Adherents.com

Bishop Diocese of St. Paul
Independent Orthodox Church in America

The Most Reverend + Rick Reid
Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of St. Andrew the Apostle
Independent Orthodox Church in America

The Most Reverend +Toni Klughart
Auxillary Bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Basil
Independent Orthodox Church in America

AZ: Fr Vinson; CA: Fr Robert, Bishop David, Sister Juliet; CT: Fr Michael; Fl: Brother Spencer, Bishop Zachariah; GA: Bishop Aaron, Rev Brother Jacob, Brother Jeremy, Brother Scott, Sister Kimberly; HI: Fr Deacon Pat; IL: Rev Brian; IN: Rev Lester; MD: Fr Edward; MO: Fr John, Rev Reed, Fr Charles; MS: Brother Johny; NC: Bishop Rick; NE: Fr Scott; NH: Rev Kirt; NJ: Fr Joseph; NM: Brother Bryan; NV: Fr William; NY: Fr Gerald, Bishop Edward; OK: Fr Mathias; PA: Fr John, Fr Lawrance; SC: Rev Guy, Fr Mike; TX: Fr Douglas, Brother John; VA: Brother Eugene, Brother Gene, Brother James; WA: Brother Glenn; WI: Fr James [39 total]

The Independent Orthodox Church in America is, strictly speaking, NOT a Church. We are a jurisdiction within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ upon the Apostles. We view the Roman Catholic and the various Orthodox Churches to be what we are, a jurisdiction in the same Church established by Christ. The "CHURCH " is larger than any one jurisdiction. The Apostolic link with the early Church is found in our Apostolic Succession and in our faith and praxis.

We are historically and fraternally connected to the Roman Catholic Church, however, we did not leave the peace and unity of the Church. The Pope at Rome, + Eugene III, in 1145 granted us permission to elect our own Bishops without the need for a Papal Mandate. This did not mean we were outside the Church, only that we were totally self-governing and autocephalous. In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council confirmed our autocephalous status within the Church. Pope Leo X in the Papal Bull, "Debitum Pastoralis " in 1520 again confirmed we had the right to consecrate Bishops without a Papal Mandate which is the definition of an Autocephalous jurisdiction... In 1717, the Theological Faculty at Paris acknowledged our autocephalous status, which came to be known as the Leonine Privilege. [etc.]

It is easy to fall into the trap of some in defining the Church in terms of submission to a Patriarch and defining "TRUTH " or Orthodoxy as being in communion with the more wealthy jurisdictions. I only have to remind the reader of the Arian Heresy that captured the minds of most in the East who formed what many call the 'official' Eastern Orthodox Church. In truth, there is no such thing as an "official " church defined in terms of communion with or subjection to an Old World Patriarch. St. Basil of Capadocia was not in communion with St. Epiphanius of Cyprus, yet both are Saints. St. Basil regarded St. Epiphanius as a fanatic and St. Epiphanius questioned the Orthodoxy of St. Basil. Both groups constitute part of the True Church regardless of their division. [etc.]

New York:
The Most Reverend +Eric Lewis
Bishop Diocese of St. Paul