Orthodox History

1965 Yale Law Journal article on the Moscow-Metropolia Supreme Court case

In May 1965, the Yale Law Journal published a paper entitled, "Judicial Intervention in Church Property Disputes: Some Constitutional Considerations," by Dennis E. Curtis. (For the lawyers reading this, the citation is 74 Yale L.J. 1113.) This paper focuses primarily on Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral, which we've been discussing...

Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches now available

The newly-published Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches, edited by Alexei Krindatch, is now available for purchase via Holy Cross Bookstore. The price is $19.95. SOCHA advisory board member and renowned historian Fr. John Erickson authored a history of American Orthodoxy, and I contributed the historical census data, an article on ten interesting...

NY Times article on Moscow-Metropolia Supreme Court case

From the New York Times, November 25, 1952, page 31: U.S. COURT VOIDS ACT ON RUSSIAN CHURCH State Law to End Communist Sway in Orthodox Cathedral Here Is Upset by Ruling RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CITED 8-to-1 Decision Holds Action Violated 14th Amendment -- Jackson Lone Dissenter BY CLAYTON KNOWLES WASHINGTON, Nov....

Moscow v. the Metropolia, part 4: initial impressions

To read my previous articles on the 1952 Supreme Court case Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral, click here. For the full text of the Supreme Court opinions, click here. In my last four articles, I summarized the majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions in Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral. Here, I will...

Moscow v. the Metropolia in the Supreme Court, Part 3: Justice Jackson’s dissenting opinion

Lately, I've been analyzing the Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral, a landmark 1952 Supreme Court case. For all the articles I've written on the case, click here. In this article, I am focusing on Justice Jackson's dissenting opinion. (A brief note: in the past articles, I erroneously referred to Justice...

Moscow v. the Metropolia in the Supreme Court, Part 2: Justice Frankfurter’s concurring opinion

In my previous two articles (available here), I discussed the majority opinion in the 1952 Supreme Court case Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral. Today, I'll discuss the concurring opinion of Justice Frankfurter. And just to be clear -- "concurring opinion" means that Justice Frankfurter agreed with the ultimate outcome of the case (a victory for the...

Moscow v. the Metropolia in the Supreme Court, Part 1(a): Justice Reed’s majority opinion revisited

Yesterday, I discussed Justice Reed's majority opinion in Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral, a landmark 1952 Supreme Court case pitting the Moscow Patriarchate's North American jurisdiction against the Metropolia (today's OCA). The dispute was about which group -- Moscow or the Metropolia -- was the rightful owner of St. Nicholas...

Moscow v. the Metropolia in the Supreme Court, Part 1: Justice Reed’s majority opinion

It's been forever since I wrote an article here at OH.org. I've been incredibly busy, with my family, my local parish, and law school classes taking up all of my time. I'm in summer classes, as well, so there won't be much reprieve over the next couple of months. Fortunately,...

New Book from SOCHA Assoc. Director: <i>Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy</i>

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, one of the Associate Directors of the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas, has a newly published work from Conciliar Press, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Exploring Belief Systems Through the Lens of the Ancient Christian Faith. While the work does not pertain explicitly to the...

30 Year Anniversary of Bob Marley’s Death

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the passing of Bob Marley, who finished his life as a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (his baptism was just six months before his death), we're reposting this piece we posted last year featuring the program from his funeral in Jamaica. Memory...