Origin from 1794
An autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church, self-governing and recognized by several other autocephalous churches, with jurisdiction concentrated in the United States and Canada. In October 2007, the OCA's Holy Synod of Bishops and Metropolitan Council jointly created a Special Investigating Committee to examine past financial mismanagement at the church's central administrative office, the Chancery. The Committee, chaired by Bishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West, presented its findings on 3 September 2008 after 44 interviews, more than 10,000 pages of documents, and more than 4,000 hours of collective work.
Facts
Finances
Institutional Wealth or FinancesThe Orthodox Church in America's own independently audited financial statements report total assets of about 8.63 million dollars and total net assets of about 8.39 million dollars at the close of the fiscal year, with total operating support, revenue and reclassifications of about 5.14 million dollars against total expenses of about 2.74 million dollars for the year. 2 Basis of the Wealth Figure Financial Disclosure RegimeThe Orthodox Church in America publishes its own annual independently audited financial statements, prepared by an outside certified public accounting firm, covering the Church's central chancery operations. This is the Church's own voluntary practice; there is no external regulator requiring it to publish consolidated finances, and the figures do not cover its dioceses and parishes, which hold and report their own property and finances separately. 2 Wealth Figure As Of Year Origins
Origin Period FoundedTraces its roots to the Russian Orthodox mission established in Alaska, and received autocephaly from the Moscow Patriarchate in 1970. 1 History
Notable MomentThe 2008 Special Investigating Committee report confirmed that church leaders had personally squandered millions of dollars or participated in covering up the diversion of funds. Former chancellor Robert S. Kondratick, deposed from the priesthood by the Holy Synod on 31 July 2007, was found to have held a significant source of power over Synod members through his knowledge of their alleged personal moral failings, including chemical addictions and sexual improprieties; both Metropolitans affirmed he held blackmailable material of a sexual nature about each of them. This is a finding of financial mismanagement and adult level moral impropriety used for leverage, not a finding of child sexual abuse. 1 Organisation
Distinguishing FeatureAn autocephalous, self-governing Eastern Orthodox church recognized by several other autocephalous churches, though not universally, with jurisdiction concentrated in the United States and Canada. 1 Governing BodyHoly Synod of Bishops and Metropolitan Council 1 Evidence
History of the AccusationThe Special Investigating Committee's 32-page report is the church's own account of its 2007 to 2008 financial scandal, presented to a joint session of its two governing bodies rather than to any outside regulator or court. 1 Basis of the EvidenceThe Special Investigating Committee was chaired by Bishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West and reached its findings only after 44 interviews, more than 10,000 pages of documents, and more than 4,000 hours of collective work, presented on 3 September 2008. 1 Status
Current StatusKondratick remained deposed from the priesthood following the report's publication; this atlas has not verified what financial controls, if any, the OCA adopted afterward, and that remains open for a future pass. 1 Learn More
Blackmail in the Chancery: The 2008 Report That Named No Abuse of Children
In October 2007, as questions mounted about the state of the Orthodox Church in America's finances, its Holy Synod of Bishops and Metropolitan Council jointly created a Special Investigating Committee to examine what had happened at the church's central administrative office, the Chancery. Chaired by Bishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West, the Committee spent nearly a year on the inquiry: 44 interviews, more than 10,000 pages of documents reviewed, and more than 4,000 hours of collective work.
The Committee presented its findings to a joint session of the Synod and the Council on 3 September 2008. It confirmed that church leaders had personally squandered millions of dollars of church funds or had participated in covering up the diversion of that money. At the center of the report was Robert S. Kondratick, the church's former chancellor, who had already been deposed from the priesthood by the Holy Synod on 31 July 2007. The Committee found that Kondratick held significant power over members of the Synod through his knowledge of what the report called their personal moral failings, including chemical addictions and sexual improprieties, and both of the church's Metropolitans affirmed that he held material of a sexual nature about each of them that could be used to blackmail them.
This is a finding of financial mismanagement and of adult-level moral impropriety used for leverage within the church's own governance, not a finding of the sexual abuse of a child, and this atlas records it under that distinction. Kondratick remained deposed from the priesthood after the report's publication. What financial controls, if any, the OCA adopted afterward has not been verified by this atlas, and remains an open question for a future pass.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Benjamin directly: "The Committee, chaired by Bishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West, presented its findings on 3 September 2008 after 44 interviews, more than 10,000 pages of documents, and more than 4,000..."
This source names Canada directly: "concentrated in the United States and Canada."
This source names Orthodox Church in America directly: "The Orthodox Church in America Holy Synod's 21 July 2022 statement teaching that marriage is reserved to one man and one woman and that any other sexual expression cannot be blessed by the Church..."
This source names Synod of Bishops directly: "In October 2007, the OCA's Holy Synod of Bishops and Metropolitan Council jointly created a Special Investigating Committee to examine past financial mismanagement at the church's central..."
Sources
1. Special Investigating Committee Presents Report to OCA Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council
Special Investigating Committee, Orthodox Church in America, Orthodox Church in America, 2008View the Source 2. The Orthodox Church in America, Financial Statements, December 31, 2024 and 2023
Satty, Levine & Ciacco, CPAs, P.C., The Orthodox Church in America, 2025View the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
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