Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada
His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada was born Marc R. Mollard in Boston, MA on July 15, 1966, the eldest of three children born to Francois and Elizabeth Mollard.
After brief periods living in Connecticut, France, and Missouri, he and his family settled in Reading, PA, where he graduated from Wyomissing High School in 1984. In 1988 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Sociology from Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, after which he moved to Chicago.
In 1989 he was received into the Orthodox Church from Episcopalianism and, in the fall of the same year, he began studies at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, South Canaan, PA. One year later he entered the monastic community at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery as a novice. He was awarded the Master of Divinity degree from Saint Tikhon’s Seminary in 1993, after which he was appointed Instructor in Old Testament and subsequently Senior Lecturer in Old Testament, teaching Master level courses in the Prophets and the Psalms and Wisdom Literature. He also served as an Instructor in the seminary’s Extension Studies program, offering courses in the lives of the Old Testament saints, the liturgical use of the Old Testament, and the Old Testament in patristic literature.
He collaborated with Igumen Alexander [Golitzin]—now Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America—in the publication of “The Living Witness of the Holy Mountain” by Saint Tikhon’s Seminary Press.
In 1995, he was tonsured to the Lesser Schema with the name Tikhon, in honor of Saint Patriarch Tikhon, Enlightener of North America. Later that year, he was ordained to the Holy Diaconate and Holy Priesthood at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery. In 1998 he was elevated to the rank of Igumen, and in 2000, to the rank of Archimandrite.
In December 2002, he was named Deputy Abbot of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery. Two years later—on February 14, 2004—he was consecrated to the episcopacy at Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery Church. On May 9, 2012, he was elevated to the dignity of Archbishop.
On November 13, 2012, Archbishop Tikhon was elected Primate of the Orthodox Church in America at the 17th All American Council.
Acting Rector
Fr. Nicholas Roth was born in San Diego, CA, but has lived most of his life up and down the East Coast, from New York to Florida and everywhere in between. He and his wife, Matushka Mary, met in 1997 while studying at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. They began dating in 1999 and were married in 2002. Fr. Nicholas served in the United States Army for ten years, first enlisting as an Infantryman, and then being commissioned as an Ordnance officer. He deployed to Iraq twice (January 2005 to January 2006 and June 2007 to July 2008) and Afghanistan once (October 2009 to November 2010). Fr. Nicholas separated from the military in order to attend St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, where he was ordained to the holy priesthood in 2014. Since graduating from St. Vladimir’s, Fr. Nicholas has served at various churches in Arkansas, Florida, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Texas, and now is assigned as Acting Rector of St John the Theologian Orthodox Mission in Fairfax Station, VA.
He previously served as Recording Secretary of the Orthodox Church in America’s Standing Committee for Canonical Procedure, as well as serving as a member of the Secretariat for various All-American Councils. For his service to faithful of the OCA, Fr. Nicholas has been awarded the nabedrennik, skufiya, kamilavka, and gold cross. Fr. Nicholas spends his leisure time reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, listening to music, and experimenting in the kitchen.
Matushka Mary is a senior speech-language pathologist with over 20 years of experience in schools, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and outpatient settings. She is originally from Arlington, TX, but has traipsed with Fr. Nicholas across the United States over the past 22 years—together they have lived in 14 different places in eight different states. She currently works at Ally Behavior Center in Rockville, MD. Matushka Mary enjoys reading, cross-stitching, and being the test subject for Fr. Nicholas’s kitchen experiments. They have three children, Eddie, Dylan, and Aubreigh, all of whom love soccer, video games, and making new friends. Eddie loves being of service and finding ways to be helpful, as well as building things such as Legos and jigsaw puzzles. Dylan is particularly interested in STEM activities, such as robotics and programming, as well as cooking. Aubreigh is a voracious reader, loves music, and can never wait to show everyone her newest gymnastics move. The entire family enjoys outdoor activities such as traveling, hiking, and camping, and looks forward to pizza and movie night all week long.
