Month: September 2009
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The first convert priests… or… the first American apostates
On today’s American Orthodox History podcast, I discuss the first two convert American Orthodox priests, James Chrystal and Nicholas Bjerring. You can listen to the podcast for the whole story, but I thought I’d…
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The tragic story of Fr. Vladimir Alexandrov
Fr. Vladimir Alexandrov was a priest in the Russian Mission in the late 19th and early 20th century. He began his career in 1896, as the choir director of the multiethnic St. Spiridon Church…
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Elder Joachim in America
In the 1920s, a young Greek priest named Fr. John Nicolaides served in America — oddly enough, as a clergyman of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. In 1930, he left for Mount Athos, where he…
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In Defense of Fr. Irvine
“Self righteousness. Self assuredness. Emphasising unity of administration. Not understanding the importance of Church music. The Freemason Conspiracy Theory. Aggressiveness…..” The other day, I happened upon an online discussion of Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine…
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“Please let us have a splendid choir!”
On Wednesday, I posted a collection of quotations from Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine. Among them was this, on the famous translator Isabel Hapgood: “That vixen Miss Hapgood. What a liar — she has damned the…
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The Miracle of Prozimi
A couple weeks ago, I posted a 1927 article about a Greek priest in Connecticut who claimed to have made bread rise without the use of yeast. Instead, he used holy water, and this…
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The Prophet of American Orthodoxy
Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine, the great convert priest who was ordained by St. Tikhon in 1905, may well be the most quotable figure in American Orthodox history. You can expect lots of Irvine-related material…
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Robert Josias Morgan visits Russia, 1904
It’s been a while since we talked about Robert Josias Morgan, the black Episcopal deacon who became an Orthodox priest in 1907, taking the name “Fr. Raphael.” In the past, I’ve mentioned that, prior…
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Fact-checking the Bulgarian Monk
Continuing on the theme of Rev. A.N. Experidon (aka “the Bulgarian Monk”) from yesterday, I thought I would check out some of the claims made by our itinerant friend. In the Atlanta Constitution (April…