Category: Saints
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The Other American Orthodox Saints: A Pilgrim’s Guide
NOTE: I have continually updated this article as I have received more information or had new thoughts occur to me. For Orthodox Christians, what do California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC have in common? They all have major relics of Orthodox saints that American Orthodox Christians largely don’t…
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Do Holy Bishops First Live as Simple Monks?
Recently, on Twitter, a user named @EphraimChrist14 tweeted at our Orthodox History account, “Why are bishops not selected from those living under obedience in a monastery who have gained spiritual experience and are filled with the Holy Spirit? Is that because the bishops and patriarchs are Barlaamites and consider only admin skills and education as…
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St John of Kronstadt’s Surprising Respect for Anglicanism
W.J. Birkbeck was a living bridge between Orthodoxy and Anglicanism at the turn of the last century. An Englishman, he fell in love with Russia and spent huge amounts of time there, developing contacts with pretty much every major figure in the Russian Orthodox Church. He visited monasteries and village churches, elders, bishops, Tsar Nicholas…
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When Do “Firsts” Really Matter? Thoughts on Orthodox History in the Americas
Working on the history of Orthodox Christianity in North America means toiling in a vineyard mostly unplanted. Unlike other significant denominations on this continent, scholars of American religions have paid very little attention to Orthodoxy. As a result, there’s a lot of work to be done, and thankfully, a growing number of people are finally…
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The Legacy of Father Nicola Yanney
What follows is the text I used for a talk on Fr. Nicola Yanney on October 28, 2018, at a pilgrimage in Kearney, Nebraska, commemorating the 100th anniversary of his repose. Audio and video recordings were made of the talk, and those should be available at some point. I think the first time I became…
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St Nikolai Velimirovich on Orthodoxy in America & Its Future
Editor’s note: The following homily was delivered by St. Nikolai Velimirovich in America, sometime between his (second) arrival in America in 1946 and his death in 1956. It was published in the journal Orthodox America, volume 19, number 5. Years ago, I received permission from Orthodox America to publish the text of the homily, but for some…
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Five American Orthodox Priests Who Might Be Saints
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us… (Hebrews 12:1) One of the most exciting things about studying the history of Orthodoxy in…
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W.J. Birkbeck on St. John of Kronstadt
W.J. Birkbeck was a living bridge between Orthodoxy and Anglicanism at the turn of the last century. An Englishman, he fell in love with Russia and spent huge amounts of time there, developing contacts with pretty much every major figure in the Russian Orthodox Church. He visited monasteries and village churches, elders, bishops, Tsar Nicholas…
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Conference on St. Tikhon at Jordanville
On October 9-10, Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, NY is hosting a conference on the life and times of St. Tikhon, the great Russian bishop in America and later Patriarch of Moscow. I’m one of the speakers (on St. Tikhon’s interactions with the other Orthodox ethnic groups in America), but the highlight will surely be…
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Who was St. Tikhon?
Full name: Tikhon Bellavin Dates: 1865 to 1925 In America: 1898 to 1907 Who was he? Head of the Russian Archdiocese in North America at the turn of the 20th century, and later Patriarch of Moscow during the Bolshevik Revolution and its bloody aftermath. He was known for being a kind bishop, humble and unassuming.…