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His Grace, the Right Reverend '''Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago''' is the retired [[bishop]] of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]].
==Life==
During the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, celebrated at Saint Sergius of Radonezh Chapel at the [[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America]], Thursday, [[November 18]], 2010, His Beatitude, [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington|Metropolitan Jonah]] elevated Bishop-Elect Matthias to the rank of [[Archimandrite]]. He was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated to the episcopacy]] on [[May 2]], 2011.
==Retirement==
Bishop Matthias was retired as Bishop of the Midwest on April 15, 2013, and the Holy Synod of the OCA named Bishop [[Alexander (Golitzin)]] as the bishop ''locum tenens'' of the Diocese. This was due to supposed "sexual misconduct" related to a series of texts sent by Bishop Matthias to a female church member in Ohio over the course of 4 days in August, 2012. Bishop Matthias has always insisted that the comments were taken out of context and that he was joking around with someone he considered a friend. On this basis, he has only admitted to using poor judgement in the matter.
As part of the terms of his retirement, Bishop Matthias was allowed to serve at any parish, as long as he had the blessing of the local bishop. He subsequently moved to West Virginia, where he purchased a house, and secured a job in retail.
In 2015, Bishop Matthias was posted to a one-year temporary assignment in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. According to the suit filed, after members of the SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) advocacy group complained in July 2015, Metropolitan Tikhon told Bishop Matthias he could continue to serve with his blessing, but any references to his position had to be removed from the parish website. Bishop Matthias declined to do this, and was removed from serving this parish.
==Lawsuit==
In September, 2015, Bishop Matthias filed suit against Metropolitan [[Tikhon_(Mollard)_of_Washington|Tikhon]], primate of the Orthodox Church in America, and Detroit Archbishop [[Nathaniel_(Popp)_of_Detroit|Nathaniel]], leader of the [[Romanian_Episcopate_of_America_(OCA)|Romanian Orthodox Episcopate]], was filed in Cook County (Illinois) Circuit Court. Bishop Matthias alleges that the terms of his retirement and of a new employment contract were violated by the church leaders. He also claims emotional distress. The suit seeks damages including lost wages as well as moving expenses incurred from his home in West Virginia to his parish posting in Pennsylvania. Both defendants were served the suit during the sixth National Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in Chicago.
==Sources==
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2325 Biography of Bishop-Elect Matthias]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2523 The Consecration of His Grace, Bishop Matthias]
*[http://oca.org/PDF/NEWS/2013/2013-0414-pastoral-letter-to-diocese-midwest.pdf Metropolitan's Announcement of the Retirement of Bishop Matthias]
*[http://www.monomakhos.com/text-messages-reveal-extent-of-bp-mathias-misbehavior/ Text message conversations in question from August 2012]
*[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-bishop-sues-american-orthodox-church-met-20151008-story.html Ousted Orthodox bishop sues church leaders] Chicago Tribune article, 8 October 2015 (subscription only - copy at [http://byztex.blogspot.com/2015/10/bp-matthias-sues-oca.html http://byztex.blogspot.com/2015/10/bp-matthias-sues-oca.html])
==Other Links==
*[http://albionfourthrome.blogspot.com/2012/11/on-bishop-matthias-moriak.html http://albionfourthrome.blogspot.com/2012/11/on-bishop-matthias-moriak.html] Opinion on the Bishop Matthias "scandal" (from November 2012)
*[http://www.snapnetwork.org Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)]
before=[[Job (Osacky) of Chicago]]|
title=Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest (OCA)<br>''Bishop-elect of Chicago and the Midwest''|
years=2011-Present2013|after=—[[Paul (Gassios) of Chicago]]}}
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