599
edits
Changes
m
grammar
As [[bishop]], he was a member of the mother Church which granted [[autocephaly]] to the [[Orthodox Church in America]]. In 1979, he was invited to come to the young autocephalous church by His Beatitude Metropolitan Theodosius. He was designated as an [[auxiliary bishop]] to the Metropolitan, with the title of "Bishop of Brooklyn" until 1981.
In 1981, when the [[Holy Synod]] of Bishops established the new diocese of WashingtonDC, DC for the seat of the Primate, he was installed as the Bishop of the remaining part of the Metropolitan's former local diocese with the title "Bishop of New York and New Jersey". In 1990, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America bestowed on him the title of Archbishop of New York and New Jersey.
Archbishop Peter's linguistic fluency (in four languages), his academic and collegial contacts, his extensive background in the Orthodox canonical traditions, his knowledge about the varieties of ethnic and national Orthodox customs, have all of these have made him one of the most qualified and astute Orthodox [[hierarch]]s worldwide. He chaired the External Affairs Department for many years. His dealings within the international Orthodox community often brought him face to face with other notable [[hierarch]]s and Church leaders, many of whom he has known personally. This has helped establish beneficial relations between the Orthodox Church in America and other Orthodox Churches. His Eminence has also been Canonical Advisor for the [[Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas]] (SCOBA). He was active in promoting Orthodox unity and Orthodox presence in North America since coming to this country.
No less important has been Archbishop Peter's academic career. He lectured at the Institute of St. Denys, Paris, France, from 1949 to 1950. From 1952 to 1962, he taught at the Three Hierarchs Seminary in Villemoisson, France. He was a Professor at the Catholic University in Paris from 1966 to 1978. He has been Adjunct Professor of Canon Law at [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Seminary]], Crestwood, New York, since 1979. As a specialist in Orthodox Canon Law, Archbishop Peter occupied a prominent position. He was often sought as an expert in this field by other Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s and is invited to represent the Orthodox Church at various conferences, meetings, and ecumenical dialogues.
