Diocese of the West » Diocesan Departments

Diocesan Departments

The Diocese of the West is organized with many departments to assist and advise the bishop. Each department has a chairperson (both clergy and laity) who have been appointed by His Grace. They answer directly to the bishop and the Diocesan Council.
The following are the current departments of The Diocese of the West:

Department of Architecture

The Architecture Department’s purpose and goal is to offer sound advice for parishes and missions in The Diocese of the West concerning building or property acquisition projects of any kind.

John della Monica – chair
222 W. Lockeford St.
Lodi, CA 95240-2041
tel. 209-367-0296
fax. 209-367-0288
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Department of Communications

The Communications Department oversees all internal and external contacts of the Diocese. Among other responsibilities, the Department oversees The Orthodox Vision (a tri-annual magazine covering the activities of The Diocese of the West), the Diocesan website, press releases, publications, and advertisements.

Dr Dmitri Solodow
32 E. Kimberly Ct.
Bozeman, MT 59718
tel. 406-581-5339
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Department of Finance

Mary L. Caetta – Treasurer
Office of the Treasurer
Diocese of the West
22 Dunraven PL
Port Townsend , WA 98368-9500
ph: (360) 774-2778
treasurer at dowoca dot org

Diaconal Vocations Program

The Committee on Diaconal Vocations considers applications for Diaconal Vocations candidates, provides a recommended program of education and formation for those seeking ordination, and evaluates candidates completing such programs.

The committee also advises members of the Holy Synod of Bishops on a variety of matters related to the acceptance of non-Orthodox clergy seeking to convert to Orthodox Christianity.

An explanation of the diaconal vocations program is available here, and an application form is available here.

Rev. John Armstrong
6111 S. Pennsylvania St.
Littleton, CO 80121-2255
tel. 303-798-9913

Legal Department

The Legal Department of The Diocese of the West acts in two main areas:

Diocesan bylaws
Parish holdings within the Diocese

and serves as a general resource for addressing the legal ramifications of decisions made by the Diocese

Mission Board

Saint Innocent Mission Society

In 1998, with the blessing of His Grace, Bishop TIKHON,the Mission Board of The Diocese of the West created the St. Innocent Mission Society as a vehicle for members of the Diocese to learn about and become involved in the work of the missions.

St. Innocent, our continent’s most celebrated Orthodox missionary, created such a society himself in 1868, the year in which he became Metropolitan of Moscow. The goal of his Orthodox Mission Society was to promote the work of the missions, where he had spent so much of his time and labors. Our society follows the same charter: prayer as the basis for all church growth, financial support and work in common.

V. Rev. Matthew Tate (President)
3550 SE Aldercrest Rd
Milwaukie, OR 97222-6152
503-659-5593
503-659-3646
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Peter Schwalbenberg (Chairman)
1236 16th Avenue
San Francisco CA 94122-2010
tel. 415-664-1292
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Department of Liturgical Music

The Department of Liturgical Music was created to provide musical scores of the many hymns sung by our churches to the church choirs. Due to the relocation of the Chairman, this projects has been put on temporary hold. The desire and plan is to make available on this website the scores already prepared and any new scores.

V. Rev. Lawrence Margitich – chair
90 Mountain View Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95407-8201
tel. 707-584-9491

Outreach to Refugees

The Outreach to Refugees Department provides information and legal assistance to people who have immigrated to the United States.
Humanitarian aid is also an ongoing project, making available food, clothing and health aids to the needy in Moscow, Russia.

2040 Anza St.
San Francisco, CA 94118-3623
tel. 415-668-5705

Department of Youth Ministries

The Youth Department of The Diocese of the West exists to encourage and promote Orthodox youth ministry within TDOW on three levels: diocese, deanery, and local parish. This vision is in keeping with the direction of the national church to promote youth ministry in the specific areas of Worship, Education, Fellowship, and Service among our Orthodox youth on an annual basis. The Department exists to serve the youth, youth leaders, and clergy in the development of Orthodox youth ministry.

The successful fulfillment of the vision of the Youth Department will depend on the presence of a local youth coordinator in every parish. These youth coordinators will work together on both a local and deanery level to promote youth ministry in their parishes and deanery with the blessing and guidance of their parish priests.

The Youth Department Director (and his Assistant), aligned with this national and diocesan vision, will conduct deanery-based training seminars to encourage and equip local youth leaders in the knowledge and skills of youth ministry, and will also encourage (and facilitate if necessary) deanery based retreats to bring our young people together to grow in their life in Christ. An annual diocesan youth retreat will also be offered.

Department of Education

The Education Department of The Diocese of the West (TDOW) exists to assist the diocesan Bishop in the promotion of Traditional Orthodox education materials within the diocese. This Department will serve as a clearinghouse of such available information, which may be found useful for Church schools and other Orthodox educational programs and classes.

The Education Department Director will collect and post useful, approved materials on this website. Edifying educational articles will also be posted.

V. Rev. Anthony Karbo
3121 San Luis Dr
Colorado Springs, CO, 80909 -1325
tel. 719-473-9238