Category: Uncategorized


A Short History of Orthodoxy in America


The History of Orthodoxy in America in Two Words: Immigrants. Converts. The History of Orthodoxy in America in Ten Words: Immigrants brought Orthodoxy and were joined by converts. Gradual acclimation. The History of Orthodoxy in America in One Hundred Words (not including Alaska, I know): Orthodoxy took root in America at the turn...

Photo of the week: the monument to Fr. Methodios Kourkoulis


In its early years, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (later Cathedral) went through priests like a newborn goes through diapers. In the dozen years from its founding in 1892 until 1904, the parish welcomed, and said goodbye to, no fewer than eight pastors. These included some (relatively) big names: Fr....

Christmas, the New Calendar, and the Russian Church in 1923


After reading Matthew Namee's recent post on the celebration of Christmas according to the New Calendar in Orthodox parishes and jurisdictions in America during the first half of the 20th century, I thought it appropriate to post an article that appeared in the pages of the New York Times  on December...

Infant Abandoned in NY Greek Church in 1908


The following remarkable story appeared in the New York Times on May 1, 1908. If anyone can provide more information, please email me at mfnamee [at] gmail [dot] com. BABY LEFT IN CHURCH; SOCIETY TO ADOPT IT Advent of the Little Stranger Caused Flurry Among Women of the Ladies' Aid...

WANTED: A professional metal restorer


To our SOCHA readers: We're looking for a professional archaeological metal restorer. Do you do this for a living? Do you know someone who does? If so, please email me at mfnamee [at] gmail [dot] com. Thank you! - Matthew Namee

In Search Of… Fr. Philip Sredanovich


I've got several new articles in the works, but law school has been brutal lately, so I haven't been able to finish any of them. In the meantime, I thought I'd republish one of my old articles. This one was originally published on June 1, 2010. Fr. Philip Sredanovich is...

In Search Of… Fr. Moses Abihider


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...

An update on the “Most Influential” project


A couple of weeks ago, I introduced an ongoing project to create a list of the most influential people in American Orthodox history. In that article, I laid down some ground rules: The person must have died at least 20 years ago (1990 or earlier). The person must be sufficiently...

The most influential people in American Orthodox history


For a while now, I've had this idea of creating a list of the most influential people in American Orthodox history. Obviously, any such list would be pretty arbitrary, and would undoubtedly leave out many important people about whom I just don't know much. But then it occurred to me...