Orthodox History

2nd Anniversary of OrthodoxHistory.org

June 19, 2011

Matthew Namee

Two years ago today, June 19, 2009, we launched OrthodoxHistory.org with a post entitled, “Real Church. Real History.” I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on this website in the 24 months since then, and I’m very grateful for the…
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Hierarchical, Congregational, and the problems of the “parish”

June 17, 2011

Matthew Namee

In 1993, the Appeals Court of Massachusetts rendered its decision in (brace yourself) Primate and Bishops’ Synod of Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia v. Russian Orthodox Church of Holy Resurrection, Inc. We’ll just call…
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ROCOR/OCA Episcopal Concelebration

June 15, 2011

Guest Author

Editor’s note: The following article was written by Christopher Orr. Update (6/18/11): What follows is an updated version of the original article. On May 24, 2011 – the feast of the holy Equals-of-the-Apostles, Sts.…
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The Dionisije Conundrum and why deference doesn’t work

June 14, 2011

Matthew Namee

I’m assuming, in this short article, that you’ve read about Serbian Diocese v. Milivojevich. But for those who haven’t: the Serbian Holy Assembly deposed Bishop Dionisije Milivojevich, and Illinois courts basically overruled the deposition…
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Orthodoxy & the Courts: ecclesiastical questions are unavoidable

June 13, 2011

Matthew Namee

Until the early 1980s, some OCA parishes in the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania used the Old Calendar. In 1982, then-Bishop Herman Swaiko of Philadelphia ordered all of his parishes to switch to the New…
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Neutral Principles of Law in a Bulgarian parish dispute

June 10, 2011

Matthew Namee

Today I’ll be discussing Aglikin v. Kovacheff, a 1987 Illinois appellate court case involving a dispute over control of St. Sophia Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Chicago. The key question, in this case, concerns the extent of the…
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