Orthodox archbishop charged with sexual abuse

WINNIPEG – A former Archbishop of Canada in the Orthodox Church has been arrested by Winnipeg police on two charges of sexual assault.

Kenneth William Storheim, 64, surrendered to police Wednesday after an investigation into sexual abuse allegations dating back 30 years led to the charges.

Last month, the Orthodox Church in America said it had launched an internal investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct

Storheim, based in the eastern Ontario rural community of Spencerville, has been on a leave of absence since the start of October.

Authorities allege the abuse took place in the 1980s, when two then-10-year-old boys were visiting Winnipeg.

Storheim, who was born in Edmonton, began his religious career as an Anglican priest, but later converted to the Orthodox Church and became a monk.

He was ordained as a priest in New York in 1979, and became a bishop in Edmonton in 1989. He became the Archbishop of Ottawa and of Canada in March 2007.

He has also served in Winnipeg, Moose Jaw, Sask., London, Ont., and in locations in Europe and the United States.

The Orthodox Church in America is thought to have more than one million members and is the 24th largest Christian denomination in North America.