ROCOR Today: Current Structure

Following the 2007 reunion with the Moscow Patriarchate, ROCOR continues as a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church, maintaining its own Synod of Bishops, diocesan structure, monasteries, and seminary. ROCOR’s worldwide presence spans North America, Europe, Australia, and beyond, serving both the Russian diaspora and a growing number of converts.

Tradition: ROCOR-specific

Governance

The First Hierarch (Metropolitan)

The head of ROCOR bears the title of Metropolitan and First Hierarch. The First Hierarch is elected by the ROCOR Council of Bishops, and the election is confirmed by the Patriarch of Moscow and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (Act of Canonical Communion, 2007, §4).

Current First Hierarch: Metropolitan Nicholas (Olhovsky) of Eastern America and New York – elected by the Council of Bishops on September 13, 2022, following the death of Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) on May 16, 2022; confirmed by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on September 14; and enthroned at the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign on September 18, 2022. He remains First Hierarch as of June 2026, the seventh hierarch to hold the office in the succession listed below. (Eastern American Diocese, “Metropolitan Nicholas,” eadiocese.org; “ROCOR Elects New First Hierarch,” OrthoChristian, September 13, 2022)

Previous First Hierarchs:

  1. Metropolitan Antony (Khrapovitsky), 1921-1936
  2. Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky), 1936-1964
  3. Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky), 1964-1985
  4. Metropolitan Vitaly (Ustinov), 1985-2001
  5. Metropolitan Laurus (Shkurla), 2001-2008
  6. Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), 2008-2022

The Council of Bishops and the Synod of Bishops

The Council of Bishops (Sobor), comprising all the bishops of ROCOR, holds the supreme ecclesiastical, legislative, administrative, judicial, and controlling authority within ROCOR; between its sessions, the Synod of Bishops, headed by the First Hierarch, acts as the standing executive organ (Act of Canonical Communion, 2007, §3). Together these bodies:

  • Elect the First Hierarch (by the Council of Bishops, with confirmation by the Patriarch of Moscow and the Holy Synod)
  • Elect, appoint, and transfer bishops (elections by the Council of Bishops are confirmed by the Patriarch and the Holy Synod)
  • Set policy on theological, canonical, and pastoral matters
  • Establish or close dioceses, in agreement with the Patriarch of Moscow and the Holy Synod
  • Govern inter-church relations (within the framework of the Act of Canonical Communion)
  • Oversee monasteries, the seminary, and other church-wide institutions

The Synodal Offices

The ROCOR Synod is headquartered in New York City, at the Synodal building at 75 East 93rd Street in Manhattan, acquired by the Synod of Bishops in 1958. (Synod of Bishops, synod.com; Historical Marker Database, “Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia”) The Synod maintains various departments and commissions for education, youth work, missions, liturgical matters, and inter-church relations.

Diocesan Structure

ROCOR is organized into dioceses spanning multiple continents. The major dioceses include:

North America

  • Diocese of Eastern America and New York: The senior diocese, headed by the First Hierarch. Encompasses the eastern United States, including the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City.
  • Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America: Covering the central United States.
  • Diocese of Western America (San Francisco): Covering the western United States, including the cathedral built by St. John (Maximovitch).
  • Diocese of Montreal and Canada: Serving Russian Orthodox communities across Canada.
  • Diocese of Caracas and South America: Serving parishes in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, and other South American countries. (Synod of Bishops, “The Hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia,” synod.com)

Europe

  • Diocese of Berlin and Germany: One of the oldest ROCOR dioceses in Europe. Long headed by Metropolitan Mark (Arndt), a key figure in the 2007 reunion dialogue; he was elevated from Archbishop to Metropolitan on December 10, 2019, and remains the ruling bishop as of early 2026. (“ROCOR Synod Elevates Archbishop Mark of Berlin to Metropolitan,” OrthoChristian, December 2019; “ROCOR’s Metropolitan Mark of Berlin Turns 85,” OrthoChristian, January 2026)
  • Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe: Serving ROCOR parishes in the UK, France, and other Western European countries; headed since 2018 by Bishop Irenei (Steenberg) of London and Western Europe. (Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe, orthodox-europe.org)

Australia and Oceania

  • Diocese of Australia and New Zealand: A large and vibrant diocese serving the substantial Russian community in Australia and New Zealand, with the diocesan center in Sydney at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Strathfield; ruled since 2022 by Archbishop George (Schaefer) of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand. (Australian and New Zealand Diocese, rocor.org.au)

Other Regions

  • ROCOR maintains parishes and missions across more than thirty countries, including in Asia and elsewhere; the exact extent of its global presence is subject to change. [Disputed: the church’s official parish directory (St. Innocent Press, for the Synod of Bishops) counted 349 parishes and 21 monasteries in 32 countries, served by 462 clergy, as of 2009 (russianorthodoxchurch.ws); commonly cited recent figures give roughly 400 parishes and over 400,000 faithful worldwide (e.g., St. Silouan Orthodox Church, “About ROCOR”); no more recent official census has been published as of June 2026.]

