Category: Early Converts

Newly-discovered documents on Fr. Raphael Morgan

We've devoted a fair amount of attention here at OrthodoxHistory.org to Fr. Raphael Morgan, the first black Orthodox priest in America. Very briefly: Morgan was born in Jamaica, traveled widely, and eventually became an Episcopalian deacon in the United States. In 1907, after many years of study, he traveled to...

Atlas Excerpt #3: The First Two Convert Priests

Recently, Holy Cross Orthodox Press published the Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches, edited by Alexei D. Krindatch. I contributed several pieces to the Atlas, including the article “Ten Interesting Facts About the History of Orthodox Christianity in the USA.” With Alexei’s permission, we’ll publish excerpts from that article over...

Yet Another Priest is Taken to Court

In the middle of the twentieth century, Fr. Boris Burden (+1973) played important roles in American Orthodoxy.  It was he and Fr. Michael Gelsinger who rallied behind the attempt in the late 20s and early 30s to unite Orthodoxy and they were the key players, together with George E. Phillies...

Atlas Excerpt #1: Orthodoxy in Colonial Virginia

Recently, Holy Cross Orthodox Press published the Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches, edited by Alexei D. Krindatch. I contributed several pieces to the Atlas, including the article "Ten Interesting Facts About the History of Orthodox Christianity in the USA." With Alexei's permission, we'll publish excerpts from that article over...

Bishop Joseph Zuk: A brief biographical overview

Joseph A. Zuk was the first Ukrainian Orthodox bishop in America, but little has been written about his life. I don't know a lot, but from the sources I've collected, we can piece together a brief biographical sketch. This isn't much, but I thought it might be worthwhile to get...

Three bishops for America in 1870?

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...

Fr. Irvine & the Orthodox women’s college of Brooklyn

Editor's note: The following article originally appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on November 28, 1915: The Holy Orthodox Russo-Greek Catholic Church has established a college for young women at the corner of Pennsylvania and Glenmore avenues, in the East New York section. About nine years ago Archbishop Platon and...

Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine and Isabel Hapgood

Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine and Isabel Florence Hapgood were the two people most responsible for the spread of English in early 20th century American Orthodoxy. Hapgood, a lifelong Episcopalian, was a renowned translator, honored by the Tsar, and she is still remembered today for her landmark 1906 English translation of the Orthodox...

Irvine responds to Hapgood on St. Raphael’s funeral

Last week, we reprinted Isabel Hapgood's account of St. Raphael's funeral. The Hapgood article appeared in the New York Tribune on March 8, 1915. Two days later, the paper published the following letter to the editor from Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine: To the Editor of The Tribune. Sir: An unfortunate...

Joseph Vilatte and the Wisconsin Old Catholics, 1891-92

In the comments section of an old article I wrote on the first Orthodox parishes in each US state, Isa Almisry and I have recently had an interesting exchange about an Old Catholic parish in Wisconsin which discussed joining (and possibly did briefly join) the Russian Orthodox Church in 1891-92. This...