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Alexei The Right Reverend | |
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Bishop of Sitka and Alaska | |
Archdiocese | Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Alaska |
See | Alaska |
Installed | March 27, 2022 |
Term ended | Incumbent |
Predecessor | David (Mahaffey) |
Other post(s) | Bishop of Bethesda |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1996 (diaconate) 2001 (priesthood) |
Consecration | January 25, 2020 |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Denomination | Eastern Orthodox |
Residence | Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary |
Alma mater | Franklin & Marshall College University of Chicago Monastary of Saint Tikhon University of Thessaloniki |
Bishop Alexei (Trader),[1][2] or Alexis,[3] secular name John Trader (born January 31, 1965) is the Bishop of the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Alaska since 2022.[4]
Alexei was born on February 24, 1965, as John Trader in Dover, Delaware.[5] He was raised Methodist; his grandfather was a Methodist pastor. He attended Franklin & Marshall College and the University of Chicago where he obtained a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a masters in religion, respectively. He also obtained a masters of divinity at Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary and a doctorate in patristic studies and psychology from the University of Thessaloniki.[4][6]
In 1990, Alexei joined Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery as a rasophore, where he also taught courses. In 1995, he went to Greece in Mount Athos to Karakallou Monastery. In 1996, he was ordained to the diaconate, to the priesthood in 2001, and to the episcopate on January 25, 2020.[6]
In 2018, Alexei was called back from Greece on invitation from Metropolitan Tikhon in order to serve as bishop. On November 12, 2019, he was elected Bishop of Bethesda. He was elected Bishop of Sitka and Alaska on March 15, 2022, and enthroned on March 27, 2022, at Saint Innocent Cathedral in Anchorage.[3][4][6]