Metropolitan Leontius (Leonty, secular name Leonid Ieronimovich Turkevich, Ukrainian: Леонід Ієронимович Туркевич; Russian: Леонид Иеронимович Туркевич ; August 8, 1876 – May 14, 1965) was the Metropolitan of the North American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1950 until his death in 1965. He was succeeded by Metropolitan Irenaeus (Bekish).
Leonid Ieronimovich Turkevich was ordained to the priesthood in 1905, and succeeded his father as parish priest of Kremenetz. He was transferred, along with his family, to the United States in October 1906 and became the rector of the newly established Orthodox seminary (St. Platon's) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Fr. Leonid represented the American diocese of the Russian Church at the All-Russian Church Council of 1917–1918 in Moscow, Russia.
Fr. Leonid, whose wife had died in 1925, was consecrated Bishop of Chicago in 1933. He was given the name Leonty during his tonsure as a monastic. Archbishop Leonty was elected Metropolitan of the diocese nearly unanimously during the 8th All-American Sobor, held in December 1950. He succeeded Metropolitan Theophilus Pashkovsky, who died in June of that year.
In July 1988, Metropolitan Leonty's granddaughter, Tamara Turkevich Skvir, donated 50 bound volumes of diaries and papers covering the period from 1906—1964 to the Library of Congress. The collection also included approximately 2,000 poems as well as other miscellaneous memoranda and historical documents.
He had five children. John Turkevich (1907 – 1998) was Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry at Princeton. Anthony L. Turkevich (1916 – 2002) was an American radiochemist. Nicholas L. Turkevich (1918 – 2007) was an international advertising executive.
| Eastern Orthodox Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byPaul (Gavrilov) | Archbishop of Chicago 1933–1950 |
Succeeded byJohn (Garklāvs) |
| Preceded byTheophilus (Pashkovsky) | Primate of the Orthodox Church in America 1950–1965 |
Succeeded byIrenaeus (Bekish) |
Notes and references
- ^ Schmemann, Alexander. "Metropolitan Leonty". Retrieved 2007-01-12.
- Liberovsky, Alexis. "Synopsis of the 8th All-American Sobor". Archived from the original on 2005-03-07. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
- Leich, Harold M. "Library Receives Papers of Metropolitan Leonty". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
- "John Turkevich". Princeton Weekly Bulletin. Princeton University. 6 April 1998.
- FORD BURKHART (6 April 1998). "John Turkevich, 91, Pioneer in Use of Catalysts". The New York Times.
- "Anthony Turkevich, Radiochemist, 1916-2002". University of Chicago News Office. 12 September 2002.
- "Nicholas L. Turkevich". In Memoriam. The Orthodox Church in America. 12 April 2007.
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