PRAEGER Westport, Connecticut, London.

Content:

Eastern and Western Christianity. Divisions Among Christians. A Time of Renewal and Dialogue. Orthodox Spirituality.

Explorers and Merchants. The First Missionaries. Father Herman. Bishop Innocent. The Decline of the Alaskan Mission.

The Early Parishes. The Greek Immigrants and their Parishes. The Carpatho-Russian Immigrants and their Parishes. Archbishop Tikhon. Other Orthodox Immigrants.

The Founding of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. Politics and Schism. The Impact of the Russian Revolution. The Establishment of the Independent Metropolia. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. The Moscow Patriarchate Parishes. The Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese. Other Parallel Dioceses.

The Seminary Proposal. The Council of Bishops Proposal. The Magazine Proposal. The Federation.

The Russian Orthodox Dioceses. Position of the Synod of the Church Abroad. The Romanian Orthodox Dioceses. The Bulgarian Orthodox Dioceses. The Serbian Orthodox Dioceses. The Albanian Orthodox Dioceses. Ukrainian Orthodox Dioceses.

A Changing Membership. Religious Education and Youth Ministry. Early Ecumenical Witness.

The Establishment of SCOBA. An Opposing Perspective.

The Autocephaly Question. The Pan-Orthodox Crisis. The Language Question. The Challenge to SCOBA. The Nature of the Church. A Pan-Orthodox Response.

The Visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch. Diocesan Life. Parish Life. Liturgical and Spiritual Renewal. Women In Church Service. Theological Education. Monasticism. Social Concern and Mission. Identification and Sharing.

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Chapter 10.

1. Chronology. 2. The Autocephalous and Autonomous Orthodox Churches. 3. The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA).

Bibliographic Essay. General Histories and Introductions to Orthodox Thought. The Orthodox Church In the United States. Late Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Developments and Concerns. Early Twentieth-Century Developments and Concerns. Late Twentieth-Century Issues and Concerns. About the Author.

Orthodox monks from Russia established a mission on Kodiak Island in Alaska in 1794. It marked the formal entrance of organized Orthodox Church life into North America. Two hundred years later, the Orthodox Church in the United States is firmly established. The presence of over 3 million Orthodox Christians gathered into over 1,500 parishes is the fruit of those missionaries and of the pious immigrants who struggled to establish the Orthodox Church in this land. All the problems associated with the organizational unity of the Orthodox in America have not been fully resolved as yet. However, the Orthodox have reached a significant point in their maturation. This is evident in the vitality of parish life, in the renewal of worship, in theological education, in ecumenical witness, as well as in social and missionary concerns. The presence of the Orthodox Church not only has begun to contribute to this society and to religious life in America but also has begun to contribute to the witness of the Christian faith throughout the world.

This book is the first attempt to describe in a comprehensive way the story of the origins and developments of the Orthodox Church in the United States during the past 200 years. It is the story of missions and immigrants, of the quest for survival and the desire for recognition, of the intention to preserve the faith and of the willingness to share that faith with others. For the Orthodox, it is ultimately a story that has its roots in Palestine and its origin in the message of Jesus Christ. Yet, it is a story colored by the life of distant places such as Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Moscow.

This study has some important limitations. It examines only the Orthodox Church in the United States. Presently, the Orthodox Church here is actually composed of a number of ecclesiastical jurisdictions, usually a diocese or a number of dioceses that constitute an archdiocese or a church. These ecclesiastical jurisdictions are related to the family of autocephalous Orthodox churches throughout the world. This family is frequently referred to as the "Eastern Orthodox Church." While the term "Eastern" is used less and less, it often serves to distinguish this family of churches from the family known as the "Oriental Orthodox Churches." The ecclesiastical jurisdictions in this country that are associated with the Oriental Orthodox churches are not covered in this study. It should also be noted that only limited reference is made to those ecclesiastical jurisdictions that call themselves Orthodox but that are not related to the autocephalous Orthodox churches. These limitations have been imposed primarily because of space.

Orthodox Christians in America today believe that their Church had its origins not in this country but in the land of Palestine nearly 2,000 years ago. This unique community of faith was established by Jesus Christ in a public manner with the call of the first apostles in Galilee. This community of believers was enlivened by the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost when the apostles and disciples were empowered to begin their missionary activity. This is described in the Book of Acts of the Apostles.

Orthodox Christians in America today remember that the first Christians were faithful to the commandment of Christ to preach the gospel to all peoples. Guided by the Holy Spirit, they set out to establish Christian communities in the cities of the Mediterranean world and beyond. These first communities became the bases from which other missionaries went forth to spread the gospel of Christ to the wide varieties of peoples in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Christian communities speaking languages such as Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, Coptic, and Latin came into being despite persecution from the pagan Roman government during the first three centuries of the Christian era. The early Christians knew that their faith was a universal one, not to be confined to a particular place, people, or time. In the early fourth century, the governmental persecution ceased, and in 381 Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, whose capital had been moved to Constantinople in 324. The cessation of persecution led to greater missionary activity, a flowering of liturgical rites, and greater reflection upon the apostolic faith.

Orthodox Christians in America today claim to profess the same apostolic faith that was preached by the apostles and other early Christian missionaries. Orthodox Christians claim to confess and teach this faith without addition or diminution. Rooted in God's own revelation as manifested most especially in the person and activity of Christ, this apostolic faith expresses the fundamental affirmations about the Trinitarian God and his relationship to human persons and the rest of the creation. ¹

The Church was not a monolithic community from the beginning. The Church was diligent in preserving unity in the authentic apostolic faith. It was meant to be a guide toward salvation, and so any distortion in teaching was viewed with alarm. Yet, from the earliest days, there was a healthy diversity in the manner in which the Church expressed the one faith and celebrated the faith in worship. The apostolic faith was expressed in the languages and through the various cultures of the Mediterranean world. In the eastern portion of the Christian Roman Empire, Greek was the preferred language of education and culture. In the western portion, Latin predominated. On the borders of the Roman Empire and beyond them, the Church was composed of other peoples of different cultures who used languages such as Syriac and Armenian.

Because of these developments in the early Church, it has been common to speak broadly about Eastern and Western Christianity. These designations certainly have their limitations. But, they do help us to understand the development of the Church as it grew and matured during the first millennium, especially in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

The development of the Eastern and the Western expressions of Christianity was affected by the particular challenges that the Church faced and to which it responded, especially in the fourth and fifth centuries. The heresies of Arianism, Nestorianism, and Eutychianism, for example, affected primarily the Eastern parts of the Church. The heresies of Donatism and Pelagianism affected primarily the Western parts of the Church. The writings of St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. Gregory of Nyssa must be understood primarily in light of pastoral concerns and the distortions of the faith in the eastern portion of the Church, which they opposed. Likewise, the writings of St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Hilary of Poitiers, and St. Augustine of Hippo must be understood against the background of their times and the pastoral concerns that they faced in Western Europe and North Africa. ²

Within this same time frame many books claiming to have an apostolic authority were in circulation. While some of these texts originated from within the confines of the Church and claimed apostolic authority, others were the work of sectarians. The Church, therefore, had to determine which books were worthy of being regarded as genuine Scripture and which were not. This process of selection took place over a period of about 300 years. The New Testament as we know it today contains the twenty-seven books that came out of the life of the early communities and that the Church determined to be authentic and salutary. Only in the middle of the fourth century was a firm consensus on the entire collection reached. ³

From the earliest days of Christianity, the authentic teachings of the Church were challenged by pagan philosophies or seriously threatened by false teachings from within the Christian communities. In order to meet major challenges, it was common for the bishops of the Church to gather in council, especially from the second century onward. In imitation of the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), the bishops of a particular region would gather under the leadership of the regional primatial bishop, who by the fifth century was designated as a metropolitan or a patriarch.

Among these councils, the Ecumenical councils were important events in the life of the Church from the fourth to the eighth centuries. These councils gathered together bishops and other teachers from throughout the Mediterranean world to respond to major challenges affecting the entire Church. Usually these challenges involved distortions of the apostolic faith and, thereby, the misunderstanding of the Scriptures. The decisions of these councils bore witness to the faith of the Church and were valuable expressions of the unity of the Church. During this period the terms "Catholic" and "Orthodox" came to be used by the Church to affirm that it taught the apostolic faith fully and authentically. These terms were also used by the Church to distinguish itself from sectarian movements. ⁴

The Statement of Faith fashioned at the Councils of Nicaea in 325 and elaborated upon at the Council of Constantinople in 381 became an important creed. This creed not only bore witness to the apostolic faith expressed in the Scriptures but also served as a bond of unity among the various regional churches. From the fourth century, this creedal statement has had a significance that has transcended the subsequent Christian divisions of the fifth, the eleventh, and the sixteenth centuries. Today, it is an affirmation of faith used not only by Orthodox but also by Roman Catholics and many Protestants. ⁵

The legitimate differences that characterized the Eastern and Western traditions of early Christianity were complicated by political and cultural tensions that provided a basis for divisions among Christians. Moreover, serious distortions in the expression of the faith and in ecclesiastical practices were left unchecked in places and were often presented by some as being normative for the entire Church.

In the wake of the Council of Chalcedon in 451, a major division erupted, primarily in the eastern portion of the Roman-Byzantine Empire. This division came about chiefly over the terms used to express the relationship of Christ's full humanity and full divinity. It reflected differences in theological approach to Christology that characterized the Alexandrian and the Antiochian traditions throughout the early fifth century. The regional churches within the Roman-Byzantine Empire accepted the terminology used by the council. The regional churches on the periphery of the empire did not accept the terminology used by the council. ⁶

Major attempts to heal the division took place at the Councils of Constantinople in 553 and 681. However, the differences in theological emphasis, which were compounded by political, ethnic, and cultural differences, could not be overcome at the time. This division was further exacerbated both by the political changes accompanying the rise of Islam and by subsequent divisions among Christians.

Today, the Orthodox Church accepts the decision of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 as well three subsequent ecumenical councils. The Oriental Orthodox churches do not formally accept the Council of Chalcedon or the subsequent councils of 553, 681, or 787. These two families of churches have not been in communion since the fifth century. ⁷

The Great Schism is a division that is generally much better known. This division is between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople, together with those regional churches in communion with it. Following the Germanic invasions in Western Europe and the growth of the Frankish Empire, this division occurred gradually between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. The date of 1054 is simply a convenient one that marked the exchange of limited excommunications but certainly not the formal division of the regional churches. This schism can be dated only after the tragic sack of Constantinople and the unfortunate temporary establishment of a Western Christian hierarchy there in 1204. ⁸

Numerous attempts were made throughout the Middle Ages to restore communion. The most significant were councils held in Lyons in 1274 and Florence in 1439. Strongly reflective of medieval Roman Catholic theology, the decisions of both these councils were eventually repudiated by the Orthodox. The tragic fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the accompanying political changes only led to further isolation of Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism and solidified the division.

