Aftimios Ofiesh

Following the untimely death of St. Raphael of Brooklyn in 1915, Archimandrite Aftimios (Ofiesh) was elected to serve as his replacement in caring for the Arab Orthodox faithful in North America under the Russian Orthodox Church's canonical authority.[5] He was consecrated by Archbishop Evdokim (Meschersky) as an auxiliary bishop in 1917 with the title of Bishop of Brooklyn.[5] In 1923, in recognition for his work in the United States, he was elevated by Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York to the rank of archbishop.

In 1924, in the canonical disputes of American Orthodoxy following the onset of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the Arab Orthodox faithful split into two factions, one which wished to go under the canonical authority of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and another which wished to stay faithful to the Russian Orthodox Church. The former group was organized by Bishop Victor (Abu Assaly) of New York, thus beginning the official presence of the Antiochian Orthodox Church on American soil (today the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America).

In 1927, Aftimios was commissioned by the Russian diocese in America to form an English-speaking jurisdiction (the American Orthodox Catholic Church).[6] The purpose of the diocese was to establish a new tradition in North America that was separate from any other particular ethnic or cultural traditions.[6] The diocese in its original form only lasted for six years. During this time, Aftimios consecrated four bishops for his new jurisdiction.[7] Additionally, in 1931 the Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil, a Western Rite Orthodox group, was established under the auspices of this diocese and subsequently led by Bishop Nichols.[8]

In 1932, Archbishop Aftimios was invited to come to St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to arbitrate a dispute regarding the transfer of its priest, Fr. Constantine Abou-Adal. When Fr. Constantine left St. Mary's in November 1932, the parish was without a pastor, and so Archbishop Aftimios served in that capacity until February 1933, organizing a choir and Sunday School at the parish. During this time, he met and became involved with one of St. Mary's parishioners, Mariam Namey, then subsequently married her in a civil ceremony in April 1933.[9][10]

Reports vary at this point as to what happened regarding Aftimios' episcopacy. According to the parish records of St. Mary's, he "was retired" and lived in nearby Kingston until his death in 1966. With the subsequent withdrawal of support for the American Orthodox Catholic Church, it lost its canonical status. According to the book Orthodox Christians in North America (1794–1994), however, Aftimios "resigned his episcopacy and married."[11]

One of the groups which traces itself to Aftimios characterizes the situation differently: "We are not under and do not have a patriarch as head of this Church since the ethnic patriarchal orthodox bodies all turned their backs on this Church and use the marriage of Abp. Aftimios as the reason, although most had already refused to recognize this Church and its authority in the New World."[12]

The biography by Ofiesh's widow Mariam claims that Aftimios fully intended to function as a married bishop, having that intent even before he met Mariam.

Relations between the small jurisdiction created by Aftimios and the mainstream Eastern Orthodox Church were not regularized following his marriage and de facto deposition from the episcopacy. Since that time, numerous and still multiplying lines of succession of episcopi vagantes continue to persist which all trace their roots to Aftimios (mainly through Ignatius Nichols),[13] many of whom regard him as a saint.[14][15] Some of those bishops are married men, as well, which is a continual stumbling block to their unity with the mainstream Orthodox Church, which has for centuries maintained a celibate episcopacy.

Following his death in 1966, Aftimios was buried in Maple Hill Cemetery across from St. Mary's Orthodox Cemetery in Wilkes-Barre.[4] His widow Mariam subsequently wrote his biography, published in 1999.

The book by Aftimios's widow, while including a great deal of historical information, is not mainly a scholarly work but is rather a biography aimed toward the exoneration of her late husband. One of its primary themes throughout is that Aftimios's marriage to Mariam was justified and that the canonical tradition of celibacy for Orthodox bishops is "man-made" and should be abolished.[16]

• A Basis for Orthodox Consideration of Unity[17]

Various non-canonical churches and jurisdictions have claimed apostolic succession through Aftimios Ofiesh. Most of the groups have merged or disbanded. The largest notable continuation is the American Orthodox Catholic Church (American Patriarchate). Others include the Byleorussian Orthodox Catholic Church (today the American World Patriarchs), the American Orthodox Church established in 1972 by Bishop Joseph Thaddeus (Alan Sanford), the THEOCACNA-Vladimir Synod, and Russian Orthodox Church in America.

• American Orthodox Catholic Church
• Episcopi vagantes

• Orthodox Christians in North America (1794-1994), chapters 4 and 5
• History of St. Mary Orthodox Church (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)
• History of the American Orthodox Church (one of the groups which traces its roots to Aftimios)
• The Quest for Orthodox Church Unity in America, by Archim. Serafim (Surrency)

• Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh, from THEOCACNA