1921 Archives - Orthodox History

Thanksgiving at St. Nicholas Cathedral, 1921

Nov 22, 2012

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in Early Converts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

Thanksgiving Day as it is constituted as a civil holiday in the United States (and Canada) is not specifically found on the Orthodox liturgical calendar, but that doesn’t mean that Orthodox Christians in North America have ignored it. Here’s a notice from the New York Tribune for a Thanksgiving Divine Liturgy held at St. Nicholas…

This week in American Orthodox history (January 23-29)

Jan 23, 2012

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Matthew Namee

in Orthodoxy in the Americas

January 23, 1921: Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine died of heart disease in New York, at the age of 71. Irvine has been a frequent topic on this website. Born in Ireland, Irvine came to the US as a teenager and served as an Episcopal priest for a quarter century before being defrocked by his bishop…

The mystery of Irvine’s funeral

Dec 12, 2011

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Matthew Namee

in Early Converts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

I’ve written more words about Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine than about any other historical figure. Irvine was an Episcopal priest who converted to Orthodoxy in 1905, was ordained by St. Tikhon, and played a major role in American Orthodoxy until his death in January 1921. He was a trusted assistant to St. Raphael Hawaweeny, and…

The Russian Archbishop welcomes the Greek Archdiocese, 1921

May 24, 2010

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Matthew Namee

in Inter-Orthodox, Orthodoxy in the Americas

“[I]n 1921 … without the knowledge and canonical approval of the Russian Orthodox Church, a Greek Archdiocese was founded in America.” (Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow to Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, March 17, 1970.) Patriarch Alexy’s position has been shared by many people, particularly since the OCA was granted autocephaly by Moscow in 1970. But is…

Fr. Antony Hill: the second black Orthodox priest in America

Apr 20, 2010

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Matthew Namee

in Early Converts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

After a week’s worth of articles on the Archbishop Arseny criminal libel case, I thought I’d break things up a bit by looking at something completely different — the story of Fr. Antony Hill, the second black Orthodox priest in America. By now, a lot of people know that Fr. Raphael Morgan was the first…

Solving the mystery: the 1921 pan-Orthodox gathering of bishops

Jan 28, 2010

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Matthew Namee

in Inter-Orthodox, Orthodoxy in the Americas

Back in July, Fr. Andrew wrote about the above photo, which depicts a gathering of American Orthodox bishops in the early 1920s: Greeks Meletios and Alexander, Russians Platon and Alexander, and Syrian Aftimios. At the time of Fr. Andrew’s original post, no one knew exactly when this photo was taken, or what occasion brought all…

The Apostle of Organ Music

Dec 29, 2009

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Matthew Namee

in Firsts, Orthodoxy in the Americas, Westernization

Last week, I wrote about the introduction of organs into Greek churches in America, but I didn’t really know why they were introduced. Thanks to David Mastroberte, we now have a plausible explanation: someone specifically set out to popularize organ music. That man was George Anastassiou. Courtesy of Mr. Mastroberte, here are Anastasiou’s own words,…

The tombstone of Fr. Kallinikos Kanellas

Dec 3, 2009

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Matthew Namee

in Firsts, Orthodoxy in the Americas

After I published a piece on Fr. Kallinikos Kanellas earlier this week, I spoke with Fr. Nicholas Verdaris, the pastor of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. As it turns out, the Annunciation community continues to maintain Kanellas’ gravesite, and Fr. Nicholas was kind enough to send me the above photo of Kanellas’…

Fr. Kallinikos Kanellas: the first Greek priest in America?

Dec 1, 2009

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Matthew Namee

in Firsts, Inter-Orthodox, Orthodoxy in the Americas, Pre-1921 Unity

According to some sources, Archimandrite Kallinikos Kanellas was the first ethnic Greek priest to serve in America. And those sources may be right, depending on your definition of “Greek.” The only other candidates would be from the Greek church in New Orleans. Fr. Stephen Andreades was the priest in the late 1860s, and Fr. Gregory…

The Non-Invention of Meletios Metaxakis

Jul 24, 2009

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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

in Orthodoxy in the Americas, Pre-1921 Unity

It is often asserted that Ecumenical Patriarch Meletios Metaxakis invented the idea that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has authority to extend its jurisdiction beyond its traditional boundaries into the so-called “diaspora.” This is the Patriarchate’s current interpretation of Canon 28 of the Council of Chalcedon, which Meletios used in 1921-22 in order to justify his establishment…

Tag: 1921