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Remembering Metropolitan Dimitrios Couchell
This morning, February 19, 2026, Metropolitan Dimitrios Couchell reposed. Although comparatively few know his name, he was, in fact, one of the greatest men in the history of Greek Orthodoxy in America. This past…
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A Description of the Patriarchate of Antioch in 1715
Kinsman and successor of Dositheus Notaras, the patriarch of Jerusalem Chrysanthus Notaras (1707-1731) was one of the most erudite Greeks of his time. Educated in Padua and Paris, he wrote works of theology, history,…
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The Donation of Mehmet: The Myth of Orthodoxy under the Ottoman Empire
In 1054, Pope Leo IX of Rome wrote a letter to Ecumenical Patriarch Michael Cerularius, defending his claims to supremacy by citing a document known as the “Donation of Constantine.” This document purported to…
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The Other American Orthodox Saints: A Pilgrim’s Guide
NOTE: I have continually updated this article as I have received more information or had new thoughts occur to me. For Orthodox Christians, what do California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Ohio,…
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When a god visited Congress
In 1934, St John Maximovitch was ordained ROCOR bishop of Shanghai and sent to shepherd the Russian exiles in China. Even before his episcopal ordination, when St John was teaching at the Bitol seminary…
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Non-Fasting Between Pascha and Ascension
In all but one of the world’s Orthodox Churches today, after a fast-free Bright Week, the Wednesday and Friday fasts resume. This happens even though we continue to exclaim “Christ is risen!” until Ascension,…