text:
Here's what we know. Approximately 13.7 billion years ago, a singularity of infinite energy, infinite curvature, and infinite mass exploded cataclysmically, spraying particles out into space. As this matter became less dense and cooled, new particles formed from it, they alligned into new lawful patterns of behavior, and stars began to coagulate. Those stars eventually cooked the matter, forming still more kinds of elements, and some of them went supernova and sprayed these new heavier and more complicated elements out into space. That matter eventually coalesced into rings around stars, and then gathered into heaps that became planets. On some of those planets, at least on ours, some 3 billion years ago, primitive self-replicating strands of molecules began to form. Environmental forces were conducive to some configurations of these molecules and not others. More and more complex structures and patterns in those groupings of matter slowly began to emerge over millions of years by tiny steps. In time, organisms of greater and greater complexity formed spurred on by mutation, variation, and environments that were harsher on some than others. Slowly, adaptations accumulated, and in many cases, a long history of natural selection produced remarkably complicated organisms with highly developed features for responding to their environments and propagating the informational code for those features to their offspring. About 3-5 million years ago, hominids emerged on the African savannah that roved in bands and foraged for sustenance. In time, these creatures' brains grew in size and their cognitive abilities for language and problem solving expanded. Now, you are here as the recent product of this series of events.
Despite a widespread consensus among our very best and brightest, and a mountain of compelling evidence (Daniel Dennett has said that we are as sure of the occurrence of evolution as we about the existence of oxygen), very few Americans (15%) believe that this is the whole story about the origins of human life. To be fair, many Americans, around 45%, now acknowledge that evolution occurred in the history of life on Earth. But of those, the largest percentage (30%) contend that God played a crucial role in it by "guiding it." CBS Poll on Evolution
God created humans in present form
Humans evolved, God guided the process
Humans evolved, God did not guide process
If we resist the urge to be cynical or despair about these embarrassingly low numbers compared to the rest of the educated and civilized world, we can see that 45% percent as a kind of progress. At least many people who only a few years ago would have denied any claim that they took to be contrary to a literal interpretation of the Bible are now making a nominal effort to reconcile the two views with this hybrid "guidance" position.
There is a set of baffling puzzles that are raised by the guidance view, however. Confining ourselves just to evolution and the development of life, not the origins of the cosmos, we must ask, in what capacity to God affect the process or unfolding of evolutionary history on earth? If life evolved by natural selection, what work was their left for God to do? Do we need to invoke God in order to explain the history of life, or has the theory of evolution rendered God extraneous?
There was a time when the picture we had of the naturally selected history of life was rather skeletal. Darwin, famously, did not know the exact method of information transfer from one generation to the next. Mendelian genetics and the discovery of DNA filled in those pieces of the puzzle. Biologists have proposed, tested, and rejected many taxonomical trees that attempted to locate different species according to their nearest relatives. New discoveries in microbiology, geology, and paleontology have forced us to redraw the tree of life, and have given us countless "missing link" species. Every year, our picture of the history of life on earth comes into sharper focus and more details are filled in.
There have been those (51% by the poll mentioned above) who deny evolution altogether and insist that all life on earth was created in its present form 6,000-10,000 years ago by God. One of their responses to evolutionary theory has been to argue that scientists cannot produce the missing links between species. They have been undeterred when one of those so-called missing links, such as Archaeopteryx is found, insisting, as Michael Shermer has pointed out, that for every gap that is filled, two more appear on each side of it. Fortunately, the numbers of people in full denial of evolution have been going down, albeit more slowly than they should. It can be difficult to reconcile the existence of antibiotic resistant germs or the need for getting a new flu shot each season with an outright denial that evolution happens.
For those who acknowledge evolution and insist that God had a hand in it, however, we must wonder about the explanatory gaps he is intended to fill. So far, we have filled in a great deal, nothing in the historical record or in biological research has indicated that there is some looming hole that we will not be able to fill. Even the non-scientist judge and jury in the Dover, Penn. Intelligent Design trial could see through the flimsy and dishonest attempts by religionists to argue otherwise. With every new fossil, and every new completed genome for a species, the room for this evolutionary God of the gaps shrinks.
If "guidance" is to mean anything at all in this context, it must mean something like God intervened in events or processes to produce outcomes that, were it not for God's meddling, would not have occurred otherwise. So far, we do not have any serious indications that anything like this occurred in the history of life on earth. And if we do not have any convincing empirical evidence that God meddled, or boosted, or pruned the tree, what could be a person's grounds for holding the hybrid view? The obvious answer is that they possess an independent set of religious convictions or motivations that they are attempting to reconcile with what has become scientific common sense. They believe that God created life, and they can see that the evidence that life evolved is undeniable (even the Pope has come around on this), so they must merge the two views to reduce the cognitive dissonance.
But the dissonance is still lurking around the corner. If evolution occurred, and God somehow guided that process, how is it that no religious doctrine every gave any indication of that whatsoever? Most religious traditions have a robust and fairly complicated story to tell about God's involvement in the creation of humanity. Their doctrines do not lack for detail or interest in the topic. And yet none of those stories resemble in the slightest way anything like what we now know about evolutionary history. Even the most elaborate exegetical gymnastics cannot really make the Adam and Eve story in Genesis look anything like the account of human life we have from the fossil and biological evidence. If God played a role in it, then it wasn't anything like what any of the religious traditions on the planet have said it was. And that discrepancy alone creates an enormous problem for anyone wanting to espouse the hybrid view. The God they are now dancing with doesn't resemble the one that brought them to the prom in the first place.
Here's another problem: leaving the origin stories from religions aside entirely, suppose the form that God's meddling took was to prune the tree here and there in order to get the desired outcome—God created a sort of cosmic topiary so that the evolutionary process would produce some set of species that he wanted. A lightning bolt here, or a well-placed falling boulder could thwart one species and give another just the edge it needed to win the race. But can anyone take seriously the notion that the alleged grand creator of all reality would employ these sorts of microscopic and short-sighted means to achieve his goals? If God's end goal was to produce homo sapiens, or more likely, a rich hospitable habitat for bacteria judging from the numbers, and this goal was evident to him from the outset, it boggles the mind to think that he would set out to achieve that end through such a torturous, inelegant, inefficient path. It's even more laughable to suggest that in all of his divine wisdom and power, he'd be forced to resort to dropping a big rock on some unsuspecting Cro-Magnon in order to get the desired outcome millions of years and millions of generations later. On an isolated road one night, I jury rigged a burnt out fuse in my truck with a paperclip so that my headlights would work long enough to get me home. It wasn't a very good solution, but I lacked the resources or the power to get there any other way. Would any God worthy of the name MacGyver his way through billions of years of history with bubble gum and duct tape? Lightning bolts and falling boulders scream out bumbling incompetence, not omnipotence and omniscience.
Furthermore, the problem is not just that the gaps for God shrink with new developments in biology. It's that there just doesn't seem to be any real explanatory need to insert God into the equation. If we've got a natural, non-purposeful, non-intelligent account of the whole series of events, then what exactly is added to our understanding by still insisting that God guided it? There are no real indications that any guiding was needed. So adding God into the account doesn't actually explain anything. It certainly doesn't give us the ability to make any predictions that we couldn't otherwise. The hypothesis doesn't seem to be corroborated by any empirical testing. So what motivation could we have, besides a lingering affection for the stories and doctrines that were artfully insinuated into our heads as children?
Saturday, January 31, 2009
MacGyver-ing the Universe
40 comments:
This may be one of the reasons people have a hard time accepting the theory of evolution
The First Animal On Earth Was Significantly More Complex Than Previously Believed
There seems to be a lot of revising in the theory of evolution like the premise
"simpler entities progress into more complex entities"
I guess its now harder to sell people the fact that an alledged radom process created a somehwat complex creature on earth... - January 31, 2009 at 7:11 PM
even atheist professors have their problems with evolution...
Prominent Atheist Professor of Law and Philosophy Thomas Nagel Calls Intelligent Design Scientific and Constitutional to "Mention" in Science Classes
http://www.evolutionnews.org/2008/09/prominent_atheist_professor_of.html#more - January 31, 2009 at 7:20 PM
- Teleprompter said...
"There seems to be a lot of revising in the theory of evolution" is the brilliant observation deducted by Anonymous.
