(G) The Ordination of Bishop Petros of Astoria in 1962

On November 29, 1962, at the Parish of Saint Markella, in Astoria, NYC, Archimandrite Petros (Astyfides) was ordained to the Episcopal dignity by His Eminence Archbishop Leonty of Chile, who was assisted by His Grace Bishop Seraphim of Caracas. Serving as Hieromonk was Eleutherios Moschos, and serving as HieroDeacon was Nikodemos Kalantis. Chanting were Hieromonk Akakios Ntouskos, and Presbyter George Markou. Present were Gerontissa Syglitiki, her sisterhood, Subdeacon Igor, and the future priest Vsevolod Dutikov. Mr. Dutikov drove the Russian bishops from Synod Headquarters in Manhattan to St. Markella's in Astoria, Queens. The ordination was done in secret. No photographs were taken, and certainly no home movies were recorded on any film camera. Recently, by the will of God, an audio recording of the ordination has been discovered. This is that recording.

For an account of the circumstances that motivated the secrecy of Bishop Petros' ordination, and how the ROCOR (under the Omophorion of Metropolitan St. Philaret of New York) eventually accepted this ordination, and accepted Bishop Petros as a member of the ROCOR Synod of Bishops please see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V05vMkgfO_w&list=PLCKW16X--kPyz2BwizGTxlFDc3-viRG3Y&index=1&t=367s