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{{church|
name=Orthodox Church in America[[Image:OCA 1.jpg|center|The Orthodox Church in America]]|
website=[http://www.oca.org/ Orthodox Church in America]
}}
The '''Orthodox Church in America''' (OCA) is an [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] church with parishes mainly in the United States and Canada (though it had a few parishes in Australia and elsewhere). The OCA was formerly known as the '''Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America''', or more informally, the '''Metropolia'''. Previous to that, it was the North American Diocese of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. The OCA's autocephaly is not currently recognized by most of the other autocephalous Orthodox churches.
== History ==
''Main Article: [[History of the OCA]]'' <br>''See Also: [[Orthodoxy in America]]''
The OCA began with the missionary work of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands by eight Orthodox monks who arrived in Alaska in 1794. They were part of the centuries-old missionary heritage of the Russian Orthodox Church that brought the Orthodox Church, by the monks Hourg and Barsanuphii, to the Mongol peoples. And monk St Stephen of Perm (1340-96) who would in turn journey beyond Kazan, across the Ural mountain, into the forests of Siberia to bring Orthodoxy to the pagan Zyrians. And the Russian monks who brought the Church even more eastward, eventually establishing a network of missions across Siberia and along the entire Pacific Rim: in China (1686), Alaska (1794), Japan (1861), and Korea (1898).
In the early 1960s, the Metropolia (as it was then known) resumed communication with the Patriarch of Moscow, and in 1970 full communion was restored. At that time, the Patriarch of Moscow officially granted the OCA [[autocephaly]], or self-governing administrative status. The OCA's autocephaly is not currently recognized by all autocephalous Orthodox Churches, including the [[Church of Constantinople]]. Churches that do recognize its autocephaly are mainly those in former Communist lands (most of which had thus come under the influence of the Church of Russia), including the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]], the [[Church of Bulgaria]], the [[Church of Poland]], the [[Church of Georgia]], and the [[Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia]]. According to apologists for OCA autocephaly, it is common for recognition of autocephaly to be granted belatedly; however opponents regard the grant as not being within the purview of Moscow's [[presbeia|prerogatives]] (see [[Byzantine response to OCA autocephaly]]).
Since November of 2005, when a list of accusations were brought forward by Protodeacon Eric Wheeler, the former treasurer of the OCA, its administration has been the subject of allegations of financial misconduct. Internal investigations, audits, and other actions have since then been enacted in an attempt to address the allegations, including the firing and [[deposition]] of the OCA [[chancellor]], the former Protopresbyter [[Robert S. Kondratick]]. The [http://www.ocanews.org/ OCA News] website, a privately operated site with no connection to the administration, has been publishing reports and editorials on the scandal since January of 2006, including allegations of division within the OCA's holy synod. In August 2007, the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]], which contributes to the OCA more funds than any other OCA diocese, began withholding its assessments to the central administration.[http://www.midwestdiocese.org/news_070814_1.html]
In September of 2008, after the release of a scathing report by an official investigative committee, the former primate, Metr. [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]], was disciplined[http://www.oca.org/news/1631] and the then current primate, Metr. [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]] was retired by the Holy Synod.[http://www.oca.org/news/1632]
On [[November 12]], 2008, after financial scandals, the OCA's All-American Council and Holy Synod elected [[auxiliary bishop]] [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington and New York|Jonah (Paffhausen)]] as its new metropolitan. He was formally installed on [[December 28]], 2008 at the primate's [[cathedral]] St. [[St. Nicholas Cathedral (Washington, D.C.)|Nicholas Cathedral]] in Washington, D.C..
On [[November 13]], 2012, the OCA's current [[primate]], the Most Blessed [[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]] was elected at the 17th [[All-American Council]].
== The OCA today ==
[[Image:OCA chancery.jpg|right|350px|thumb|[[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|The OCA chancery, Oyster Bay Cove (Syosset), New York]]]]
[[File:Holy synod logo.png|thumb]]
The OCA today consists of 14 dioceses on the territory of Canada, the United States, and Mexico with 623 parishes, missions, and institutions (456 of which are parishes). Of the dioceses 3 are non-territorially organized along ethnic lines. These [[Ethnic diocese|ethnic dioceses]] include communities in both the United States and Canada.
The OCA is a member of the [[Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America]] that has superseded the [[Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas]] (SCOBA).
===Diocesan structure===
