On August 20, 2026, the Church prayerfully remembered the 150th anniversary of the birth of His Eminence Metropolitan Leonty (Turkevich), a deeply beloved hierarch and luminary in the history of Orthodoxy in North America. 

Born Leonid Turkevich in Kremenetz, Volhynia, in 1876, the future Metropolitan came to came to the United States in 1906 at the request of Saint Tikhon, then Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America. Over six decades of service to the Church on this continent, he served as priest, seminary rector, educator, editor, bishop, and ultimately Primate of the North American Metropolia from 1950 until his repose in 1965.

Metropolitan Leonty was deeply committed to the conciliar life of the Church and to the vision of a united Orthodox Church rooted in North America. His leadership helped guide the Church through decades of extraordinary difficulty and laid important foundations for the future life and mission of what would become the Orthodox Church in America.

On the occasion of the anniversary, Matushka Tamara Skvir, Metropolitan Leonty’s granddaughter, shared a treasured family photograph taken during a celebration of his birthday at the family’s summer home. In the photograph, Metropolitan Leonty is seated with members of his family and friends, with the young Tamara sitting beside her grandfather.

Matushka Tamara also shared a greeting she received from one of those involved in the ongoing work of translating and transcribing Metropolitan Leonty’s writings and diaries:

“Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the 150th anniversary of your grandfather, Metropolitan Leonty, whom I so much revere! We prayerfully sigh with you for his blessed memory, honor his deeds and his legacy. I am convinced that the Light your grandfather brought will pass from generation to generation. I am confident that the earthly Church will glorify him among its saints, and that future generations of Orthodox Christians will turn their prayerful memory to him.”

The extensive written legacy of Metropolitan Leonty remains an important witness to his life and ministry. Work continues to make more of his writings available to future generations, including the translation of his prose and poetry and the challenging task of editing more than one hundred pages of shorthand contained in his diaries.

As we mark the 150th anniversary of Metropolitan Leonty’s birth, we give thanks to God for his long and faithful service to the Orthodox Church in North America and prayerfully remember this humble and visionary hierarch.

Memory Eternal!