Tag: Nicholas Bjerring

This week in American Orthodox history (Sept. 10-16)

September 11, 1893: The World's Parliament of Religions opened in Chicago. I've written quite a bit about the Parliament in past articles, and you can read all of them by clicking here. The super-short version: In conjunction with the Chicago World's Fair, representatives from every major world religion convened in...

Atlas Excerpt #3: The First Two Convert Priests

Recently, Holy Cross Orthodox Press published the Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches, edited by Alexei D. Krindatch. I contributed several pieces to the Atlas, including the article “Ten Interesting Facts About the History of Orthodox Christianity in the USA.” With Alexei’s permission, we’ll publish excerpts from that article over...

Three bishops for America in 1870?

This article was originally published on October 30, 2009. On July 19, 1870, a Philadelphia newspaper called the North American and United States Gazette published the following report: The Russian Ambassador has received instructions from his government that three bishoprics of the Greek Church are to be established forthwith in...

Grand Duke Alexis in the New York chapel, Thanksgiving 1871

From the New York Times, December 1, 1871: Thanksgiving Day was observed by the Grand Duke Alexis yesterday in a very quiet manner. In the morning he went to the Greek Chapel at No. 951 Second-avenue, accompanied by Minister Catacazy, Admiral Poisset, the Secretary of Legation and Consul-General Bodisco. By...

The first convert priests… or… the first American apostates

Editor's note: Last year, on September 30, I aired a podcast on James Chrystal and Nicholas Bjerring, the first two convert priests in American Orthodox history. On the same day, I published an article on the two men, reflecting on their relevance to us today. Given that many of our...

The Mysterious Roots of Orthodoxy in Canada

No one knows for certain when and where the first Orthodox Divine Liturgy was served in Canada. The first documented Liturgy was served in June 1897 by the Seattle-based missionary Fr. Dimitri Kamnev (assisted by Vladimir Alexandrov, then a reader) in a field belonging to Theodore Nemirsky at Wostok, Alberta....

The Failed Mission of Fr. Stephen Hatherly

Yesterday, May 19, was the 126th anniversary of the arrival in America of Protopresbyter Stephen Hatherly, a convert priest from England. Hatherly served under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and spent several months in the US, attempting to establish an Orthodox parish in New York. Last July, I wrote an article on...

Today in American Orthodox History: Bjerring’s sermon on unbelief

  On the morning of Sunday, February 9, 1873 -- that is, 137 years ago today -- a crowd assembled in Holy Trinity Russo-Greek Chapel in New York City. The priest, Fr. Nicholas Bjerring, gave an address on "Unbelief and the Indifference in Religion." The whole speech was printed in the...

Inside Bjerring’s chapel

   I got a little tired of quoting long sections of primary sources, and thought I'd try something a little different for a change. Don't worry, though; I'll be back with my regular style tomorrow. And if you're wondering about sources, just let me know -- I didn't make any...

The extent of the Russian diocese in the 19th century

Recently, there has been an interesting and lengthy discussion in the comments section on our website, regarding the extent of the territory of the Russian Diocese of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska in the 19th century. Let me try to briefly outline my position in this debate. Russia sold Alaska...