Skip to Navigation

Welcome to the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America. Effective May 18, 2012, by appointment of His Eminence Metropolitan Philip of Blessed Memory, His Grace Bishop John serves as the only Auxiliary Bishop to oversee the Western Rite Vicariate. Assisting His Grace is the V. Rev. Edward Hughes, Vicar General of the Western Rite Vicariate. The Vicariate includes more than 20 churches and missions located throughout the United States.

The Western Rite Vicariate announces the publication of ORDO 2017. This booklet is the official liturgical guide for all Western Rite parishes in the Vicariate. It contains directions for reciting the Divine Office and celebrating the Mass according to the calendar and use of the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. It contains rubrics for both the Rite of St. Gregory with the Monastic Diurnal, and the Rite of St. Tikhon with The English Office.

The ORDO 2017 is available in both print and electronic formats. Copies may be purchased at the St. Luke's Priory Press Store on Lulu: www.lulu.com/spotlight/frfenton

ORDO 2017 Western Rite Liturgical Guide Now Available

Ordo 2017 (the Liturgical Guide) for parishes in the Western Rite Vicariate is now available in three formats: perfect bound, spiral, and ebook (pdf). The Ordo contains rubrics for reciting the Divine Office and Celebrating the Mass according to the calendar and use of the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. It contains rubrics for both the Rite of St. Gregory with the Monastic Diurnal, and the Rite of St. Tikhon with The English Office.

To purchase your copy, go to www.lulu.com/spotlight/frfenton.

Announcing the 2016 Western Rite Vicariate Conference

August 9 -12, 2016 
St. Patrick Orthodox Church, Bealeton, Virginia
westernriteconference2016.wordpress.com
Registration Form (PDF)
Hotel Information (PDF)

The biennial conference of the Western Rite Vicariate will be held Tuesday, August 9 through Friday, August 12, 2016 at St. Patrick Orthodox Church in Bealeton, Virginia.

The theme for this year's conference will be based on these words from the Canon of the Mass:

"Remember, O Lord, ... all here present, whose faith and devotion are known and manifest unto thee: for whom we offer, or who them­selves offer to thee, this sacrifice of praise."

Presentations will focus on participating in and assisting at the Mass.

Bishop John (Abdalah), Vicar Bishop for the Western Rite Vicariate, will preside at all liturgical services, and will be one of the presenters. He will also address the clergy and laity on various Vicariate matters. Other presenters will include the V. Rev. Michael Keiser, the V. Rev. John Mangels, the V. Rev. John W. Fenton, and V. Rev. Edward Hughes, Vicar General for the Vicariate.

Bishop John Visits St. Michael Church in Whittier, CA

The visit of a Bishop is a very important and special event in the life of a parish. This is not because of the personality of the man, or the fact that he holds a position of authority in the organizational structure of the church. Rather, Bishops are successors of the Apostles. In other words, they are very much like "direct descendants" of the men who were specifically chosen and sent by Our Lord Jesus Christ to go forth in His Name. Furthermore, it is their faithfulness to the teachings of those first Apostles which constitute the unity of the Church.

This was most certainly the case when Bishop John, the Vicar Bishop for Western Rite Vicariate parishes, visited St Michael's Church in Whittier, California March 11-13. His Grace met with all the clergy, the members of the Parish Council, the Antiochian Women of St Michael, and the youth. His Grace also spent an entire morning with the Society of St Benedict, which is a prayer society committed to the principles in the Rule of St Benedict.

Dept. of Western Rite News Archive