temple Judaism, and Rabbinic Judaism.

His work on the Christian ascetical and mystical tradition attracted many doctoral students from Russia, Romania, and Serbia, with whom he began the scholarly project known as the "Theophaneia School".

Bereavement, 2005

On 26 July, 2005, Alexander George Golitzin (uncle of Igumen Alexander) fell asleep in the Lord in Los Angeles, California at age 97.

He was survived by his wife (at age 100, married for 72 years), Frances Golitzin (born Peters), his brother, John, his nephews, niece, children, grand-children and a great-grand-child.

Bereavement, 2008

On Saturday, 2 February, 2008, John George Golitzin (brother of Igumen Alexander) fell asleep in the Lord at his home in Petaluma, California, at age 58. He had suffered for a time from cancer. He had been a baritone singer in the chorus of the Los Angeles Opera Company from its inception in 1988.

On Tuesday, 5 February, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., the Funeral Services for the Burial of a Lay-person were served at Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church in San Anselmo, California.

John G Golitzin was survived by his mother, his brothers, his sister, and their families.

Episcopal nomination, 2011

In June, 2010, the Bulgarian Diocese of The Orthodox Church in America initiated a search for a candidate to succeed Archbishop Kyrill (Yonchev) who had reposed in the Lord in 2007.

 'Of the 22 possible candidates reviewed in the first phase of the search, after an intensive review 
 process, two candidates were presented to the diocese’s Fifth Congress-Sobor in June 2011', noted 
 the diocesan Consecration Committee Chair, Archpriest Andrew Jarmus.  'Bishop Alexander was the 
 candidate elected by the Congress-Sobor’s clergy and lay delegates'.

On Saturday, 9 July, 2011, at the 5th Diocesan Congress-Sobor held in Toledo, Ohio, Father Alexander was nominated to be a candidate to become the Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese of The Orthodox Church in America (OCA). The Bulgarian Diocese includes several parishes in Ontario, Canada.

On 4 October, 2011, the Holy Synod of Bishops of The Orthodox Church in America canonically elected Igumen Alexander (Golitzin) to become the Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese. They also elevated him to the dignity of archimandrite.

Episcopal ordination, 2012

On Saturday, 5 May, 2012, Archimandrite Alexander (Golitzin) was ordained to the Holy Episcopate during the Primatial Divine Liturgy by Metropolitan Tikhon (Mollard) and other bishops during a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint George Orthodox Cathedral in Rossford, Ohio.

In his address prior to the ordination, Bishop-elect Alexander said :

 When standing before the holy altar at the anaphora, the bishop images forth the one and unique 
 High Priest — Christ — Who acts through His celebrant.  While it is true that our Lord Jesus is true 
 God and true King, it is also true that He did not come to us, His creatures, with the pomp and 
 splendour of the King, attended by the legions of heaven, but rather in humility He emptied Himself 
 and was found in the likeness of a servant.  These are very different images : the first set 
 revelatory of the splendour of Heaven, and the second of the humility, long-suffering, and charity 
 of our Lord’s life and ministry. [...] I must keep this difference firmly in mind throughout my life as 
 bishop, by which I mean the glory of the liturgical iconography should have no place in my office 
 and day-to-day demeanour.  My actions, my patterns of speech, my service in short, is to be 
 determined by the example given us by God the Word Himself. 
 [Orthodox Church in America article]

Episcopal service

Bishop Alexander (Golitzin) was assigned to serve as the Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese of The Orthodox Church in America.

Bishop Alexander

Chairman of the Office of External Affairs and Interchurch Relations, 2012

At its Spring Session, 7-10 May, 2012, The Holy Synod of Bishops of The Orthodox Church in America assigned Bishop Alexander to serve as the Chairman of the Office of External Affairs and Interchurch Relations of the Orthodox Church in America.

On 9 July, 2012, the Holy Synod of Bishops of The Orthodox Church in America assigned Bishop Alexander to serve as locum tenens of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. He was released from this responsibility on 13 November, 2012.

On 15 April, 2013, Bishop Alexander was assigned by the Holy Synod of Bishops to serve as locum tenens of the Diocese of Chicago and the Midwest. He served in this capacity until 27 December, 2014.

On 29 March, 2016, Bishop Alexander (Golitzin) was elected by the Holy Synod of Bishops to become the Bishop of Dallas and the Diocese of the South.

