The Birth of Fr. Raphael Morgan

So I think I found something I've been looking for for many, many years -- the birthdate of Fr. Raphael Morgan, the first black Orthodox priest in America. First, the backstory. Until now, the closest I've been able to get to nailing down a birthdate for Fr. Raphael is to...

Jordanville to host conference on St. Sergius of Radonezh

One of our SOCHA advisory board members is Deacon Andrei Psarev, church history instructor at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, NY. He's asked us to help spread the word about a conference being held at Jordanville on October 10 and 11 to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the birth of St....

Orthodox bishops in 1859

I ran across this the other day -- in 1859, there were 278 Orthodox bishops in the world: Church Bishops Constantinople (including Romania, Bulgaria, and part of Serbia) 136 Russia (including Georgia) 65 Greece 24 Antioch 17 Jerusalem 14 Austria (now Serbia, mostly) 11 Alexandria 5 Cyprus 4 Mount Sinai 1...

Today in American Orthodox History: May 13

On May 13, 1888, a diverse group of Orthodox men, mostly from Greece and the Balkans, met in Chicago to discuss the formation of a multiethnic Orthodox parish. That meeting was the topic of one of the very first posts on this blog, back in 2009. And also one of...

Of Antioch and Alexandria, England and America

Introduction: Visitors at Balamand If you were to visit today the web site of the St John of Damascus School of Theology in Balamand, Lebanon you might not be surprised to find a news item about a group of English businessmen visiting the Institute and attending a vespers service. After...

Photos from Nicholas Chapman’s Ludwell Research Trip in Texas

Editor's note: Yesterday, we published an article by Nicholas Chapman on his latest discoveries about Philip Ludwell III, his circle, and his descendants. Today, we're publishing some photos from Nicholas' excursion to Texas, where he found more startling evidence that continues to reshape our understanding of early Orthodoxy in America.

Virginian Orthodoxy in the Early American Republic

For almost four years now I have been researching the story of Colonel Philip Ludwell III of Williamsburg, Virginia, since learning of his reception into the Orthodox Church in 1738. During the last few days of July just past I was able to spend some time travelling in the great...

An Unexpected Discovery Concerning Philip Ludwell III

On the last day of May I returned home at close to midnight from a full week in New York City where I had attended Book Expo America. There was a stack of mail awaiting me, but I put it to one side assuming it contained little of interest beyond...

New document on life of Fr. Nicola Yanney

Fr. Nicola Yanney is one of my favorite priests in the history of Orthodoxy in America. He immigrated to America at age 19, in 1892-93, with his new wife. They immediately settled in, of all places, Nebraska. Nine years later, she gave birth to their fifth child -- and died...