The Most Reverend Nikon

Archbishop of Boston, New England,
and the Albanian Archdiocese

Locum tenens of the Diocese of the South

Archbishop Nikon was born in New York City on October 9, 1945, the son of the late Evans J. and Helena P. Liolin. He was raised in a family nurtured in the Orthodox Christian faith and active in the Albanian Archdiocese of the Orthodox Church in America. His father had served as lay chairman and founder in 1947 of the Diocesan Theological Student Fund. For many years, his mother served as choir director at the family’s home parish of Saint Nicholas, Jamaica Estates, New York. His brother John, now deceased, served on the parish council of Saint George Church, Trumbull, Connecticut, his brother Billy gave his life serving in the armed forces during the Korean War, while his youngest brother, James, served as lay chairman of the Jamaica Estates parish and member of the Archdiocesan Council’s Student Fund. His elder brother, Father Arthur, is Chancellor of the Boston-based Albanian Archdiocese.

Archbishop Nikon pursued his elementary and secondary studies in New York City, where he developed an abiding interest in the theatre arts, securing leading roles in several high school productions, and in the biological sciences.

Tonsured to the Order of Reader by His Eminence, the late Metropolitan Theophan [Noli], Archbishop Nikon studied at Saint Vladimir Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, New York; Iona and Concordia College, New Rochelle, New York; and the New School for Social Research and Political Science, New York City.

In 1967, he married the former Sarah Arthur, his childhood sweetheart. Together they shared a ministry in which she devotedly served as choir director after his ordination to the Holy Diaconate by the late Bishop Stephen [Lasko] on July 5, 1969, and to the Holy Priesthood the following day. During his 33 year ministry, Bishop Nikon was well-known for his pastoral acumen and broad-based ministerial sensitivity and experience, having served as rector of two parishes of the OCA’s Albanian Archdiocese: Saint Nicholas Church, Southbridge, Massachusetts, and Saint Thomas Church, Farmington Hills, Michigan.

In addition to his pastoral ministry, Archbishop Nikon served as President of the Greater Detroit Council of Orthodox Churches and Chaplain for the Wayne State University Orthodox Christian Fellowship. He is also credited with administrating a health and hospitalization insurance plan for area clergy. He also appeared on numerous live television and radio programs, broacasting to the faithful and those interested in the Orthodox faith. Notably, he was a project coordinator for “The Voice of Orthodoxy,” established by New England’s Russian Orthodox Layman’s League, and he served as editor of “The Vine,” the newspaper of the Albanian Archdiocese, and Dean of the Great Lakes Deanery.

On July 25, 2000, his wife, Sarah, reposed in Father Nicholas’s arms following a bout with cancer. His Beatitude Metropolitan Theodosius presided at her funeral.

Prior to his consecration, Bishop Nikon spent time at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary and Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, extending his studies, where he was tonsured to monastic orders prior to his episcopal consecration.

Archbishop Nikon was consecrated Bishop of Baltimore and Auxiliary to His Beatitude, Metropolitan Theodosius, on Friday and Saturday, May 24 and 25, 2002, in conjunction with the annual pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon Monastery.

Archbishop Nikon was nominated as Bishop of Boston at the Albanian Archdiocesan Assembly at on October 10, 2003 and the Holy Synod elected him Bishop of Boston on October 22, 2003. He served as administrator of the Diocese of New England and was elected ruling bishop during the fall session of the Holy Synod in October 2005. He was installed with a new title as Bishop of Boston, New England and the Albanian Archdiocese by His Beatitude Herman at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Boston on December 16 and 17 2005.

Archbishop Nikon was elevated to the rank of Archbishop on May 9, 2012.

