Irénée (Rochon)
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Archbishop Irénée (secular name Richard Rochon; born December 25, 1948 in Montréal, Québec) is the ruling bishop of the Archdiocese of Canada of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Born to a large French Canadian Roman Catholic family, he converted to Orthodoxy in 1967 under ROCOR Archbishop Vitaly (Ustinov) of Montréal.[1] He earned a B.A. in Slavic Studies at the University of Ottawa in 1971 and then trained at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, NY). After being tonsured in the Jordanville monastic tradition and ordained hierodeacon (May 19, 1978, Brussels) and hieromonk (August 20, 1978, Geneva) by Archbishop Anthony of Geneva, he served French-language parishes in Lyon, France (1978–1982) and then in Montréal.[2] In the 1980s he and his mission joined the OCA’s Archdiocese of Canada when Bishop Seraphim (Storheim) was elected Auxiliary Bishop for Canada. In Canada he was elevated to igumen in 1992, was rector of Montréal’s St Benoît parish (1993–96), and from 1996 to 2007 served as administrator of the Russian cemetery and St Seraphim parish in Rawdon, Québec, while working full-time at a Montréal hospital until 2008.[3]
In April 2009, the OCA Holy Synod elevated Igumen Irénée to archimandrite and elected him Auxiliary Bishop with the title Bishop of Québec City.[4] He was consecrated on October 1, 2009 at Ottawa’s Annunciation Cathedral by Metropolitan Jonah and nine other bishops.[5] As auxiliary to Archbishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada, he continued to oversee French-speaking missions and served as vicar bishop (2009–2014).
Following allegations against Archbishop Seraphim[6], the OCA appointed Bishop Irénée to oversee the archdiocese. In late 2010 he became Administrator of the Archdiocese of Canada.[7][8] On October 21, 2014 he was elected ruling Bishop of Ottawa and All Canada by the Holy Synod, and was enthroned as Bishop of Ottawa at Ottawa’s Annunciation Cathedral on November 29, 2014 (Metropolitan Tikhon presiding). In March 2015 he was elevated to the rank of Archbishop of Ottawa and the Archdiocese of Canada.[9]