And how is this a bad thing? In science, when evidence shows that a theory is wrong, we update the theory or abandon it altogether.
In religion, someone says something and then it doesn't change for the next few thousand years, though people have many conflicting and wildly different interpretations of it and fight over them.
As someone else once said:
"Philosophy is questions that may never be answered - religion is answers that may never be questioned".
I am proud that science revises its views in accordance with new evidence -- but religion doesn't. So how can you trust religious conclusions? - January 31, 2009 at 7:43 PM
- M. Tully said...
Headlines Can Be Deceiving
Anon refers to an article in Science Daily in which the headline could leave the impression that biologists now believe that animal complexity suddenly sprung into existence (a good way to generate google hits, but it doesn't capture what the article actually says).
Going back to the source material at the National Science Foundation, shows that what the authors were really stating was that at the first unique (and detectable) animal speciation event, the last common animal ancestor was more complex than previously thought, not that complexity suddenly emerged. The "big shake-up" of the timeline can be seen close up here.
In fact, contary to the headline, the authors never suggest anything about the initial complexity of the "first animal" on earth. - February 1, 2009 at 9:06 AM
- Baconsbud said...
I think too many people try to over complicate why so many don't accept evolution. I will try to explain this but could be more confusing then I want it to be, I will be 46 this year and have very little actual knowledge about evolution. The small amount I do have is well supported by science. My knowledge of religion is a little better then evolution but unlike evolution very little of what the religions say is support by any real evidence.
The reason I see for most americans rejection of evolution is simply that most americans aren't educated about evolution. All I remember from school about evolution is that some fish might have developed a fake eye on its tail to protect itself from predators. I figure most americans seldom receives the education they need to understand what evolution is from people that actually know and understand it. The few christians that i know are very misinformed by those that it is to their advantage to keep them ignorant.
You also bring up those that say god plays a part in evolution. I see them as wanting to keep god in their lives because it makes it easier for them to handle many parts of life. To completely give up their god would cause to much trouble in their lives so they build a story that will allow both evolution and god be a part of their lives. - February 1, 2009 at 9:48 AM
The reason I see for most americans rejection of evolution is simply that most americans aren't educated about evolution.
Yes, and why is that? I suggest it is because many religious people brainwash their children against accepting evolution while they are still young, at home and in Sunday school, and because many K-12 teachers do not do a good job of teaching evolution for fear of upsetting those students and their parents. Let's place the blame where it belongs.
Happy 200th anniversary of Darwin;s birth to all, and happy 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species as well. - February 1, 2009 at 10:41 AM
a singularity of infinite energy, infinite curvature, and infinite mass exploded...
I suspect that should be infinite energy density and infinite mass density. - February 1, 2009 at 10:44 AM
um sorry piano player but when a scientific theory has to consantly revise itself it is crap. theories like the second law etc are much ore accepted because they standed
the test of time. Evo theory is crap because they are always tweaking it to fit a secular worldview. How ca a theory truly be scientific if it does not accept falsification??? Uh it cannot... - February 1, 2009 at 8:41 PM
I just love to see the atheist here spin the article on the jelly fish. hey guess what guys your theory is crap. its basic premise was "simple entites gave rise to more complex entites" which you atheist need to believe in to get a random universe...seems like if the first creature on earth was not soo simple than atheist have no good explantion for their non god theory of life.
more complex creatures = more intelligent
first creature was more intelligent than its kin
Darwins tree theory is crap
intelligence is not an evolved trait like you monkey lovers thought... - February 1, 2009 at 8:47 PM
- Teleprompter said...
I'm not sure that you have any idea what you're talking about. Let's see why:
"um sorry piano player"
It's Player Piano, not Piano Player. Why do so many people have such a hard time with this? It's not that difficult to freaking read is it? Of course, you have misinterpreted the facts so often in your comments, I'm not really surprised to learn that you're not actually paying attention to what you've read before you comment on it.
"but when a scientific theory has to consantly revise itself it is crap."
Brilliant deduction, again, my friend. Why is it a scientific theory -- because it revises itself according to new evidence. That means that we deduce how something might work, devise a test for that hypothesis, test the hypothesis, check our conclusions, re-test again and again and again, constantly revising our hypotheses to explain our results. Then once we have enough supporting evidence, it can rightly be called a theory. You have no idea how any of that works, do you? You don't even know what a scientific theory is, nor how it works. Why should I take anything you say seriously when you don't even have a basic knowledge of science?
"theories like the second law etc are much ore accepted because they standed the test of time."
Evolution by natural selection has stood the test of time brilliantly, as has gravity. But that doesn't mean that we haven't made wholesale refinements in our understanding. There is still a great deal we don't understand about how exactly gravity works (for example, see many of things scientists are planning to do in the Large Hadron Collider). But you don't people going around talking about Intelligent Falling do you? Gravity is just a theory, eh? Would you like to test that hypothesis for me, in the spirit of science, since you're such an expert on it?
"Evo theory is crap because they are always tweaking it to fit a secular worldview."
Secular: I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Secular means that something is impartial to religion. Something that is secular is not opposed to religion: it just avoids the subject of religion. When people say science is secular, they mean that is outside the bounds of religion.
"How ca a theory truly be scientific if it does not accept falsification??? Uh it cannot..."
Evolution is falsifiable. If you could find bunny fossils in the Cambrian, I'm pretty sure you could invalidate much of our current understanding of the Theory of Evolution.
Would you like to know what isn't falsifiable?
Religion. Religion is largely not falsifiable. Most of its claims cannot be tested. Yet you have confidence in that and not science?
Regrettable. - February 1, 2009 at 8:55 PM
"The reason I see for most americans rejection of evolution is simply that most americans aren't educated about evolution'
yah i guess we inbred right wing republicans are just too stupid to see the truth of evolution...I like this argument. the next time i disagree with someone i will claim that they just arent educated enough to have my position... - February 1, 2009 at 8:56 PM
hey player paino you may want try and understand science before you try and correct people about it. A theory cannot continue to stand if it has been shown to be false. Just like philogeston theory of air was shown to be false. But despite scientific theories being falsifiable the method of science is not...
So you cannot claim that sci theories can be revised least they are a new theory...duh!
sounds like someone doesnt know the difference between scientific theory, science, old theory, new theory, bad theory - February 1, 2009 at 9:08 PM
how is evolution falsifiable if theorist keep updating it and still call it evolution???
perhaps you meant to say that newer theories of evolution will be the product of revision
but you cannot say that these newer theories are in fact the same as the old ones...
the method of science...the practice of scientific work is no more falsifiable than rod divining it just happens that science works for us o shall i say conform to our secular society values??? - February 1, 2009 at 9:15 PM
- Teleprompter said...
I'm afraid that you still don't know what exactly it is which you're discussing.
"A theory cannot continue to stand if it has been shown to be false"
And how exactly has evolution by natural selection been shown to be false? By the way, your misunderstanding of the scientific method does not count.
"So you cannot claim that sci theories can be revised least they are a new theory...duh!"
Wow, you still have no idea how this works, do you? Theories can be modified without being entirely replaced. You really should think about what you're saying before you say it.
"sounds like someone doesnt know the difference between scientific theory, science, old theory, new theory, bad theory"
I agree...where could you find this person? I suggest you look in the mirror.
"how is evolution falsifiable if theorist keep updating it and still call it evolution???"
The theory of evolution by natural selection is falsifiable because it makes claims that can be tested. It is subject to experimental scrutiny. Particular parts of the theory are updated at different times by new experimental evidence. Gravity is also subject to new evidence, but that doesn't mean that we throw it out entirely. As I said earlier, if you really doubt the science here, you should have the conviction of your beliefs and test the hypothesis of intelligent falling. Then again, maybe you can see how absurd your lines of reasoning really are.
"the practice of scientific work is no more falsifiable than rod divining"
Oh really? Does rod divining make predictions which can be rigorously confirmed by experiment? Do these predictions hold up to experimental analysis? When an unexpected result is obtained, do rod diviners re-evaluate their understanding?
Rod-divining is falsifiable if it makes predictions which can be tested. However, I have more confidence in science because it has a rigorous system to determine if its predictions are accurate.
Once again, you have demonstrated a poor understanding of how science actually works.
