His Grace Bishop
Benjamin was born Vincent Peterson in Pasadena, California, on June 1,
1954, and was baptized and chrismated at Holy Virgin Mary Cathedral, Los
Angeles, California, on April 27, 1972. In 1978 he was awarded a
Master of Divinity degree and Certificate in Liturgical Music from Saint
Vladimir Seminary.
A prolific musician, he served as choirmaster at parishes
in Detroit, Michigan, and Los Angeles and as chairman of the Orthodox
Church in America's Department of Liturgical Music. He was
ordained to the Holy Diaconate on November 15, 1987 by Bishop Tikhon at
his home parish, which he served for 10 years as deacon and youth and
education director. The following year he was tonsured a
riasophore monk by Bishop Tikhon and further tonsured to the lesser
schema by His Eminence, Archbishop [now Metropolitan] Herman at Saint
Tikhon Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania. In 1991 he was
elevated to the rank of archdeacon.
On July 19, 1997, he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Bishop
Tikhon. In 1999, Igumen Benjamin was transferred to the Diocese of
Alaska. In addition to other responsibilities, he served as dean of
Saint Innocent Cathedral and later as administrative dean of Saint
Herman Seminary, Kodiak, Alaska. He was elevated to the rank of
archimandrite in 2002. In January 2004 he was reassigned to Holy
Virgin Mary Cathedral, Los Angeles, and appointed Chancellor of the
Diocese of the West.
Upon his consecration to the episcopacy, Bishop Benjamin began to serve as Auxiliary to His Grace, Bishop Tikhon of San Francisco, and
served as Diocesan Chancellor.
At the January 31, 2007, Special
Diocesan Assembly, His Grace was unanimously nominated as a
candidate for The Office of Diocesan Hierarch. The nomination
occurred during this special convocation at St. Paul the Apostle
Orthodox Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the direction of
The Most Blessed HERMAN, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of all
America and Canada, Locum tenems, Diocese of the West.
The Holy Synod of Bishops, in their
2007 spring session, elected His Grace Bishop BENJAMIN to be the
reigning hierarch of The Diocese of the West. He was installed
as ruling bishop on October 2, 2007.
Holy Trinity Cathedral, the site of His Grace's consecration and
installation, is the oldest
Orthodox community in the contiguous United States.
