Bulgarian Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America
The Bulgarian Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America (also known as the Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, and originally known as the Bulgarian Diocese in Exile) is one of three ethnic dioceses of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). It was created in 1963 by Eastern Orthodox Christians of Bulgarian and Macedonian descent. Its territory includes parishes, monasteries, and missions located in seven states in the United States: California, Illinois, Indiana, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, and Washington, D.C. The first bishop of the diocese was the Most Reverend Kyrill (Yonchev), who also served as the Archbishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. After his repose on June 17, 2007, Metropolitan Herman served as locum tenens of the diocese until the election of Archimandrite Alexander (Golitzin) on October 4, 2011. On May 5, 2012, he was consecrated as bishop of the diocese during a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint George Orthodox Cathedral in Rossford, Ohio. History As a result of the establishment of a Communist government in Bulgaria after the World War II, relations of the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church were disrupted. In the late 1950s, its head Metropolitan Andrew (Petkov)