HIS EMINENCE, ARCHBISHOP +HARALAMPOS

Date of consecration: Archbishop Haralampos was consecrated on May 11, 1988.
Archbishop Haralampos is the spiritual shepherd of the True Orthodox Church of the Diaspora, Archdiocese of North America, Diocese of Dallas, and all of Texas. He is a monk and celebrates Mass according to the liturgical (Julian) calendar, as do all the clergy of the True Russian Orthodox Church.
He ordains spiritually qualified men to various orders of the Church, including the diaconate and priesthood. He also encourages holy men and women to join the Church and begin the ascetic struggle toward the Orthodox goal of deification in the energies of God (not in His essence) as monks and nuns. Monasticism can take the form of a cenobite—within a spiritual community—a small group of monks or nuns in a particular area, but under the spiritual direction of a spiritual elder, abbot, or abbess; or a hermitage—for monks and nuns with extensive spiritual experience—a solitary monastic life in the “desert.”
He is particularly interested in the pre-schism Western Orthodox Divine Liturgies (before 1054 AD); however, there are also parishes and missions within the diocese that celebrate Byzantine Divine Liturgies, including the ancient Liturgy of St. James. The Orthodox Divine Liturgies blessed by Bishop Haralampos for celebration in the diocese are the Byzantine liturgies of St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom, as well as the Liturgy of St. James, from which the former two are derived. Other Divine Liturgies expressly blessed are the Gallican Liturgy of Gaul (modern-day France); the ancient Rite of Sarum (as in the "Complete Missal of the Ancient Rite of Sarum," from St. Hilarion Monastery in Austin, Texas); and the pre-schism Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great. Archbishop Haralampos also expressly blesses the celebration of the "Divine Liturgy of St. James (for the ancient Scottish Church)".
Archbishop Haralampos blesses the celebration of this liturgy because it is faithful to the Divine Liturgy of St. James and, in fact, is the same; and he prays that Orthodox Christians throughout the world (both in the East and the West) will celebrate it. It maintains the Orthodox essence, something that perhaps cannot be said of some post-schism Western liturgies.
The diocese encourages Orthodox missionary activities. Clergy may provide religious services in hospitals, police and fire departments, hospices, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. Clergy offer the Mysteries (Sacraments) to Orthodox Christians, according to the bishop's blessing. Priests are available to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, baptize and administer Chrismite, hear confessions through Penance, celebrate Orthodox weddings, and administer the Anointing of the Sick to the sick and those in their final moments of life.