American Orthodox Church Leader Quits

By Manya Brachear
Keene Sentinel
July 14, 2012

http://www.sentinelsource.com/features/religion/american-orthodox-church-leader-quits/article_f71682e0-e3c5-5cae-9d4f-4cfae19d9cc4.html

Metropolitan Jonah, seen at his 2009 investiture as head of the Orthodox Church in America, submitted his resignation during a conference call last Saturday, saying he was leaving the post in response to the unanimous request of the bishops.

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American Orthodox Church leader quits

CHICAGO — The Chicago native elected to the helm of the Orthodox Church in America resigned last weekend, saying in a letter that he has "neither the personality nor the temperament" to lead the church.

Metropolitan Jonah submitted his resignation during a conference call last Saturday with other bishops of the church. In his letter of resignation, he said he was leaving the post in response to the unanimous request of the bishops.

"I had come to the realization long ago that I have neither the personality nor the temperament for the position of primate, a position I never sought nor desired," he wrote.

Elected in 2008 to lead one of several branches of Orthodox Christianity in the United States, Metropolitan Jonah became primate under a banner of reform after his predecessor, Archbishop Herman, retired amid allegations that leaders of the 400,000-member denomination used millions from church coffers to cover personal expenses.

The Orthodox Church in America is part of a constellation of churches separate from the Roman Catholic Church since the 11th century.

Born James Paffhausen, he was baptized Episcopalian.

He discovered the Orthodox strand of Christianity during college. A book about mystical theology affirmed his concerns about the ordination of women in the Episcopal Church in 1978 and led him to convert that same year.

"A church should be stable. There shouldn't be that kind of turmoil," Metropolitan Jonah said during an interview in July 2009. "Intuitively, I had to become Orthodox."

His family was "horrified" by his choice, he said. While working in Russia as a doctoral candidate, he fell in love with the wholesale commitment of monasticism. He eventually established monasteries and missions in California and Hawaii.