Matthew Namee

Abp Iakovos opposed civil rights demonstrations in 1963

Jun 22, 2011

—

by

When I hear “Archbishop Iakovos” and “civil rights,” I immediately recall that famous cover of LIFE, with the powerful Greek Archbishop standing next to Martin Luther King, Jr. during King’s legendary 1965 march in Selma, Alabama. So imagine my surprise when I stumbled onto an August 14, 1963 Los Angeles Times article in which Iakovos argued against…

19th Century Alaskan Orthodox Calendar to be Auctioned

Jun 21, 2011

—

by

Matthew Namee

in Orthodoxy in the Americas

On Facebook, my friend (and historian of Alaskan Orthodoxy) Eric Peterson posted a link to an article on the impending (June 26) auction of a rare Alaskan Orthodox “peg calendar,” dating to the late 19th century. In the article, Fr. Michael Oleksa explained, “I think the average lay person kept track of the feast days of…

2nd Anniversary of OrthodoxHistory.org

Jun 19, 2011

—

by

Matthew Namee

in Orthodoxy in the Americas, SOCHA

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 contributions of our other authors: Fr. Oliver Herbel, Fr. Andrew Damick, Dn. Matthew Francis, Dr. William Samonides, Nicholas Chapman, and Aram…

Hierarchical, Congregational, and the problems of the “parish”

Jun 17, 2011

—

by

Matthew Namee

in Orthodoxy & the US Courts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

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 it Primate from here on out. This case involved a Massachusetts ROCOR parish that left ROCOR and joined HOCNA in 1987.…

The Dionisije Conundrum and why deference doesn’t work

Jun 14, 2011

—

by

Matthew Namee

in Orthodoxy & the US Courts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

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 on the grounds that the Holy Assembly hadn’t followed its own rules. The US Supreme Court reversed the judgment, holding that…

Orthodoxy & the Courts: ecclesiastical questions are unavoidable

Jun 13, 2011

—

by

Matthew Namee

in Orthodoxy & the US Courts, Orthodoxy in the Americas, Westernization

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 Calendar. Predictably, this wasn’t universally well-received. The majority of St. Basil Orthodox Church in Simpson, PA jumped to ROCOR, and this…

Neutral Principles of Law in a Bulgarian parish dispute

Jun 10, 2011

—

by

Matthew Namee

in Orthodoxy & the US Courts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

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 diocesan bishop’s authority over the local parish. The bishop had dismissed certain members of the parish board of trustees — did he have…

Hanna v. Malick: the Russy-Antacky schism in the Michigan Supreme Court

Jun 9, 2011

—

by

Matthew Namee

in Orthodoxy & the US Courts, Orthodoxy in the Americas, Pre-1921 Unity, Saints

Prior to Bishop Raphael Hawaweeny’s death in 1915, pretty much all the Syrian (Antiochian) Orthodox in America recognized his authority. This included St. George Syrian Orthodox Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, which was incorporated in 1910. The parish was under St. Raphael, and all seemed to be well. But in February 1915, St. Raphael died,…

Ecumenical Patriarch denied appeal of Bishop Dionisije

Jun 8, 2011

—

by

Matthew Namee

in Orthodoxy & the US Courts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

Well, this is interesting. Lately, I’ve been looking at the Supreme Court case Serbian Diocese v. Milivojevich, which pitted the representatives of the Serbian Church against the incumbent American bishop, Dionisije, who had been defrocked by the Serbian Holy Assembly. The big question, which the Court answered in the negative, was whether civil courts in…

Neutral Principles of Law and the Problems of Deference

Jun 7, 2011

—

by

Matthew Namee

in Orthodoxy & the US Courts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

So far, we’ve been discussing the role of civil courts in church property disputes in the context of the “deference” approach: that is, the courts will defer to the decisions of the highest church authorities. This was the position taken by the Supreme Court in both of its major Orthodox cases, Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral and Serbian Diocese v. Milivojevich. Not…

Author: Matthew Namee