Two major theological differences at the time led to this division. The first was the filioque. This Latin word means "and from the Son." It was inserted into the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381 after the affirmation that the "Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life proceeds from the Father." This addition was first made to the creed in Spain in the sixth century and was eventually accepted in Rome in the eleventh century. After that it became part of the creed used by Christians throughout Western Europe.

Beginning in the ninth century, St. Photios of Constantinople identified the filioque as an unwarranted alteration of the creed. In addition to this, he viewed the addition as an expression of an understanding of the Trinity that diminished both the unique dignity of the Father and the Spirit. The opposition of St. Photios and others also reflected Constantinople's repudiation of the claims of the pope in Rome to have jurisdiction over the Eastern parts of the Church. ⁹

The second theological difference centered upon the understanding of the authority of the bishop of Rome, the pope. In the wake of the Germanic invasions and the growth of feudalism in Western Europe during the early Middle Ages, the church there developed a highly centralized and monarchical structure that was centered upon the bishop of Rome and his authority. The East recognized that the bishop of Rome had a "primacy of honor," which was rooted in the experience of the early Church. However, the absolute authority of the bishop of Rome over and above all other bishops was consistently repudiated by the Eastern bishops as being contrary to the church's teaching as expressed in its Scripture and tradition. The Orthodox never recognized papal claims of "universal jurisdiction" or, later, of "infallibility," which was proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church in the nineteenth century. ¹⁰

During the period of estrangement from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries, these major differences were complemented by others related to the Sacraments, clerical marriages, and liturgical customs. The many attempts to investigate these differences and to resolve them were frequently stymied by misunderstandings, a lack of historical perspective, cultural prejudices, political intrigues and additional Christian divisions. ¹¹

The Protestant Reformation began in 1517, less than seventy years after the fall of Constantinople. Much had taken place in those intervening years. The Renaissance exposed Western Europe not only to elements of the Greek classical tradition but also to elements of the Eastern Christian heritage, which had also been generally neglected in the medieval West. Moreover, the knowledge of the physical world had been considerably enlarged due to the voyages of the great explorers.

In their opposition to medieval Roman Catholic teachings and practices, the Protestant Reformers raised important questions about Scripture and tradition, about faith and works, about worship and Sacraments, and about church authority. While they sought to return to the faith and practice of the Apostolic Church, the Reformers were very much children of their times. Both the Reformers and the Counter-Reformers were Westerners who debated topics with precious little reference to the perspectives and experience of the Christians of the East. ¹²

Some of the Protestant Reformers did show concern for the Christian East. Lutheran theologians at Tübingen, for example, entered into correspondence with the Patriarchate of Constantinople during the sixteenth century. However, these and other contacts led to little genuine dialogue up until this century. The debates between the Reformers and Rome and the debates among the Protestants themselves were carried on with theological terms with which the Orthodox had little appreciation. ¹³

Moreover, the Orthodox, living in lands dominated by Ottomans, Muslims, and, more recently, atheistic Communists, had little opportunity for a genuine dialogue with the Christian West from the fifteenth century down to our own century. In those places where the Orthodox did have contact either with Roman Catholicism or Protestantism, the relationships were seldom cordial. During this difficult period of time, the Christian West, both in its Roman Catholic and Protestant expressions, was frequently more concerned with proselytism than with genuine dialogue and cooperation with the Orthodox. ¹⁴

The Orthodox Church in many parts of the world is only beginning to recover from tremendous limitations on its life and mission resulting from hostile political regimes in the old Ottoman Empire, in the former Soviet Union, and in the Balkans. Signs of significant growth and revival are evidenced in places where only a few years ago the vitality of the Orthodox Church was questioned by many.

A profound renewal of the principle of conciliarity is to be found in the relationships among the regional autocephalous churches. Under the leadership of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, four historic pan-Orthodox conferences were held in 1961, 1963, 1964, and 1968. These conferences identified a number of critical challenges facing the Church and began to plan for a "Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church." Since 1976, regular meetings of a Pre-Conciliar Commission have been studying ten topics in anticipation of the council. ¹⁵

Today, the Orthodox Church is a family of autocephalous and autonomous churches that are united in the same faith and sacramental life. The number of autocephalous and autonomous churches has varied throughout history. Presently there are the thirteen autocephalous churches, of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Cyprus, Greece, Poland, and Albania. There are two autonomous churches: the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and the Church of Finland. ¹⁷

Among these churches, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople is recognized as the first among the bishops. The ecumenical patriarch has a special responsibility for coordinating the common witness of these churches and of overseeing the development of new regional churches. ¹⁸

There are today about 300 million Orthodox Christians belonging to these regional churches. These Orthodox Christians are sometimes referred to as "Eastern Orthodox." The official designation of the Church found in canonical and liturgical texts is the "Orthodox Catholic Church." Often adjectives such as Greek, Russian, or Antiochian are used to refer primarily to historical expressions of the Orthodox Church. Most Orthodox today believe that it is misleading to designate the Orthodox Church as Eastern, given the present geographical and cultural realities. ¹⁹

During the past 200 years, some of the Orthodox autocephalous churches have established jurisdictions in places such as America, Western Europe, Australia, and the Far East. While these new lands are beyond the canonical boundaries of the autocephalous churches, actions were taken to form parishes and dioceses both to engage in missionary activity and to serve Orthodox immigrants. While the Patriarchate of Constantinople has traditionally claimed ecclesiastical jurisdiction over these new lands, historical factors frequently prevented it from exercising appropriate oversight in the past. As we shall see, the Church of Russia was the first to establish a mission in North America in 1794 in the newly discovered territory of Russian Alaska.

Today, the status and organization of the Orthodox Church in North and South America, Western Europe, Australia, and the Far East are receiving a great deal of attention. The Pre-Conciliar Commission addressed the topic of the so-called Orthodox Diaspora at its meetings in 1990 and 1993. The commission affirmed the desire of all the autocephalous churches to work toward a structuring of the Church in these lands in a manner that would conform with the canonical principles of ecclesiastical organization and that would better contribute to Orthodox mission and witness. ²⁰

The historical development of the Orthodox Church is distinctive and quite different from that of both Roman Catholicism, especially after the Middle Ages, and the various expressions of Protestantism. Partially because of this, the Orthodox Church has also a distinctive spirituality that differentiates it from most expressions of Western Christianity. While the Orthodox Church has been required to face difficult challenges, it has not passed through the same historical and political processes as has Western Christianity. As has been noted, the Orthodox were not directly involved in the Reformation and Counter-Reformation debates. Indeed, from the time of the Cappadocian fathers in the East and St. Augustine in the West, Orthodox Christianity has understood and celebrated the Christian faith in a manner that is distinctive, sometimes complementary to the Christian West and sometimes dramatically opposed to it. As a result of this, the Orthodox believe that their Church has not only preserved the apostolic faith but also emphasized aspects of the faith that are quite distinctive.

"The Lord is God and has revealed himself to us" (Ps. 118:26). This joyous proclamation is sung as part of the Morning Prayers in the Orthodox Church. For the Orthodox, these words declare that their faith, prayers, and perspectives on life are founded upon the reality of the divine self-disclosure. While not diminishing the value of human reason, the Orthodox affirm that God is a mystery who is ultimately beyond human definition. The limited knowledge that we have of God results chiefly from the divine disclosure and not from human speculation, important though it my be. The One who is beyond all has chosen to be revealed because of his love for his creation. Through this divine self-disclosure, the Orthodox hold that they have come to experience and to know the one God as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit. ²¹

The event of Christ's coming is the core of this revelation according to Orthodox teaching. The revelation of God to the ancient Israelites is fulfilled in the coming of Christ, who is the promised Messiah. In the person of Jesus Christ, divinity is united with humanity in such a way that the distinctive character of each is maintained. This means that the event of the Incarnation reveals in a profound way the intimate bond between living God and the human person together with the entire cosmos. Through his words and deeds, Jesus Christ has revealed the Triune God and the theocentric nature of the human person. Christ shows that the human person belongs to God the Father and is meant to live in fellowship with him through the Spirit. The Resurrection of the Lord is a bold proclamation that not even death can keep human persons from the Father, who loves us. In all that he has done, Jesus offers human persons life in abundance (John 10:10). ²²

The Orthodox teach that the principal task of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the presence of the Risen Christ to persons of every age and every place and to enable human persons to share in his saving work. The Holy Spirit leads persons from a life of self-centeredness to a life centered upon Christ and his gospel. The person of the Spirit is not subordinate to Christ, nor is the ministry of the Spirit inferior to that of Christ. The Spirit unites human persons to Christ, who leads them to the Father. Both Son and Spirit work in harmony to accomplish the will of the Father, who desires that "everyone be saved and come to the knowledge of truth" (1 Tim. 2:4).

Salvation.