I am sorry that you have been so badly misinformed. I would hope that you could learn more about how this stuff works. It's actually really fascinating. - February 1, 2009 at 10:09 PM
- Baconsbud said...
Yes anonymous through the lack of education you have shown that you have no understanding of evolution beyond what you have been told lies about it. I doubt you ever check to see if your preacher is lying to you about what he claims to know. There can be no true debate if all you do is repeat the same lies you have been told. The sad part is the people telling you these lies either have no idea they are lying to you or they are so afraid of you knowing the truth that they justify it in hopes of saving your soul. If i'm not educated well enough to argue a point unlike you I will learn about the subject before diving into it.
- February 2, 2009 at 1:21 AM
"...a singularity of infinite energy, infinite curvature, and infinite mass exploded cataclysmically, spraying particles out into space."
Where did that come from?
From a blast...came the order of the universe?
Throw a grenade into your closet and see what kind of order will follow.
Order is created. It just doesn't happen. - February 2, 2009 at 2:37 AM
theories like the second law etc are much ore accepted because they standed
the test of time. Evo theory is crap because they are always tweaking it to fit a secular worldview.
Thus reinforcing the stereotype that dissenters from evolutionary theory are generally very poorly informed. Check out this article from the October 2008 issue of Scientific American:
Does Nature Break the Second Law of Thermodynamics?
by J. Miguel Rubi
in which the author describes extensions of the second law of thermodynamics. It seems the SLOT, as originally formulated, only applied to systems at equilibrium...
And evolutionary theory has never been tweaked "to fit a secular worldview," it has been extended and modified to incorporate new evidence, generated by observation and experimentation. That it all happens to fit a secular worldview is a reasonable interpretation, not an axiom. - February 2, 2009 at 6:32 AM
Where did that come from?
Let me guess your answer: "we don't know, therefore a magical sky pixie did it." - February 2, 2009 at 6:33 AM
Order is created. It just doesn't happen.
So when snowflakes form, that is an act of creation? - February 2, 2009 at 6:34 AM
Order is created. It just doesn't happen.
Here's a quote from the concluding paragraph of the above-cited article on the second law of thermodynamics by J. Miguel Rubi:
"In short, my colleagues and I have shown that the development of order from chaos, far from contradicting the second law, fits nicely into a broader framework of thermodynamics." - February 2, 2009 at 6:36 AM
hey player paino you may want try and understand science before you try and correct people about it.
Here's enough irony to last me all week.
A theory cannot continue to stand if it has been shown to be false...
So you cannot claim that sci theories can be revised least they are a new theory...duh!
sounds like someone doesnt know the difference between scientific theory, science, old theory, new theory, bad theory
Let's consider another example: Newton's "Laws" of motion, including his formula for gravitational attraction. This was a great step forward, and is still taught in schools today. And yet, it has been extended by Einstein's theories or relativity for cases of very great mass and very great velocity. I say "extended," but I could have said "replaced." Still, it is taught in schools, and teachers do not natter on about how Newton was wrong. - February 2, 2009 at 6:45 AM
How ca a theory truly be scientific if it does not accept falsification??? Uh it cannot...
You are so right, and that is why Intelligent Design is not scientific, and even several ID proponents have acknowledged that ID does not have a "theory." (e.g. George Gilder, Paul Nelson)
Evolution, however, is falsifiable, i.e. it can be put to the test and is open to be being proven wrong. Perhaps you are confused by the fact that it has passed all those tests.
By the way, given the inability of inductive scientific experimentation to conclusively "prove" results, which is sometimes misused by the ignorant to cast doubt on particular theories and particular bodies of evidence which they find distasteful, I think it is useful to recall that all inductive results are not deductively and conclusively "proven," and this includes things like the theory that the Earth is not flat. - February 2, 2009 at 6:54 AM
No. Your snowflakes are an obvious extension of your expolsive singularity that the pixes pushed the plunger to get started. - February 2, 2009 at 1:15 PM
- M. Tully said...
Steve Martin,
I could see your point when you quoted Matt on the singularity (although I found the rest of his post to be spot on).
Actually, modern physics (since incorporating quantum mechanics) has no singularity at the start of the inflation. There are two currently competing theories (both using standard proven physics and both mathematically viable) as to what initiated inflation. One uses a quantum tunnelling model, the other naturally occurring vacuum fluctuations.
In either case the First Law of Thermodynamics still holds. Energy can be neither created or destroyed, only altered in form. There is a huge body of data backing the first law up (going back some 14 billion years), to suggest an alternative hypothesis would require a consistent demonstration of violations of the First Law (beyond the Heisenberg uncertainty). A very unlikely possibility.
For a good lay discussion see Hawking's "A Brief History of Time"
For as far as we are able to detect, the net energy in the universe is constant and eternal.
Hope this helps. - February 2, 2009 at 5:27 PM
- M. Tully said...
You wrote, "I just love to see the atheist here spin the article on the jelly fish."
Can you point out a particular place where something was "spun" outside of empirical data?
And,"more complex creatures = more intelligent"
Who says? You?
The pinot grape genome is about a third more complex than the human genome.
"to get a random universe"
OK, I'll go over this one time, slowly for you, THERE IS A RANDOM FACTOR AT THE QUANTUM LEVEL AND AFTER THAT EVENTS FOLLOW CAUSAL CHAINS. The universe isn't random!
"seems like if the first creature on earth was not soo simple "
You didn't read the sources, did you?
Instead of hanging out here, showing the world your ignorance of science, why don't you spend some time studying it? And I really mean that Anon. It is a big beautiful universe. Full of explanation and predictability, but still with a great deal of mystery yet to be unovered. - February 2, 2009 at 6:00 PM
- M. Tully said...
Something I missed, "Order is created. It just doesn't happen."
Ever made rock candy? It's fun and tasty and shows how order arises out of chaos, naturally.
An expanding universe cools. - February 2, 2009 at 6:27 PM
Hello all.
I am a Christian who stumbled on this blog because I found the phrase, "proving the negative" to be interesting.
I would love to get an Atheist perspective, and I hope I can find one here. Here's my question:
I have no problem with your beliefs about the origins of the world. (I did find it a bit ironic that the post began with "This we know," which rings with the familiarity of an expression of faith.)
I have never understood why an Atheist would find it offensive that I or anyone else would come to a different conclusion. It seems to me that pure Atheism--total persuasion that there is no god--would lead to apathy or at most amusement regarding the beliefs of those who do believe in a god. Paradoxically, Atheists have sounded very defensive in most of the debates I have heard.
So I was just wondering--and this is an honest question--why do the beliefs of others concern you so much?
Any thoughtful reply would be appreciated.
Yours with respect,
-D. Kempin - February 3, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Hello Anonymous Christian D. Kempin.
I have never understood why an Atheist would find it offensive that I or anyone else would come to a different conclusion... So I was just wondering--and this is an honest question--why do the beliefs of others concern you so much?
Because many of your coreligionists are trying to instill their religious beliefs into public policy, including having the stupidity that is Creationism (see posts by "Anonymous" above) taught as an actual scientific theory in public school science classes. Including making all inhabitants of the land adhere by force to their religious notions of what constitutes marriage, and what medical techniques should be permissible. So, if you want to claim a "live and let live" philosophy, go preach it to your fellow theists.
It seems to me that pure Atheism--total persuasion that there is no god--would lead to apathy or at most amusement regarding the beliefs of those who do believe in a god.
Knowing the facts about the world, and having an emotional response to those facts are not the same thing. Do you really think that everyone who came to that particular belief about the world would have the same emotional reaction? - February 3, 2009 at 1:23 PM
- Casey said...
D. Kemptin,
I'm not sure I speak for everyone here. One problem I see is that since we live in a democratic society, political and moral judgments are being built up and enforced based of assumptions we find faulty. For example, I imagine a couple not being too concerning with what other people believe until they find out what they believe is exactly why this couple is not be allowed to get married.
Billions of dollars are spent, lives are radically altered, people are oppressed (and for the record I'm not claiming an atheistic force never oppressed a theistic one). All for something that many atheists claim is built up on very shaky ground.
The following articles on this blog have something to say regarding your question:
Though there may be more. Thank you for your question. - February 3, 2009 at 1:23 PM
- Matt McCormick said...