Bishop of Dallas and the Diocese of the South, 2016

On Saturday, 11 June, 2016, Bishop Alexander (Golitzin) was enthroned to be the Bishop of Dallas and the Diocese of the South by Metropolitan Tikhon (Mollard) at a Primatial Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint Seraphim’s Cathedral in Dallas, Texas. Metropolitan Tikhon was assisted by concelebrants Archbishop Melchisedek (Pleska) of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania ; Archbishop Irénée (Rochon) of Ottawa and Canada ; Bishop Paul (Gassios) of Chicago and the Midwest ; Bishop Daniel (Brum) of Santa Rosa, California, and Bishop Alexander (Golitzin).

Primatial Divine Liturgy of enthronement

Many clergy from the Diocese of the South and elsewhere also served. Bishop Alexander delivered the homily after the reading of the Holy Gospel.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Tikhon, speaking the prescribed exhortation, presented the archpastoral staff to Bishop Alexander, after which Vladyka Alexander ascended the cathedra in the midst of the Temple, and he blessed everyone in four directions while the people sang "Ton Despotin [...]".

Bishop Alexander (Golitzin) enthroned

When he was elected and enthroned to be the Bishop of Dallas and the Diocese of the South, Bishop Alexander (Golitzin) continued to serve also as the Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese.

Elevation to archbishop, 2017

On 30 March, 2017, Bishop Alexander (Golitzin) of Dallas, the South, and the Bulgarian Diocese was elevated to the dignity of archbishop by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the OCA at its Spring Session.

International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA) conference in Iaşi, Romania, 2019

On 9-12 January, 2019, with the blessing of the Church leadership, members of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA) assembled for their inaugural conference in Iaşi, Romania. Archbishop Alexander (Golitzin) was amongst those assembled.

Founded by Deacon Paul Gavrilyuk of Saint Paul, Minnesota, a retired deacon of The Orthodox Church in America, together with a group of leading scholars, the purpose of IOTA is to promote the international exchange of knowledge within the context of the Orthodox tradition. At this assembly, the main theme was “Pan-Orthodox Unity and Conciliarity”.

Because the participants included several hundred scholars representing over 40 countries and many continents, this conference was the largest and the most representative gathering of Orthodox Church leaders, scholars, and professionals in modern history. Participants included experts in many disciplines : theology, natural science, history, philosophy, political science, medicine, linguistics, and the arts.

On the eve of the opening of the assembly, the hosting bishop, Metropolitan Teofan (Savu) of Iaşi and the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bucovina led a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the Iaşi Cathedral of Saint Parascheva, Meeting of the Lord in the Temple and Saint George. Archbishop Alexander preached the homily during this Divine Liturgy.

During the assembly, Archbishop Alexander offered a presentation about several fourth century ascetical writings. Other papers were delivered by Dr. Peter Bouteneff, Dr. Frank Cerra, Archpriest Michael Oleksa, Archpriest John Parker, and Prof. Richard Schneider, amongst others. Also attending were Deacon Nicholas Denysenko, and Archpriest Chad Hatfield. Numerous presenters and participants from various North American jurisdictions also attended. The conference included opportunities for communal worship, two sacred art exhibits, a pilgrimage to local monasteries, and a book exhibit to benefit emerging Orthodox scholars.

Iaşi Metropolitan Cathedral

On 8 June, 2020, in the context of the consequences of the Covid-19 Pandemic, Archbishop Alexander made available for the edification of his Faithful a reflection which he had received on 5 June, 2020. It had been written by a “wise priest in the diocese”.

On 18-19 December, 2020, Archbishop Alexander (Golitzin) presided at the funeral obsequies of Archpriest Ernesto Rios at Saint James Church in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Father Ernesto had since 1980 been a long-time parish priest and missionary, whose witness and labours of love included activities in the Diocese of Mexico, in support of Archbishop Alejo (Pacheco-Vera).

— Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese (OCA) 2012-2017. Preceded by : Archbishop Kyrill (Yonchev)).

— Archbishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese (OCA) 2017-____. Succeeded by : ____.

— Locum Tenens of the Diocese of Washington, D.C. 2012.

— Locum Tenens of the Diocese of Chicago and the Midwest 2013-2014.

— Bishop of Dallas and the South 2016-2017. Preceded by : Archbishop Dmitri (Royster).

— Archbishop of Dallas and the South 2017-____. Succeeded by : ____.

Writings

Books :

• “Et introibo ad altare dei : The Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagita” (Thessalonika : Thessalonike Patriarchikon Idruma Paterikon Meleton, 1994).

