Category: Global Orthodoxy

How Did Orthodoxy Get Into This Mess?

It almost goes without saying that the Orthodox world is a mess right now. The situation in Ukraine alone is a disaster: a Russian invasion of the country backed by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) by the state, and a recognized-by-only-some Orthodox Church of...

The Condemnation of Unauthorized Orthodox Teachers in 19th Century Greece

The history of Orthodoxy in 19th century Greece is extraordinarily complicated. Beginning with the Greek Revolution in 1821, the Church of Greece began to detach itself from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, declaring itself autocephalous in 1833 -- a status that was not recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate until 1850. This newly-independent...

A Patriarchate Is Not a Church

The Greek term typically translated as “Church” in the English New Testament (ekklesia, which can also mean “assembly”) is used throughout the Greek Old Testament to refer to the gathering together of the people of Israel. Its meaning is the same as in the New Testament—the Church is the assembly...

Patriarch Athenagoras, the CIA, and the State Department

Last fall, I spoke at a conference at Hellenic College-Holy Cross, commemorating the centennial of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. I've already posted my main paper from that conference, on the "barbarian lands" theory of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. At that conference, I also spoke briefly about Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras,...

Classified British Documents on Meletios Metaxakis

In the fall, I visited Hellenic College-Holy Cross (where I delivered this paper on the EP's "barbarian lands" theory), and while I was on campus, I took the opportunity to visit the school's library and track down an extremely rare collection of 232 once-classified British government documents on Meletios Metaxakis....

The Unholy Side of Holy Russia

Some people think of nineteenth century Russia as an idealized Orthodox society – Holy Russia, a civilization on par with the golden age of the Byzantine Empire as a bastion of Orthodoxy. The reality of both societies is much more complicated. The nineteenth century as “Holy Russia” is not a...

Why Is Antioch in Turkey?

In the early hours of Monday morning, February 6, a devastating earthquake struck southern Turkey and Syria, leveling buildings and killing thousands. Among the cities most affected was Antakya, Turkey – that is, Antioch. At the time of Christ, Antioch was one of the three great cities in the Roman...

Heresy on the Holy Mountain

In 1907, the Russian Schemamonk Ilarion Domrachev wrote a book about the Jesus Prayer, which was published by the Convent of Saints Martha and Mary, whose abbess was the Grand Duchess and future New Martyr Elizabeth. In the book, Ilarion stated that “the Name of God is God Himself.” The...

Do Holy Bishops First Live as Simple Monks?

Recently, on Twitter, a user named @EphraimChrist14 tweeted at our Orthodox History account, "Why are bishops not selected from those living under obedience in a monastery who have gained spiritual experience and are filled with the Holy Spirit? Is that because the bishops and patriarchs are Barlaamites and consider only...