Thanks Casey. That's all right on the money. In fact, I'm kind of surprised that someone could have such a casual attitude about religious beliefs such that they think it doesn't matter, or that one person's beliefs have no effect on anyone else.
The short answer is: Believers are being irrational. And if we all have to live with you, be your neighbor and a fellow citizen with you, no one gets a free pass on having having psycho, dangerous ideas about armageddon and some invisible space being who reads minds, grants wishes, punishes people for eternity, and requires all sorts of irrational behavior and beliefs.
MM - February 3, 2009 at 2:20 PM
- M. Tully said...
Hello D. Kempin,
I think you ask a fair question. Here, let me refer you to a sociological poll of Americans, "Edgell also argues that today's atheists play the role that Catholics, Jews and communists have played in the past—they offer a symbolic moral boundary to membership in American society. "It seems most Americans believe that diversity is fine, as long as every one shares a common 'core' of values that make them trustworthy—and in America, that 'core' has historically been religious," says Edgell." The article is not unique. Although the number of non-believers varies from study to study based on how the questions are asked, the results concerning attitudes stay pretty consistent.
So, put yourself in my shoes. Given those results wouldn't you want to change peoples' attitudes?
I also would like to piggyback on what Reginald, Casey and Matt said and at the same time address your question about apathy. For many years I really didn't care about anyone else's thoughts on the unknowable. How does the saying go? "Most of my friends are liberal Christians." Well, in my case anyway, that was true. I certainly didn't want to offend them so I didn't speak out. But then one day I thought about it. These were supposed to be my friends, when attitudes like those in the article were expressed, why did none of them speak out? They all knew at least one Atheist to disprove the amoral stereo type. Why not speak out?
Well, for whatever reason they couldn't. And to date, I still don't see that happening. So I speak out. I don't care if I offend my liberal Christian associates or anyone else.
The fact of the matter is that a once persecuted group of people called Christians rose to the majority in a place called the United States and now use the same pejoratives against non-believers that the ancient Romans used against them (you see to the Romans, Christians were Atheists because they didn't worship the Roman gods). And I can't find in myself to just put up with it.
Maybe if liberal Christians had stood up to their own when they spewed bigotry, I may never have spoken up. But the fact is that they didn't and now I do. - February 3, 2009 at 5:11 PM
- Teleprompter said...
Yes, M. Tully has a great point: no one else is standing up for the non-religious, so we who are non-religious and want to change these attitudes likely will have to do it ourselves.
I know that I may offend, but unless people are offended, how will they learn to see how silly their offense is in the first place?
I think over time that we can educate liberal theists and others about us, but that we as non-religious people must first be responsible for increasing our awareness in society until others are willing to work with us in eliminating the common stereotypes. - February 4, 2009 at 8:45 AM
(Follow up by D. Kempin)
Thank you for your replies.
You make some fair points. I would certainly concede with M. Tully that there is a high degree of hypocrisy and inconsistency in what is frequently spouted by the "Christian." I would even go further and say that many of the loudest talkers do not even understand the religion they claim to espouse.
(And kudos to your Roman history "skills" for knowing that Christians were accused of being atheists.)
I think it is also a fair point that those who are genuinely persuaded that they are correct would wish--even expect--that others would agree with them. I do not find the forum of persuasion and debate to be offensive at all. I agree that frankness is a compliment rather than an insult.
Anyway, I do not want to subvert the discussion on this post. Thank you for your cordial replies. Your insights have been helpful to me.
-D. Kempin - February 4, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Drats! I missed the conference:
Creation conference coming to Calvary Chapel in Modesto
Feb. 1-2, 2009 - February 4, 2009 at 11:39 AM
- M. Tully said...
D. Kempin,
Thank you for your gracious concession.
My question for you now is, the next time you encounter anti-Atheist bigotry, will you confront it?
Or, should I continue with my working assumption that "liberal Christian" is truly an oxymoron? - February 4, 2009 at 5:54 PM
"The short answer is: Believers are being irrational."
wow what a refutation just shows the that atheist have to posess faith in their position...
I like how the ahtiest on this board point to snowflakes and tree growth as cases of chaos...hey you guys ever headr of calculus or vector analyst?? Prolly not... - February 10, 2009 at 2:13 PM
I like how the ahtiest on this board point to snowflakes and tree growth as cases of chaos...hey you guys ever headr of calculus or vector analyst?? Prolly not...
Yes, I've heard of those. But I have to say that someone who has put on such a display of ignorance as you have in this thread has no business making unsubstantiated criticism of other people's education. - February 12, 2009 at 8:01 AM
Its highly impossible to make a believer believe that there is NO GOD despite a truckload of evidence. The reason is 'The Mind'.
What an athiest(like me) need is, an evidence of God. Let god cure all the world's suffering in a fraction of second if he is 'superpowerful', if not let him come and stand before me for a minute and talk to me and I am ready to fall in God's feet and beg. I believe I have all the dignity to see a God if I haven't done any sin.
...But if you take a believer, its true to the core that he is in no mood to accept proofs from science no matter what you give.
Their mind is already sealed with words of ignorance from a so called spiritual person. Most of these spiritual people are already rich from the money they take from these ignorant people. They spread ignorance in one place, take money and move to next place just like a virus. Some believers even find it hard to digest the fact that humans are made of flesh and not sci-fi soul waiting for heaven.
Now how could you expect a rapid cure for such ignorance?
Yes, its all a mind's thing, a believer is so much excited to believe that if they dont believe in God, they will be pushed into darkness after death. Even if they haven't done nothing wrong in their life, they will go to hell just for 'one reason',- not believing in God. Such ignorance have rapid cure - February 16, 2009 at 1:08 AM
Telling what God did in the Past can not be the cure for a leper who is there in the street begging for his entire life time.
Now, I need a straight honest answer from a hardcore believer? I dont want head-spinning words of belief.
During Tsunami what was god doing? Was he busy checking his email? Or busy preparing extra beds in heaven to accomodate the good souls died in tsunami? - February 16, 2009 at 1:22 AM
Are believers so ignorant? Or should I say, the believers are too innocent?
If God has visited earth in the past, then why not now? If you say that the world is so polluted with evil things happening that God is in no mood to come down to earth, or you might say God is thinking of an alternative, or God already has prepared another world for all 'believers'.. Or whatever, these are some I can imagine of how a spiritual person desperately tries to exploit the innocence of ignorant people.
Is there anyone who witnessed God's 'new' world? Or did God whisper it into a spiritual person's ear that this is how things are supposed to be in future, go and spread my message to this world? Both can not happen.
Brush aside everything, just imagine God showing his presence to this world for a minute. I bet all the evil things happening now will end there, terrorists will shit in their pants fearing of God, nobody will ever dare to do anything destructive. Hence if God proves that he is around, I only see good things to follow thereafter which is really a good thing to happen.
But God will never show up even to the hardcore believer's eyes. All you believers have is a spiritual person spraying words of imagination. Collect the words and fill it in your basket, go home and sleep peacefully thinking about the glorious things he said and with all your hopes burried deep under the basket.
You dont even take an attempt to know what is behind it, we athiest atleast attempt to figure out something. You people are helpless. Why helpless? Because you dont even cry out. You are all in deep sleep, a life long hibernation - February 16, 2009 at 2:23 AM


text:
Either this Merit Badge or Environmental Science MB
is required to earn the Eagle Scout Rank
- Before starting work on any other requirements for this merit badge, write in your own words the meaning of sustainability. Explain how you think conservation and stewardship of our natural resources relate to sustainability. Have a family meeting, and ask family members to write down what they think sustainability means. Be sure to take notes. You will need this information again for requirement 5.
- Do the following:
- Water. Do A AND either B OR C.
- Develop and implement a plan that attempts to reduce your family's water usage. As a family, discuss water usage. To aid in your discussion, if past water bills are available, you may choose to examine a few. As a family, choose three ways to help reduce water consumption. Implement those ideas for one month. share what you learn with your counselor, and tell how you think your plan affected your family's water usage.
- Using a diagram you have created, explain to your counselor how your household gets its clean water from a natural source and what happens with the water after you use it. Include water that goes down the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry drains, and any runoff from watering the yard or washing the car. Tell two ways to preserve your family's access to clean water in the future.