• “Mistagogia : Experienta lui Dumnezeu in Ortodoxie” (Sibiu : Editura Deisis, 1998). (in Romanian)

• "Mystagogy : A Monastic Reading of Dionysius Areopagita” (Collegeville, MN : Liturgical Press, 2014). ISBN-10 : 0879072504 ISBN-13 : 978-0879072506.

• “St Symeon the New Theologian on the Mystical Life : The Ethical Discourses”, 3 vols. (Crestwood, NY : St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1995-1997). (ISBN 978-0-881-41231-4).

• “The A to Z of the Orthodox Church”, by Michael Prokurat, Alexander Golitzin, & Michael Peterson (Lanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 2010). ISBN 10 : 0810876027 ; ISBN 13 : 978-081.

• “The Historical Dictionary of the Orthodox Church”, with Michael Prokurat and Michael Peterson (Lanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 1996. (ISBN 978-0810830813).

• “The Living Witness of the Holy Mountain : Contemporary Voice from Mount Athos” (South Canaan, PA : St Tikhons Seminary Press, 1996). (ISBN 978-1878997487).

Lectures

“Force Your Mind to Descend into the Heart : Some Resemblances between Byzantine Hesychasm and Merkavah Mysticism” (Second Annual Meyendorff Lecture at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary on 14 September, 2014).

Articles :

Several articles can be viewed here.

• ‘“A Contemplative and a Liturgist”’ : Father Georges Florovsky on the Corpus Dionysiacum’ in “St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly”, vol. 43 (1999), pp. 131-161.

• ‘Adam, Eve, and Seth : Pneumatological Reflections on an Unusual Image in Gregory of Nanzianus's Fifth Theological Oration’ in “Anglican Theological Review”, vol. 83 (2001), pp. 537-546.

• ‘Anathema ! Some Historical Perspectives on the Athonite Statement of May 1995’ in “St Nersess Theological Review”, vol. 3 (1998), pp. 103-117.

• ‘A Testimony to Christianity as Transfiguration : The Macarian Homilies and Orthodox Spirituality’ in “Orthodox and Wesleyan Spirituality”, ed. S T Kimbrough (Crestwood, NY : St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2002), pp. 129-156.

• ‘Christian Mysticism over Two Millennia’ in “The Theophaneia School : Jewish Roots of Christian Mysticism”, eds. Andrei Orlov and Basil Lurie (St Petersburg : Byzantino-rossica, 2007), pp. 17-33.

• ‘Dionysius Areopagita: A Christian Mysticism?’ in “Pro Ecclesia”, vol. 12 (2003), pp. 161-212.

• ‘Dionysius Areopagites in the Works of Saint Gregory Palamas : On the Question of a “Christological Corrective” and Related Matters’ in “Saint Vladimir's Theological Quarterly”, vol. 46 (2002), pp. 163-90.

• ‘Earthly Angels and Heavenly Men : The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Nicetas Stethatos, and the Tradition of Interiorized Apocalyptic in Eastern Christian Ascetical and Mystical Literature’ in “Dumbarton Oaks Papers”, vol. 55 (2001), pp. 125-153.

• ‘Heavenly Mysteries : Themes from Apocalyptic Literature in the Macarian Homilies and Selected Other Fourth Century Ascetical Writers’ in “Apocalyptic Themes in Early Christianity”, ed. Robert Daly (Grand Rapids : Baker Academic, 2009), pp. 174-192.

• ‘Hierarchy versus Anarchy : Dionysius Areopagita, Symeon the New Theologian, Nicetas Stethatos, and their common Roots in the Ascetical Tradition’ in “St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly”, vol. 38 (1994), pp. 131-179.

• “Il corpo di Cristo : Simeone il Nuovo Teologo sulla vita spirituale e la chiesa gerarchica, Simeone il Nuovo Teologo e il monachesimo a Costantinopoli” (Qiqajon: Monastero di Bose, 2003), pp. 255-288. (English : ‘The Body of Christ : Saint Symeon the New Theologian on Spiritual Life and the Hierarchical Church’ in “The Theophaneia School : Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism” (Saint Petersburg : Byzantinorossica, 2007), pp. 106-127.

• “Liturgy and Mysticism: The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity” (part 1).

• “Liturgy and Mysticism: The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity” (part 2).

