Tag: primary sources

Fr. Kallinikos Kanellas: the first Greek priest in America?

According to some sources, Archimandrite Kallinikos Kanellas was the first ethnic Greek priest to serve in America. And those sources may be right, depending on your definition of "Greek." The only other candidates would be from the Greek church in New Orleans. Fr. Stephen Andreades was the priest in the...

The first Syrians in America

In 1878, the Arbeelys immigrated to the United States. They were the first Syro-Arab family to come to America; or, at the very least, they were the first prominent Syrians in America. Najeeb Arbeely founded the first Arab-American newspaper, Kawkab America, and he also held the post of immigration inspector...

Fr. Christopher Jabara, the ultra-ecumenist

I always laugh a little bit when I hear people complain about Orthodox involvement in things like the World Council of Churches. It's not that I support such involvement -- my position on modern ecumenical relations really isn't relevant here -- but I laugh because I can't imagine what the...

Orthodoxy in Colonial Virginia

A note from Matthew Namee: What follows is a first glimpse of what is, I am confident, the most exciting research currently being done on the subject of American Orthodox history. As I've been telling others, my own research is pretty interesting stuff, but Nicholas Chapman's work blows mine out...

Calendar issues in early American Orthodoxy

One of the most obvious practical issues facing early Orthodox Christians in America was the difference between the Church calendar -- the "Julian" calendar -- and the civil ("Gregorian") calendar. In the 19th century, twelve days separated the two calendars; after the turn of the century, the difference was thirteen...

Early Orthodoxy in Portland, Oregon

Orthodoxy has been in Portland, Oregon for well over a century, and its history is of particular interest to me, as my in-laws live in the city, and I have visited there many times. Today, we're going to look at the beginnings of organized parish life in Portland. According to Brigit...

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...

Irvine’s ordination: another Episcopalian perspective

Very soon after his 1905 conversion to Orthodoxy, Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine wrote a letter to his archbishop, St. Tikhon, on "the Anglican Church's claims." It was, for Tikhon, a valuable document: a view of Anglicanism from one of its own, who had himself converted to Orthodoxy. Irvine, who retained...

Plans for a New York church in the 1870s

Immediately upon Fr. Nicholas Bjerring's arrival in New York City in 1870, news spread that the Russian Church planned to construct a great temple in the city, on the corner of 51st Street and Lexington Avenue. This is from the Christian Advocate journal (6/29/1871): A magnificent structure is about to be...

Episcopalians & Orthodox claims in America, 1862

Not going in chronological order, but continuing on the theme from yesterday... The following article appeared in the San Francisco Bulletin on December 6, 1862: At the General Episcopal Convention recently held in New York, Dr. Thrall, late of San Francisco, took occasion to make some interesting statements as to...