Author: Samuel Noble
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A Description of the Patriarchate of Antioch in 1715
Kinsman and successor of Dositheus Notaras, the patriarch of Jerusalem Chrysanthus Notaras (1707-1731) was one of the most erudite Greeks of his time. Educated in Padua and Paris, he wrote works of theology, history, geography and the natural sciences, traveled as far afield as Moscow and Georgia, and maintained correspondences with both Western and Ottoman…
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New Translation: St Raphael Against the Papacy
The pontificate of Leo XIII (1878-1903) was marked by a flurry of encyclicals addressing the Christian East, which naturally received a great variety of Orthodox responses. Here on Orthodox History we have already published a response to Urbanitatis Veteris published by the official journal of the Russian Orthodox in America in 1901, and a response…
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Book Review: Sylvester of Antioch by Mihai Țipău
The Patriarch Sylvester, who shepherded the Patriarchate of Antioch in the decades following the schism of 1724, is a complex and often-misunderstood figure who was nevertheless pivotal in ensuring the Orthodox Church’s survival during a turbulent period of its history. A recently-published book, Sylvester of Antioch: Life and Achievements of an 18th Century Christian Orthodox…
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How Did Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem Respond to the Council of Florence?
Most Orthodox accounts, at least in English, of why the Union of Florence was rejected center on St Mark of Ephesus’ singular stand against the council, and the rallying of the laity of Constantinople against the union. Equally important, however, is the response of Orthodoxy outside the Byzantine Empire and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The…
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Antioch and 1054
Dr. Samuel Noble will be teaching a class on the history of Antioch beginning May 8th. For more details or to sign up, visit the link here. Below is a letter from Dr. Noble about the upcoming course. Just to give a bit of background about myself, I’m a historian specializing in the history of…
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Should Antioch Make Its Own Chrism?
Editor’s note: Today, nine Orthodox Churches consecrate their own Holy Chrism: Constantinople, Moscow, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, the Orthodox Church in America, the Macedonian Orthodox Church (or whatever you want to call it), and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The rest of the autocephalous churches – the ancient patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, the ancient…
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Melkite Catholic Identity and Relations with Orthodoxy
Earlier this week, the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch, Yusuf al-Absi, gave a very significant speech at an event celebrating the publication of a volume about the history of the so-called “Zoghby Initiative”, which sought to create a form of double communion for his church with both Rome and the Antiochian Orthodox Church. In it, he…
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A Non-Chalcedonian Bishop Converts to Orthodoxy in 1912
The following is a translation from Asad Rustum’s History, vol. 3 pp. 357-362. It is not only interesting in terms of the description of the ceremony, but also because the conversion seems to have occurred through the Syriac bishop’s contact with Russian pilgrims. Recalling this moment of hope for Christian unity in Syria– just 112 years…
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Why Is Antioch in Turkey?
Dr. Samuel Noble will be teaching a class on the history of Antioch beginning May 8th. For more details or to sign up, visit the link here. Below is a letter from Dr. Noble about the upcoming course. Just to give a bit of background about myself, I’m a historian specializing in the history of…