Statement on the One-Year Anniversary of the Bishops Abducted in Syria

1. We, the Hierarchs of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, representing millions of Orthodox Christians, express our grave concern over the escalation of unrest and ongoing violence in countries throughout the Middle East, especially in Egypt, Iraq and Syria.
2. Our Assembly denounces any and all attacks—whether by means of violence, kidnapping, torture or killing—on all fellow human beings, irrespective of their race, ethnic origin, and religion. Moreover, we deplore the destruction of all places of worship or their forced conversion from their original intent.
3. We are especially disheartened at the inexcusable indifference and unjustifiable inaction of local and national governments, which have failed to protect the Christian population in these regions. We are also gravely troubled that representatives of the ancient Christian communities in Syria are not included in the peace and reconciliation process. Christians in Iraq, Egypt, and Syria have peacefully coexisted with people of all faiths in the region for two thousand years. As such, they must be respected and included in all decisions toward social and political justice.
4. One year ago, on April 22, 2013, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Boulos Yazigi (brother of His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch) and the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim, both of Aleppo, Syria were kidnapped by Islamist extremists during a joint philanthropic mission in the region. With sorrowful hearts we recognize a growing lack of interest on the part of civil authorities to assist in the recovery of the two Christian leaders. We encourage all people of good conscience to communicate with their elected officials and ask them to assist in the effort to find and retrieve the two bishops. We implore the Holy Great-Martyr Saint George, the patron of Christians of the Middle East and upon the eve of whose Feast the Hierarchs were kidnapped, to intercede for their salvation and safe return.
Moreover, we appeal to the world’s 2.2 billion Christians, as well as to all people of faith and good will, and ask them to keep the two bishops in their daily thoughts and prayers. We also ask the Orthodox Christian faithful of our Assembly’s region to offer a special petition during the Great Litany of all divine services during this 40-day Season of Pascha. Before the petition commemorating the Most Holy Mother of God, we ask that the following petition be included:
For the safety of Metropolitan Paul and Archbishop John and for their return to their communities, let us pray to the Lord.

The Members of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America

Albanian Archdiocese

SS. Peter and Paul Church

New York

Deanery: Great Lakes Deanery

St. E. Premte Church 

Cleveland, Ohio

Deanery: Great Lakes Deanery

St. Thomas Church 

Farmington Hills, Michigan

Deanery: Great Lakes Deanery

St. Nicholas Church

Jamaica Estates, New York

Deanery: Mid-Atlantic Deanery

http://www.stnicholasalbanian.org

St. Elia Church

Jamestown, New York

Deanery: Great Lakes Deanery

http://www.stelia.org

Church of the Annunciation 

Natick, Massachusetts

Deanery: Massachusetts Deanery

http://www.aocnatick.org

St. John Chrysostom Church

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Deanery: Mid-Atlantic Deanery

http://www.stjohnsphila.org

SS. Peter and Paul Church

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Deanery: Mid-Atlantic Deanery

http://sspeterpaulphila.org

St. George Cathedral 

South Boston, Massachusetts

Deanery: Massachusetts Deanery

http://www.saintgeorgecathedral.com

St. John the Baptist Church

South Boston, Massachusetts

Deanery: Massachusetts Deanery

St. Nicholas Church

Southbridge, Massachusetts

Deanery: Massachusetts Deanery

http://www.stnicholasma.org

St. George Church 

Trumbull, Connecticut

Deanery: Mid-Atlantic Deanery

http://www.stgeorgetrumbull.org

Assumption of the Virgin Mary Church

Worcester, Massachusetts

Deanery: Massachusetts Deanery

http://www.stmarysalbanianchurch.org

Albanian Orthodox Diocese

Mailing Address: Post Office Box 300158 * Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Tel. & Fax: (617) 522-3878 • Cell.: (775) 848-6369 • Email: bishopilia@yahoo.com

Rt. Rev. Ilia Katre Bishop of Philimelion ILLINOIS (IL) Chicago 60639 St. Nicholas 2701 N. Narragensett Avenue Tel.: (773) 889-4282 Fax: (773) 889-5430 V. Rev. Fr. Philip Koufos MASSACHUSETTS (MA) South Boston 02127 Holy Trinity 245 D Street P.O. Box 224 Tel.: (617) 268-7808 Rev. Dr. George Papademetriou Rev. Dn. Gregory Rubis Rev. Dn. Andrew Rubis NEVADA (NV) Philomelion House 6455 Silver Dawn Lane Las Vegas, NV 89118 Tel.: (702) 365-1989 CANADA Toronto (Ontario) Mission Parish c/o Petraq Mitre 103 Manhatten Drive Scarborough, M1R 3W1 Tel.: (416) 990-9208 The 7th Annual Prayer Service for the United Nations was celebrated by hierarchs of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) and the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches (SCOOCH) at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on November13th. Archbishop Demetrios welcomed the assembled clergy and faithful and Archbishop Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese presided at the Vesper Service assisted by Clergy, Monastics and Chanters of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Dr. Emmanuel Kattan of the UN Office of Alliance read greetings from Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon.

