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James (Toombs) of Manhattan

502 bytes added, 06:44, March 24, 2014
Conversion to Canonical Orthodoxy and Episcopacy
[[File:Archbishop James 1950s.jpg|thumb|250px|Archbishop James in his chapel in the 1950’s]]
His Grace, the Most Reverend [[Archbishop]] '''James (Toombs) of Manhattan''' ([[August 30]], 1887 – [[November 1]], 1970) chartered the Orthodox American Church of which he was hierarch from 1959-1970. He had earlier served as head of the American Orthodox Mission and vicar of the Eastern American [[diocese]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR) from 1951-1959. Archbishop James is believed to have served the first [[Pascha|Paschal]] Liturgy in America entirely in English.
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
===Conversion to Canonical Orthodoxy and Episcopacy===
[[File:Abshp James consecration 6 29 1951.jpg|thumb|250px|Consecration of bishop Averky (Taushev), Feast of Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, 1953. L to R: Bishop Nikon (Rklitsky), Bishop Seraphim (Ivanov), Bishop James, Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky), Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko), Archbishop John (Maximovich)]]
Archbishop Vitaly's mentoring culminating in the question of the EOCC's canonicity, which prompted Toombs and his second wife Maryangela to be tonsured monastics at [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]] in Jordanville, New York in early July of 1951. A few days later Fr. James (Toombs) was consecrated on the [[feast day|Feast]] of the Holy [[Apostles]] [[Apostle Peter|Peter]] and [[Apostle Paul|Paul]] on July 21 as vicar the Diocese of Eastern America and Jersey City at the [[New Kursk-Root Hermitage (Mahopac, New York)|New Kursk-Root Hermitage]] in Mahopac, New York. Concelebrating with Metropolitan Anastasy were Archbishop Vitaly, Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) the Wonderworker|John (Maximovich) of Paris]], Bishop [[Nikon (Rklitski) of Florida|Nikon (Rklitzky) of Florida]], and Bishop [[Seraphim (Ivanov) of Chicago|Seraphim (Ivanov) of Holy Trinity]]. Archbishop James was installed as the first Archbishop of Manhattan and was tasked with heading a completely autonomous American Orthodox Mission within ROCOR, insofar that he was allowed by the Synod to stay short-haired and clean-shaven to adequately perform his duty. In 1953, Bishop James single-handedly changed the practice of receiving [[Roman Catholic|Roman Catholics]] into the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] when he delivered a report stating that the American Orthodox Mission received all [[convert|converts]] by [[baptism]], where prior to the Russian Revolution, Catholic converts were accepted simply through [[confession]]. The change garnered no opposition.
In 1959 Archbishop James dissociated himself with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and founded the Orthodox American Church (formally, The Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic American Church), incorporating concepts of the Better Human Relations Movement. For the next decade Archbishop James continued his two-fold mission of bringing Americans to Orthodox Christianity and translating every text of the Church into English. He was known to be a very kind, patient, and loving pastor, and accepted the responsibility of being father confessor to a number of Orthodox bishops in New York.
One of Archbishop James's successes is the second and current primate of the OAC, Metropolitan John Schneyder, who joined the mission in 1952, was baptized and christmated in 1953, studied at [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Seminary]] under Archpriest [[Andrei (Rymarenko) of Rockland|Adrian Rymarenko ]] from 1953-551955, and under Archpriest Damian Krehel at [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] from 1955-57. In November of 1961, Archbishop James ordained him a deacon, and in July of 1962 a priest. On April 25th, 1970, before his death, Archbishop James consecrated Fr. John to the episcopacy.
Once the weakness of his advanced age set in, Maryangela took care of Archbishop James until his repose on November 1, 1970. Though no representatives of ROCOR attended his funeral, Metropolitan [[Andrei Andrew (Petkov) of New York]] of the [[Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia]] did. To this day, the Orthodox American Church considers itself an autonomous mission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
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{{succession|
after=John Chrysostom More-Moreno}}
{{succession|
before=&mdash;see created|
title=Bishop of Manhattan<br>(ROCOR)|
years=1951-1959|
==Sources==
*[http://orthodoxamericanchurch.com/about_history.htm '''About Us: History'''] from Orthodox American Church*[http://orthodoxamericanchurch.com/about_bio_mjs.htm '''About Us: Bio: Metropolitan John Schneyder'''] from Orthodox American Church*[http://www.rocorstudies.org/church-people/lives-of-bishops/2011/12/07/archbishop-james-roy-c-toombs-of-manhattan-head-of-the-american-orthodox-mission-vicar-of-the-diocese-of-eastern-america-and-jersey-city/ '''Archbishop James (Roy C. Toombs) of Manhattan, Head of the American Orthodox Mission, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America and Jersey City'''] by Michael Woerl, October 2010 from ROCOR Studies*[http://www3.telus.net/oldfolk/farrell.htm '''Farrell''']*[http://abbeysanluigi.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/aecyearbook.pdf '''Yearbook of American Churches''']*Архiепископъ Никонъ (Рклицкiй). (1975). Мой трудъ въ виногадникѣ Христовомъ, томъ I. Diocesan Publishing House, Bronx.
[[Category:Bishops]]

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