Turning to Tradition: Converts and the Making of an American Orthodox Church

257 Pages·2013·1.505 MB·English

by  D. Oliver Herbel

TURNING TO TRADITION

TURNING
TO TRADITION
Converts and the Making
of an American Orthodox Church
D. OLIVER HERBEL
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Herbel, Oliver.
Turning to tradition : converts and the making of an American Orthodox
church / D. Oliver Herbel.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978–0–19–932495–8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Orthodox Eastern
converts—United States—Biography. I. Title.
BX739.A1H47 2013
281.9092’273—dc23
2013023100
9780199324958
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1. St. Alexis Toth, Leader of Eastern Catholic
Converts 25
2. Fr. Raphael Morgan and Early African
American Orthodoxy 61
3. Fr. Moses Berry and the Order of St. Moses
the Black 85
4. The Conversion of Fr. Peter Gillquist
and the EOC to the Orthodox Church 103
5. The Deconversion of the Evangelical Orthodox
Church from the Anti-traditional Tradition 130
Conclusion 146
Notes 159
Bibliography 215
Index 239

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Throughout the course of researching and writing, I have
had the support and assistance of many people. My family
has remained important throughout the entirety of this
project. I am indebted to the emotional and financial sup-
port of my wife Lorie. It not easy to be married to an in-
dependent scholar. Lorie’s sacrifices are greatly appreciated
and without them, this work would not have been possible. I
am also thankful for our three children: Micah, Macrina, and
Anastasia (“Tasha”). They have encouraged me and kept me
focused on things that really matter.
Support from many within the academy has also been
vital. Funding from a Calihan Research Fellowship from the
Acton Institute enabled me to pursue some of my research
on St. Alexis Toth, as well as Fr. Nathaniel Irvine, who is
mentioned in the conclusion. David Murphy and Evgueni
Kadossov have each read different portions of my transla-
tion work for the chapter on St. Alexis Toth, though any
errors remain entirely my own. Michael McClymond, who
directed my dissertation (from which this book developed),
viii | ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
and Fr. John Erickson, professor emeritus of church history
at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, have been
sincerely supportive and helpful in ways too numerous to
mention. I must also thank good friends Scott Kenworthy for
his ongoing support and encouragement and Brandon Gal-
laher not only for encouragement but also the willingness to
read pre-submission drafts, offering highly useful feedback
along the way.
I am also thankful for all the various ways that others
have helped contribute to the scholarship within this work.
Matthew Namee, who blogs about Orthodox Christianity in
America, called my attention to pertinent newspaper articles
and ship lists concerning Fr. Raphael Morgan as well as an
open letter Morgan had published. Fr. Anastasius C. Bandy,
a local Orthodox Church historian of the Philadelphia area
also helped point me in some directions during the earlier
phases of my research into Morgan. Sadly, Fr. Anastasius
died in February, 2012. May his memory be eternal! I would
certainly be remiss were I to omit the hospitality of two
people mentioned in this book, Fr. Moses Berry and Fred-
erica Matthewes-Green. Fr. Moses Berry offered wonderful
hospitality in addition to personal interviews, and Frederica
Matthewes-Green kindly provided not only some letters
from her personal files at home, but also encouragement on
this project itself. Others, such as Fr. James Bernstein, Fr. Mel
Gimmaka, and Ron Zell were kind enough to discuss the life
of the Evangelical Orthodox Church and its conversion over
the phone while Dr. Carla Thompson engaged in an exchange
of email correspondence, as did Fr. Ted Wojcik. Fr. Thomas
Hopko was kind enough not only to discuss his work with
the Evangelical Orthodox Church but also provided impor-
tant documentation. I am also indebted to those who were
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | ix
willing to provide me with additional primary sources for the
chapters discussing the former members of the Evangelical
Orthodox Church but who must yet remain anonymous due
to the nature of some of the issues discussed.
Many within the Orthodox Church have also been sup-
portive along the way. The prayers of the parishioners at both
Nativity of the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church in Madison,
Illinois, and Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Fargo,
North Dakota, have been greatly appreciated. Were it not for
the collective efforts of everyone and many others whom I
have neglected to mention, I would not have completed this
endeavor.