By an enthusiastic vote of acclamation, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America adopted self-rule yesterday, still bound to its patriarch in Syria but empowered to nominate its own bishops and engage American culture on its own terms.

		Related article Methodists name new bishop for Western Pennsylvania

The archdiocese, now all of North America, will be divided into nine dioceses, one for Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with the bishop residing in Ligonier.

"The Orthodox Church of 21st century America is destined to chart its own course and shape its own future, despite the obstacles," said Metropolitan Philip, the Lebanese-born primate who has championed the idea of a united, American expression of Eastern Orthodoxy since he became head of the archdiocese in 1966.

"This special convention is a bright moment in our history," he said to priests and lay representatives of all parishes at the Pittsburgh Hilton. "Let us seize this moment and appeal to our brothers and sisters of other [ethnic Orthodox] jurisdictions to emulate our example and seize the moment."

Those are loaded words in Orthodox America, where immigration led to overlapping ethnic archdioceses governed from overseas. Many third- and fourth-generation Greek-Americans and others have called for one, united, self-governing American Orthodox Church. But such proposals have been forcefully rejected overseas, where the mother churches depend on support from their American outposts.

The Antiochians, headquartered in Damascus, Syria, are highly Americanized, and have grown by 50 percent over the past 20 years to 350,000. The self-governing status was approved by their patriarchate in Damascus, which will continue to have a voice in the final selection of bishops nominated by the American church.

The Antiochians hope their action sets an example.

"I hope that after our prayers and accomplishments at this convention, the foundations of this fragmented Orthodoxy in North America will be shaken and all Orthodox will speak the Word of God with boldness and with one heart and one soul," Metropolitan Philip said.

The Antiochians view this as a first step. Their new constitution says that the only exception to a ban on amending the structure of the church "would be such amendments, alterations or changes that would be necessary to implement Orthodox unity in America."

And the greatest applause yesterday came not at the adoption of that constitution, but when Philip introduced Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh, another champion of pan-ethnic Orthodox union.

"We are under his jurisdiction today," Metropolitan Philip said to sustained applause that swelled into a lengthy standing ovation. "I hope the day will come when we will have one jurisdiction."

"I am elated. I would like to see all of the churches thrive in the way that the Antiochian Archdiocese does," Metropolitan Maximos said.

The new self-rule "sets the tone for the entire Orthodox world," said the Rev. Jason Del Vitto, pastor of St. George in Bridgeville. "The Orthodox church is one communion, but in this country we are not. This step today will help the church speak with one unified voice."

The Rev. John Nosal of Greensburg said every parish will benefit from having an accessible bishop. "It means a local parish priest will finally have the kind of supervision that all parishes should have," he said. "Not all priests are called to be self-employed. It will make all of us in the clergy more accountable."