From PECUSA to AXIOS

This Saturday, October 29th, His Grace BISHOP TIKHON [Mollard], will be officially installed as the ruling Bishop Philadelphia and the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania of the Orthodox Church in America at Saint Stephen Cathedral in Philadelphia, PA. Bishop Tikhon was elected to the position by clergy and lay delegates at a special assembly of the diocese held in May 2005. He will oversee nearly 50 parishes located in the eastern half of the state. His Beatitude, METROPOLITAN HERMAN, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, will preside at the installation Divine Liturgy at the cathedral at 10:00 a.m. A native of Boston, Bishop Tikhon converted to Orthodox Christianity from Episcopalianism in 1989. After completing studies at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, he entered Saint Tikhon Orthodox Theological Seminary, South Canaan, PA, from which he received a Master of Divinity degree in 1993. Prior to his consecration to the episcopacy in 2004, Bishop Tikhon was senior lecturer in Old Testament at Saint Tikhon Seminary, and is credited with a number of publications. He also served as deputy abbot of Saint Tikhon Monastery prior to his election for the see of Philadelphia.