• ‘Making the Inside like the Outside : toward a Monastic Sitz im Leben for the Syriac Apocalypse of Daniel’ in “To Train His Soul in Books : Syriac Asceticism in Early Christianity”, eds. Robin Darling Young and Monica J Blanchard (Washington, DC : CUA Press, 2011).

• ‘Many Lamps are Lightened from the One : Paradigms of the Transformational Vision in the Macarian Homilies’ in “Vigiliae christianae”, vol. 55 (2001), pp. 281-298 (with Andrei Orlov).

• ‘Review of Hilarion Alfeyev, “The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian”’(Cistercian Publications, 2000), in “St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly”, vol. 46 (2002), pp. 285-290.

• ‘“Suddenly, Christ” : The Place of Negative Theology in the Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagites’ in “Mystics: Presence and Aporia”, eds. Michael Kessler and Christian Shepherd (Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2003), pp. 8-37.

• ‘The Demons suggest an Illusion of God's Glory in a Form : Controversy Over the Divine Body and Vision of Glory in some late fourth, early fifth Century Monastic Literature’ in “Studia Monastica”, vol. 44 (2002), pp. 13-44.

• ‘The Image and Glory of God in Jacob of Serug's Homily, “On That Chariot That Ezekiel the Prophet Saw"’ in “Saint Vladimir's Theological Quarterly”, vol. 6(2003), pp. 323-364.

• ‘The Mysticism of Dionysius Areopagita : Platonist or Christian ?’ in “Mystics Quarterly”, vol. 19 (1993), pp. 98-114.

• ‘The Place of the Presence of God: Aphrahat of Persia’s Portrait of the Christian Holy Man’, in “ΣΥΝΑΞΙΣ ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΙΑΣ : Studies in Honor of Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonos Petras, Mount Athos” (Athens: Indiktos, 2003), pp. 391-447.

• ‘The Vision of God and the Form of Glory : more Reflections on the Anthropomorphite Controversy of AD 399’ in “Abba : The Tradition of Orthodoxy in the West : FS Kallistos Ware” (Crestwood, NY : SVS Press, 2007), pp. 273-297.

• ‘Theophaneia : Forum on the Jewish Roots of Orthodox Spirituality’ in “The Theophaneia School : Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism” (Saint Petersburg: Byzantinorossica, 2007), pp. xvii-xx.

Reflections

Interview with Archimandrite Alexander (Golitzin), published 28 October, 2011 :

‘Our vocation is to serve as best we can’

AFR : On October 4 of this year [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. We have the
privilege today of sitting in the apartment of Fr. Alexander in Milwaukee, not far from Marquette University
where Fr. Alexander is a faculty member and has been for 21 years, and we’re privileged to talk today with
Fr. Alexander. First of all, thank you for welcoming us into your home.

Fr. Alexander : You’re very welcome !

AFR : Now, you’ve been here at Marquette, teaching in what department ?

Fr. Alexander : Theology.

AFR : What subjects are you teaching ?

Fr. Alexander : They hired me to be the ornamental Oriental, to round out the ecumenical spectrum of the faculty members.
They had a couple of Lutheran theologians ; they had an Episcopalian. They had a Jewish rabbi at that time to come in
and give talks. Now we have two Jews, actually, on faculty, and one Muslim. So they decided they wanted someone from
the exotic East, and I was lucky enough to be chosen.

AFR : What were you doing just prior to that, Father ?

Fr. Alexander : I was in one of our tiny missions in the dead centre of California, about an hour north of Fresno
in the great central valley.

AFR : And when you say ‘our’, in the Orthodox Church in America ?

Fr. Alexander : Yes, yes.

AFR : All right then. Some of our listeners may not understand when we talk about the Bulgarian Diocese of the OCA.
What does that mean ? How is there a Bulgarian Diocese in the OCA ?

Fr. Alexander : Gosh, I don’t know the whole story, but it’s like the Romanian Diocese or the Albanian Diocese.
These are groups of people from a particular nation. At the time their old countries were under Marxist-Leninist
rule, and so they did not feel at ease with the church establishment in those countries — and there wasn’t any in
Albania, because they had all been put in prison. In Romania, of course, the Church was obliged to make concessions
to the Communist government, and people here did not feel at ease in establishing full ties with the Patriarch
in Bucharest, so they came to the then-Metropolia. That was Bishop Valerian. And the Albanians similarly.

