Orthodox History

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

The first New Calendar Christmas for the Antiochians in America

It's almost Christmas for those of us on the New Calendar, but of course, our Old Calendar brethren will have to wait an additional 13 days. Originally, of course, all Orthodox Christians celebrated Christmas on the same day, because we all followed the same calendar. In 1923, an Inter-Orthodox Congress...

St. Herman and Fr. Alexander

Today, December 13, is the New Calendar feast day of St. Herman of Alaska. A year ago on this feast, we reprinted a life of St. Herman written by Vera Johnston and published in 1919. To read (or re-read) that biography, click here. Today is also the 28th anniversary of...

The mystery of Irvine’s funeral

I've written more words about Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine than about any other historical figure. Irvine was an Episcopal priest who converted to Orthodoxy in 1905, was ordained by St. Tikhon, and played a major role in American Orthodoxy until his death in January 1921. He was a trusted assistant...

From Harvard MD to Orthodox priest: the Fr. Pythagoras Caravellas story

Editor's note: The following article was written by relatives of Fr. Pythagoras Caravellas, and originally appeared in the 60th anniversary commemorative album for Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in San Francisco, published in 1996. The article has been reprinted at Annunciation Cathedral's website, and we present it here courtesy...

Greek Catholic — not Orthodox — monk in America in 1850

Last week, I wrote about a priest from Lebanon who visited the United States in 1850. In an update to that post, I reprinted an 1850 Syracuse newspaper article claiming that the priest was an "impostor" who was raising money through dishonesty. That Syracuse newspaper referred to another article in...

New book on St. Sarapion of Thmuis by SOCHA Director

Fr. Oliver Herbel, Executive Director of the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas, has a newly published work, Sarapion of Thmuis: Against the Manicheans and Pastoral Letters. The book is published by St. Paul's Publications in conjunction with the Centre for Early Christian Studies in Australia. Here's the official...

Orthodox priests in America in 1849-50

Earlier today, I posted this note from the January 1850 issue of the Home and Foreign Record of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America: Efforts are now making in New York to form a congregation of Greek Christians. We observe an announcement that a priest of that...

Unsolved mysteries of American Orthodoxy

Yesterday, I published a brief article on Fr. Stephen Andreades, the first resident priest of the first Orthodox parish in the contiguous United States -- Holy Trinity in New Orleans. The entire early history of that parish is something of a mystery. We know who the early priests were --...

In Search Of… Fr. Stephen Andreades, the first Greek priest in America

In the past (for instance, here), I've referred to a Fr. Stephen Andreades, who, in 1867, was the priest of Holy Trinity parish in New Orleans. He was one of the first Orthodox priests in the contiguous United States, but we know virtually nothing about him. In fact, until now, the...