Fourth Plenary Session of the 21st All-American Council Concluded
On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the hierarchs, clergy, and lay representatives of the Orthodox Church in America met for the fourth Plenary Session of the 21st All-American Council in Phoenix, AZ.
The meeting began with comments from His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon regarding the Diocese of the West. He announced the official retirement of its hierarch, His Eminence Archbishop Benjamin, and thanked him for his many years of archpastoral service. His Beatitude will serve as Locum Tenens of the diocese until the consecration and enthronement of a new bishop. Later in the day, the Diocese of the West convened a special Nominating Assembly, which nominated Archimandrite Vasily (Permiakov) for their new ruling bishop. Shortly after, the Holy Synod of Bishops met in a Special Summer Session and canonically elected Archimandrite Vasily as Bishop of San Francisco and the West.
The remainder of the Plenary Session was devoted to a proposed amendment to the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America, presented by the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of the South, that would alter the process for electing members to the Pension Board. However, the amendment was defeated.