According to Orthodox teaching, the entire purpose of God's self-disclosure is to restore the human person to fellowship with himself. From the very beginning, the human person was fashioned in the "image and likeness" of God and given the vocation to live in communion with God (Gen. 1:26). Although sin distorts the relationship between God and the human person, it never destroys the fundamental bond between the Father and his sons and daughters. The Orthodox believe that in the coming of Christ, God the Father demonstrates his love for the alienated and calls human persons back to his friendship. Thus, the Orthodox affirm with St. Irenaeus that "the glory of God is the human person fully alive." ²³

The Orthodox place a special emphasis upon an understanding of salvation, which is viewed primarily as sharing. Through the coming of Christ, the Orthodox believe that God has shared fully in human life, thereby enabling human persons to share in his life of unselfish love. Salvation is, therefore, both a free gift of fellowship with the Father and the process by which human persons respond freely to that gift given in Christ through the Spirit. Salvation certainly involves the forgiveness of sin but is not limited to this alone. It is essentially a new relationship freely offered by the Father through Christ and in the Spirit. For this reason, the fathers of the Church often declare, "God became human so that human persons may become divine." ²⁴

The term "deification" (theosis) is frequently used by the Orthodox to describe the process of sanctification whereby the human person responds to the divine initiative and moves ever closer to the living God through a life that reflects and imitates the divine love. The human person experiences the presence of the divine in a specific and deeply personal way. So, the Orthodox believe that persons are most fully human when they live their lives in communion with the Source of life. Those who live in Christ know that the process of deification begins at the very moment of creation and continues through the life to come. Love knows no limit and no boundary. The Virgin Mary, honored as the Mother of God, and the other saints bear witness to this reality. ²⁵

Salvation is not simply personal but also communal. The Orthodox teach that believers grow in their relationship with the Triune God within the fellowship of the Church, the community of faith. Established by Christ with the call of the first apostles and enlivened by the Spirit from the day of Pentecost, the Church is an integral part of the divine plan of salvation. Persons become members of the Church through baptism. Within this unique community of faith, the members of the Church have the opportunity to cultivate the bond of love not only with each other but also with the Triune God. The Orthodox affirm the old adage that says, "A solitary Christian is no Christian." ²⁶

Salvation also has a cosmic dimension. The Orthodox teach that human persons are not saved from the world but in and through the world. The soul is not saved separately from the body but rather together with the body. The whole person, body and soul, is meant to share in the process of sanctification, beginning with the relationships and responsibilities of this life. Far from rejecting the body and the rest of the material creation, the Orthodox look upon the physical as the work of God and a medium through which the divine is manifest. The entire creation, fundamentally good from the beginning, is related to the reality of the Incarnation. Thus, the ultimate transfiguration of the entire cosmos is already prefigured in the lives of the faithful, in the Eucharist, in the icons, and in the relics of the saints. ²⁷

The Orthodox see the human person as a liturgical being who is meant to glorify God in all things. There cannot be any discontinuity between believers' formal act of worship and their life in society. Through every relationship and responsibility in life, believers have the opportunity to remember God and his mighty acts of salvation. With this remembrance, believers have the opportunity to offer back to the Father, in thanksgiving, their life and all they have received in union with Christ and through the Spirit. The believer's life is ultimately a prayer. Every responsibility and obligation in life has the potential of being undertaken to the glory of the Triune God and in love for other persons.

The Orthodox certainly do not diminish the importance of formal acts of common prayer and worship. In fact, the Orthodox strongly emphasize the value of communal prayer, especially the Eucharist. Communal prayer is a special time when believers not only respond to the presence of the Living God but also are nurtured by the Scriptures, hymns, and prayers of the Church. When believers gather together, they are reminded of their baptismal unity with Christ and of their baptismal unity with all of his followers. The needs and concerns of others are brought to their attention through petitions. Their personal prayer is strengthened through their common prayers. Through their creedal affirmations, the Orthodox faithful profess their faith and are challenged to be faithful in all their words and deeds. ²⁸

The Eucharist is the most important act of communal prayer for Orthodox Christians. In obedience to the command of the Lord given at the Last Supper (Luke 22:19), the community of believers gathers to hear the Word of God, to offer prayers, to present the gifts of bread and wine, to recall the mighty acts of God, to seek the blessing of the Spirit, and to receive Holy Communion as an expression of union with Christ and with one another. It is an action, the Orthodox believe, that manifests the reign of God in their midst and is an expression of the Kingdom to come.

The Orthodox believe that the Eucharist typifies human life as it is lived in fellowship with God. The bread and the wine are the fruit of creation given by God and fashioned by human hands. The offering placed on the altar signifies not only what has been received but also who the believers are. This reminds them that ultimately their life is a Eucharist, an offering of thanksgiving. Through this offering, the Orthodox seek not simply their own salvation but the salvation of the world. At the offering, the believers stand before God with uplifted hands of gratitude, praying the words of the liturgy: "We offer to you your own from what is already yours, always and everywhere." ²⁹

These faith affirmations characterize Orthodox Christianity. These affirmations are central to the lives of Orthodox believers. They have also been at the very center of the Church's missionary endeavors throughout the ages.

Orthodox explorers from Russia sighted the coast of North America on the evening of 19 July 1794. The majestic snow-covered mountain they saw was named in honor of the Prophet Elias, whose feast day had begun. The following morning, the Eucharist was celebrated on board the ship Saint Peter. It was a solemn act of thanksgiving. It was also a celebration that heralded the entrance of the Orthodox Church into North America.

The discovery and explorations of the islands that stretch between Asia and North America led directly to the establishment of an Orthodox mission on Kodiak Island in 1794. From this center, missionaries from Russia began to introduce the Orthodox Christian faith to the natives of Alaska. By the time that Alaska was sold by Russia to the United States in 1867, the missionaries had established churches and schools on most of the Aleutian Islands as well as along the Alaskan coast of North America. The Russian Orthodox mission in Alaska marked the formal entrance of Orthodox Christianity into North America. Moreover, the mission in Alaska was one of the last and greatest missionary endeavors to be sanctioned by the Orthodox Church of Russia and the imperial Russian Empire prior to the Bolshevik revolution. On the eve of the October 1917 revolution in Russia, it is estimated that there were over 10,000 Orthodox Christians in Alaska and nearly one hundred churches or chapels. ¹

Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Russian explorers traveled eastward across the vast plains of Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. Known in Russian history as the time of the Eastern Conquest, this period was the one in which the various river basins of Siberia were colonized. These rivers acted as natural highways by which Russians could explore the eastern regions of their own vast empire. With the discovery of Kamchatka in 1697, the authority of imperial Russia became more firmly established along the Pacific coast. ²

In the years prior to his death in 1725, Peter the Great inaugurated plans for a formal and systematic exploration of the land off the coast of Siberia. ³ Vitus Bering, a Dane by birth, was selected to lead the first exploration supported by the imperial government. Bering had joined the Russian navy in 1704 and had served in both the Sea of Azor and in the Baltic Sea. In the same year that Peter the Great died, Bering left St. Petersburg with orders given to him by Empress Catherine I. ⁴

After a treacherous, yearlong journey across Siberia, Bering and his companions reached the coast of Kamchatka and began their exploratory venture on 21 July 1728, when they set sail in a small boat known as the Saint Gabriel. In this first expedition, Bering sighted an island that he named Saint Laurence. This island, which is the most westerly landmass of North America, was the first discovery of American territory by Bering. Sailing north along the Asian coastline, Bering reached the most northeastern point of Asia, but he failed to sight the mainland of North America.

A second expedition left the Kamchatka peninsula on 4 June 1741. Two sturdy ships were part of this endeavor. The Saint Peter was commanded by Bering, and the Saint Paul was commanded by Alexis Chirikov. After the ships became separated during a violent storm, Chirikov first sighted the coast of Alaska on 15 July 1741. The North American mainland was sighted by Vitus Bering four days later. The majestic mountain that was sighted by Bering and his crew was named in honor of the prophet Elias. As the ship was anchored off the coast, the Eucharistic Liturgy was celebrated on board the following morning, 20 July 1741, which was the feast day of the prophet Elias. At the conclusion of the liturgy, members of the crew went ashore and undertook a preliminary exploration. ⁵

Alexis Chirikov returned to Kamchatka on 8 October 1741 with greatly diminished crew. The company of seventy men had been reduced to forty-nine. Vitus Bering never returned. During the voyage back to Kamchatka, scurvy broke out among the crew, and Bering also contracted the disease. Shortly after this, the ship was wrecked along the coast of the island that now bears his name. On this island Bering died on 8 December 1741. A handful of survivors constructed a small boat from the wreckage and returned to Kamchatka.

Despite the tragedies that accompanied the expeditions, the explorations of Bering and Chirikov were very successful. The expeditions accurately established two points on the North American mainland and also established the location of a number of the Aleutian Islands. Moreover, the report of the existence of the sea otter, fox, seal, and sea cow provided the stimulus for the fur hunters and merchants to support and to continue the work of exploration. By 1743, there were nearly forty Russian trading companies engaged in gathering furs from the islands and the mainland of North America. ⁶

Empress Catherine the Great formally placed the newly discovered land in North America under her rule in 1766. ⁷ The first permanent settlement based upon the rule of law was established on Kodiak Island in 1784. This colony was established primarily through the efforts of Prince Gregory Shelikov. By 1781, Shelikov had become one of the most wealthy merchants in Siberia and one of the first to recognize that the activities of Russian merchants in North America had to be consolidated. Together with Ivan Golikov, he established a colony on Kodiak Island in the name of the Shelikov-Golikov Company and sought to expand Russian control and influence as far as possible into northwestern America. ⁸

The colony on Kodiak was dedicated to the Three Hierarchs. Since the twelfth century, this is the title given to St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Gregory the Theologian, who were outstanding bishops and theologians of the late fourth century. The colony rapidly became the center of economic and political life for the Russian merchants and explorers. The Shelikov-Golikov Company became the basis for the Russian-American Company, which was established by Emperor Paul I in 1799. This company became the extension of the Russian imperial government in North America.

Gregory Shelikov and Ivan Golikov sent a letter to Metropolitan Gabriel of St. Petersburg on 10 April 1793. The letter requested the metropolitan to send a scholarly and talented priest to the Kodiak colony. Shelikov and Golikov also stated in their letter that all the expenses of the priest and his missionary activity would be paid by their company. ⁹

The request of Shelikov and Golikov was eventually brought to the attention of Empress Catherine the Great, who instructed Metropolitan Gabriel to select a number of clerics for a mission to America. Well aware of some of the difficulties that the missionaries would have to face, Metropolitan Gabriel selected eight monks for the journey to America. Most of the missionaries came from the monastery of Valaam, which had a reputation as a center of spirituality and missionary activity. The leader of the group was Father Joseph Bolotov, who had studied at both the Tver and Rostov seminaries. He was raised to the rank of abbot (Archimandrite) just before the mission began. ¹⁰

Prior to the departure of the missionaries, Metropolitan Gabriel provided them with vestments, liturgical articles, and books that would be necessary for the celebration of the liturgical services. In addition to traveling expenses that the missionaries received from the Holy Synod, the empress also gave 500 rubles to Abbot Joseph and 250 rubles to each of the other missionaries. This money came from the Palestine Fund, which was normally used only for the financial support of the churches and monasteries in the Holy Land. ¹¹

Metropolitan Gabriel also gave to Abbot Joseph a document that contained instructions for the missionaries. Based upon similar instructions given to Siberian missionaries in 1769, the document is of great historical significance. First, it clearly shows that the missionaries were going to America not simply to serve the spiritual needs of the Russian colonists and merchants but to undertake missionary work among the natives. Second, the document emphasizes that Orthodox Christianity must spread among the natives chiefly through the personal example and the love that the missionaries were expected to demonstrate. A portion of the instructions of Metropolitan Gabriel says:

The missionaries left the city of St. Petersburg on 25 December 1793 and arrived in Irkutsk on 16 March 1794. After accepting four additional companions, they traveled up the Lena River to the city of Yakutsk. Following a journey by horseback, they arrived at Okhotsk, from which they sailed for Kodiak Island and arrived on 24 September 1794. Throughout the course of the journey, the missionaries frequently stopped to baptize many people, especially in the Yakutsk region and later in Unalaska, where they stopped prior to their arrival at Kodiak. The journey of the first missionaries to America took 293 days. They traveled about 7,400 miles (11,840 km). Even before they reached their mission field, the monks had traveled about one-third of the circumference of the world and never left the confines of the vast Russian Empire. ¹³

The Alaskan mainland and the islands of the coast were inhabited by a number of native tribes. Among the most important were the Tlingits, who lived on the southern coastal area; the Aleuts, who lived on the islands off the coast; and the Eskimos, who lived along the Arctic Ocean coast. These and other, smaller tribes were descendants of nomadic peoples from Asia who crossed into North America at least 5,000 years before the discovery of Alaska by the Russians. ¹⁴

A valuable foundation for the work of the missionaries had been laid by some of the more pious explorers and merchants who had come into contact with the natives. While some of the merchants seriously mistreated the natives, other merchants considered it their duty to introduce them to the Orthodox Christian faith. Both Ivan Golikov and Gregory Shelikov, for example, had baptized a number of natives on both Fox Island and Kodiak Island. When the missionaries finally arrived on Kodiak Island in 1794, many natives had already been converted to the Orthodox Christian faith.

When the missionaries arrived on Kodiak Island, there were about 225 Russians and 8,000 natives living there. Under the direction of Shelikov, the missionaries lived in a small monastery located in the village of Saint Paul. As the first Orthodox monastery in North America, it was constructed in such a way that the monks were able to observe the activities of the village. Yet, at the same time, the monks were separated from village life so that they could better follow their monastic discipline. ¹⁵

The missionaries undertook their labors with exceptional zeal and piety between 1794 and 1798. A church building dedicated to the Holy Resurrection of Christ was constructed in the village of Saint Paul, and this became the center of missionary activity on Kodiak Island. The monks subsequently traveled to the other islands and to the mainland of North America. Wherever they journeyed, the monks built small chapels, taught the natives, and baptized them. It is estimated that over 12,000 natives became Orthodox Christians within the first few years of missionary activity. ¹⁶

Of the original missionaries to Russian America, one has attracted special attention and devotion. His name is Father Herman (German), the monk who was the last of the original missionaries in Alaska when he died in the year 1837 on Spruce Island. Very little is known about Father Herman. Most of the information that is known about his life both before and after his coming to America is contained in a brief biography published in 1894 by the Valaam Monastery to commemorate the centenary of the Alaskan mission. ¹⁷

We know from this source that Father Herman was born in Serpukhov near Moscow probably in 1756. His family name as well as his baptismal names are not known. At the age of sixteen, he left his hometown and entered the Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Monastery. This monastery was founded in 1354 by Saint Sergius of Radonezh. Father Herman was tonsured a monk in 1783 and then went to dwell in the Valaam Monastery of Lake Ladoga. While at Valaam, the young monk came under the spiritual direction of the famous abbot Nazary. Following the direction of his elder, the monk Herman eventually began to live a semi eremitical life in a small hut located not very far from the monastery. Father Herman would return to the monastery only to participate in the daily prayers and Eucharistic liturgy. Only a year after becoming a monk, Herman left for Alaska.

Following the return of Abbot Joseph to Irkutsk in 1798 and his death at sea in 1799, Father Herman appears to have become recognized as the head of the monastic community, although he was not ordained and had little formal education. At about the same time, difficulties began to arise in the relationship between the monks and the Russian merchants. At the center of these difficulties was the quality of life of the natives. The treatment of the Alaskan natives by the merchants associated with the Russian-American Company became more abusive. Led by Father Herman, the missionaries became more outspoken in defending the rights of the natives and in criticizing the immorality of many of the Russian merchants. As a result of the activity of the monks, they were briefly placed under arrest in 1800. Several attempts were made to kill Father Herman. The antagonism that developed between the monks and many of the Russian merchants led to a serious decline in the activities of the missionaries. As a result of the monks' activity, an investigation by the Russian government led to positive changes in the activities of the merchants by 1818. ¹⁸

At about the same time, Father Herman left Kodiak Island and went to Spruce Island, which he affectionately called New Valaam. On Spruce Island Father Herman was better able to immerse himself in the ascetical ways of a monk. Yet, even there he did not neglect the material and spiritual needs of the natives. Until the time of his death in 1837, Father Herman worked among the natives on Spruce Island. He cared for orphans, constructed a chapel, and organized a school. In addition to preaching the gospel and leading the services of prayer, Father Herman fed the natives from an experimental garden that he cultivated. His piety and sanctity were recognized by the natives, who referred to him as Apa, which means grandfather. ¹⁹

Prior to his death, Father Herman revealed to the natives of Spruce Island the details of what was ahead. He told them that there would be no priest available to bury him and that they would be required to do it. Herman also told the natives that he would be forgotten for thirty years, then remembered by those beyond Spruce Island. In the manner that he had predicted, Herman died on 13 December 1837. Although the natives of Spruce Island revered his memory and honored him as a saint, not until 1867 did the Church of Russia begin to investigate the life of Father Herman. He was formally declared a saint on 9 August 1970. ²⁰

The work of evangelization, begun in 1794, did not come to an end when Father Herman died. In the years prior to his death, a small number of priests began to arrive in Alaska from the diocese of Irkutsk in order to reactivate the mission. These priests received financial support from the Russian-American Company. In a revision of the charter in 1821, it was clearly stated that the company was responsible for the financial welfare of the mission of Alaska. In spite of this, the activity of some of these missionaries left much to be desired. "The priests from Irkutsk," writes Serge Bolshakoff, "looked upon the Alaskan parishes as a place of exile and neglected to translate the liturgical and devotional books into the native dialects. They thought only how to return to Siberia as soon as possible." ²¹ Not until 1824 did this unhappy state of affairs begin to change.

Father John Veniaminov, with his wife, child, and mother, arrived on the Island of Unalaska on 29 July 1824. This new missionary in Alaska and future bishop was born on 27 August 1797 near Irkutsk. At the age of nine, he entered the Irkutsk Seminary School and became one of its most outstanding students. At the age of seventeen, his name was changed from Popov to Veniaminov in honor of the deceased bishop of Irkutsk. Although the young student was recommended to attend the Moscow Theological Academy, John Veniaminov chose to marry and to be ordained. After serving as deacon and priest for a number of years, Father John accepted the request of Bishop Michael of Irkutsk to serve in Alaska. Against the wishes of many of his friends, Father John and his family left Irkutsk on 7 May 1823. ²²

Within the first year of his arrival on Unalaska, Father John constructed both a church and a school, which served as the center of his mission parish. Eager to be fully involved in the life of the natives, the young priest began to learn the language and their customs. The Aleuts of the island had no written language, and the language was especially difficult for Europeans to pronounce because of the number of guttural sounds.

This, however, did not deter Father John. Following the example of the great ninth-century missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius, Father John not only learned the language of the Aleuts but also wrote a grammar. He then translated the Eucharistic Liturgy, other prayers, and the Gospel of Saint Matthew. He even wrote a small catechism in the Aleut language, which was called Indication of the Pathway into the Kingdom of Heaven. ²³ Undoubtedly, the fact that Orthodox Christianity became so well established among the natives of Unalaska was the direct result of both the personal missionary work of Father John as well as his translations.

When Father John was transferred to Sitka in 1834, there were about 2,000 Orthodox Christian natives on the island of Unalaska. Known then as New Archangel, Sitka had become one of the most important centers of Alaskan life. Located not far from the mainland, Sitka had a very good harbor and was the center of the commercial activity, with foreign traders frequently visiting the port. At this time, Sitka was the only port along the northern Pacific coast where ships could be repaired. These factors made Sitka the most important city in Russian Alaska in the early nineteenth century.

Upon his arrival in Sitka, Father John began his missionary work among the natives there who were known as the Tlingits. Unlike most of the other native tribes, the Tlingits had been extremely hostile to the Russian merchants. They had refused to be baptized because they feared that they would become slaves of the Russian merchants. Reacting against the Russian presence, they strongly embraced their pagan customs and rituals. ²⁴

As was the case in Unalaska, Father John immediately began to learn the language of the natives of Sitka. Conversions among the Tlingits were very slow, however, until 1836. In that year a severe smallpox epidemic spread among the natives. When their own pagan priests were unable to arrest the disease, the natives sought the help of Father John. By demonstrating a genuine love for the natives, Father John not only helped in the cure of the disease but also began to receive many of the natives into the Orthodox Church. ²⁵

During his service in Sitka, Father John was not required to travel as much as he had while on the island of Unalaska. However, included within the jurisdiction of his parish was the settlement of Fort Ross, which was located about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) south in Spanish California. On 18 July 1836, Father John left Sitka by ship for Fort Ross, which had been established in 1821 by the Russian-American Company to house Russian merchants. After a sixteen-day voyage by ship, Father John finally arrived in California and traveled by horse to Fort Ross.