Ra kambana

The Albanian Orthodox Church

Scriptural and archeological evidence indicate the presence of Christian communities in the ethnic territory of modern Albania since apostolic times. It is believed that St. Paul traveled throughout the area (Romans 15:19, Acts 17:1) while Caesar and Marin of the 70 Apostles served as bishops of the newly revealed religion. Orthodoxy dominated as the prevailing faith until the great schism of 1054 when Roman Catholicism was introduced especially in the Northern provinces. By the 14th century Islam became wide spread among the agrarian and peasant population. During the Roman-Byzantine Empire (312-1453) and the subsequent Ottoman hegemony (1453-1912) Orthodox Church life in Albanian lands generally was supervised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.With the emergence of the modern Albanian State in 1912 nationalist activity became more pronounced within the country’s internationally recognized borders. Already the patriotic movement for independence was well organized in the Albanian communities of the diaspora with dynamic leadership originating in America.In 1908, working among Albanian economic immigrants who started arriving in the United States during the last quarter of the 19th century, Fan S. Noli capitalized on the prevailing spirit of Albanian nationalism to launch the organization of Albanian speaking Orthodox communities, mostly along the Eastern seaboard. He was ordained a priest by the Russian Orthodox Church in North America and translated liturgical texts for use in Albanian parishes. Meanwhile the unstable political situation in Albania following independence in 1912 contributed to the disruption of church life and ecclesiastical order. During the reign of King Zog the Ecumenical Patriarchate issued a Tomos of Autocephaly on April 12, 1937, which forms the basis for church polity even today.

Following World War II the communist regime of Enver Hoxha undertook a systematic persecution of all religious communities culminating in the confiscation or closing of all houses of worship and finally, by constitutional fiat, declaring Albania to be officially an “ atheistic state” (1967).In 1992, with the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, religious life was restored in Albania. The Orthodox Autocephalous Church is headed by Archbishop Anastasios who governs ecclesiastical affairs with a synod of bishops. Up to 1939 and the invasion of Albania by the fascist forces of Mussolini, the number of immigrants to the United States is estimated to be about 35,000. America was seen as the land of economic prosperity, a nation of freedom, democracy and progress which attracted many inhabitants from the Korca region of Southeastern Albania. Opportunity for immigration began again in 1992 following the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with the Albanian Republic. From that year until 2010 more than 55,000 new immigrants have qualified for legal status.

While being involved in a multifaceted political career for Albanian sovereignty the priest Fan Noli was ordained a bishop in Albania in 1923 and following his six month stint as prime minister he left the country in December, 1924, never to return. By 1932, Bishop Noli reentered the United States and concentrated his efforts on academic pursuits while leading a loosely organized cluster of 12 parishes, most of them in New England, with the cathedral of St. George in South Boston,Massachusetts, at the center of religious and cultural life. A reorganization of the parishes in the early 1950’s resulted in the formation of the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America.

Following the death of Bishop Noli on March 13, 1965, a priest from America, the Reverend Stephen Lasko, was ordained bishop by hierarchs in Albania. His acceptance as Noli’s successor was problematic for the Archdiocese, however, the controversy was resolved by the decision on October 14, 1971 to join the newly named Orthodox Church in America, the former Russian Metropolia, promulgated as autocephalous by the Patriarchate of Moscow. After 27 years without a bishop of Albanian origin, the Reverend Nicholas Liolin was ordained by the OCA Synod and given the name Nikon. He leads the Archdiocese now consisting of 12 parishes and is a member of the Holy Synod of the OCA.

