Month: September 2009

The Bulgarian Monk visits San Jose

In the latest episode of my American Orthodox History podcast,  I talk about Rev. A.N. Experidon, better known as "the Bulgarian Monk." He was, without a doubt, the weirdest man in the history of American Orthodoxy. For the whole story, I'd encourage you to listen to the podcast, but below,...

Fr. Sebastian Dabovich on the Condition of Society, 1899

In 1899, Fr. Sebastian Dabovich published a book of homilies, called Preaching in the Russian Church. One of those sermons, "On the Condition of Society," is especially interesting, because it gives us Dabovich's perspective on life at the turn of the last century. As you can see, despite all that...

Priest makes bread rise without yeast

Every once in a while here at OrthodoxHistory.org, I like to take a break from serious historical study to present completely random, strange pieces of information from the past. Today is one of those days. The following article appeared in the Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner on November 15, 1927: WATERBURY, Conn., Nov....

“The Archbishop has made a big, bad blunder…”

On November 5, 1905, St. Tikhon ordained Ingram N.W. Irvine an Orthodox priest. It was a courageous action, and I cannot help but think that St. Tikhon's feelings on the matter were bittersweet. He knew -- he must have known -- that he was indeed ushering in a new "epoch in...

The Ordination of the Rev. Ingram N.W. Irvine, D.D.

The following article appeared in the English-language supplement to the November 1905 issue of the Russian Orthodox American Messenger, the official publication of the Russian Mission: The Rev. Ingram N.W. Irvine, D.D., was, on St. Mary's Day, Nov. 4th, received into the Holy Orthodox Church by our beloved Archbishop the...