I know I owe you a recap of our recent Princeton symposium, but before I do that, I’m going to launch a new feature here at OH.org. I’m calling it “In Search Of…” The idea is pretty simple: I’ll present what I know about an interesting but obscure figure from American Orthodox history, and I’ll ask readers to help fill in the biographical gaps. If I get a good response, I’ll do a follow-up piece.
Not only do I think this will be a fun exercise, but (crucially) it’s simple enough for me to fit into my own crazy schedule (family, church, law school, etc. – you know the drill). We’ll start today at the top of the alphabet, with the early Syrian (Antiochian) priest Fr. Moses Abihider.
Fr. Moses Abihider (or “Haider,” or “Abi-Hider”)
- Born March 1, 1863
- Died June 10, 1926
- Pastor of St. George Syrian Orthodox Church in Lawrence, MA from at least 1911 to 1912
- Pastor of a Syrian/Antiochian church in Springfield, MA from at least 1915 to 192
Funeral of St. Raphael. I'm nearly certain that Fr. Moses Abihider is one of the clergymen in this photo, but I don't know which one. (Click to enlarge.)
- The only anecdote I’ve ever read about Fr. Moses comes from the strange biography of Aftimios Ofiesh, the disgraced ex-Archbishop of Brooklyn. The book was written by Aftimios’ widow, who obviously heard this story from her husband. This reportedly took place in Brooklyn just after St. Raphael’s death (so, March 1915). Aftimios was with St. Raphael’s archdeacon, Emmanuel Abo-Hatab.
Speaking directly to Abohatab, Reverend Abihider said, as told by Aftimios, “You are my friend, Emmanuel, and I like you; however I don’t want you as my bishop.”
Aftimios interrupted saying, “Our bishop is still among us, even though he lies dead. We should have enough respect for our leader to refrain from such discussions now.”
“Don’t tell me this,” replied Reverend Abihider, “tell it to Emmanuel and [Fr. Basil] Kerbawy [dean of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn]. They are busily engaged among the clergy and laity, telling them that you have ceded this candidacy to Emmanuel.”
[Mariam Ofiesh, Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh (1880-1966): A Biography Revealing his Contribution to Orthodoxy and Christendom (Sun City West, AZ: Aftimios Abihider, 1999), page 57.]
Note the name of the publisher: Aftimios Abihider. This man is now dead, but I remember hearing that he was somehow related to Aftimios Ofiesh. “Abihider” isn’t exactly a common name, so it’s entirely possible that there was a some sort of family connection between Aftimios Ofiesh and Fr. Moses Abihider.
I found the record of Fr. Moses and his family in the 1920 U.S. Census. From this, we learn that Rev. Moses Abihider immigrated to America in 1908, along with his eldest daughter (who would have been about 14 at the time). Two years later, Fr. Moses apparently sent for his wife and other children; in all, he had six daughters and one son (with ages ranging from three to 26) living with him in Springfield, MA in 1920.
Those ages are interesting; Fr. Moses was 15 years older than his wife, who would have been about 16 when they had their first child. And Fr. Moses was well into his fifties by the time his youngest child was born. The age difference between husband and wife seems scandalous to us today, but it was pretty common in turn-of-the-century Syria. (Indeed, my own great-grandparents had a similar age difference.)
The strangest thing about the census record is that it clearly indicates that Fr. Moses and his family were “Serbian,” and born in “Servia.” This can’t be right; the man’s last name is obviously Arabic, and he was a priest of the Syrian (not Serbian) Mission. But it’s just as obvious that the census record reads Servia and Serbian, not Syria and Syrian. I’m pretty sure this was just an error on the part of the census worker who took down the information. But of all the census records I’ve looked at (and I’ve looked at a lot of them), this is the first such error I’ve found.
Anyway, the most notable thing about Fr. Moses is the odd fact that he is one of many clergymen who is buried with St. Raphael at the Antiochian Village. In fact, Fr. Moses shares a tombstone with the great Raphael. I frankly have no idea what was going on here. The Antiochians took possession of St. Raphael’s body not all that long ago (the 1990s, I think), but for some unknown reason, they didn’t build a worthy tomb for their forefather Raphael. Instead, they buried him with a random collection of other clergymen. In order of appearance, you’ve got St. Raphael, Bishop Emmanuel Abo-Hatab, Rev. Moses Abihider, Bishop Sophronios Beshara, Archimandrite Agapios Golam, Archpriest Makarios Moore, and Economos Farid Farkouh. Here, see for yourself:
Tombstone of St. Raphael Hawaweeny, Antiochian Village, Ligonier, PA (click photo to enlarge)
What’s clear is that Fr. Moses Abihider was associated with some pretty significant figures in American Orthodox history, and he lived through a truly remarkable time. If you know anything that can shed more light on his story, please comment below or send me an email at mfnamee [at] gmail [dot] com.
This article was written by Matthew Namee.
We were told, re. the burial of the relics of St. Raphael that they are in a temporary place, awaiting the establishment of a monastery where they will be properly kept, venerated. According to Bishop Basil.
Thanks, Fr. Stephen. Fr. Andrew Damick pointed out to me that it’s not at all clear that Fr. Moses Abihider and the rest of those clergymen are buried with St. Raphael at the Antiochian Village. It’s entirely possible that they are still buried in New York, and that the tombstone was moved from the New York cemetery.
