The Diocese of New England makes available limited scholarships for modest financial assistance according to the following guidelines:

A scholarship applicant must:

1) Be a parishioner of a member parish of the Diocese of New England, Orthodox Church in America;

2) Be currently enrolled, as a full–time student, in a degree granting program at an accredited Orthodox seminary with the knowledge and blessing of the diocesan bishop.

For more information, please contact Fr. John Kreta.

For the application, please follow the "more information" link below.

At the 2011 Diocesan Assembly, a "Parish Grant Initiative" was approved. Parishes in the New England Diocese can apply for financial grants to support outreach and charity programs in their communities. The diocese has budgeted up to $10,000 in grant monies to help support parishes in these efforts.  Applications will be reviewed as received. The files are available in MS Word format.

The Grant Background

The Grant Application

On Tuesday evening, September 3, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church met via teleconference in Special Session under the presidency of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon. At this meeting, the Holy Synod declared vacant the sees of the Diocese of New England and the Albanian Archdiocese following the death of His Eminence, Archbishop Nikon.
At this same meeting, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon informed the members of the Holy Synod that he would be the locum tenens for these two dioceses.

Letter announcing the vacancy.

The Synodal Decree.

SYOSSET, NY [OCA] -- The search for an experienced, qualified individual to assume the duties of Treasurer of the Orthodox Church in America initially announced in November 2018, continues.

The successful candidate, who will succeed Melanie Ringa, the current OCA Treasurer, will be directly appointed by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon with confirmation by the Holy Synod of Bishops and endorsement by the Metropolitan Council.  The anticipated starting date for the new Treasurer will be mid-February 2019.

The Treasurer will report directly to the Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America.  He or she will be accountable to the Metropolitan, the Holy Synod, the All-American Council, and the Metropolitan Council, reporting regularly on the overall areas of responsibility and the financial management of the OCA.  He or she will discuss with the Chancellor priorities, concerns, and financial expectations.  In consultation with the Finance Committee, the Treasurer will keep the Chancellor and Metropolitan informed of financial matters and unforeseen events.

A detailed description of duties and responsibilities is available online .

Individuals interested in applying for the position should submit a cover letter and detailed resume indicating relevant educational and professional experience, together with three [3] letters of recommendation, to the Office of the Metropolitan, PO Box 675, Syosset, NY 11791 no later than January 22, 2019.

Enquiries may be directed to the Chancellor, Archpriest Alexander Rentel, at arentel@oca.org.

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America approved and issued a revised Policy, Standards, and Procedures on Sexual Misconduct at their Fall 2013 Holy Synod meeting. This policy is now in force in the Church. It is the goal of the entire Church to provide a safe and healthy environment for all of the faithful of the Orthodox Church in America. The Church laments the sin of sexual misconduct, and will not tolerate sexual misconduct by its clergy or any layperson.

At the March 2014 meeting of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, revisions to the Policies, Standards, and Procedures on Sexual Misconduct [PSP] were approved.

An abbreviated PSP for parish use is available here.

The OCA Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response webpage is here.

To confidentially report a case of misconduct please use the toll-free number 855-398-2600. All calls will be confidential.

At the spring session of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, held at the Chancery March 18-21, 2014, “Guidelines on Background Checks” were issued. [See related article.] The Guidelines, which offer detailed information on how and for whom “basic background checks” are required, are available in PDF format. Included in the Guidelines are recommended sources for conducting checks and information on on-line sexual abuse prevention training.

The Diocesean Assembly registration information for 2016 is now avaialble.

Directions for the site of the Diocesan Assembly may be found and downloaded at the following link.

The Registration packet for the 2015 Diocesan Assembly is now available for downloading.

In MS Word Format or in PDF Format

The Draft Minutes from the 51st Assembly are also available.

In MS Word Format or in PDF Format

Note that the dead line is October 5th. This is to be able to firm numbers with the retreat center. We are doing something different this year, as everything on Friday will be held at the Immaculata Retreat Center. The cost to the Diocese is ALL Inclusive. Please if you are attending the Assembly, plan on attending the Banquet.

The schedule for Lenten Services for the Deanery of CT and the Orthodox Churches of Greater Bridgeport area is now available.

The 2015 ONE Stewards donations as of mid-May are lagging behind our record of donations in 2014. Our ONE Stewards donations support our diocesan Youth, our diocesan Seminarians, our diocesan Missions, and our diocesan Charity donations. The annual Diocesan Youth Rally is scheduled again for August. The total cost just for the rally is over $20,000. Therefore ONE Stewards donations are critical in supporting all the diocesan activities mentioned. Show your support by "Giving Above and Beyond" with a 2015 summer donation to ONE Stewards so that we can set a new donation record again this year. A ONE Stewards envelope will be included in the July issue of the ONE Newsletter or send your donation to:

ONE Stewards

PO Box 1182

Torrington, CT 06790