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Pope Leo XIII’s Encyclical to Greece, and an Orthodox Response
The new Pope of Rome, Leo XIV, has made it clear that he chose his name in honor of his predecessor Leo XIII. This is especially interesting to me as an Orthodox historian, since…
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St Raphael Hawaweeny vs Pope Leo XIII
In 1894, Pope Leo XIII issued a papal encyclical on the “Eastern Rites” — that is, the Uniates, those groups who use traditional Orthodox liturgical rites but submit themselves to the Pope of Rome.…
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Stalin’s Revival of the Moscow Patriarchate
“When Hitler invaded the USSR in June 1941,” writes historian Jordan Hupka, “Stalin again changed the Soviet position on religion. All anti-religious publications ceased and some churches in major urban centres were allowed to…
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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…
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A Plea for English in Greek Orthodox Services in 1963
The US Congress imposed immigration quotas in 1924, ending the Ellis Island era of immigration. With no more newcomers, Orthodoxy in America began to assimilate more rapidly into American society, as the children and…
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The Orthodox Baptism of a Civil War Veteran
Last week, we published the story of William Hoskins, an 89-year-old veteran of the American Civil War who traveled from Los Angeles to San Francisco in December 1900 to be baptized into the Orthodox…