In 1920, after the Russian Revolution and establishment of the Soviet Union, Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow issued an "ukase" (decree) that dioceses of the Church of Russia that were cut off from the governance of the highest Church authority should be managed independently until such time as normal relations could be resumed. Accordingly, the North American diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (known as the "Metropolia") operated in a "de facto" autonomous mode of self-governance. The Russian Revolution resulted in financial hardship for the North American diocese, as well as for the church in the Soviet Union. Other national Orthodox communities in North America tended to turn to the churches in their respective homelands for pastoral care and governance.