Category: Firsts

What is an Armenian parish?

Matthew Namee’s somewhat recent post concerning what constitutes a parish caught me by surprise, as I was preparing a very similar article of my own to illustrate a problem I’ve been having in continuing to tell the story of the Armenian Orthodox Church for SOCHA.  When I agreed to assist...

ROCOR/OCA Episcopal Concelebration

Editor's note: The following article was written by Christopher Orr. Update (6/18/11): What follows is an updated version of the original article. On May 24, 2011 – the feast of the holy Equals-of-the-Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Enlighteners of the Slavs and the name day of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow...

George Brown: Pioneer of Orthodoxy in Chicago

In March, I gave a lecture at Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church in Westchester, Illinois, on the subject of Chicago's Orthodox history. Since then, I've begun to probe deeper into the early history of Orthodoxy in Chicago. Many people have asked about one man in particular -- George Brown, an...

Fr. Sava Matanovich: the first Serbian Orthodox priest in America

Just a brief note today: I had always assumed that Fr. Sebastian Dabovich was the first Serbian Orthodox priest in America, but apparently he wasn't. The first Serbian priest in America -- and probably the first Serbian priest the California-born Dabovich had ever seen -- was Fr. Sava Matanovich. From...

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...

The Kodiak Bell in the LA Times, 1923

Editor's note: The following article appeared in the Los Angeles Times on May 13, 1923, and was entitled, "Tolls Story of Old California." An old and battered bell, hanging in an orange grove where Ramona played in the days of her childhood, rang a new note in the song of...

The Kodiak Bell should be returned to Alaska

  On February 4, I wrote an article on an 18th century Russian bell that currently hangs in an old Roman Catholic mission in California. Thanks to Mr. Clifford Argue, I have since learned a great deal more about the Kodiak Bell, and I am convinced that this bell needs...

Photos of the oldest Orthodox church in Texas

Way back in the summer of 2009, we went down to Houston to visit family, and while there, we made a special trip to the nearby city of Galveston. Really, my family was indulging me -- I wanted to visit Saints Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church, the first Orthodox...

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...