- Discuss with your counselor two areas in the world that have been affected by drought over the last three years. For each area, identify a water conservation practice (successful or unsuccessful) that has been used. Tell whether the practice was effective and why. Discuss what water conservation practice you would have tried and why.
- Food. Do A AND either B OR C.
- Develop and implement a plan that attempts to reduce your household food waste. Establish a baseline and then track and record your results for two weeks. Report your results to your family and counselor.
- Discuss with your counselor the ways individuals, families, and communities can create their own food sources (potted plants, family garden, rooftop garden, neighborhood or community garden). Tell how this plan might contribute to a more sustainable way of life if practiced globally.
- Discuss with your counselor factors that limit the availability of food and food production in different regions of the world. Tell three ways these factors influence the sustainability of worldwide food supplies.
- Community. Do A AND either B OR C.
- Draw a rough sketch depicting how you would design a sustainable community. Share your sketch with your counselor, and explain how the housing, work locations, shops, schools, and transportation systems affect energy, pollution, natural resources, and the economy of the community.
- With your parent's permission and your counselor's approval, interview a local architect, engineer, contractor, or building materials supplier. Find out the factors that are considered when using sustainable materials in renovating or building a home. Share what you learn with your counselor.
- Review a current housing needs assessment for your town, city, county, or state. Discuss with your counselor how birth and death rates affect sufficient housing, and how a lack of housing—or too much housing— can influence the sustainability of a local or global area.
- Energy. Do A AND either B OR C.
- Learn about the sustainability of different energy sources, including fossil fuels, solar, wind, nuclear, hydropower, and geothermal. Find out how the production and consumption of each of these energy sources affects the environment and what the term "carbon footprint" means. Discuss what you learn with your counselor, and explain how you think your family can reduce its carbon footprint.
- Develop and implement a plan that attempts to reduce consumption for one of your family's household utilities. Examine your family's bills for that utility reflecting usage for three months (past or current). As a family, choose three ways to help reduce consumption and be a better steward of this resource. Implement those ideas for one month. Share what you learn with your counselor, and tell how your plan affected your family's usage.
- Evaluate your family's fuel and transportation usage. Review your family's transportation-related bills (gasoline, diesel, electric, public transportation, etc.) reflecting usage for three months (past or current). As a family, choose three ways to help reduce consumption and be a better steward of this resource. Implement those ideas for one month. Share what you learn with your counselor, and tell how your plan affected your family's transportation habits.
- Stuff. Do A AND either B OR C.
- Keep a log of the "stuff" your family purchases (excluding food items) for two weeks. In your log, categorize each purchase as an essential need (such as soap) or a desirable want (such as a DVD). Share what you learn with your counselor.
- Plan a project that involves the participation of your family to identify the "stuff" your family no longer needs. Complete your project by donating, repurposing, or recycling these items.
- Discuss with your counselor how having too much "stuff" affects you, your family, and your community. Include the following: the financial impact, time spent, maintenance, health, storage, and waste. Include in your discussion the practices that can be used to avoid accumulating too much "stuff."
- Water. Do A AND either B OR C.
- Do the following:
- Explain to your counselor how the planetary life-support systems (soil, climate, freshwater, atmospheric, nutrient, oceanic, ecosystems, and species) support life on Earth and interact with one another.
- Tell how the harvesting or production of raw materials (by extraction or recycling), along with distribution of the resulting products, consumption, and disposal/repurposing, influences current and future sustainability thinking and planning.
- Explore TWO of the following categories. Have a discussion with
your family about the two you select. In your discussion, include your
observations, and best and worst practices. Share what you learn with
your counselor.
- Plastic waste. Discuss the impact plastic waste has on the environment (land, water, air). Learn about the number system for plastic recyclables, and determine which plastics are more commonly recycled. Find out what the trash vortex is and how it was formed.
- Electronic waste. Choose three electronic devices in your household. Find out the average lifespan of each, what happens to these devices once they pass their useful life, and whether they can be recycled in whole or part. Discuss the impact of electronic waste on the environment.
- Food waste. Learn about the value of composting and how to start a compost pile. Start a compost pile appropriate for your living situation. Tell what can be done with the compost when it is ready for use.
- Species decline. Explain the term species (plant or animal) decline. Discuss the human activities that contribute to species decline, what can be done to help reverse the decline, and its impact on a sustainable environment.
- World population. Learn how the world's population affects the sustainability of Earth. Discuss three human activities that may contribute to putting Earth at risk, now and in the future.
- Climate change. Find a world map that shows the pattern of temperature change for a period of at least 100 years. Share this map with your counselor, and discuss three factors that scientists believe affect the global weather and temperature.
- Do the following:
- After completing requirements 1 through 4, have a family meeting. Discuss what your family has learned about what it means to be a sustainable citizen. Talk about the behavioral changes and life choices your family can make to live more sustainably. Share what you learn with your counselor.
- Discuss with your counselor how living by the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your daily life helps promote sustainability and good stewardship.
- Learn about career opportunities in the sustainability field. Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required. Discuss what you have learned with your counselor and explain why this career might interest you.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
WASHINGTON – The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe today examined an escalating human rights problem in the OSCE region— the trafficking of women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation. "Trafficking in human beings is a form of modern day slavery," said Commission Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ). "When a woman or child is trafficked or sexually exploited by force, fraud or coercion for commercial gain, she is denied the most basic human rights–namely, her rights to liberty and security of person, her right not to be held in slavery or servitude, and her right to be free from cruel or inhumane treatment. In the worst cases, she is denied her right to life.
Under the laws and practices in the United States and in European countries, trafficking victims are denied an effective remedy against those who have violated their rights. Ironically, it is the women who are trafficked who end up being arrested in brothel raids, locked up and then deported as illegal immigrants while their perpetrators rarely suffer repercussions for their actions," he concluded. "It is time to declare war on those that commit these crimes," said Smith. "That is why earlier this Congress I introduced the Freedom from Sexual Trafficking Act of 1999, H.R. 1356, which would severely punish persons in the United States convicted of sexual trafficking, including recruitment, harboring, transporting, purchasing or selling the trafficking victim.
Non-humanitarian U.S. assistance would not be provided to foreign countries which do not meet the minimum standards for the elimination of sexual trafficking. Of critical importance is the assistance and protection that would be provided to victims of trafficking, such as the provision of shelters and rehabilitation programs for victims and limited provision of relief from deportation for victims who expose their traffickers. These are important and necessary changes to U.S. law designed to help end this brutal, inhumane, and horrific exploitation of women and children."
Commissioner Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-PA) commented, "This is some of the most heartbreaking testimony I've heard." Anita Botti, Deputy Director and Senior Advisor on Trafficking in the State Department's Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues testified, "Over 50,000 of these women and children are trafficked into the U.S. annually, primarily from Latin America, the former Soviet Union and South East Asia. Russia, Ukraine, Poland and the Czech Republic are major countries of origin in Central and Eastern Europe."
Wendy Young, speaking about the threat of trafficking of refugees, reported, "Despite the lack of concrete data, disturbing reports regarding the situation of women and children are emerging, including stories of women and girls caught up in the trafficking network that was already thriving in the region, especially in Albania. For example, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and others have reported that existing trafficking rings in Vlore, Albania have smuggled as many as 10 boatloads of 40 or more Kosovars each night into Italy. The price paid for the perilous journey is approximately $750 per person, totaling up to $50,000 each night in profits per smuggler. Among their number are an unknown number of young women who are recruited or abducted by the smugglers and forced into prostitution." Wendy Young serves as the Washington Liaison and Staff Attorney for the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children which is a program of the International Rescue Committee.
Steven Galster, Executive Director of Global Survival Network, who, between 1994 and 1996, led an undercover investigation into the trafficking of women and girls from countries of the former Soviet Union to Asia, Europe, and North America, commented, "I believe the United States Government is now moving in the right direction to combat trafficking on U.S. soil and abroad…Specifically, U.S. policy on this issue should emphasize the following components: increase public awareness [of the trafficking issue]; increase economic opportunities for women at risk; emphasize national civil rights laws and international human rights treaties in anti-trafficking enforcement activities; recall the existence of several international, anti-slavery instruments, which should be taken into account before OSCE states create new laws or agencies to fight slavery. "An effective response to trafficking would provide a victim with a stay of deportation for at least the period during which the investigation and potential trial against the trafficker takes place. Also, don't forget that these women are potential sources of information that aid law enforcement actions against organized crime groups. But they must be guaranteed protection," said Galster.