I don’t know quite how this particular group, the one that I’ve just been elected bishop of, came. The title is
'Bulgarian', but in fact most of the people, or their parents or grandparents, come from what’s now northern Greece.
They’re Slav-speakers in northern Greece, and, of course, there weren’t supposed to be any Slav-speakers in northern
Greece. They were all supposed to be Greek. So these people all speak — I’ve met a few of them — all speak fluent
Greek, because they were educated in it, and couldn’t speak their own house language, mother language, publicly
in the streets. It was like Turks and Kurds until a few years ago, and similar things happen in other countries.

And you may be aware that in Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav government sort of fostered a nationalism of people speaking
this particular language that isn’t Serbian, which is certainly related to Bulgarian — it’s a variant dialect — in
the southern-most part of Yugoslavia. I think that these folks that we have may have been connected somehow with
that movement. Some of them, anyway.

At any rate, it led to the then-Bishop Kyrill (Yonchev) making an overture to the newly autocephalous OCA to come in
under the same sort of rubric that the Albanian and Romanian Dioceses were. These are non-territorial dioceses in the
sense that they cover all the people in this particular group which may be scattered throughout the country as the
Romanian Diocese certainly is and as the Bulgarian one certainly is, too, though it does have a see city, Toledo,
in this instance ; Detroit for the Romanians ; Boston in the case of the Albanians. And there I am.

AFR : How many parishes are in the Diocese ?

Fr. Alexander : Oh, it’s very small. It’s fifteen or sixteen, I think. Something like that.

AFR : Teaching now, as you have for all these years, how is it going to be, moving from academia and a professional
faculty member to a shepherd of a flock ?

Fr. Alexander : Well, like Monty Python : it’s going to be something completely different. I don’t know ! I’ve never
been a bishop before, so obviously it’s not going to be what I’ve been doing for 20-plus years, and, in fact, that
was one of the attractions, that I would be doing something very different. I’ve done this 20 years. 'Been there,
done that', as they say. And I’ve enjoyed it. The university’s been very good to me. I’ve had wonderful students.
I’m in my early-mid-60s now, and I probably have only so many years left of any energy. I thought I’d like to spend
that energy remaining to me on something else, and this appeared.

AFR : Now when will it become official ? You’re bishop-elect now.

Fr. Alexander : Well, I asked the Holy Synod that they not consecrate me until I’m finished the second semester here,
so I can complete the contract obligation that I signed last March, our contract month, and finish up without trying
to do two things at once. So they will consecrate me on the first Saturday in May. May 5, I think. Then that’s when
it’ll become official.

AFR : Let’s talk a little bit about the office of bishop and particularly in the Orthodox Church in America. I mean,
it’s no secret that the OCA has had its share of difficulties over the years, and controversies always seem to be
among us. Tell us a little bit about your vision as a new member of the Synod of Bishops in the OCA. What do you look
forward to ?

Fr. Alexander : Well, on a sort of macro scale, I understand what legitimacy the OCA has as grounded in the
understanding that it is to be the servant of a normalised canonical life in the Western Hemisphere, and particularly
in North America. By that I mean that we received this gift from the Church of Russia — autocephaly — that enables
us to, as it were, decide our fate. And, as I understand it, from the beginning, the architects of the autocephaly,
people like Fr. John Meyendorff or Fr. Alexander Schmemann, had it in mind that this should be the kernel of a
normalized church life in the Western hemisphere.

By that I mean our present situation is intolerable. We go down to Chicago, an hour and a half south : you’re going
to find five or six Orthodox bishops. Simultaneously claiming to be bishop of Chicago. And all in communion with
each other ! Now the Church in Exile has settled its affairs with Moscow, we’re all one Church [...] except we aren’t,
in terms of the structure of things. There are all kinds of obstacles to that. It happened, really, in the wake
of the Russian revolution, when we got this multiplicity of bishops, the old countries sent their bishops to care
for the people of their nations in the New World, and now that’s become habit. And there are different interests
involved. And, of course, we have the assertion of the Ecumenical Patriarch that it alone is to be in charge
of all the Orthodox outside of the traditional boundaries of the churches.

How it’s all going to work out one doesn’t know, but I do know this : that our vocation, as you will see, is to serve
as best we can the birth of this truly local Church which would include everyone. We can say that, in a sense,
ultimately, our mission is to die as institution ; to die fruitfully, however ; to die like a seed, yes ? in helping
to give birth, or midwife, this normal Orthodox Church in the New World. And I think that is a vision that’s worth
serving, and I hope to serve it in my coming function.

