His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon (Mollard) was born in 1966, the eldest of three children of Francois and Elizabeth Mollard. He spent his childhood in Connecticut, France, and Missouri before his family settled in Reading, PA. He graduated from Wyomissing High School in 1984.

In 1988, he moved to Chicago after completing his undergraduate studies at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Sociology. In 1989, he was received into the Orthodox Church from the Episcopal Church and began studies at Saint Tikhon’s Theological Seminary in South Canaan, PA. The following year, he entered the monastic community of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery as a novice.

In 1993, he was awarded the Master of Divinity degree from Saint Tikhon’s Seminary and was appointed Instructor in Old Testament. He later served as Senior Lecturer, teaching courses on the Prophets, the Psalms, and Wisdom Literature. He also taught in the seminary’s Extension Studies program, focusing on the Old Testament in liturgical and patristic contexts.

His publication, The Living Witness of the Holy Mountain, was written in collaboration with Igumen Alexander (Golitzin), now Archbishop of Dallas, the South, and the Bulgarian Diocese. In 1995, he was tonsured to the Lesser Schema with the name Tikhon, in honor of Saint Patriarch Tikhon, the Enlightener of North America. Later that year, he was ordained to the Holy Diaconate and the Holy Priesthood at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery. He was elevated to the rank of Igumen in 1998 and Archimandrite in 2000.

In December 2002, he was named Deputy Abbot of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery. On October 29, 2003, the Holy Synod of Bishops elected him to the episcopacy, and he was consecrated on February 14, 2004, at Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery Church as the first Bishop of South Canaan, auxiliary to the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania. On May 27, 2005, he was canonically elected as Bishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania and installed on October 29, 2005. He also served as Rector of Saint Tikhon’s Seminary from 2005 to 2012. He was elevated to the dignity of Archbishop on May 9, 2012.

On November 13, 2012, Archbishop Tikhon was elected Primate of the Orthodox Church in America at the 17th All-American Council. His enthronement as Metropolitan of All America and Canada took place on January 27, 2013, at Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Washington, DC.

As Primate, His Beatitude has overseen the entire Orthodox Church in America and provided archpastoral care for the Archdiocese of Washington and the Stavropegial Institutions. He has presided at the consecrations of six bishops, ordained numerous men to the diaconate and priesthood, and tonsured monastics. He has also served as Locum Tenens of several dioceses during vacancies.

On September 14, 2015, he was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree, honoris causa, by  St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary. On June 29, 2018, he released a 60-page document, Of What Life Do We Speak? Four Pillars for the Fulfillment of the Apostolic Work of the Church, outlining four central areas of Church life: Spiritual Life, Stewardship, Relations with Others, and Outreach and Evangelism.

During his primacy, Metropolitan Tikhon has presided over three All-American Councils in Atlanta, GA, St. Louis, MO, and Baltimore, MD. He oversaw the adoption of the revised OCA Statute at the 18th All-American Council in 2015. In 2020, he led the relocation of the Primate and Chancery offices to Washington, DC, placing him within his canonical territory to better serve the Archdiocese.

His Beatitude has made fourteen official visits abroad to the Orthodox Churches, including visits to Russia, Constantinople, India, and Rome, where he attended the enthronement of Pope Francis and the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI. He has also made countless pastoral visits to dioceses and parishes across the United States, Canada, and Mexico and has led pilgrimages such as the Saint Herman Pilgrimage in Alaska and the annual Memorial Day Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon’s Monastery.

Throughout his tenure as Metropolitan, His Beatitude Tikhon has worked diligently to strengthen the Orthodox Church in America, bringing stability and guidance while promoting the Orthodox faith across North America.

Issued by the Diocesan Media Office