Dr. Louise Shelley, American University Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of Transnational Crime and Corruption, who since 1995 has conducted a program in coordination with specialists in Russia, and more recently Ukraine, on the problem of organized crime, pointed out that the main features of the trafficking problem are heavy involvement of organized crime; lack of capacity and motivation; complicity and corruption in law enforcement, passport services and consular divisions; corruption within NIS law enforcement, border guards and passport services; absence of law enforcement links; and, absence of victim protection. Among other points, she recommended that there be cooperation between telecommunications companies and law enforcement investigations in the trafficking area particularly in the American-European-Eastern European-NIS area.
"Next week," pointed out Chairman Smith, "the U.S. delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly meeting in St. Petersburg will be advancing a resolution I have proposed calling for the governments of OSCE participating States to develop nationally and internationally coordinated law enforcement strategies to combat international organized crime, particularly the role of organized crime in trafficking of women and children. We are hopeful that the OSCE can be a valuable forum in which we can work with other governments in the region to bring an end to this demeaning, exploitive, and violent trade."
Laura Lederer, Research Director and Project Manager of an extensive research project under way in the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, which aims to gather and disseminate information regarding laws that protect women and children from commercial sexual exploitation, noted that in studying the laws of 154 countries, "we find that the prostitution laws, which are aimed at women and children, are enforced, while the procuration laws, aimed at the traffickers, are almost never invoked."


text:
The U.S. economy is strengthening on the fuel of more job growth, rising home prices and solid retail sales. Just don't expect the Federal Reserve to let up in its drive to keep stimulating the economy with record-low interest rates.
Not yet, anyway.
That's the view of economists as Fed policymakers hold a two-day meeting that starts Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Fed will issue a policy statement and update its economic forecasts, and Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a news conference.
All of which will likely reinforce Bernanke's stated view that the job market, in particular, has a long way to go to full health and still needs the Fed's extraordinary support.
The unemployment rate, at 7.7 percent, remains well above the 5 percent to 6 percent range associated with a healthy economy. The Fed has said it plans to keep short-term rates at record lows at least until unemployment falls to 6.5 percent, as long as the inflation outlook remains mild. And it foresees unemployment staying above 6.5 percent until at least the end of 2015.
On Wednesday, economists think Bernanke will acknowledge the economy's gains. But most foresee no pullback in the Fed's strategy of keeping short-term rates at record lows and of buying $85 billion a month in Treasurys and mortgage bonds to keep long-term loan rates down.
"They will keep the pedal to the metal at this week's meeting," says Diane Swonk, chief economist Mesirow Financial. "Even though the economy has improved, it has not improved enough to switch course. We still don't have unemployment low enough."
The economy slowed to an annual growth rate of just 0.1 percent in the October-December quarter, a near-stall that was due mainly to temporary factors that have largely faded. Economists think growth has rebounded in the January-March quarter to an annual rate around 2 percent or more. The most recent data support that view.
Americans spent more at retailers in February despite higher Social Security taxes that shrank most workers' paychecks. Manufacturing gained solidly in February. And employers have gone on a four-month hiring spree, adding an average of 205,000 jobs a month. In February, the unemployment rate, though still high, reached its lowest point in more than four years.
The brighter news has prompted speculation that the Fed might be preparing to dial back its easy-money policies. Such thinking has been fed by concerns voiced by a few Fed regional bank presidents about the low-rate policies.
These include fears that the Fed has pumped so much money into the economy that it could eventually ignite inflation, fuel speculative asset bubbles or destabilize markets once the Fed has to start raising rates or unloading its record $3 trillion investment portfolio.
Minutes of the December and January policy meetings showed that some officials suggested that the Fed might need to at least scale back its $85 billion-a-month in bond purchases. Still, the low-rate policies received solid backing in 11-1 votes. And economists see no sign that this support is eroding.
When he gave the Fed's twice-a-year economic report to Congress in February, Bernanke defended the low-interest rate programs. And while he acknowledged the fears of critics, he downplayed them. He struck the same note in a speech to a conference in San Francisco. There, Bernanke said it would be "quite costly" to the U.S. economy if the Fed pulled back too soon.
At their last meeting Jan. 28-29, Fed officials reaffirmed their decision in December to keep short-term rates at super-lows at least as long as unemployment stays above 6.5 percent. The Fed's benchmark rate for overnight bank lending has remained at a record low near zero since December 2008. The Fed also repeated its plan to keep buying bonds to lower long-term rates until the job market had improved "substantially."
One reason for the Fed's reluctance to reduce its stimulus is the history of the past three years. In each of the three, economic prospects looked promising as the year began. Yet in each case, the economy stumbled.
In 2010, U.S. growth was hurt by turmoil from Europe's debt crisis. In 2011, a spike in gas prices and supply disruptions caused by Japan's earthquake and tsunami dampened growth. And in 2012, higher gas prices cut into consumer spending.
Though the economy has brightened this year, it still faces threats, including across-the-board government spending cuts that took effect March 1 and are expected to trigger furloughs and layoffs. Those spending cuts, along with the Social Security tax increase and higher taxes on top earners, are expected to cut growth in half this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO predicts that the drag will slow growth by 1.5 percentage points, to 1.5 percent.
"There are still question marks over the economy," says David Wyss, former chief economist at Standard & Poor's and now a professor at Brown University. "Things are looking a little better, but they are not better enough to make the Fed change anything significantly."
As for concerns that the Fed's easy-money policies will escalate inflation, Wyss suggests looking at Japan, which has pursued similar policies for 20 years without triggering runaway prices. The bigger danger in Japan remains the opposite threat of deflation — a prolonged period of falling prices.
David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Advisors, expects the Fed's policies to remain intact this week and at its April meeting. But he says policymakers might signal at their June meeting that they're considering some changes in their bond-buying program.
"I think the June meeting will be the one that really counts," Jones says. "At that time the Fed might consider at least tapering its $85 billion in bond purchases to a smaller level."
Whenever the Fed announces that it's ending some aspect of its easy credit, Jones says he expects the news to jolt financial markets, causing rates on long-term Treasurys to rise and stock prices to drop.
"The Fed has artificially depressed long-term interest rates and artificially boosted the stock market for such a long period of time and by such a large amount, that no one can predict how much financial market instability will occur at the first hint they are pulling back on accommodation," Jones says.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2013 Capitol Hill Blue


text:
Timeline of Orthodoxy in America
This article forms part of the series Orthodoxy in America | |
History | |
American Orthodox Timeline American Orthodox Bibliography Byzantines on OCA autocephaly Ligonier Meeting ROCOR and OCA | |
People | |
Saints - Bishops - Writers | |
Jurisdictions | |
Antiochian - Bulgarian OCA - Romanian - Moscow ROCOR - Serbian Ecumenical Patriarchate: | |
Monasteries | |
Seminaries | |
Christ the Saviour Holy Cross Holy Trinity St. Herman's |
St. Tikhon's St. Sava's St. Sophia's St. Vladimir's |
Organizations | |
Assembly of Bishops AOI - EOCS - IOCC - OCEC OCF - OCL - OCMC - OCPM - OCLife OISM - OTSA - SCOBA - SOCHA | |
Groups | |
Amer. Orthodox Catholic Church Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black Evangelical Orthodox Church Holy Order of MANS/CSB Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil | |
Edit this box |
The History of Orthodoxy in America is complex and resists any easy categorizations or explanations.
Early Visits and Missions (530-1900)
- 530 St. Brendan the Navigator lands in Newfoundland, Canada, establishing a short-lived community of Irish monks.
- 1738 Conversion of Col. Philip Ludwell III of Virginia at Russian church in London.
- 1741 Divine Liturgy celebrated on a Russian ship off the coast of Alaska.
- 1767 Community of Orthodox Greeks establishes itself in New Smyrna, Spanish Florida.
- 1787 The US Constitution is drafted in Philadelphia, embodying the ideal of secular government with deliberate separation of "church and state" (First Amendment).
- 1794 Missionaries, including Herman of Alaska, arrive at Kodiak Island, bringing Orthodoxy to Russian Alaska.
- 1796 Martyrdom of Juvenaly of Alaska.
