Tag: OCA


Archbishop Arseny: The Context for Canonization — Part One


(Editor's note: Today, we are very pleased to introduce a new author here at OrthodoxHistory.org. Deacon Matthew Francis lives in Edmonton, Alberta, and is one of the leading historians of Orthodoxy in Canada. For some time now, he has been conducting independent research into the life of Archbishop Arseny Chagovtsov,...

OCA Canonization Commission issues statement


This past weekend, the Canonization Commission of the OCA issued a statement at OCA.org. According to Commission secretary (and OCA archivist) Alexis Liberovsky, the Commission will begin detailed studies of the lives of both Metropolitan Leonty Turkevich and Archbishop Arseny Chagovtsov, to determine whether the OCA should canonize them. Canonization...

The Archbishop Arseny Trial Transcript


Last week, Fr. Oliver Herbel wrote a series of articles on the 1909 criminal libel trial involving Archimandrite (later Archbishop) Arseny Chagovtsov, who is currently being considered for canonization by the OCA. Fr. Oliver's summary may be found at the following links: Part 1 - Introduction Part 2 - the...

Archbishop Arseny Addendum


As an addendum, I would like to make a couple notes. First, I should state that there are aspects of the case and testimonies that I have not highlighted that may deserve further scrutiny and there are some details I have examined and/or questioned about which I could be wrong. ...

Some Mildly Humorous Quotes from the Criminal Trial


The court transcript includes some mildly humorous lines. Obviously, they're more humorous to those who are reading along through the entire transcript, but they're good enough that I thought maybe after all I've posted, a few lines to lighten things a bit might be acceptable. The first is a zinger...

Archbishop Arseny Post 4: The Defense Completes its Case


First, by way of a quick preface, I want to note the name of Archbishop Arseny's wife: Paraskevya [see the vita by Fr. John Hainsworth, also available in hard copy through Alexander Press].  I noticed I had not mentioned her name and she does have one.  Paraskevya is not just...

The Criminal Libel Trial and Archbishop Arseny, Part 2


Well, this project has become a little lengthier than I intended, so the number of postings may be increasing.  I do sincerely apologize for this.  I simply did not want to throw together too long of a post.  In this post, I am going to provide an analysis of the...