The Empty Throne: Reflections on the History and Future of the Orthodox Episcopacy

By Fr. Lawrence R. Farley

In contemporary North America, the bishop’s throne in the local parish stands empty for most of the year. The bishop is an honored occasional guest rather than a true pastor of the local flock. But it was not always so, nor need it be so forever. Fr. Lawrence Farley explores how the Orthodox episcopacy developed over the centuries and suggests what can be done in modern times to bring the bishop back into closer contact with his flock.

About the author
Archpriest Lawrence Farley is the pastor of St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church (OCA) in Langley, B.C., Canada. He received his B.A. from Trinity College, Toronto, and his M.Div. from Wycliffe College, Toronto. A former Anglican priest, he converted to Orthodoxy in 1985 and studied for two years at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Seminary in Pennsylvania. In addition to the Orthodox Bible Companion Series, he has also published Let Us Attend, One Flesh, The Christian Old Testament, Following Egeria, and A Daily Calendar of Saints.

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