- 1799 Ioasaph (Bolotov) consecrated in Irkutsk as first bishop for Alaska, but dies in a shipwreck during his return.
- 1803 Louisiana Purchase expands American territory beyond Mississippi River.
- 1804 The double-headed eagle became a motif widely used in Tlingit art, after the Russian-Tlingit Battle of Sitka in 1804, when Aleksandr Baranov, the first governor of colonial Russian Alaska and manager of the Russian-America Company, presented the Kiks.adi Sitka Tlingit leaders with a large medallion on which was found the Russian imperial symbol.[1]
- 1816 Martyrdom of Peter the Aleut near San Francisco.
- 1817 Russian colony of Fort Ross established 60 miles from San Francisco.
- 1819 Various Spanish territories ceded to United States, including Florida.
- 1824 Fr. John Veniaminov comes to Unalaska, Alaska.
- 1825 First native priest, Jacob Netsvetov.
- 1834 Fr. John Veniaminov moves to Sitka, Alaska; liturgy and catechism translated into Aleut.
- 1830 Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church is founded on Saint Paul Island (Alaska), in the Bering Sea.[2]
- 1836 Imperial ukaz regarding Alaskan education issued from Czar Nicholas I that students were to become faithful members of the Orthodox Church, loyal subjects of the Czar, and loyal citizens; Fr. John Veniaminov returns to Russia.
- 1837 Death of Herman of Alaska on Spruce Island.
- 1840 Consecration of Fr. John Veniaminov as bishop with the name Innocent.
- 1841 Return of Innocent of Alaska to Sitka; sale of Fort Ross property to an American citizen; pastoral school established in Sitka.
- 1843 First mission school for the Eskimos was established at Nushagak by Russian-Greek Orthodox Church.[3]
- 1844 Formation of seminary in Sitka.[note 1]
- 1845 Former Republic of Texas joins United States.
- 1846 Pacific Northwest received by United States via treaty with United Kingdom.
- 1848 Consecration of St. Michael Cathedral in Sitka; Pacific Southwest won from Mexico by United States.
- 1850 Alaskan episcopal see and seminary moved to Yakutsk, Russia.
- 1858 Peter (Lysakov) consecrated as auxiliary bishop for Alaska with Innocent's primary see moved to Yakutsk.
- 1864 Holy Trinity Church, first Orthodox parish established on United States soil in New Orleans, Louisiana, by Greeks.
- 1865 First Divine Liturgy celebrated in New York City, by Fr. Agapius Honcharenko.
- 1867 Alaska purchased by United States from Russia;[note 2] Bp. Paul (Popov) succeeds Bp. Peter.
- 1868 First Russian parish established in US territory in San Francisco, California; Innocent of Alaska becomes Metropolitan of Moscow.
- 1870 Diocese of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska formed by the Church of Russia with Bp. John (Mitropolsky) as ruling hierarch; Nicholas Bjerring, a Roman Catholic layman, converts to Orthodoxy and becomes priest of a Russian chapel in New York City.
- 1871-72 Visit of Russian Grand Duke Alexis to the United States.
- 1872 See of the Aleutians diocese moved to San Francisco, placing it outside the defined boundaries of the diocese (i.e., Alaska).
- 1876 Bp. John (Mitropolsky) recalled to Russia.
- 1879 Bp. Nestor (Zass) succeeds John (Metropolsky).
- 1882 Bp. Nestor (Zass) drowns in Bering Sea.
- 1883 Fr. Nicholas Bjerring, priest of the Russian chapel in New York City, converts to Presbyterianism.
- 1886-1895 In the face of their shamans' inability to treat Old World diseases including smallpox, many Tlingit people (an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America), converted to Orthodox Christianity.[4][note 3]
- 1888 Bp. Vladimir (Sokolovsky) becomes Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska.
- 1890-1917 Greek Immigration to USA: widespread unemployment and economic problems led to migrations to the US of 450,000 Greeks, one-fifth of the total population.
- 1891 Fr. Alexis Toth, a Uniate priest, petitions to be received along with his parish in Minneapolis into the Russian church; Bp. Nicholas (Adoratsky) assigned as Bishop of Alaska but is transferred before taking up his post; Nicholas (Ziorov) becomes ruling bishop of the Alaskan diocese.
- 1892 Fr. Alexis Toth and his parish in Minneapolis received into Russian church; Carpatho-Russian Uniate parishes in Illinois, Connecticut, and several in Pennsylvania soon follow; first Serbian parish established in Jackson, California; Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox parish founded in New York City; Greek and Russian parishes founded in Chicago; first American-born person ordained, Fr. Sebastian Dabovich.
- 1895 Archim. Raphael (Hawaweeny) arrives in America; Fr. John Kochurov arrives in America and becomes priest of the Russian parish in Chicago; Fr. Anatole (Kamensky) arrives in Alaska; first Syrian parish in Brooklyn, New York, founded by Raphael of Brooklyn; first clergy conference, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
- 1896 Bp. Nicholas (Ziorov) reports to the Holy Synod of Russia that "the commemoration of the Emperor and the Reigning House during the divine services brings forth dismay and apprehension among Orthodox in America of non-Russian background"; Alexander Hotovitsky appointed as rector in New York; Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church is chartered by a special act of the New York State Legislature, being the first Greek Church founded in New York.
- 1897 Bp. Nicholas (Ziorov) and Fr. Sebastian Dabovich petition Church of Serbia to oversee Serbian parishes in America, but are rebuffed due to an inability to support the infrastructure.
- 1898 Bp. Nicholas (Ziorov) returns to Russia; Tikhon (Belavin) becomes Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska; American annexation of Hawaii.
Beyond Alaska (1900-1918)
- 1900 Name of Russian mission diocese changed from the Aleutian Islands and Alaska to the Aleutian Islands and North America, claiming an expansion of its territorial boundaries.
- 1901 First Orthodox church in Canada, in Vostok, Alberta.
- 1902 Building of St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York; first Romanian parish in North America founded in Regina, Saskatchewan.
- 1904 Innocent (Pustynsky) consecrated as Bishop of Alaska; Raphael (Hawaweeny) consecrated as Bishop of Brooklyn, becoming the first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated in America; first Romanian-American parish founded in Cleveland, Ohio.
- 1905 St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania) founded; Bp. Tikhon (Belavin) raised to rank of archbishop; seminary opened in Minneapolis; Russian see transferred to New York; Fr. Sebastian Dabovich elevated to archimandrite and given charge over Serbian parishes by Tikhon; Episcopal priest of nearly 30 years Dr. Ingram Irvine converted to Orthodoxy, assigned to "English work."
- 1906 Holy Synod of Russia confirms practice of commemorating the American president by name, and not the Russian Tsar, during divine services; blessing of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery by hierarchs Tikhon, Raphael and Innocent; translation of Service Book by Isabel Hapgood.
- 1907 1st All-American Sobor held in Mayfield, PA, at which name of the Russian mission was declared to be The Russian Orthodox Greek-Catholic Church in North America under the Hierarchy of the Russian Church; Abp. Tikhon (Belavin) returns to Russia and is succeeded by Platon (Rozhdestvensky); Uniate Bp. Stephen Ortinsky sent to the US by Rome to stem the tide of Uniate returns to Orthodoxy; Papal decree Ea Semper issued, mandating all Uniate priests in American be celibate; first Sunday of Orthodoxy service in New York; first Bulgarian parish in Madison, Illinois; ordination in Constantinople of first Black American Orthodox priest, the Very Rev. Fr. Raphael Morgan, Priest-Apostolic to America and the West Indies.
- 1908 Constantinople gives temporary care of American Greek parishes to Greece; Fr. Theophan Noli celebrates first Divine Liturgy in the Albanian language; first Albanian parish founded in Boston.
- 1909 Bp. Innocent (Pustynsky) transferred to Russia, succeeded by Alexander (Nemolovsky) as Bishop of Alaska; death of Fr. Alexis Toth.
- 1911 Minneapolis seminary transferred to Tenafly, New Jersey.
- 1912 Formation of first Serbian Orthodox Church congregation in Canada, in Regina (Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church).
- 1913 Serbian clergy vote to come under Church of Serbia but meet with no response.