While attending to the needs of the Orthodox Christians in the Fort Ross colony, Father John also took advantage of his trip to California to visit a number of Roman Catholic missions that were operated by Spanish priests of the Franciscan Order. During a two-week period, Father John visited the missions in San Rafael, San Jose, Santa Clara, and San Francisco. At every stop, Father John spoke to the Roman Catholic priests in the Latin language and attended Mass. On one occasion, he also had the opportunity to witness both a baptism and a burial. In addition to gaining a personal knowledge of the Roman Catholic missions and liturgical services, Father John learned that the rumors that the natives were treated harshly by the Roman Catholics were false. His contacts with the Roman Catholic missionaries were quite significant due to the fact that relationships between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy were both limited and strained during the nineteenth century. ²⁶

After his return to Sitka, Father John began to make plans for a trip back to Russia. The purpose of his trip was threefold. First, he wanted to present the Holy Synod with a detailed report on the Alaskan mission. Second, he wanted to offer to the leaders of the Russian-American Company a plan for the improvement of the educational facilities for the Alaskan natives. Finally, he wanted to receive official approval for his liturgical translations. With these goals in mind, Father John and his family departed for Russia in the fall of 1838. ²⁷

While in St. Petersburg, Father John received news that brought him great joy and great sorrow. His report on the Alaskan mission was very well received by both Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow and Count N. A. Protasov, who was the ober-procurator of the Holy Synod. However, in the spring of 1840, Father John also received the news that his wife had died in the city of Irkutsk. During this period, Father John received much comfort from Philaret, who subsequently encouraged him to become a monk. Assured that his children would be cared for by the church, Father John became a monk one year after the death of his wife and received the name Innocent. In the same year, he was elected the bishop of the newly established diocese of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands. He was consecrated on 15 December 1840 in the Cathedral of St. Petersburg. ²⁸

Bishop Innocent returned to Sitka on 26 September 1841. About one hundred years after its discovery, Alaska received a man as its bishop who had already spent more than ten years preaching the gospel both to Russians and to native Orthodox. With the return of the beloved missionary as bishop of the new diocese, Russian America entered into what has been called the "golden age of Alaska." Under the direction of the new bishop, a cathedral was established in Sitka, new mission parishes were opened, education of the natives was strengthened, and a seminary to train native clergy and teachers was opened in Sitka. In addition to this, Bishop Innocent undertook journeys to many distant mission posts in Alaska and Siberia, especially in the period between 1842 and 1849. ²⁹

Bishop Innocent was elevated to the rank of archbishop in 1850, and his diocese was enlarged to include areas in Siberia near the Amur River. The headquarters of the diocese was also moved from Sitka to Blagoveschensk in Siberia. Vicar bishops for Sitka and for Yakutsk were subsequently consecrated to assist Archbishop Innocent minister to the vast territory. ³⁰

During the time when he began to establish new missions in eastern Siberia, Archbishop Innocent continued to have a deep interest in the development of the church in North America. He made some very farsighted recommendations in a letter sent to the ober-procurator of the Holy Synod on 5 December 1867. Although the archbishop assumed that the Russian Orthodox Church had jurisdiction over the North American continent, he did make some bold proposals for the growth of Orthodox Christianity in the New World:

At the age of seventy-two, Archbishop Innocent was appointed metropolitan of Moscow on 26 May 1868. As the successor to Metropolitan Philaret, the new metropolitan of Moscow continued to emphasize the missionary activity of the church, although he was nearly blind and in constant pain. In 1870, Metropolitan Innocent reformed the Society for Promoting Christianity among the Pagans and renamed it the Orthodox Missionary Society. Through the work of this society, many Orthodox rediscovered the importance of missions. After serving as metropolitan of Moscow for almost eleven years, the great missionary died on 31 March 1879 at the age of eighty-two. His body was buried next to the body of Metropolitan Philaret in the Church of the Holy Spirit at the Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Monastery near Moscow. He was formally declared a saint by the Church of Russia in 1978 and honored with the title Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to America. ³²

The Alaskan territory was sold by the imperial Russian government to the government of the United States in 1867 for the sum of $7,200,000. This sale took place at a time when the government of the United States was enlarging the territory of the country, chiefly through negotiations with European nations that had claims in North America. Although the rights of the Orthodox Church in Alaska were clearly guaranteed at the time of the sale, a number of factors contributed to the decline of the Alaskan mission.

The Russian-American Company ceased to exist four years before the sale. This organization had been the immediate source of financial support for the mission. With the closing of the company in 1863, most Russians either returned to Russia or went to settle in San Francisco, California. It has been estimated that in 1870 there were only ninety poor Russian families remaining in Sitka, which had been the center of intense commercial activity throughout the first half of the nineteenth century. ³³

Another very important factor that contributed to the decline of the Alaskan mission was the decision of the Church of Russia to transfer the see of the bishop from Sitka to San Francisco in 1872. Three years after the sale of Alaska to the United States, the Holy Synod of the Church of Russia established the new diocese of the Aleutian Islands on 10 June 1870. Shortly after his arrival in Alaska, Bishop John (Mitropolsky) requested that the see be moved from Sitka to San Francisco. This request was undoubtedly based upon the fact that most Russians had left Alaska. In 1872, the Holy Synod granted the request. Bishop John subsequently established his cathedral and the pastoral school in San Francisco, which had a small Russian colony.

When the see of the bishop was transferred from Sitka to San Francisco in 1872, it was located outside the stated boundaries of the diocese. San Francisco is located about 600 miles (960 km) south of Sitka. This peculiar situation existed until 1900. At that time, the name of the diocese was changed by the Church of Russia to include all North America. In 1905, the ecclesiastical administration of the diocese was transferred to New York City. These peculiarities represented the beginnings of the canonical irregularities that would characterize Orthodox Christianity in America throughout the twentieth century.

The absence of a resident bishop in Alaska and an inadequate number of priests weakened the presence and authority of the Orthodox Church in the territory. While there were over 10,000 native Orthodox in Alaska in 1870, there were only four priests to serve them. When Protestant and some Roman Catholic missionaries entered Alaska in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the Orthodox Church was not in a very vital position from which it could serve all its faithful and discourage proselytism. ³⁴ Despite this tragic fact, the Orthodox Church in Alaska continued to exist and to provide subsequent Orthodox leaders in North America with a powerful reminder of the missionary dimension of church life.

By the end of the nineteenth century, Orthodox missionaries, both clergy and laity, had traveled throughout all the islands of the Aleutian chain and throughout the coastline of the Alaskan mainland. The mission in Alaska was perhaps the most important missionary endeavor of the Orthodox Church in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. At a time when much of the Orthodox Church throughout the world was confronted with political systems and rival religions that prevented much missionary work, the mission in Alaska heralded the entrance of Orthodox Christianity into a new land. ³⁵

The foundation of Orthodox Christianity in the continental United States was established during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twentieth century. During this time, the focus of Orthodoxy dramatically shifted from Alaska to the major cities of the continental United States. The principal cause of this was the massive influx of immigrants from Greece, Asia Minor, Carpatho-Russia, and other parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Exclusive of the Alaskan territory, there were only 3 Orthodox parishes in the United States in the year 1870. However, fifty years later there were over 250 Orthodox parishes located in major cities throughout the country. These parishes were established chiefly by immigrants who were determined to preserve their Orthodox Christian faith in the New World.

Even before the great flux of immigrants from Eastern and Southeastern Europe, a small number of Orthodox Christians lived in the continental United States. The first Orthodox parish to be established in the United States was founded in the year 1864 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This parish was organized by Greek merchants under the direction of Nicholas Benakis, the consul of the kingdom of Greece in New Orleans. Because of this, the parish is viewed not only as the first organized parish in the United States but also as the first Greek Orthodox parish. Nonetheless, members of this parish included not only Greeks but also Russians and Serbians who were living or working temporarily in the city.

While much of the history of the early years of this parish is lost, a few facts are known. The liturgical services were conducted in English, Church Slavonic, and Greek. The official records of the parish were in English until 1904. The first priest, Father Agapius Honcharenko, was of Slavic background and had been ordained at the great monastic center of Mount Athos in 1865. Although the parish had accepted gifts of vestments from Czar Alexander II, there is no indication that the parish was ever under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese. It subsequently became part of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in 1921. ¹

At about the same time that the parish in New Orleans was established, a number of Orthodox Christians in San Francisco gathered to organize the Greek Russian-Slavonic Church and Philanthropic Society. In 1867, the state of California granted a charter to the society, which intended to establish an Orthodox Church. Among the members of the society were Martin Klinkovsterem, who was the Russian consul, and George Fisher, who was the Greek consul in San Francisco. On 13 June 1868, the society requested the Holy Synod of the Church of Russia to assign a priest. In September of the same year, Father Nicholas Kovrygin was transferred from Sitka to San Francisco, and regular liturgical services began to be held.

From 1868 to 1872, the building in which the liturgical services were held was known as the Prayer House of the Orthodox Oriental Church. The liturgical services were conducted in both Slavonic and Greek because the congregation was composed of persons from various backgrounds. In 1872, a new building was purchased, and it became the cathedral and diocesan center of the Russian Orthodox bishop. ²

More than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from San Francisco, another parish was established in New York City in 1870. Unlike the other two parishes, this one was not organized by merchants or diplomats. Rather, the parish in New York was founded by Father Nicholas Bjerring with the authorization of the Holy Synod of the Church of Russia. A former Roman Catholic professor of theology, Father Bjerring was an American of Danish background. Following the promulgation of the dogma of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council, he left the Roman Church. Father Bjerring then traveled to St. Petersburg, where he joined the Orthodox Church and was subsequently ordained a priest on 9 May 1870. ³

Upon the direction of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, Father Bjerring returned to the United States and established a parish in New York City in the same year. Although a permanent church building was never constructed, Father Bjerring celebrated the liturgical services in his home. The sign over the door read, "Greek-Russian Church." The congregation was composed chiefly of members of the Greek and Russian consulates, as well as about one hundred other Orthodox Christians who lived in New York. Records indicate that Father Bjerring also received into the Orthodox Church a number of persons who were raised in other religious traditions. After slightly more than twelve years of existence, however, the Russian government withdrew all financial support, and Father Bjerring had to close the chapel in 1883. While the actual reasons for this decision are not known, it may be assumed that the Russian government at that time did not appreciate the missionary value of the chapel and the activity of Father Bjerring. ⁴

Although his chapel was closed, Father Bjerring made an outstanding contribution to the development of Orthodoxy in America. He was responsible for translating and publishing a number of liturgical services. He also wrote a brief history of the Orthodox Church and a commentary on its customs and liturgical practices. One of the most outstanding contributions of Bjerring was the publication of the Oriental Church Magazine from November 1879 to October 1881. This journal was the first English-language Orthodox periodical to be published in the United States. Its purpose was to acquaint Americans with the beliefs and practices of the Orthodox Church. The articles that appeared in the journal clearly indicate that Father Bjerring was very deeply committed to the task of Orthodox Christian evangelization in America. ⁵

The United States has been called a nation of immigrants. From the time when the first settlements were established along the Atlantic coast in the early seventeenth century, America has been a haven for persons of all races and backgrounds who have sought freedom and opportunity. Until about the year 1880, the majority of the immigrants who came to the United States were from Western and Northern Europe. After 1880, however, the majority of the immigrants who came to the United States prior to 1921 were from Eastern and Southeastern Europe. It has been estimated that between 1800 and the period of World War I, about 15 million immigrants entered the United States. Because many of these immigrants were Orthodox Christians, they provided a powerful impetus to the growth of Orthodoxy in the United States.

