Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/858

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772

GREEK


772


GREEK


matic theology has appeared in Greek, a volume of about 450 pages published at Athens in 1907 by a lay- man, M. Androutsos — an index of the esteem that theology enjoys in the Greek Churches. They have, however, translations of Russian, German, or English works, and in this way Protestant ideas are creeping in. The same might be said of other branches of ec- clesiastical knowledge. The only good manual of canon law is by a Servian bishop, Mgr. Milasch; the manuals of church history by an Athenian layman, Diomedes Kyriakos, and by Mgr. Philaretes, Metro- politan of Dimotika, are merely translations or adap- tations of Protestant works. Among the laity there are some learned men, e. g., Spiridion Lambros, C. Sathas, A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus, and M. Gedeon. The clergy take no interest in theology, nor, as a rule, in anything intellectual. Politics and dull personal intrigues are their only concern. In this respect the coming generation will perhaps differ from their pred- ecessors. Two reviews have been started: the "Nea Sion" (New Sion) at Jerusalem, and the "Church Beacon" at Alexandria, but both are carried on in a spirit of controversy, and the impartiality and scien- tific honesty of many of the editors are not above question. The Phanar review, " Ecclesiastical Truth ", is only a church weekly.

I have not touched on the religious spirit of the Greek clergy, for as a rule it is sadly deficient ; nor on its missions, for there are none ; nor its present monastic life, confined to Athos and no more than a recitation of endless prayers interspersed with local intrigues. Other religious houses exist only in name; they are now, for the most part, farms managed by a so-called monk and supplying funds to Athos or elsewhere. Owing to the energy of the lay element, who take an active interest in education, there are many well- conducted primary schools. We have only praise for the efforts of both sexes to create and support works of charity and of benevolence. On this score the Greeks are inferior to no people.

ScHELSTRATE, Ada orientatis ecclesitE contra Lutheri hwresim (Rome, 1739): Pichler, Geschichte des Prolestantismus in der orient. Kirche (Berlin, 1862); Renaudin, Lutherietis et Grec^ OTthodoxes (Paris, 190:3); Senmoz, Les demicres annces du pa- triarche Cyrilte Lucar in Echos d'Orient (Paris, 1903), 97-107; Mansi, Concitiorum collection XXXVII, 369-624; Aymon, Monumens authentiques de la religion des Grecs et de la faussete de plusieurs confessions de la joi des Chretiens orientaux (The Hague, 1708); Trivier, Cj/riHe Lucar (Paris, 1877); OaviANi- KOV, Cyril Luearis and his Struggle with the Roman Catholic Propaganda in the East (Russian, Novotcherkostk, 1903); Williams, The Orthodox and the Non-Jurors (London, 1868); KiMMEL, Libri symholici EcclesicE orientalis (Jena, 1843); Gass, Symbolik der gnechischen Kirche (Berlin, 1872); Mesolaras, SvjLL0oAiKi7 Tqs 6p9o5dfov eKKKjjaia^ (Athens, 1883); Katten- BUSCH, Lehrbuch der \>ergleichcnden Confessionskunde (Freiburg im Br., 1892), I; Michalcescu, Die Bekenntnisse und die wichtigsten Glaubenszeugnvise der griechisch-orienlatischen Kirche (Leipzig, 1904); Meyer, Die theolog. Litteratur der griechischen Kirche im 16. Jahrhiindert (Leipzig, 1899); Le- GRAND, Bibliogr. hellenique aux XV' et XVI'sitcles (Paris, 1885- 1903); Idem, Bibliogr. helli-nique au XVII' siicle (5 vols., Paris, 1894-1903); Vretos, fieoeWrivLKi} <fn.\o\oyla (2 vols., Athens, 1854-7); Sathas, NeotAAiji-iKi) .()iAoAovi'<i (Athens, 1868); De- METRAcopouLos, 'Op9d5ojo? 'EAAas (Leipzig, 1868); Zarvias, Nea 'EAAds (Athens, 1872); CiiASslOTls, LInstniclion publigtte chez les Grecs (Paris, 18S1); Montmasson, Les ceuvres de bienfaisance grecgues A Constantinople in Echos d' Orient (Janu- ary, 1909); Brandi, De V union des Eglises (Rome, 1896); Bauer, Argumenta contra orirnlalem ecclesiam ejusgue synodi- cam encyclicam (Innsbruck, 1897); Malatakes, Rcponse a la lettre patriarcale et synodale de Vcglise de Constantinople sur les divergences qui diviscnt les deux eglises (Constantinople, 1896); Meester, Leon XIII e la Chiesa Greca (Rome, 1904).

