OrthodoxHistory.org User Survey

Dear Friends, Donna Mazziotti, a librarian at The University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is conducting a study about theology and technology. She would love to hear from OrthodoxHistory.org users about how they access the content and use the information contained on OrthodoxHistory.org. As a user of this site and...

Today in history: the first Albanian liturgy

As far as Albanian Orthodox history in America goes, there's no bigger figure than Metropolitan Theophan -- or "Fan" -- Noli. He's best known for his three-plus decades as bishop of the Albanian jurisdiction which ultimately joined the Russian Metropolia (and which is now the Albanian Archdiocese of the OCA)....

Serbs in Chicago

I've recently stumbled onto a really interesting article on the history of Chicago's Serbian community. This paper, written by Krinka Vidaković Petrov, was published in the journal Serbian Studies in 2006. It helps shed further light on the early history of Orthodoxy in Chicago, which we've discussed many times on...

Irvine on St. Patrick’s Day, 1916

Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine has probably had more of his letters published in the New York Times than any other Orthodox clergyman. Just in the period from 1907-1918, the Times published no fewer than six Irvine letters. One of them appeared in their March 17, 1916 issue -- that is, exactly...

Metropolitan Antony Bashir podcast

My latest podcast is up at AFR. I discuss the life of Metropolitan Antony Bashir, basically repeating what I wrote a month ago, on the anniversary of his death.

The Reversal of St. Raphael

Last week, we discussed St. Raphael's involvement with the Episcopal Church -- his role in an Orthodox-Anglican dialogue group, and his June 1910 letter permitting Episcopalian clergy to minister to Syrian Orthodox people in limited circumstances. Later that year, one of St. Raphael's top assistants, Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine, wrote...

St. Raphael and the Episcopalians in 1910

At the turn of the last century, relations between the Orthodox and Anglican Churches were quite warm. They cooled a bit in 1905, when St. Tikhon ordained the former Episcopal priest Ingram Nathaniel Irvine to the Orthodox priesthood, but even so, many on both sides of the dialogue felt that...

A Greek bishop in America in 1893 (Part 2)

Last week, I introduced Archbishop Dionysius Latas of Zante, a Greek hierarch who visited America in 1893. When we left his story, he had arrived in New York City and was en route to Saratoga Springs, where the Episcopalian Bishop Henry Potter had invited him. We'll pick up the story...

A photo of Fr. Paul Kedrolivanksy

A few weeks ago, I did a podcast on the apparent murder of Fr. Paul Kedrolivansky, dean of the San Francisco Russian cathedral. At the time, I wasn't aware of any surviving images of Kedrolivansky. Recently, however, I discovered the above photo, in the wonderful Alaska's Digital Archives. It was...

Source of the week: Schmemann on Vatican II

Fr. Alexander Schmemann was one of the observers at Vatican II, the landmark 1960s council of the Roman Catholic Church. His reaction to the event is priceless -- Schmemann took the "opportunity to thank God" that he was Orthodox. Here's the story, from the New York Times (11/16/1963): A Russian Orthodox...