New York Consolidated Laws, Religious Corporations Law - RCO § 105. Definitions

The “Orthodox Church in America”, as that term is used anywhere in this article, refers to that group of churches, cathedrals, chapels, congregations, societies, parishes, committees and other religious organizations of the Eastern Confession (Eastern Orthodox or Greek Catholic Church) which were known as (a) Russian American Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church from in or about seventeen hundred ninety-three to in or about eighteen hundred seventy;  (b) Diocese of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands of the Russian Orthodox Church from in or about eighteen hundred seventy to in or about nineteen hundred four;  (c) Diocese of North America and the Aleutian Islands (or Alaska) of the Russian Orthodox Church from in or about nineteen hundred four to in or about nineteen hundred twenty-four;  (d) Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of North America (or America) from in or about nineteen hundred twenty-four to October nineteen hundred seventy;  and (e) Orthodox Church in America since October nineteen hundred seventy;  and were subject to the administrative jurisdiction of the Most Sacred Governing Synod in Moscow until in or about nineteen hundred seventeen, later the Patriachate of Moscow, thereafter constituted an administratively autonomous metropolitan district, but now constitute an autocephalous church of the Eastern Confession (Eastern Orthodox or Greek Catholic Church) by virtue of a proclamation of autocephaly made on April tenth, nineteen hundred seventy by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

An “American Orthodox church”, as that term is used anywhere in this article, is a church, cathedral, chapel, congregation, society, parish, committee or other religious organization founded and established for the purpose and with the intent of adhering to, and being subject to the administrative jurisdiction of said mission, diocese, autonomous metropolitan district or autocephalous church hereinabove defined as the Orthodox Church in America.