Patriarch WOLODYMIR I / VLADIMIR I (Walter Myron Propheta)

Patriarch WOLODYMIR I, born in 1912 in the City of Lvov in Ukraine to Archpriest and Mrs. Dimitray Propheta; Archpriest Dimitray being the eleventh generation of Ukranian Orthodox Clergy in his ancestry, was known in religion as Wolodymir. Speaking in ecclesiastical terms: Walter Propheta was ordained to the Presbyterate, becoming the twelfth generation to carry on the legacy of Ukranian Orthodox Priesthood in his family, on May 5, 1933 by The Most Reverend BODHAN (Schpylka), Bishop and future Metropolitan Primate of The Ukranian Orthodox Church in America - Ecumenical Patriachate of Constantinople: the UOCA having been founded by Archbishop JOSEPH (Zuk), who was consecrated by Archbishop AFTIMIOS..

After a quarter century of service to this Orthodox Jurisdiction as Priest, Fr. Walter was elevated to the Office of Mitred Archpriest and appointed Chancellor of the UOCA; these honors bestoed upon him in 1959 by Archbishop BODHAN. As Presbyter, Propheta was first Pastor of St. Mary's Ukranian Orthodox Church in South Plainfield, New Jersey.

Due to a rubrical disagreement with Metropolitan BODHAN, because the congregation at The Church of the Holy Resurrection in the Bronx, New York, this as of the late 1950's, in which he served as Dean of Priests as well as Pastor wished to have the vernacular brought into the celebration of the Divine Liturgy to replace the traditional Old Church Slavonic: because Schpylka would not sanction this and it was Propheta's desire that the broader scope of not only the Church but also Orthodoxy be made available and accessible to all regardless of national origin; Archpriest Walter thus began his own efforts to renew and further establish the heritage of Archbishop AFTIMIOS.

He took up the mission of restoring the vision of American Orthodoxy; like those who had come before him and whose Succession he would soon share. In chartering the long established the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in the state of New York under its original shortname of The American Orthodox Catholic Church, Propheta changed the face of the AOC in making this Church inclusive of the varied Eastern and Western Liturgical celebrations of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. His resolve in thisis shown by his cooperation with such well known and long established Hierarchs as Archbishop PETER Zhurawetsky, and many others. He himself, however, remained faithful to his Ukranian Orthodox heritage.

October 4, 1964 saw Archpriest Walter consecrated to the historic Episcopacy by The Most Reverend JOACHIM (Souris) of The Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church in America (old calendrist) and The Most Reverend THEOKLITOS (Kantaris) of The Greek Archdiocese of New York. This Episcopal Consecration was also sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of New York at the time, FRANCIS Spellman. The same two Hierarchs, THEOKLITOS and JOACHIM, on March 30, 1965 and by the laying on of hands, elevated Bishop WOLODYMIR I for service as Archbishop and Metropolitan Primate of The American Orthodox Church/American Orthodox Catholic Church. On January 14, 1968 Archbishop WOLODYMIR I was named Patriarch by the Holy Synod of the AOC/AOCC.

Propheta's Cathedral and attached Monastery was long in the Propheta family from the time of Archbishop Walter's father, Dimitray Propheta, (who served as Archpriest under the Omophora of Ukranian Metropolitan PALLASIOS) was located at 675 East 183rd Street in the New York City Borough of The Bronx and was named The Cathedral Church and Monastery of The Holy Resurrection.

Other than his parochial ministry both at St. Mary's and at the Church of The Holy Resurrection; the crux of his work in the 1950's and 1960's was shown most clearly in his fight against the human and religious persecutions inflicted by the evils of Communism. This particular apostolate was taken not only to the national but also the international planes through his organization, Crusade Against Communism, this being a work for which he was very well known and recognized, even, at the time of the 25th anniversary of his consecration by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

In addition he establishing a charitable group to provide necessary life resources, at little or no cost, for members of the Clergy who could not otherwise afford them must also be included; as well as the magnitude of the tmeporal assistance he provided to the less fortunate of the City of New York. It was not uncommon for him to stop along the streets of New York City to reach out to those he saw in need. He also enjoyed the respect of many secular and religious authorities,including former Governor of New York State and former Presidential Candidate Thomas E. Dewey. Propheta, if Governor Dewey had been successful in gaining the Presidency, would have served as White House Chaplain. Additionally, his was a long association with the former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover; as well as FRANCIS Cardinal Spellman and TERENCE Cardinal Cooke.

The influence of the American Orthodox Church / the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America under Wolodymyr's Omophora in the 1960's and early 1970's extended to many parts of the world and was comprised of Clergy and religious in Europe, Africa, the caribbean, South America, Great Britain and the United States. Counted among Archbishop WOLODYMIR's Hierarchs was a former Roman Catholic Cardinal from the country of Brazil. An AOC Presbyter, Fr. John Neely, was permitted credentials for the celebration of the Liturgy on the Tomb of St. Peter in St. Peter's Basilica. To the best of this writer's knowledge, all but two member Clergy of the Church presided over by Patriarch WOLODYMIR have passed on. It is of further interest to note that Archbishop WOLODYMIR and the Clergy of the HEOCACNA / AOC were, on several occasions, permitted the use of the chapel at the United Nations for Ordinations, Consecrations (including the consecrations of FRANCIS (Francis Joseph Ryan) and DENIS (Denis M. Garrison) of the HEOCACNA, and Holy Synods. Patriarch WOLODYMIR I, because of the magnitude and scope of his crusade against communism, was reposed in Christ on October 8, 1972.