In fact, I just remembered that, in my files, I have a copy of the June 23, 1988 letter from Metropolitan Philip to the PA Dept of Health, stating, “Please be advised that as the official hierarch of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, I hereby authorize the disinternment of the following clergymen from the Mount Olivet Cemetery in the town of Maspeth, Burough of Queens, State of New York, and the transfer of their remains to the newly-established church cemetery on the sacred grounds of the Antiochian Village located in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.”
This is followed by, “Grave No. 50: Bishop Raphael Hawaweeny (died Feb. 27, 1915, reinterred at Mount Olivet ca. 1920)”
A second letter, with the same date and language, authorizes the transfer of the bodies of Bp Emmanual Abo-Hatab and Bp Sophronios Beshara from Grave 52.
In an earlier document, a 1965 letter from the superintendent of Mount Olivet Cemetery to “Miss G. Hatab” (probably a relative of Bp Emmanuel), it is noted that Bp Raphael was buried alone in Grave 50; Frs. Moses Abihider, Agapios Golam, and Makarios Moore were buried in Grave 51; and Abo-Hatab, Beshara, and Fr. Fred Farkouh were bured in Grave 52.
All of which suggests that Abihider, Golam, Moore, and Farkouh — so, all the non-bishops on the tombstone — are still buried at Mount Olivet. And that Fr. Andrew’s hypothesis about the tombstone coming from Mount Olivet is correct.
Another thing worth noting: as is apparent from the photo of the tombstone, the inscriptions for the latter four clergymen — Beshara, Golam, Moore, and Farkouh — were added to the tombstone later. (Those four also died later than the first three.) Thus, the original three names were Hawaweeny, Abo Hatab, and Abihider.
Which makes me even more curious to learn more about Fr. Moses Abihider. I mean, he of all people was considered important enough to be buired alongside (and share a tombstone with) Bishop Raphael and Bishop Emmanuel. What distinguished this parish priest? Why was he deemed “worthy” to be buried with two bishops?
Dear Mr. Namee,
I recently acquired a very rare 78 rpm recording (commercially released, not an acetate) of Archimandrite Agapios Golam singing an Orthodox hymn in Greek (O Holy God) and the “b” side of the 78 rpm disc features him singing what it titled in some Arabic script as “Today The Resurrection.” The disc is actually under the label of “Golam’s” and appears to have been recorded & pressed in NYC, probably in the late 1920s. I was wondering if you or your readers had any further information on Golam.
Sincerely,
Christopher Clay King
Christopher, that’s an amazing artifact you have! Any chance you can get the audio digitized? How did you come to acquire it?
I have a decent amount of material on Fr Agapios. Give me a little time to pull it together, and I’ll get back to you.
Dear Mr. Namee,
Yes, of course I can remaster both sides & scan the labels. Could you provide me with an email and I’ll send those directly?
My Very Best,
My email address is mfnamee@gmail.com. Thank you very much!
Bishop Aftimios and Fr. Moses were close friends. Aftimios was Fr. Moses’ son, and Bishop Aftimios was his godfather and name sake. My wife’s family tree includes the Abihiders and we both knew Aftimios (Tim) Abihider and Maurice Hyder, the author, who was the nephew of Fr. Moses who was brought up in Branford and the Syrian Society of New Haven CT. I was working with Tim on a second revised edition of the biography of Bishop Aftimios that would have corrected the many errors and discrepacies, when Tim prematurely died. Tim did orivide me with a complete xerox copy of his archive on his God Father. I believe the original went to Antiochian Village.
BTW, the Khayralla Center for Lebanese Studies, at North Carolina State Univ. has some of Fr. Moses’ letters.
Hi Robert. I am trying to contact you after reading you publication for the Seymour Historical Society. I am Valentine Deduks grandson. I will be bringing over your writing for him to read today. He is still alive and I am really close to my grandpa. I havent been able to get through with the phone. My name is Tom. 203 516 8141.
I look forward to speaking to you
Thanks
Hi Tom, call me 2036764301,,,, knew val and his parents,,,,they rented an apt from my grandparents, the karlaks, on west st.
Hi Robert. I am trying to contact you after reading you publication for the Seymour Historical Society. I am Valentine Deduks grandson. I will be bringing over your writing for him to read today. He is still alive and I am really close to my grandpa. I havent been able to get through with the phone. My name is Tom. 203 516 8141.
I look forward to speaking to you
Thank you
What ever happened to Aftimios Abihider 2nd Volume of the +Aftimios Ofiesch private letter? I know he published (sometime ago now) his first Volume which was an autobiography.
Hi, Tim was part of my wife’s family tree. Unfortunately, he reposed many years ago. His intent was to do an edited version of the autobiography. I did the reedit and cleared up the inaccuracies, but unfortunately he reposed before it could go to press. There was no second volume. Supposedly he gave his original files to Fr. John Moses who gave them to Antiochian Village. Tim was a wonderful, gentleman, He was very upset with Victor Prentice and his church. He felt that Prentice took advantage of his Aunt Miriam. This concern diverted some of his efforts. I believe he has a son, who is a Protestant minister in Calif.
Yes…he was an honorable man. MEMORY ETERNAL!!
Do you know where I might obtain those documents, letters, etc?
Supposedly all of Tim’s files eventually ended up at Antiochian Village. However, I have been told that they were overwhelmed with such materials and a lot deteriorated in storage. Is there something specific you are interested in?
Perhaps you did not receive my last statement. I am not interested in anything specific. Just something….anything dealing with the late Abp. Aftimios
Ok, did you check Antiochisn Village or the Lebanese center at n c state univ
Actually nothing specific. I was just hoping to recover all that I could and perhaps publish it someday.