| Jurisdiction: | Diocese |
| the Midwest | |
| Border: | orthodox |
| Country: | United States |
| Territory: | Midwestern United States |
| Parishes: | Five Cathedrals, 54 full parishes, 10 missions, 9 chapels |
| Members: | 9,000 official members up to 20,000 active parishioners (2023) |
| Rite: | Byzantine Rite |
| Priests: | 83 active priests, 63 active deacons and 30 retired priests |
| Language: | English, Church Slavonic, Russian, Ukrainian |
| Parent Church: | Orthodox Church in America |
| Bishop: | Daniel (Brum) |
| Bishop Title: | Archbishop |
| Map: | File:Map of USA highlighting OCA Midwest Diocese.svg |
| Map Size: | 300px |
| Metropolitan: | Tikhon (Mollard) |
The Diocese of the Midwest is a diocese of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Its territory includes parishes, monasteries, missions, and chapels located in twelve states in the Midwestern United States – Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The diocesan chancery is located on North Wood Street in Chicago, Illinois.
The diocese of the Midwest is under the omophorion of Archbishop of Chicago and the Midwest Daniel (Brum). There is more than a hundred full time clergy under the Diocese including 83 active priest and 63 deacons,[1] alongside them are hundreds of part time choir directors, subdeacons and readers.The diocese is also the largest non ethnic diocese in the OCA on the continental United states and is the largest diocese in terms of active parishioners within the OCA.[2] The diocese stands out as one of the most historic in the OCA with many parishes dating back to the late 1890s,[3] the diocese was also the epicenter of the mass conversion of Eastern Catholic Americans to orthodoxy between the 1890s-1920s in much part thanks to the labors of the former Eastern Catholic priest St. Alexis Toth who brought more than 20,000 to the church by the end of his life.[4]
The size of the Diocese is often disputed a topic, well there is no official statistic by either the OCA as a whole or the diocese there is a number put forward by Alexei Krindatch's "Orthodox Reality"[5] 2020 Census of Orthodox churches; That being 9,166 adherents, of which 5,158 are regular attendees.
However, when asked about this figure Archbishop Daniel stated that not only was this number inaccurate but Krindatch had never received any data, either from him or to his knowledge any member of the diocesan council. His Eminence however did state that the Diocese had "A little over nine thousand official members of the diocese, but the diocese actually served close too twenty thousand". The difference in number of official members versus actual weekly attendees being due to the large number of catechumen, and non OCA Orthodox Christians; Well these parishioners may participate in services, tithe and (in the case of non OCA Orthodox Christians), take communion, they are not considered members of the diocese. This is due to them (in the case of Catechumen) being unbaptized. In the case of non OCA Orthodox Christians because they are under the authority of another bishop and would have to formally come under the authority of the OCA to be counted as an official member of the diocese.
The increase in the number of catechumen can be attributed in large part due to the larger presence of Orthodox clergy and apologist on the internet drawing converts and in large part due to the decrease in the perceived "exclusiveness" that many formerly ethnic parishes had.[6] The Increase in non-OCA Orthodox attending OCA parishes has a variety of reasons but the biggest is the recent influx of eastern Europeans to the diocese, especially Ukrainians.[7]
The diocese is grouped geographically into six deaneries, each consisting of a number of parishes. Each deanery is headed by a parish priest, known as a dean. The deans coordinate activities in their area's parishes, and report to the diocesan bishop. The current deaneries of the Diocese of the Midwest and their territories are: