Arseny of Winnipeg

He came to the United States as a monk in the early twentieth century and was instrumental in the founding of St Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.

Andrew Lvovich Chagovstov was born on March 10, 1866, into the family of a village church reader in the Kharkov Eparchy.

But, his journey from his wife's death to his tonsure was a time of great anguish as he related in his elevation speech as Bishop of Winnipeg.

Tikhon in America as he was a natural preacher with fluency in many Russian dialects, and thus, well suited to the American missionary scene.

He was active among those returning from the Unia and served many communities after his arrival, including Troy, New York, and Mayfield and Simpson, Pennsylvania.

On the day of its dedication, July 31, 1905, a crowd on foot formed a pilgrimage walk of the ten miles through the mountains from Mayfield to the site of the new monastery.

With these rare missionary talents, he had great success with receiving back Uniats as well as welcoming many Galicians and Bukovinians who were arriving in numbers to Canada.

In his request to the Synod, he wrote: Upon his return to Russia, there are some reports are that he was involved in the training of missionary-priests and that he headed a monastery in the Crimea.

Thus, the holy synod under Platon elected him Bishop of Winnipeg and requested his consecration, which took place on June 6, 1926, in Yugoslavia.

Bishop Arseny traveled to New York to meet with the metropolitan, visit his beloved St Tikhon's Monastery, and then continue on to his new cathedral.

The seeds of violence from the Red Revolution, Ukrainian nationalism, and the Living Church made his task difficult, even to the point of being injured by gun fire.

During its October 2004 holy synod meeting, bishops of the OCA established a glorification commission to inquire into the possibility for adding Abp.