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On [[April 19]], 1936, Arch. Antony (Bashir) was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] archbishop under the [[jurisdiction]] of the Patriarch of Antioch by Metr. Theodosius and Abp. Vitaly of New Jersey ([[ROCOR]]) at the same time Samuel (David) was consecrated in St George’s Syrian Orthodox Church in Toledo by Abp. Adam and Bps. Leonty and Arseny of the Russian [[Metropolia]].
While the consecration of Abp. Samuel by the bishops of the Metropolia may have been an attempt to re-store communion of Syrian parishes under the jurisdiction of the Metropolia, it instead formed a rival Antiochian jurisdiction that competed with the Antiochian [[archdiocese]] of Abp. Antony in New York. In 1938, Abp. Samuel was [[Excommunication|excommunicate]]d by the [[Church of Antioch]] for causing disorder, but he was received back in communion in 1941 by the Antiochian patriarchate that also declared him to be archbishop of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Toledo and Dependencies. This created a situation in which the Antiochian [[Holy Synod|synod]] played the two factions against each other.
The Samuel led group, which consisted mainly of [[clergy]] and parishioners from the Zahle region of Lebanon, became more ethnically and regionally defined and remained a small and insular group. Whereas the Archdiocese of New York under Abp. Antony grew, began to introduce the use of English into the church services, and expand its horizons.