A substantial migration of Greeks to the United States began during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and continued until 1921. Prior to this period, Greeks had come to America, but their numbers were not significant. About 200 Peloponnesians came to Florida in 1762, when it was still part of the Spanish Empire. ⁶ Later, during the early nineteenth century, some American philanthropists helped a small number of Greeks to come to the United States to study. As we have already noted, throughout the middle of the nineteenth century, Greek merchants and government officials could be found in most of the port cities of the United States. ⁷

Migration of Greeks from the kingdom of Greece and from the Ottoman Empire began to increase noticeably after 1891. Between then and 1920, statistics show that more than 400,000 immigrants from Greece arrived in the United States. Moreover, this figure does not include Greeks who emigrated from the Ottoman Empire or other countries. Although no exact official figures exist, it has been estimated that the number of Greeks entering the United States from Asia Minor between 1891 and 1920 was about 200,000. However, of the total number of Greek immigrants, only about 75 percent remained. Many subsequently returned to Greece. ⁸

The Greek immigrants who arrived before 1921 were not entirely homogeneous. There was a clear distinction between those from the kingdom of Greece and those from Asia Minor. Some of the latter could not even speak the Greek language. Furthermore, it was quite common for Greek immigrants from particular regions, islands, or villages to remain in close contact and even to settle together in certain cities in America. The early social organization and parishes of the immigrants frequently reflected these geographical differences. Most of the immigrants during this period were males who came to America with the hope for economic and social advancement. They preferred the larger cities to the countryside. They began to work in textile mills, steel mills, coal mines, and railroad construction. In the course of time, some established their own small businesses. ⁹

Once a sizable number of immigrants settled in a city, they would join together to form a mutual aid society. Sometimes named after a saint, a revolutionary hero, or a place in a fatherland, the society assisted the new immigrants in becoming settled. Perhaps the most important and enduring task of these societies was to organize a parish. During the period between 1891 and 1921, the parish of the Holy Trinity in New York City was the first to be organized, in 1892. Within a matter of a few years, a second parish was established in New York City, as well as one in Chicago and in Lowell, Massachusetts. ¹⁰

Between 1900 and 1921, 138 parishes were organized by the Greek immigrants throughout the United States. Many metropolitan areas had more than one parish. Although the liturgical services were held in rented halls in some cities, the majority of these parishes by 1921 had either constructed their own church buildings or purchased abandoned church buildings. This fact is a powerful testimony to the role that religion played in the life of the immigrants. These church buildings, often constructed in traditional fashion, became the visible expression of the Orthodox faith of the immigrants.

However, the parishes of the immigrants were prone to many problems that they had not found in the homeland. Among these were the need to raise money, the shortage of qualified priests or the presence of uncanonical priests, and the proselytism undertaken by some Protestant sects. Yet, the most serious problem was the absence of a resident bishop who could bring unity and direction to the developing church in America and the establishment of an ecclesiastical organizational structure that would unite the parishes.

In the absence of both a bishop and a formal diocesan structure, each of the early parishes was not only established by the immigrants but also entirely controlled by the immigrants through an elected board of trustees. In accordance with the civil charter of incorporation granted by the state government, the board of trustees was responsible for every aspect of the life of the parish. Although some parishes appealed for a parish priest either to the synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople or to the synod of the Church of Greece, the board of trustees viewed itself as having ultimate authority within the parish. Contrary to Orthodox tradition, the parish priest was viewed as an employee by the board and dismissed by the board when he did not meet its expectations. ¹¹

In the absence of a resident bishop and inspired by the democratic ideals of America, most of the immigrants viewed their parish as free and independent of all external ecclesiastical authority. With little knowledge of canon law, the immigrants followed the example of Protestantism and adopted a polity of congregationalism that emphasized the autonomy of the local parish and de-emphasized the need for hierarchical authority. ¹²

The Patriarchate of Constantinople, the ranking Episcopal see in the Orthodox Church, claimed to have ultimate jurisdiction over the developing Orthodox Church in North America in virtue of canons and precedents reaching back to the fourth century. However, the Patriarchate temporarily transferred its jurisdiction over the so-called Diaspora in America to the autocephalous Church of Greece in 1908. While the difficulties in the parishes in America may have contributed to the decision, it appears that the Turkish government had become concerned with antiTurkish activities of the Greek immigrants in the United States. ¹³

However, from 1908 to 1918 the Church of Greece undertook no major action to unify and direct the parishes in the United States. While many believed that the synod of the Church of Greece would provide America with a resident bishop, none was sent. Some believed that the synod took no action because of the influence of Lambros Coromilas, who was the Greek ambassador to the United States. He was accused of viewing religion as a "medieval hindrance" and of wanting the church to remain "headless" so that he could become the unquestioned leader of his compatriots in the United States. ¹⁴

Regardless of whether this accusation was entirely accurate, the fact remains that the status of the parishes in the United States did not improve during the ten years in which they were temporarily under the jurisdiction of the Church of Greece. As we shall see in the next chapter, not until 1918 did the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, under the presidency of Metropolitan Meletios (Metaxakis), pass a resolution to organize the parishes in America.

Prior to the October revolution of 1917 and the Russian civil war, migration of Orthodox Christians from imperial Russia to the United States was not significant. By 1910, there were only about 90,000 Russian immigrants living in the United States. Approximately 80 percent of these immigrants were Russian Jews. Of the small minority of Russian immigrants who were Orthodox Christians, most lived either in San Francisco or in New York City. By the time of World War I, these two cities had communities of Russian Orthodox immigrants that numbered no more than 1,000. ¹⁵

As we have already noted, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral and Pastoral School was transferred from Sitka to San Francisco in 1872. About the year 1896, a Russian Orthodox mission parish was reestablished in New York City to serve the needs of the immigrants. While this mission might be seen as the continuation of the efforts of Father Bjerring, the fact is that the new parish served chiefly the immigrant Russian population. ¹⁶

The most significant migration of Slavs to the United States prior to World War I did not come from imperial Russia but rather from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These immigrants came from the areas about the Carpathian Mountains that were known as Cherbonnaya Rus or Russian Rubra. Until 1918, this area was part of the northeastern kingdom of Hungary, which was part of the Hapsburg-ruled, Austro-Hungarian Empire. Those persons who migrated to the United States from this area were usually known as Carpatho-Russians (Rusyns). This name indicates both the geographic location of their homeland as well as their ethno religious affiliation. ¹⁷

The exact number of Carpatho-Russians who entered the United States prior to 1914 is not known. The United States government listed immigrants only by country of origin until 1899. Only after that date were immigrants classified according to race and peoples. However, it has been estimated that about 150,000 Carpatho-Russians entered the United States between 1880 and 1914. The vast majority of these immigrants were peasants who left their homeland because of poor agricultural conditions. At the time of their arrival, industry in the United States was expanding, and there was a great need for cheap labor. As a consequence of this, most of the Carpatho-Russian immigrants settled in the northeastern part of the United States, especially in Pennsylvania and Ohio. There the immigrants found employment in mines and steel mills. ¹⁸ Upon their arrival in the United States, the Carpatho-Russians were Eastern Rite Roman Catholics. Although they generally referred to themselves as pravoslavni (Orthodox), the Carpatho-Russian immigrants were Eastern Catholics who were known as either Greek Catholics or Ruthenian Catholics. Prior to the sixteenth century, the people of Carpatho-Russia had been Orthodox Christians. However, they were integrated into the Roman Catholic Church during the sixteenth century chiefly as a result of political changes. The Carpatho-Russians were permitted to retain their Orthodox liturgical traditions and many of their Orthodox religious customs. Among these was the practice of a married priesthood. However, the bishops of these Eastern Catholic dioceses were under the ultimate authority of the Roman Catholic pope. Over the course of time, these Eastern Catholics were frequently referred to as "Uniates" to emphasize their union with the Roman Catholic Church. ¹⁹

The Carpatho-Russians were deeply religious people, and the immigrants sought to preserve their religious customs in the United States. Almost as soon as a significant number of immigrants settled in a particular city, they would band together to establish a parish, seek out a priest, and construct a church building. However, their religious identity created a great problem for them. While they followed most Orthodox liturgical practices, they were not members of the Orthodox Church. Although they were known as Greek Catholics, they were generally not accepted by the Latin-Rite Catholics in the United States. At that time, the Roman Catholics in this country had little appreciation of the diversity in Roman Catholicism that had existed in Central and Eastern Europe for centuries.

When the Carpatho-Russians began to organize their parishes, they usually encountered opposition from Roman Catholic priests and bishops, who regarded the Slavic immigrants with suspicion. Moreover, while there were many Carpatho-Russian priests among the immigrants, there was no bishop. As a consequence of this, the Carpatho-Russian priests had been instructed by the bishops in their homeland to report to the local Roman Catholic bishops in America to receive permission to serve the immigrants. Generally, the Roman Catholic bishops either knew very little about the Eastern-Rite Catholics or had very little desire to encourage Greek Catholic parishes in their diocese. ²⁰

The difficulties between the Carpatho-Russians and the Roman Catholic Church in America became especially acute in the year 1890. Father Alexis Toth arrived in Minneapolis in that year to minister to the immigrants. Among his first tasks was to visit the local Roman Catholic bishop in order to receive canonical authority to undertake his ministry. The prelate, Archbishop John Ireland, was a hierarch who was deeply committed to the Americanization of all immigrants. At that time, he had little appreciation of the Eastern European immigrants, whose desire was to retain their religious traditions and not to be rapidly assimilated into the American society. ²¹

The encounter between Father Alexis Toth and Archbishop John Ireland was of great importance. Difficulties began when Father Toth did not genuflect before the hierarch but only kissed his hand. When Archbishop Ireland learned that the priest was a Greek Catholic and that he was a widower, the bishop told Father Alexis that he had already written to Rome to protest the entrance of Greek Catholic priests into America. Furthermore, the archbishop refused to give Father Alexis permission to serve the Carpatho-Russians in Minneapolis. ²²

Father Alexis was a well-educated priest. Prior to his arrival in the United States, he had been the professor of canon law at the University of Presov. Believing that the decision of Archbishop Ireland was in opposition to the rights of Eastern-Rite Catholics and an insult to the Carpatho-Russians, Father Alexis began to organize a parish in Minneapolis without formal permission from the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the United States. ²³

