The Orthodox Church Denominations in America

Contents

FOREWORD

Part One

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH: A HISTORY

To Kyriaki with love

Orthodoxy cannot be maintained simply by inertia. No tradition can survive unless it is continued through creative effort. The message of Christ is eternal and always the same, but it must be reinterpreted again and again so as to become a challenge to every new generation, to be a message which may appeal to man in his concrete situation. We have not simply to keep the legacy of the past, but must first realize what we have inherited and do everything we can to present it to others as a living thing.

Father Georges Florovsky

The Responsibility of Orthodox Believers in America

FOREWORD

The Praeger series of denominational studies follows a distinguished precedent. These current volumes improve on earlier works by including more churches than before and by looking at all of them in a wider cultural context. The prototype for this series appeared almost a century ago. Between 1893 and 1897, twenty-four scholars collaborated in publishing thirteen volumes known popularly as the American Church History Series. These scholars found twenty religious groups to be worthy of separate treatment, either as major sections of a volume or as whole books in themselves. Scholars in this current series have found that outline to be unrealistic, with regional subgroups no longer warranting separate status and others having declined to marginality. Twenty organizations in the earlier series survive as nine in this collection, and two churches and an interdenominational bureau have been omitted. The old series also excluded some important churches of that time; others have gained great strength since then. So today, a new list of denominations, rectifying imbalance and recognizing modern significance, features many groups not included a century ago. The solid core of the old series remains in this new one, and in the present case a wider range of topics makes the study of denominational life in America more inclusive.

Some recent denominational histories have improved with greater attention to primary sources and more rigorous scholarly standards. But they have too frequently pursued themes for internal consumption alone. Volumes in the Praeger series strive to surmount such parochialism while remaining grounded in the specific materials of concrete ecclesiastical traditions. They avoid placing a single denomination above others in its distinctive truth claims, ethical norms, and liturgical patterns. Instead, they set the history of each church in the larger religious and social context that shaped the emergence of notable denominational features. In this way the authors in this series help us understand the interaction that has occurred between different churches and the broader aspects of American culture.

Each of the historical studies in this current series has a strong biographical focus, using the real-life experiences of men and women in church life to highlight significant elements of an unfolding sequence. Every volume singles out important watershed issues that affected a denomination's outlook and discusses the roles of those who influenced the flow of events. This format enables authors to emphasize the distinctive features of their chosen subject and at the same time recognize the sharp particularities of individual attributes in the cumulative richness that their denomination possesses.

The author of this volume has produced a remarkable study, despite almost overwhelming difficulties. Various forms of Eastern Orthodoxy stem from the beginnings of Christianity itself, and they acquired different emphases while spreading into disparate cultures. Their many versions were ancient when the Western Hemisphere was new to Europeans. This sense of longevity gave Eastern Orthodox churches a special reverence for tradition, which they brought with them to America. As representatives of Greek, Russian, Syrian, Ukrainian, and other Orthodox groups immigrated here, they resisted any alteration of their imported confessions and liturgies vis-a-vis the rest of American spirituality. Indeed, they usually refused to pool their resources or to cooperate more closely with each other, even when such marginality reduced their influence. This spirit of isolated integrity has perpetuated separate institutions, ethnic identities, hierarchies, and theological priorities in an American context where neither geography nor politics any longer justifies them. FitzGerald is at his best in accounting for the complex reasons behind the continuance of numerous Orthodox entities. He is also cogent and persuasive in analyzing the cultural and ecumenical factors that slowly move these groups toward closer interaction. As professor of religious studies and history at Hellenic College, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, he is fortuitously placed to comprehend this ecclesiastical spectrum. His balanced perspective and sympathetic treatment of these communions mark a notable advance in our effort to understand what these churches mean to each other and what future role all American denominations might play in national life.

HENRY WARNER BOWDEN