Now, on the micro scale does this larger issue — well, not obviously and immediately — apply. It will be the usual thing
for any diocesan bishop, that is, seeing to the well-being of especially the clergy, because bishops can’t know
all of the flock, even in so small a diocese as this one, scattered as it is. But they can and must know their priests,
and they are to serve their priests. It’s, after all, the parish pastor who is the sort of front-line troop, yes ?
He’s in there, fighting the battle, and it’s the bishop’s office, I think, to see to it that he can do so, and to do
whatever he can (the bishop) to assist that task.

AFR : The parishes that you’ll serve, are there any openings for priests now that you’ll immediately have to think about ?

Fr. Alexander : I don’t think so right now.

AFR : And have you met any of them ?

Fr. Alexander : I’ve met most of them ; not all of them.

AFR : And your travel, I understand that it is not a localized diocese, so how far away will you have to travel ?

Fr. Alexander : Well, most of it is Rust Belt. They, like most of the Orthodox in the United States, came in those waves
to feed the American Industrial Revolution, to be the cannon-fodder for our mines and mills. That’s located in what used
to be our industrial heartland before we shipped everything to China, so most of the parishes are in Ohio, Indiana,
Michigan ; a couple in Illinois. So that’s not so scattered ; that’s all drivable.

Then there are, I think, two little communities in Washington, D.C., and there are three or so in California, including
a monastery. I told them when they were interviewing me that that was one of the attractions of the job, and they could
count on a summer White House, because my only kin living inside the United States lives about 30 miles north of
San Francisco.

AFR : Where is the monastery ?

Fr. Alexander : The monastery is in [the] San Francisco Bay area. It’s south, about 30 miles northeast of San Jose.
There are four monks, and they have a beautiful property or canyon in the hills going up from the east Bay, southeast Bay,
and have built it all themselves. Interestingly, the people they serve there in their Sunday Liturgies are almost all
Romanians. When I went to visit them when they were sending me on tour through the different parishes, the Liturgy was
almost entirely Romanian inside. They’d learned, the monks, in order to serve these people. So, as I said, that was
one of the attractions of the job, and I hope to, if they’ll permit me to, spend some time there regularly through
the years.

AFR : Well, Fr. Alexander, soon to be ‘Your Grace’, we congratulate you and be assured of our prayers and we wish you well.
This will be effective in May of 2012, and in the meantime, we hope that your last few months here at Marquette University
go well and you finish well here as you have started well.

Fr. Alexander : Thank you very much.

AFR : It’s a pleasure to talk to you.

Awards :

• Order of Saint Vladimir, 2nd degree (22 July, 2013) by Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev)

References

Wyrwoll, Nikolaus ed., “Orthodoxia 2014-2015" (Regensburg : Ostkirchliches Institut, 2015). ISBN 978-7245-1959-1.

Russian Wikipedia biography

Drevo Encyclopaedia biography

Orthodoxwiki biography

The Right Reverend Alexander, Bishop of Dallas, the South and the Bulgarian Diocese

Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Toledo (OCA) biography

Diocese of the South of The Orthodox Church in America biography

Additional information :

Prokurat, Michael ; Golitzin, Alexander & Petersen, Michael, eds., “The A to Z of the Orthodox Church” (Lanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 2010), p. 141. ISBN : 978-0-8108-7602-6.

(Surrency), Archimandrite Seraphim, “The Quest for Orthodox Church Unity in America : A History of the Orthodox Church in North America in the Twentieth Century” (New York : Saints Boris and Gleb Press, 1973).

Tarasar, Constance J, ed., "Orthodox America 1794-1976 : Development of The Orthodox Church in America" (Syosset, NY : The Orthodox Church in America Department of History and Archives, 1975). ASIN : B000ZLZAUE.

Golitsyn family

Online Archive of California Golitzyn family archives

Archive of Father Alexander's faculty web page at Marquette University

Father Alexander's web-site on "The Jewish Origins of Christian Mysticism"

Archimandrite Alexander (Golitzin) consecrated Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian diocese

Holy Synod elects Archimandrite Alexander as Bishop of the Bulgarian Diocese

The Orthodox Church in America (Bulgarian Diocese)

Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo web-site

Wikipedia article about The Orthodox Church in America Bulgarian Diocese

Reception of the Bulgarian Diocese into The Orthodox Church in America, 1976

Holy Synod elects Bishop Alexander of Toledo to vacant Dallas See

OCA article about the enthronement in Dallas (with photos)