The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is a partly-recognized Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination based in North America.
The supreme canonical authority of the OCA is the Holy Synod of Bishops, composed of all the church's diocesan bishops. The ex officio chairman of the Holy Synod is the metropolitan. The Holy Synod meets twice annually; however, special sessions can be called either by the metropolitan or at the request of at least three diocesan bishops.
The primate of the OCA is the metropolitan. He also serves as the bishop of one of the church's dioceses. With the other bishops of the church, the metropolitan is considered the first among equals. His official title is "Metropolitan of All-America and Canada". His role is to manage the welfare of the church, and to act as its representative with other Orthodox Churches, religious organizations, and secular authorities. The metropolitan is elected, when necessary, by the Holy Synod at an All-American Council (a general council of OCA clergy and laity). There are no age or term limits for the metropolitan, and he may retire at any time, but usually does so only for health-related reasons.
The diocese is the basic church body that comprises all the parishes of a determined geographical area. It is governed by the Diocesan Bishop, with the assistance of a Diocesan Assembly and a Diocesan Council. The OCA is currently composed of twelve geographic and three ethnic dioceses (Albanian, Bulgarian, and Romanian). The boundaries of the ethnic dioceses overlap those of certain geographic ones. These dioceses are the result of smaller ethnic jurisdictions joining the OCA at some point in its history, usually after having broken from other bodies. Dioceses are established by the Holy Synod whenever needed, and the Synod may also modify the boundaries of an existing diocese. Maps of parishes and adherents have been published on the basis of the 2010 census.
According to the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America, the All-American Council is the "highest legislative and administrative authority within the Church." The Council is composed roughly of the Metropolitan, all bishops, priests, and selected lay delegates. The purpose of the All-American Council is to discuss and vote on Church matters. When necessary, the Council has also elected new metropolitans.
The period between All-American Councils is set at three years, although this is not always the case. The first thirteen Councils (held from 1907 to 1970) are referred to as All-American Sobors, reflecting the American Church's jurisdictional ties to the Russian Orthodox Church. The fourteenth Sobor (held in 1970) is jointly known as the 1st All-American Council, reflecting the autocephalous status of the OCA. The most recent All-American Council (21st) was held in July 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Metropolitan Council is the permanent executive body of the Church's administration. It is tasked with implementing the decisions of the All-American Council, as well as handling the Church's budgetary concerns. The Council is headed by a chairman (the current Metropolitan), and is composed of the OCA's chancellor, secretary, treasurer, and selected clergy and lay delegates. It usually meets twice per year but, in December 2006, a rare joint meeting between the Metropolitan Council and the Holy Synod of Bishops was held.
Source: Intro adapted from the Wikipedia article "Orthodox Church in America". Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Source: Structure section text copied from the "Structure" section of the Wikipedia article "Orthodox Church in America". Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.