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How Are Orthodox Patriarchs Chosen?
Last week, the Serbian Orthodox Church elected a new Patriarch, Porfirije. This was the result of a fairly complex process — three rounds of nominations, followed by the finalists’ names being placed in a…
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The U.S. Government & the Election of Athenagoras
In the mid-20th century, the Skouras brothers — Charles, Spyros, and George — were among the most powerful men in the booming film industry. Charles was president of Fox West Coast and funded the…
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How the State Dept. Got Interested in Orthodoxy
In recent days, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul. After the meeting, Pompeo tweeted that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is a “key partner” of the United States. This is…
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A Disappointing First Chapter of The Greek Orthodox Church in America
This summer, Alexander Kitroeff’s new book The Greek Orthodox Church in America: A Modern History was published by Northern Illinois University Press. It’s an ambitious book, attempting to span 150 years of history in a…
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The Position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Orthodox Church (1924)
The remarkable article that follows was written by then-Metropolitan Christophoros of Leontopolis (future Patriarch Christophoros II of Alexandria) in 1924, and was published in Paintanos, an official organ of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and…
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A Brief Life of Meletios Metaxakis
In the early 20th century, no fewer than seven of the world’s Orthodox Churches had succession crises (Cyprus, Greece, Constantinople, Moscow, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem). Meletios Metaxakis was involved in five of them. Meletios…