S. Vailhe.

Greek Empire. See Byzantine Empire.

Greek Orthodox Church in America. — The name Orthodox Church is generally used to distinguish those of the Greek Rite who are not in communion with the Holy See. It is a name common to the offi- cial designation of both Churclics of the Greek Rite, but the schismatic or dissenting ('liurclies lay great stress upon the word Orllioilo.r. and its imjjiied mean- ing of correctness of doctrine, while the Uniat Churches lay equal emphasis upon the word Catholic.


Hence these divisions of the Greek Church are respec- tively called the "Greek Orthodox" and the "Greek Catholic" for convenience in designation. The Greek Orthodox Church is now well established in America, and nearly every city of considerable size has one or more churches of the various nationalities belonging to that communion. There is no unity among them nor any obedience to a central authority; they con- form to the general usages and discipline of the Byzan- tine Rite, but look to their respective Holy Synods in their home countries for governing authority and direction. Seven nationalities have their churches here, using the Old Slavonic, the Greek, the Arabic, and the Rumanian as their liturgical languages; and of these the Russian is the oldest and best established.

I. Rdssian Orthodox Church. — The Russian Church has been established upon American (formerly Russian) territory for over a centurj^ In this con- nexion the word Russian refers to rossiisky (of the Empire of Russia), and not russky, which may be translated either Russian or Ruthenian. In 1793 a band of eight missionary monks was sent out from St. Petersburg to Alaska, and the first Russian church was built on Kodiak Island in 1794. In 1798 the first missionary bishop, Joasaph, was consecrated. In 1804 the fort and city of New Archangel (now Sitka) was founded on the island of Sitka. In 1812 the Russians made a settlement in California; Russian Hill, in San Francisco, is still a reminder of them. In Alaska they converted many of the Eskimo and In- dians, and the success of their missions was such that in 1S40 the monk Ivan Veniaminoff was made the first bishop of " Kamchatka, the Kuriles and Aleu- tians", and took up his see at Sitka. In 1867, just before Alaska was sold to the United States, he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, and in Russia his ad- vice was of great assistance in the negotiations for the transfer of Alaska. After him the title of the see was changed to "Aleutia and Alaska". In 1872 the see was changed from Sitka to San Francisco, and a Rus- sian cathedral built there. The Russian bishops in America have been Paul (1867-70), John (1870-79), Nestor (1879-82), Vladimir (1883-91), Nicholas (1891-97), and Tikhon (1897-1907). In 1900 the title of the see was changed to "Aleutia and North America", and an assistant bishop was appointed for Alaska. In 1905 Bishop Tikhon changed his see from San Francisco to New York City, and in the year 1906 the Russian Holy Synod raised him to the dignity of archbishop with the suffragan Bishop of Alaska and a new Bishop of Brooklyn. In 1907 he was succeeded by the present Archbishop Platon, a former member of the Russian Duma.

Until within the last twelve years the Russian Church was hardly known in the United States, being wholly confined to its Pacific shores. In New York between 1870 and 1880 there was a Russian Orthodox chapel on Second Avenue, established by the Rev. Nicholas Bjerring, but it failed for lack of a congrega^ tion and support by the Russian authorities. Father Bjerring became a Catholic before his death. The first great impulse to the establishment of the Russian Church in the United States on a large scale was given in 1891, when the late Rev. Alexis Toth, then a Ruthenian Greek Catholic priest in Minneapolis, dis- obeyed the instructions of Archbishop Ireland and, when threatened with a recall to his native country, left his parish, went to San Francisco, turned Ortho- dox, and submitted to Bishop Nicholas, and on re- turning to Minneapolis took over his whole parish to the Russian Orthodox Church. He afterwards tried, in 1892, to take over the entire congregation and church property of St. Mary's Greek Cntholic chiu-rh in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The transfer of the church property was presented by the courts, but over half the congregation seceded. Toth became an able and energetic advocate of the Russian Orthodo.x