The year 2008 marked the centenary of two milestones in the history of the Albanian Orthodox Church; the ordination of Fan Noli and his celebration of the first Divine Liturgy in the Albanian language in the New World. A panageric hierarchal, concelebrated Divine Liturgy was conducted on March 9, in St. George Cathedral by Bishop Nikon and Bishop Ilia in the presence of Archbishop Anastasios primate of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania. On this auspicious occasion a Centennial Encyclical was signed by the two bishops. In part it says. “During the last ten decades, we have learned many lessons and we have fallen short in embracing one another more fervently. Our separations have been due as much to circumstances as to ourselves. We have shared our experiences with others, since we are both singular as well as similar to others. We have been passionate and reasoned, strident and flexible in seeking ways to overcome differences. Yet times of disunity have never clouded, nor prevented our predecessors from fulfilling their Episcopal roles before Christ to go forth, teach, baptize and serve those entrusted to us and to our forebears. At this time, we remember with prayer our guiding hierarchs, Bishop Theophan (Noli), Bishop Mark (Lipa), Bishop Stefan (Lasko) and the many priests and lay men and women of our shared and faithful flock who have gone before us to their rest. May their memory ever be eternal.We commemorate and celebrate this centennial moment with humility: recalling all that has gone before with the hope that we remain true to the aspirations and needs of future generations, yet to be saved, nurtured and nourished.”

The 100th anniversary year was marked by a second hierarchal Divine Liturgy served by Bishop Nikon, Metropolitan John of Korca and Bishop Ilia in St. George Cathedral on September 27, 2008. The previous evening a gala celebration banquet was attended by more than 1,000 persons from many countries including special guests, President Bamir Topi of Albania and Albanian American born actor and entertainer James Belushi.

The Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America under the Ecumenical Patriarchate was organized in 1951 following the arrival of Bishop Mark (Lipa) in the United States. An Albanian born in Turkey, the Bishop studied at the Patriarchal Theological School of Halki after completing the lyceum in Korca. A group of clergy and laity who knew of his chanting skills when he accompanied Archbishop Kristofer (Kissi) in the early 1930’s supported his initial efforts upon his coming to Boston, Massachusetts, a city with perhaps the largest concentration of Albanian Orthodox communicants.

Bishop Mark was instrumental in urging the passage of House Concurrent Resolution No. 168, 82nd Congress, 1st Session, October 11, 1951, which says, “ The Congress of the United States hereby expresses the firm conviction of the American people that the people of Albania have the right of self-determination, to be governed by their own consent based on the free expression of popular will in a free election; and that no nation may deprive them of their territory by force, or threat of force, and that no nation can keep their territory by force.”

Together with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston Humberto Cardinal Medeiros, Bishop Mark signed a Declaration for Religious Freedom on November 28, 1981 asking the Albanian Government to allow the practice of religion for Christians and Muslims. The Diocese has endorsed many initiatives promoting religious tolerance and advocating for human rights. Two Albanian parishes (Holy Trinity, South Boston and St. Nicholas, Chicago) have joined the Diocese since 1950 in addition to a mission parish being formed in Toronto.

Over the decades both parishes have conducted regular weekly religious education programs and since the arrival of thousands of new immigrants Albanian language classes are being organized. Membership in the parishes and mission is growing annually while financial contributions are on the increase.

During the years of spiritual leadership offered by Bishop Mark (1950-1982) the Diocese hosted a weekly radio program (Voice of Orthodoxy) in the Boston area and published a monthly Diocesan publication (The True Light). A Diocese center in Boston provided a venue for religious, educational, social, cultural and philanthropic activities during the Bishop’s lifetime.

In l959 the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America was formed with Bishop Mark as one of the founding signers on behalf of the Diocese. This gave impetus to a policy of promoting cooperation and participation in Pan Orthodox programs throughout the country.

For 20 years the Diocese was directed by the Reverend Protopresbyter Ilia Katre as Vicar General. In 2002 he was elected Bishop of Philomelion by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to serve the Albanian speaking Orthodox faithful of North America. In addition he spends time in Albania as Director of and visiting instructor at the theological academy of the Resurrection of Christ in Durres. Furthermore he is the representative of the Autocephalous Church of Albania to the official theological dialogues between the Orthodox and Roman Catholics and the Orthodox and Anglicans.

+Bishop Ilia of Philomelion

Muzikë Bizantine Shqip - Përlëshorja e shën Vlashit - Psal: Theodhor Peci