Tag: civil authorities


Bishop Nestor appeals to President Hayes, 1880


The following article appeared in the New York Times on March 23, 1880, detailing an early communication between Nestor Zass, the Russian Bishop of Alaska and the Rutherford B. Hayes, the President of the United States. WASHINGTON, March 22. -- On Saturday last the President received a letter from Bishop...

The Life of Archbishop Michael Konstantinides


Editor's note: The following biography of Archbishop Michael Konstantinides of the Greek Archdiocese was written by Presbytera Nikki Stephanopoulos and originally appeared on the GOA website. It is reprinted with permission from the Greek Archdiocese of America. His Eminence Archbishop Michael served as spiritual leader of Greek Orthodox Christians in the...

US Orthodox memorials for Tsar Alexander III


Tsar Alexander III of Russia died on November 1, 1894. A week later (and 116 years ago today), on November 8, two memorial services for the Tsar were held in America. Both were of note, for various reasons. New York had no Russian church in 1894, so the Russian consul...

Did St. Raphael try to shoot a police officer?


In my last article, I wrote about the "Battle of Pacific Street" -- the gunfight between Syrian Orthodox and Maronites in Brooklyn on the night of September 18, 1905. As I said before, St. Raphael Hawaweeny fled the scene and was chased (and then arrested) by a policeman, Officer Mallon. According...

St. Raphael and the Battle of Pacific Street


As we've seen over the past couple of weeks, in September 1905, New York's Syrian community was on the brink of war. On one side were the Orthodox, who rallied around their bishop, St. Raphael Hawaweeny. The saint himself opposed violence -- both violent acts and violent words -- but...

The Eve of the Battle of Pacific Street


Last week, we left the two New York Syrian camps -- Orthodox and Maronite -- on the brink of war. Each side's partisan newspaper attacked the other, and the Maronites took particular aim at St. Raphael, the Orthodox bishop of Brooklyn, accusing him of all sorts of outlandish offenses. Various...