When Archbishop Ireland instituted a lawsuit against Father Alexis and the Carpatho-Russian community, the devoted priest turned to the Orthodox Church. Father Alexis organized a committee and sent the members to San Francisco to speak with Bishop Vladimir (Sokolovsky) of the Russian Orthodox diocese of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska. Recognizing the desire of the Carpatho-Russians to return to the Orthodox Church of their ancestors, Bishop Vladimir traveled to Minneapolis and received Father Alexis Toth and the entire parish into the Russian Orthodox diocese on 25 March 1891. That day was not only the Festival of the Annunciation of Mary, the Mother of God, but also the First Sunday of Lent, which is known as the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

The action of Bishop Vladimir was formally recognized by the Holy Synod of the Church of Russia on 14 July 1892. A letter from Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod and St. Petersburg stated: "The Ruling All Russian Holy Synod, becoming informed of the conversion re-uniting with the Holy Orthodox Church of the pastor and his faithful parishioners who emigrated from the Carpathian Mountains to America, namely 361 Russian Uniates and their pastor, Father Alexis Toth, joyfully raising their prayers in thanks to the Lord God upon the blessed occasion impart Orthodox pastoral benediction upon the Reverend Toth and his parishioners, henceforth, Orthodox faithful." ²⁴

After his entrance into the Russian Orthodox diocese, Father Alexis Toth traveled throughout the northeastern United States to encourage the Carpatho-Russian clergy and laity to return to the Orthodox Church. Through the direct efforts of Father Alexis, about twenty Carpatho-Russian parishes, which contained about 29,000 faithful, entered the Orthodox Church. At the time of his death on 7 May 1909, Father Alexis Toth was eulogized as the "father" of Orthodoxy in America. ²⁵

This dramatic development caused the focus of the Russian Orthodox diocese of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska to shift from the Alaskan territory and San Francisco to the northeastern region of the United States. Under the leadership of Bishop Tikhon (Bellavin), the administrative center of the diocese was moved to New York City in 1905, chiefly because of the immigration and the return of the Carpatho-Russians to Orthodox Christianity. It has been estimated that as many as 250,000 Eastern Catholics who migrated from various parts of Eastern Europe entered the Russian Orthodox diocese by 1914. The unwillingness of the Vatican to recognize the legitimate concerns of the Carpatho-Russians accelerated this process. Indeed, the publication of the papal bull Ea semper in 1907 and its demand that Eastern Catholic clergy in North America be celibate only aggravated the difficult situation. ²⁶

The official United States government census figures reflect the dramatic development that occurred in the Russian Orthodox diocese. In the census of 1890, the diocese claimed to have 22 churches in Alaska and one in San Francisco. ²⁷ In the census of 1906, the number of parishes had risen to 59. ²⁸ Ten years later, in 1916, the diocese claimed to have 164 churches. ²⁹ Perhaps as many as two-thirds of these parishes were located in the northeastern part of the United States and consisted of former Eastern Catholics.

One of the most influential bishops of the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese during this period was Archbishop Tikhon (Bellavin), who assumed its leadership in September 1898. When he arrived in the country, Archbishop Tikhon was the only Orthodox bishop in the United States. In his capacity as head of the diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska, he was responsible not only for the Orthodox Christians of the Alaskan territory but also for those throughout the United States who were part of the Russian mission. This meant that his flock was multilingual and multinational. His jurisdiction stretched from the East Coast to the West Coast. It included both Native Americans in Alaska and many of the immigrants in the major cities of the East who had accepted the oversight of the Russian Orthodox diocese. This included many Serbian, Syrian, Albanian, Romanian, and Bulgarian immigrants, who also began to establish parishes during this period. ³⁰

Archbishop Tikhon was responsible for providing both structure and direction to the Russian Orthodox diocese at a very critical period in its development. In order to be closer to the new immigrants, he received permission to transfer the see of the diocese to New York in 1905. Upon his recommendation, the name of the see had been changed to the diocese of the Aleutian Islands and North America in 1900. It was raised to the status of an archdiocese in 1907. Under his leadership, St. Tikhon Monastery was established in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, and a seminary was established in Minneapolis for the training of priests, missionaries, and teachers. Archbishop Tikhon personally oversaw the construction of traditional, Russian-style church buildings in Chicago and New York. The Cathedral of St. Nicholas in New York, which is still standing today, was to be the center of the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese for decades to come.

Archbishop Tikhon also authorized the publication in 1906 of a Service Book, containing an English translation of the liturgy, Sacraments, and selected other prayer services. With the translation provided by Isabel Hapgood, this classic text became a valuable tool for the use of English in the liturgical services for decades. ³¹

Archbishop Tikhon also had a vision for the developing church in America. He appears to have recognized that the Orthodox Church in the United States had the potential of becoming a truly indigenous church and not simply an extension of the Church of Russia. In 1905, he made a bold proposal for the creation of a unified American Church, which would have a number of diocesan bishops. These diocesan bishops would have specific responsibility for particular ethnic groups. Writing to the synod of the Church of Russia, he said:

Archbishop Tikhon naturally assumed that the Church of Russia had jurisdiction over all Orthodox in America, a position that not all would accept even at that time. However, his bold proposal cannot be underestimated. It sought to create a single, united Orthodox Church that would be manifested in a united episcopacy. This united Church would recognize its diverse membership and allow for differences in customs and practices of the various ethnic groups.

It would seem that Archbishop Tikhon had started to move in this direction when, in 1903, he requested that Father Innocent Pustynsky be consecrated in Russia as vicar for Alaska. A year later, Archbishop Tikhon and Bishop Innocent consecrated Father Raphael Hawaweeny as the bishop of Brooklyn, with special responsibility for the Arab Orthodox immigrants. Plans were also made to elect diocesan bishops who would serve the specific needs of Serbians and Albanians. ³³

Just prior to his departure from the United States, Archbishop Tikhon presided at the first All-American Council (Sobor) of the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese. Convened in Mayfield, Pennsylvania, in 1907, it brought together both clergy and lay representatives from the diocesan parishes, which then numbered about one hundred. The theme of the council was "How to Expand the Mission." While the council concerned itself with many practical matters, its structure and methodology were very significant. Under the leadership of Archbishop Tikhon, the council and its preparatory gatherings sought to establish a tradition of conciliarity that recognized the legitimate responsibilities of both the clergy and the laity.

Prior to leaving the United States to return to Russia in 1907, Archbishop Tikhon preached a sermon that emphasized the importance of the Orthodox mission in America:

Archbishop Tikhon left the United States because he had been elected the Archbishop of Iaroslav (1907-1914). After subsequently serving the see of Vilno (1914-1917), he was elected Metropolitan of Moscow. In the wake of World War I, he was elected to preside at the historic Church Council of 1917-1918. This council decided to restore the position of Patriarch of Moscow, which had been suppressed at the time of Peter the Great in 1700. With the Bolshevik revolution under way, at this council Tikhon was chosen by lot to become the new patriarch. Prior to his death in 1925, he steadfastly defended the Church against the persecutions of the Bolsheviks. He was formally proclaimed a saint by the Church of Russia in 1990. ³⁵

The rapid increase of immigrants from Greece, Carpatho-Russia, the Balkans, and the Middle East, which began toward the end of the nineteenth century, changed the character of the early parishes and all subsequent parishes established during the first half of the twentieth century. The Pan-Orthodox character of the early parishes was lost as various immigrant groups established parishes to serve their particular needs. As the Orthodox immigrants began to settle in the various cities of the United States, it became common for the parishes to be established along ethnic or linguistic lines. This phenomenon was commonplace not only among the Greeks and the Carpatho-Russians but also among the Serbians, Arabs, Bulgarians, Albanians, Romanians, and Ukrainians.

A parish serving Serbian immigrants was established in 1894 in Jackson, California. ³⁶ At about the same time, a parish serving Arab immigrants came into existence in Brooklyn, New York, in 1895. ³⁷ One for Bulgarians was established in 1907 in Madison, Wisconsin. ³⁸ Another for Albanians was established in 1908 in Boston. ³⁹ A parish for Romanian immigrants was established in 1904 in Cleveland, Ohio. ⁴⁰ As the numbers of immigrants of these groups increased, other parishes were rapidly established in many of the larger cities.

The establishment of these ethnic parishes reflected the fact that each existed not only as a worshiping community but also as a center serving the cultural and social needs of the immigrants. In the midst of a new country, the immigrants found emotional support, assistance, and a part of their homeland within their churches. While these ethnic parishes served the immediate needs of the immigrants and their children, they did little to promote cooperation and unity among all the Orthodox.

Throughout the period of immigration up until 1921, the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese was the only Orthodox ecclesiastical jurisdiction and the Russian Orthodox bishop was the only resident hierarch in the United States. As a consequence, many Orthodox immigrants who were not of Russian background accepted the authority of the Russian bishop in the United States. This was especially true of the Serbs, Arabs, Albanians, and Romanians. In order to serve better the needs of these immigrants, the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese established a mission diocese with a bishop for Syrian immigrants in 1904. As we have noted, the first Orthodox bishop consecrated in the United States was Father Raphael Hawaweeny, a native of Damascus, Syria, who supervised the Arabic-speaking Orthodox for about twenty years. ⁴¹ Likewise, Father Stephen Dzubay was consecrated a bishop, in 1916, especially to serve the Carpatho-Russian immigrants. ⁴² Plans were also made to consecrate a bishop to serve the Serbian parishes, but this never materialized.

In much the same way that the Church of Russia and the Russian Empire acted as the protector of Orthodox Christianity throughout parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East prior to the October revolution of 1917, so also the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese viewed itself as the protector of Orthodoxy in the United States. Given the cultural, ethnic, and historical associations of the Old World, it was somewhat natural that many Carpatho-Russian, Syrian, Serbian, Albanian, and Romanian immigrants would associate their parishes with the Russian Orthodox archdiocese.

