- Original name:
- James Paffhausen
- Born:
- October 20, 1959, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. (age 67)
Jonah I
-
Who is Jonah I?
Jonah I (born October 20, 1959) was the American-born archbishop of Washington and New York (2008–09), archbishop of Washington (2009–12), and metropolitan of All America and Canada (2008–12) or primate, of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). He converted to Eastern Orthodoxy in 1978 and was the first American-born convert to hold the church’s highest position but was forced to resign in 2012.
Metropolitan Jonah pursued a unified Orthodox identity among the various ethnic constituencies within the OCA and strengthened ties to the Russian Orthodox Church.
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What does it mean to be an Orthodox archbishop and metropolitan?
An Orthodox archbishop is a bishop with authority in their own diocese and jurisdiction over the other bishops in a province. The title initially served as an honor in the Eastern church, with the archbishopric role less consistently tied to metropolitan functions.
A metropolitan is the head of an ecclesiastical province in the Eastern Orthodox Church. This bishop presides at provincial synods and participates in the consecration of bishops. In Slavic-speaking Orthodox churches, the title designates heads of autocephalous churches and some important episcopal sees. In Greek-speaking Orthodox churches, the title is given to all diocesan bishops.
Jonah I served as the archbishop of Washington and New York, then as the archbishop of Washington. He later became the metropolitan of All America and Canada, the highest position in the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).
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Which church did Jonah I lead in America?
Jonah I was the archbishop of Washington and New York (2008–09), archbishop of Washington (2009–12), and metropolitan of All America and Canada (2008–12), or primate, of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). He was the first American-born convert to hold the church’s highest position but resigned in 2012. As metropolitan, Jonah pursued a unified Orthodox identity among the various ethnic constituencies within the OCA and in other North American Orthodox denominations.
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When did Jonah I become the metropolitan of his church?
Jonah I was elected archbishop of Washington and New York and metropolitan of All America and Canada in November 2008 and enthroned on December 28, 2008. This made him the primate, or highest officeholder, of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). He was the first American-born convert to hold the church’s highest position but was later compelled to resign in 2012.
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What were some important things Jonah I did as a church leader?
Jonah I, as metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), aimed to restore trust after a financial scandal involving previous leadership. He worked to unify the Orthodox identity among diverse ethnic groups within the OCA and other North American Orthodox denominations. Jonah I strengthened ties with the Russian Orthodox Church and reached out to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), a branch that had been separated. He took conservative stances against abortion and same-sex unions, signing the Manhattan Declaration in 2009. Also in 2009, he declared the OCA to be out of communion with the Episcopal Church in the United States.
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Why did Jonah I's time as metropolitan become notable in American Orthodox history?
Jonah I's time as metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is notable for several reasons. As the first American-born convert to hold the church’s highest position, his election followed a financial scandal, and he aimed to restore trust within the church.
During his tenure, Metropolitan Jonah worked to unify the Orthodox identity among various ethnic groups within the OCA and other North American Orthodox denominations. He strengthened ties with the Russian Orthodox Church and reached out to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR).
However, his leadership also generated controversy due to his conservative stances on social issues and his management style. Ultimately, facing criticism from the Holy Synod, Jonah resigned in 2012.
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Jonah I (born October 20, 1959, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) was the archbishop of Washington and New York (2008–09), archbishop of Washington (2009–12), and metropolitan of All America and Canada (2008–12), or primate, of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). He was the first American-born convert to hold the church’s highest position but was forced to resign in 2012.
Paffhausen spent most of his youth in La Jolla, California, where he was raised in the Episcopalian faith. He converted to Eastern Orthodoxy and joined the Orthodox Church in America in 1978 while a student at the University of California, San Diego. He later transferred to and graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He then attended St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary of New York, receiving a Master of Divinity degree in 1985 and a Master of Theology in dogmatics in 1988. After beginning doctoral studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, Paffhausen journeyed to Moscow, where he was introduced to Orthodox monastic life. He was ordained a priest in 1995 and subsequently became a priest-monk, taking the name Jonah. Returning to California, Father Jonah established a monastery in Point Reyes Station, which later relocated to Manton, California.
Jonah’s meteoric rise to the head of his denomination began in the spring of 2008, when he was named auxiliary bishop and chancellor for the diocese of the South. He was consecrated bishop of Fort Worth, Texas, in November 2008. Later that month he was elected both archbishop of Washington and New York and metropolitan of All America and Canada, the church’s highest office. (The diocese of Washington and New York was dissolved in 2009 and split into the archdiocese of Washington and the diocese of New York and New Jersey.) He was enthroned on December 28, 2008. Jonah’s election as primate followed a financial scandal involving the church leadership that resulted in the retirement of his predecessor, Herman (2002–08). Jonah declared that his reign would restore trust and cohesion among the membership.
Metropolitan Jonah pursued a unified Orthodox identity among the various ethnic constituencies (e.g., Romanian, Albanian, and Russian) within the OCA and in other North American Orthodox denominations. He strengthened ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, which granted the OCA autocephaly in 1970, and in 2011 he became the first OCA primate to reach out to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), a semiautonomous branch of the Russian Orthodox Church that severed canonical communion with the mother church between 1927 and 2007.
Jonah’s reign as primate generated rather than dispelled controversy, however. His management style struck some clergy as secretive and imperious. Furthermore, his conservative stances against abortion and the blessing of same-sex unions upset some church members as well as some nonmembers. In 2009 he became one of the earliest signatories of the Manhattan Declaration, a manifesto on abortion, marriage, and related issues by theologically conservative Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christians. In the same year, he declared the OCA to be no longer in communion with the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the mainline U.S. Anglican denomination, and instead endorsed the creation of the rival Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). In 2012 he was criticized by members of the OCA’s Holy Synod, the church’s highest administrative body, for admitting to the priesthood a man subsequently accused of rape and for failing to investigate the accusation or to alert church or secular authorities. Under pressure from the Synod, Jonah resigned as metropolitan in July 2012.
In 2015 he was formally released from OCA to ROCOR, where he was received as a bishop.