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Above all, the Diocese is challenged, as has been each generation of Christians, to respond and bear witness to the expression of the Orthodox Faith in ways that are both "Traditional" (in the sense of handing down what has been given) and creative (unique and sensitive to the questions and demands of its time).

Other institutions established in the New York-New Jersey area of this time to meet both the religious and social/economic needs of the immigrants were:

*The Russian Orthodox Christian Immigrant Society of North America (1908)

*In 1912, the first [[seminary]] originally located in Minneapolis, was transferred to Tenafly, NJ and was called the [[St. Platon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Tenafly, New Jersey)|St. Platon's Orthodox Theological Seminary]]. (Upon its closure in 1923 the Church would not have another seminary in America until the establishment of St. Tikhon's and St. Vladimir's Seminaries in 1938.)

The initial establishment of parishes in the Diocese closely paralleled the immigration patterns of the immigrants who came before and after the First World War and in connection with the consequences of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Approximately half of the present 50 parishes began during this period (1894-1930). The energetic ministry of Fr Alexander Hotovitzky (1895-1914) should be recognized as a significant feature of these early years. Fr. Alexander, as Dean of the St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York, was instrumental in the formation of several Diocesan parishes (as well as some outside of the Diocese).

The Russian Orthodox Church, in recently [[Glorification|glorifying]] Fr. Alexander and Fr. John Kochuiov, emphasizes their deaths as martyrs that took place after their return to Russia. But for the OCA, their significance as Orthodox missionaries in America was affirmed in the words of Metropolitan Theophilus: "The American Orthodox Russian people stand on four corners - Bishop Nicholas, Fathers Hotovitzky, Kochurov, and Nedzelnitsky."

A later period (from 1958 to 1981) might be called the "time of mission". This is characterized by parishes located in suburban areas (rather than the industrial centers of the first period), by the often pan-Orthodox or pan-ethnic make up of the congregations, and by the resulting use of English as the primary liturgical language. Here, the pastoral work of Fr. [[John Nehrebecki]], Dean of the New Jersey [[Deanery]] for over thirty years, should be mentioned. Under his guidance the other 10 churches were founded.

In between or overlapping these two periods, there are several diocesan parishes which, while being organized primarily to meet the needs of immigrants coming out of the Second World War, have also ministered to those who have come from particularly Slavic lands throughout this century and to this day. These parishes would include:

*Our Lady of Kazan Church, Sea Cliff, NY (1942);

Other parishes throughout the Diocese, even within the suburbs, have needed to consider the incorporation of recent immigrants from former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, which has required some flexibility in pastoral and liturgical practices.

His Grace, the Rt. Rev [[Michael (Dahulich)]] of New York and New Jersey 2010

On [[July 8]], 2010, His Grace Bishop Michael inaugurated a twelve member Council of Presbyters for the diocese as a consultive group for the diocesan bishop.

OCA:

*([[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington]] 2009 as part of the former Washington and New York Diocese)