Changes

The UAOC sent Metr. John (Teodorovich) in 1924 to head an American-Canadian diocese, arriving amid questions about the validity of his [[consecration of a bishop|consecration]], given that he had been [[ordination|ordained]] by UAOC bishops, whose consecrations were unrecognized by the mainstream of the Orthodox Church. John had great success in organizing parishes, due to his considerable administrative skill and his insistence on the liturgical use of Ukrainian (rather than [[Church Slavonic]] or English) as well as other Ukrainian cultural identifiers. In the aftermath of Ukrainian independence, nationalist feelings ran strong, and so an emphasis on Ukrainian identity was welcome to those who gathered under John.

Around the same time formed the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America]], an organization of former [[Uniate]] parishes who had disputed with the Vatican over the issue of parish property ownership and enforced [[clerical celibacy]]. On [[April 9]], 1929, a meeting of 15 [[clergy]] and 24 [[laity]] was held in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church, in which those attending agreed to form a diocese of Ukrainian Orthodox Christians, though unlike those who had affiliated themselves with the UAOC, they wished to be part of a recognized canonical authority.