Key Institutions

Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary (Jordanville, NY)

The spiritual and educational heart of ROCOR in North America. The monastery continues its monastic life, and the seminary trains clergy for ROCOR and other Orthodox jurisdictions. The printing press (Printshop of St. Job of Pochaev) continues to publish liturgical and theological works, though on a smaller scale than its historic peak. (See The Exile Period)

Monasteries

ROCOR maintains several monasteries and convents worldwide, including:

  • Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY: The most prominent ROCOR monastery, a stavropegial men’s monastery founded in 1930. (Holy Trinity Monastery, jordanville.org)
  • Holy Dormition “Novo-Diveevo” Stavropegial Convent, Nanuet, NY: A women’s monastery founded in 1949, home to the largest Russian Orthodox cemetery in the diaspora. (Novo-Diveevo Convent, novo-diveevo.org; “75th Anniversary of New York’s Novo-Diveevo Convent,” OrthoChristian, 2024)
  • Convents of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem: The Ascension Convent on the Mount of Olives and the Convent of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, women’s communities in ROCOR’s care since the 1920s. (Synod of Bishops, synod.com; “Metropolitan Mark (Dr. Arndt),” ROCOR Studies, 2024 – Metropolitan Mark serves as Overseer of the Mission)
  • Various smaller monastic communities in other countries.

Note: the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, CA, founded in 1968 by Fr. Seraphim Rose and Fr. Herman (Podmoshensky) with the blessing of St. John (Maximovitch), is sometimes associated with ROCOR but has not been a ROCOR community for decades: after years outside canonical structures it was received in 2000 into the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, where it remains. (St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, “About Us,” sainthermanmonastery.org; “The Monastery of St. Herman of Alaska, Platina, California,” OrthoChristian)

The Synodal Cathedral of the Sign (New York City)

The cathedral church of ROCOR’s First Hierarch, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The cathedral serves as the liturgical center of the Synod.

ROCOR Parish Network

ROCOR maintains hundreds of parishes worldwide. Parish life continues to be characterized by:

  • Traditional Russian liturgical practice
  • Increasing use of English and other local languages alongside Church Slavonic
  • A mix of heritage Russian faithful and converts to Orthodoxy
  • Active parish schools and youth programs in many locations

Relationship with the Moscow Patriarchate in Practice

Since the 2007 reunion, the relationship between ROCOR and Moscow has generally been functional, though not without tensions:

  • Liturgical commemoration: The Patriarch of Moscow is commemorated in all ROCOR services, as stipulated by the Act of Canonical Communion.
  • Administrative autonomy: ROCOR governs its own affairs through its Council and Synod of Bishops, with Moscow having a confirmatory role in the election of the First Hierarch and of bishops.
  • Bishops’ Councils: ROCOR bishops participate in the All-Russian Bishops’ Councils.
  • Ecumenism: This remains a point of tension. ROCOR’s anti-ecumenist heritage sits uncomfortably alongside Moscow’s continued (if reduced) participation in ecumenical bodies. In practice, ROCOR has largely maintained its own position while avoiding open confrontation with Moscow on this issue.
  • Geopolitical pressures: Events in the broader Orthodox world (such as the dispute over Ukrainian autocephaly from 2018 onward) have tested the ROCOR-Moscow relationship. ROCOR has aligned with Moscow on this question: on October 18, 2018, the ROCOR Synod of Bishops declared its “complete support” for the Moscow Holy Synod’s decision of October 15, 2018 to sever communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople over its actions in Ukraine, and condemned those actions as uncanonical. (Statement of the Synod of Bishops, October 18, 2018, https://www.synod.com/synod/eng2018/20181018_ensynodstatementukraine.html)

ROCOR’s Distinctive Character

Within the reunited Russian Church, ROCOR retains a distinctive character:

  • Liturgical conservatism: Full services with minimal abbreviation, traditional chanting, adherence to the Julian calendar.
  • Anti-ecumenist ethos: While the formal relationship with Moscow requires diplomatic nuance, ROCOR’s faithful and clergy generally maintain a skeptical or hostile attitude toward ecumenism.
  • Diaspora identity: Unlike the Moscow Patriarchate’s parishes abroad (which tend to maintain close ties to Russia and serve primarily recent emigres), ROCOR parishes often have deep roots in their local communities and include significant numbers of converts.
  • English-language Orthodoxy: ROCOR has been a leader in producing English-language liturgical and theological resources, serving an increasingly English-speaking faithful.
  • Monastic and ascetic emphasis: ROCOR’s spiritual ethos tends to emphasize asceticism, prayer, and the monastic ideal, drawing on the heritage of figures like St. John (Maximovitch) and St. Philaret (Voznesensky).

See Also

References