The Greek immigrants did not follow the pattern that others did. Throughout the period of great immigration, there was very little contact between the Greek parishes and the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese. Although some authors have maintained that all Orthodox in America accepted the authority of the Russian bishop prior to 1921, there is not sufficient evidence to support this claim. ⁴³ The vast majority of the Greek parishes were organized without any contact with the Russian bishops in America. When a parish of Greek immigrants needed a priest, the parish leaders generally appealed to the ecclesiastical authorities, either Athens or Constantinople. ⁴⁴ Even the marriages of Greek immigrants in America often had to be approved by bishops in the homeland. ⁴⁵

Having said this, however, it must also be stated that there is evidence of limited cooperation between some Greek priests and the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese. In the years prior to World War I, at least three priests of Greek background appear to have served under the jurisdiction of the Russian bishop. These priests were Father Michael Andreades, Father Kallinikos Kanellos, and Father Theoklitos Triantafilidis. Each of these had studied in Russia and spoke Russian as well as Greek. In the early part of the twentieth century, these priests served parishes in the western part of the United States that were composed of both Greeks and Slavs. ⁴⁶

Some evidence also shows that a small number of Greek parishes turned to the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese for assistance prior to 1921. Specifically, the archives of the Russian Archdiocese contains letters from six Greek parishes that requested antimencia (altar cloths). Only one undated letter from this period was sent to the Russian Archdiocese from a Greek parish that was seeking a priest. These limited examples of Greek parishes that sought assistance from the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese are exceptions and not the norm. ⁴⁷

Indeed, evidence indicates that the Russian Orthodox diocese recognized that the Greek priests and Greek Orthodox parishes were not part of its jurisdiction. On the parish listings of the Russian Orthodox diocese for 1906, the Greek Orthodox parishes are not included. Furthermore, the document notes that in addition to the listed clergymen, "there are several Greek priests who are under the Metropolitan of Athens but who, so far as Episcopal Ministrations are concerned, call upon the Orthodox Archbishop of North America." ⁴⁸ While this statement is ambiguous, it does indicate that the Russian Orthodox diocese recognized that the Greek priests in America were not fully under its jurisdiction. In this regard, it should also be noted that the Greek parishes were not listed among those belonging to the Russian Orthodox jurisdiction in lists published in 1911 and 1918. ⁴⁹

The Orthodox parishes of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were, for the most part, ethnic communities. Most of the earliest Orthodox parishes in the continental United States served all Orthodox immigrants or merchants without regard for ethnic background. However, as immigration increased in the three decades before World War I, it became common for Orthodox parishes to be organized on an ethnic or linguistic basis. This practice reflected the fact that the parish was not only a worshiping community but also a center of social and cultural life. However, this practice did not contribute to a sense of Orthodox unity in America or Orthodox mission in America.

While the various immigrant groups professed the same Orthodox faith and generally followed the same liturgical practices, there was very little evidence of Orthodox unity or cooperation. In the absence of a bishop whose authority was recognized by all Orthodox groups and a single unifying ecclesiastical structure, isolation among the Orthodox groups became commonplace. When compounded by linguistic barriers and cultural suspicion, this isolation frequently led to a type of de facto division among the Orthodox. This division among the Orthodox groups would become more acute in the period following World War I.

The Orthodox immigrants did not sever ties with their homeland. Although they lived in a new country, the immigrants were very much influenced by the political and ecclesiastical developments that occurred in their fatherlands during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. By means of ethnic newspapers, letters from relatives, and the reports of persons who recently arrived in America, the immigrants were kept informed of all the events that occurred in their homelands before, during, and after World War I.

Political differences in Greece following World War I spread to the United States and had a profound impact upon the Greek immigrants, as well as upon their ecclesiastical life. Similarly, the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 and the events that followed it had a momentous impact upon both the immigrants from Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe as well as the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and the parishes associated with it. Having their roots in Eastern European politics, fratricidal disputes, parish divisions, and schisms became the principal characteristics of Orthodox Christianity in the United States in the two decades following the conclusion of World War I.

The formal organization of the Greek Orthodox parishes in the United States began at a time when the people of Greece were seriously divided between the followers of King Constantine I and the followers of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos. ¹ Following the assumption of power by Venizelos in 1917, Meletios Metaxakis was elected Metropolitan of Athens. On 4 August 1918, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, under the presidency of Metropolitan Meletios, resolved to organize the Greek Orthodox parishes in America. ²

Having great interest in the American situation, Metropolitan Meletios traveled to the United States in order to oversee personally the organization of the parishes. Accompanied by Bishop Alexander (Demoglou) of Rodostolou, Father Chrysostomos Papadopoulos, and Professor Amilkas Alevizatos of Athens, Metropolitan Meletios arrived in New York on 22 August 1918. Concerned with the need to establish a central ecclesiastical authority for the American parishes, Metropolitan Meletios began to meet immediately after his arrival with prominent clergy and laypersons. The metropolitan recognized that there was a great need for a bishop in the United States who could act with authority to bring unity and direction to the parishes, which at that time numbered about 140. Before leaving the United States on 29 October 1918, therefore, Metropolitan Meletios appointed Bishop Alexander of Rodostolou as the synodical representative. ³

Bishop Alexander encountered severe difficulties from the very beginning of his administration. Although many Greek immigrants welcomed the presence of the bishop, others were firmly opposed to his leadership. This opposition was rooted in the struggle between the Royalists and the Venizelists, which divided not only the people of Greece but also the Greek immigrants in America. Both Metropolitan Meletios and Bishop Alexander were viewed by the Royalists as being closely associated with Venizelos and his republican political views. Therefore, the Royalists in America urged the priests to ignore the directives of the bishop, and they urged the faithful to disassociate themselves from priests who accepted the authority of the synodical representative.

Although Bishop Alexander had remained in the United States with the intention of uniting the Greek Orthodox parishes under his canonical authority, he rapidly discovered that many refused to accept his leadership. Politics, rather than canon law, had a greater influence upon the immigrants. A civil war among the Greek immigrants and division within the Greek Orthodox parishes had begun. This sad state of affairs would continue for about two decades.

The situation in the United States became even more acute following political changes in Greece. After the defeat of the Venizelos party in the election of 1 November 1920, the Royalists returned to power. Metropolitan Meletios was informed on 17 November 1920, in a letter from the minister of ecclesiastical affairs that Metropolitan Theokleitos was being restored to his see by royal order. Despite protests to Queen Olga and to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Metropolitan Meletios was forced to vacate his residence. Still claiming to be the legitimate Metropolitan of Athens, he left Greece and traveled to the United States in February 1921. Without regard for the decisions of the new Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, Metropolitan Meletios and Bishop Alexander continued to try to organize the Greek Orthodox parishes in America. ⁴

Despite the division between the Royalists and the Venizelists, which continued to deepen, and the opposition of the new Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, Metropolitan Meletios and Bishop Alexander acted decisively to organize in a formal and legal manner the Greek Orthodox parishes in America. Through an encyclical dated 11 August 1921, Metropolitan Meletios called for the first Congress of Clergy and Laity of the parishes in America. This historic congress, held in New York on 13-15 September 1921, was the first time that clergy and lay representatives of the Greek Orthodox parishes from throughout the United States met together. The most important action of the congress was the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America. ⁵

In order to give the new archdiocese a legal as well as an ecclesiastical authority, it was formally incorporated in the state of New York on 19 September 1921. According to the document of incorporation, the purposes of the archdiocese were:

New developments soon occurred in both America and Constantinople that further altered the direction of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. Less than two months after the organization of the new archdiocese, Metropolitan Meletios was elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople on 25 November 1921. ⁷ This dramatic turn of events was to have a monumental effect upon Orthodox Christianity in America. Although Metropolitan Meletios was chosen to become patriarch at a time when the Church of Constantinople was beset with many problems, he continued to have a profound concern for the Orthodox faithful in America. This is very clearly evident in his enthronement speech, which was delivered in the patriarchal Church of St. George on 8 February 1922. After reflecting upon the state of the Orthodox churches, the new patriarch spoke with much affection and with much vision for the church in America:

Less than a month after his enthronement, Meletios and the Holy Synod of the church of Constantinople decided on 1 March 1922 to revoke the statement of 1908 that had placed the Diaspora under temporary jurisdiction of the Church of Greece. Two months later, a new statement issued by Patriarch Meletios and the Holy Synod on 17 May 1922 canonically established the Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America as a province of the church of Constantinople. Bishop Alexander was subsequently appointed as the first archbishop. ⁹

The establishment of the archdiocese in 1921, the election of Metropolitan Meletios as Patriarch of Constantinople, and the decision to restore the American parishes to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate did not immediately diminish the strife between the Royalists and the Venizelists in America. In fact, these great events may have contributed to further division.

Prior to these developments, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece acted to establish its authority over the Greek Orthodox parishes in America and to diminish the authority of then-Metropolitan Meletios and Bishop Alexander. In 1921, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece sent Metropolitan Germanos (Troianos) of Monemvasia and Lacedaemonos to be its exarch in the United States. The new exarch of the Church of Greece presented a serious challenge to the authority of Metropolitan Meletios and Bishop Alexander. Acting with the authority of both the Church of Greece and the government of Greece, Metropolitan Germanos sought to bring all priests and parishes under his authority. ¹⁰ His presence, however, only contributed to the division among the Greek Orthodox parishes. Metropolitan Germanos extended his authority over about fifty parishes during his brief stay in the United States. ¹¹

As a consequence of improved relations between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Church of Greece, Metropolitan Germanos was recalled in 1923. With his return to Greece, the formal division of the Greek Orthodox in America into two rival ecclesiastical jurisdictions should have come to an end. But it did not. The division between the Royalists and the Venizelists in the United States persisted and also continued to manifest itself in the parishes. Under the leadership of Royalists, a small number of parishes continued to oppose the authority of Archbishop Alexander and the three newly consecrated bishops of the archdiocese: Bishop Philaret (Ioannides) of Chicago, Bishop Joachim (Alexopoulos) of Boston, and Bishop Kallistos (Papageorgakopoulos) of San Francisco. ¹²

The schismatic movement was reinvigorated with the arrival in the United States in 1923 of Metropolitan Vasilios (Komvopoulos) of Chaldea. A strong supporter of the Royalist cause, this hierarch refused to accept his recent appointment as Metropolitan of Chaldea. Upon arriving in the United States, the metropolitan went to Lowell, Massachusetts, where the representatives of thirteen Royalist parishes proclaimed him to be the head of the autocephalous metropolis of America and Canada. Although the Ecumenical Patriarchate deposed Vasilios on 10 May 1924, he continued his activity in the United States and was viewed by the Royalists as a martyred hero. His qualities as a preacher, liturgist, and administrator aided him in his struggle against the authority of the canonical archdiocese. ¹³

The introduction of the new calendar (revised Julian) in 1923 further aggravated the division in America. Following the lead of its mother church and in harmony with the Church of Greece, the canonical archdiocese adopted the new calendar and abandoned the old Julian calendar, which was thirteen days "behind." This change, however, did not affect the manner of reckoning the date of Pascha (Easter). The rival metropolis under the leader of Metropolitan Vasilios retained the use of the old calendar. Thus, in addition to their political stance, the Royalist parishes also had an ecclesiastical issue to employ in their struggle against the archdiocese and patriarchate. The political vi