1870 Archives - Orthodox History

The “Bulgarian Question” and the 1872 Council of Constantinople, Part 2

Nov 30, 2012

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Yesterday, I ran the first of six articles on the so-called “Bulgarian Question,” a controversy that rocked the Orthodox world in the early 1870s and ultimately led to the 1872 Council of Constantinople, which condemned the heresy of “phyletism.” Search the Internet — both Google and the various subscriber-only databases of academic journals — and…

The “Bulgarian Question” and the 1872 Council of Constantinople, Part 1

Nov 29, 2012

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Matthew Namee

in Global Orthodoxy, Inter-Orthodox

Recently, I had occasion to research the 1872 Council of Constantinople, which somewhat famously condemned “ethno-phyletism.” The issue arose because, as I understand it, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church — which was under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate — declared itself autocephalous. Anyway, before I began this research, I could probably tell you three or…

Three bishops for America in 1870?

Feb 8, 2011

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Matthew Namee

in Early Converts, Firsts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

This article was originally published on October 30, 2009. On July 19, 1870, a Philadelphia newspaper called the North American and United States Gazette published the following report: The Russian Ambassador has received instructions from his government that three bishoprics of the Greek Church are to be established forthwith in this country – one at…

The first convert priests… or… the first American apostates

Jul 1, 2010

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Matthew Namee

in Early Converts, Firsts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

Editor’s note: Last year, on September 30, I aired a podcast on James Chrystal and Nicholas Bjerring, the first two convert priests in American Orthodox history. On the same day, I published an article on the two men, reflecting on their relevance to us today. Given that many of our readers are new to the…

Plans for a New York church in the 1870s

Nov 11, 2009

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Matthew Namee

in Early Converts, Firsts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

Immediately upon Fr. Nicholas Bjerring’s arrival in New York City in 1870, news spread that the Russian Church planned to construct a great temple in the city, on the corner of 51st Street and Lexington Avenue. This is from the Christian Advocate journal (6/29/1871): A magnificent structure is about to be erected by the Russian government…

Three bishops for America in 1870?

Oct 30, 2009

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Matthew Namee

in Early Converts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

Yesterday, in my article on James Chrystal, I mentioned, “In 1870, there were various reports that the Russian government planned to assign a bishop to New York and offered the job to Chrystal. He declined, citing his opposition to icons.” In the comments, Isa Almisry asked, quite reasonably, if I had documentation for this. Here…

James Chrystal: the first convert priest

Oct 29, 2009

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Matthew Namee

in Early Converts, Firsts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

A month ago, I did a podcast and wrote an article about the first two American Orthodox convert priests, James Chrystal and Nicholas Bjerring. Today, I’m publishing a brief biography I wrote on Chrystal (and which I adapted for use in the podcast). James Chrystal was born in 1831, ordained an Episcopal deacon in 1859…

The first convert priests… or… the first American apostates

Sep 30, 2009

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Matthew Namee

in Early Converts, Firsts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

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 give a brief summary here. Chrystal and Bjerring were exact contemporaries, both born in 1831. Chrystal lived in the New York…

Tag: 1870