- 1914 Abp. Platon (Rozhdestvensky) recalled to Russia and made bishop of Kishinev, after having received 72 communities (mainly ex-Uniate Carpatho-Russians) into Orthodoxy during his rule; Antiochian Metr. Germanos (Shehadi) of Zahle comes to US to raise funds for an agricultural school in Syria.
- 1915 Death of Raphael of Brooklyn; Abp. Evdokim (Meschersky) succeeds Platon; first monastery for women in Springfield, Vermont.
- 1916 Consecration of Philip (Stavitsky) of Alaska; Alexander (Nemolovsky) appointed Bishop of Canada with his see in Winnipeg; organization of Syrian Holy Orthodox Greek Catholic Mission in North America by Germanos (Shehadi) with founding of St. Mary's Cathedral in Brooklyn, New York; death of Rev. Agapius Honcharenko.
- 1917 Ex-Uniate priest Alexander Dzubay consecrated with the name Stephen as Bishop of Pittsburgh; Archim. Aftimios (Ofiesh) consecrated as Bishop of Brooklyn; Abp. Tikhon (Belavin) elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia at the All Russian Sobor of 1917-1918.
- 1918-24 Emigration of 70,000 Greeks to the United States.
Revolution and Rivalry (1918-1943)
- 1918 Bolshevik Revolution throws the Church of Russia into chaos, effectively stranding the fledgling Russian mission in America; Metr. Meletios (Metaxakis) of Athens arrives in America to organize Greek parishes; Constantinople rescinds temporary transfer of Greek parishes in US to Greece.
- 1919 Southern Church Council meets in Stavropol at which Higher Church Administration is formed in Southern Russia; 2nd All-American Sobor meets in Cleveland, electing Alexander (Nemolovsky) as its new diocesan bishop, and also electing bishops for the Albanian and Serbian communities, pending approval from Moscow (which never comes); Germanos (Shehadi) receives Ukrainians in Canada.
- 1920 Tikhon of Moscow issues Ukaz No. 362; first session of the Higher Church Administration outside borders of Russia.
- 1921 34 ROCOR bishops meet in synod in Karlovtsy, Serbia, including Metr. Platon (Rozhdestvensky, primate of the Russian Metropolia; death of Fr. Ingram Nathaniel Irvine; in New York City, George Alexander McGuire founded the non-canonical "African Orthodox Church" (AOC), envisaged as a home for blacks of the protestant Episcopal persuasion who wanted ecclesiastical independence.
- 1922 Church of Greece transfers control of its parishes to the Church of Constantinople; founding of Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Russian Metropolia convenes 3rd All-American Sobor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- 1924 4th All-American Sobor of the Metropolia votes to establish "temporary self-government," breaking administrative ties with Moscow; Victor (Abo-Assaley) consecrated as first Antiochian Archbishop of New York and All North America; Stephen (Dzubay) returns to Unia; Ukrainians in Canada join Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
- 1926 Metr. Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of the Metropolia breaks ties with ROCOR synod; founding of Serbian diocese.
- 1927 ROCOR synod sends epistle to American parishes suspending Platon and his clergy; founding of American Orthodox Catholic Church by the Russian Metropolia under Aftimios Ofiesh; founding of Federated Russian Orthodox Clubs (FROC) in Pittsburgh; consecration of Emmanuel (Abo-Hatab).
- 1928 Ukrainian diocese established; consecration of Sophronios (Beshara).
- 1929 Romanian Orthodox Episcopate established.
- 1930 Abp. Joasaph (Skorodumov) ("The Enlightener of Canada") becomes the founding bishop of the Canadian Diocese of ROCOR; Emmanuel (Abo-Hatab) leaves AOCC and returns to Metropolia, re-establishing Brooklyn diocese.
- 1931 Athenagoras (Spyrou) becomes primate of Greek Archdiocese.
- 1932 Consecration of Joseph (Zuk) and Ignatius (Nichols) (first American convert bishop).
- 1933 Platon (Rozhdestvensky) refuses to pledge loyalty to Moscow, which declares Metropolia to be in schism and establishes Exarchate of Moscow on American soil; marriage of Aftimios Ofiesh; death of Emmanuel (Abo-Hatab); Platon grants canonical release to Syrian parishes remaining under Metropolia to come under Antioch; Germanos (Shehadi) returns to Lebanon; consecration of Leonty (Turkevich); marriage and apostasy of Ignatius (Nichols) (first with Living Church and then independently).
- 1934 Death of Platon (Rozhdestvensky); Theophilus (Pashkovsky) of San Francisco elected primate of Metropolia at 5th All-American Sobor in Cleveland, Ohio; death of Sophronios (Beshara); death of Germanos (Shehadi) in Lebanon; Abp. Athenagoras (Spyrou) establishes the Orthodox Observer.
- 1935 "Temporary Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad" signed by ROCOR synod in Karlovtsy, Serbia, including Theophilus (Pashkovsky) of the Metropolia, thus renewing relations; ROCOR divided into four regions, including North America with Theophilus as the regional primate.
- 1936 Antony (Bashir) consecrated for Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of New York; on the same day (April 19), three Metropolia bishops consecrate rival Samuel (David) for the Syrians, thus solidifying the developing schism in the Antiochian faithful in the US (the "Russi-Antaaki" split).
- 1937 6th All-American Sobor of Metropolia declares itself to report to ROCOR in matters of faith; Holy Cross Theological School founded in Pomfret, Connecticut; Ukrainian diocese established by Constantinople.
- 1938 St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York) and St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania) founded; Metr. Samuel (David) of Toledo excommunicated by the Church of Antioch for disobedience to canonical order; Bulgarian diocese established; Carpatho-Russian diocese established by Constantinople with second wave of Uniat returns to Orthodoxy.
- 1939 Consecration of Alexander Turner by Ignatius (Nichols).
- 1941 Church of Antioch restores Samuel (David) of Toledo to communion and declares his diocese to be the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Toledo and Dependencies.
Emergence of American Orthodoxy (1943-1970)
- 1943 Founding of Federated Orthodox Greek Catholic Primary Jurisdictions in America, a proto-SCOBA body.
- 1946 7th All-American Sobor of Russian Metropolia breaks ties with ROCOR; Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology moved to Brookline, Massachusetts; the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (UOCC) opened St. Andrew's College in Winnipeg.
- 1947 Death of Ignatius (Nichols).
- 1950 ROCOR moves headquarters to New York; Leonty (Turkevitch) becomes primate of Metropolia at 8th All-American Sobor in New York City; National Council of Churches, USA, is organized.
- 1951 Michael (Konstantinides) heads GOA; independent Romanian diocese established; arrival of Fr. Alexander Schmemann in the United States from Paris, taking up teaching duties at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York).
- 1954 Recognition of Toledo archdiocese by Church of Antioch.
- 1955 Orthodoxy officially recognized as major faith by U.S. government;[5] founding of Council of Eastern Orthodox Churches of Central Massachusetts; 9th All-American Sobor of Metropolia held in New York City.
- 1956 Dr. Constantine Cavarnos founds the Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies in Belmont, Massachusetts.
- 1957 Abp. Michael (Konstantinides) offered the first Orthodox prayer at a U. S. Presidential inauguration in January 20, 1957.
- 1958 Death of Samuel (David) of Toledo; reception of Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil into Antiochian New York Archdiocese, forming Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate.
- 1959 10th All-American Sobor of the Metropolia was held in New York City; Abp. Iakovos (Coucouzis) is elected and enthroned as Primate of the Greek Archdiocese of North and South America.
- 1960 Founding of Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA); Romanian Orthodox Episcopate received into the Metropolia.
- 1961 Consecration of Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo; first ever visit of a Greek Orthodox Patriarch to Canada, as Patr. Benedict of Jerusalem begins a North-American tour to raise funds for the restoration of the shrines in the Holy Land.
- 1962 Antiochian Toledo archdiocese recognized by the Church of Antioch as equal to the New York archdiocese.
- 1963 Autonomous Serbian diocese created; 11th All-American Sobor held in New York City; beginning of rapprochement between Metropolia and Moscow Patriarchate; arguing that the Metropolia's 1924 declaration of "temporary self-government" amounted to a canonical declaration of autocephaly, Toward an American Orthodox Church published by St. Vladimir's professor Alexander Bogolepov, galvanizing the Metropolia to seek autocephaly; Abp. Iakovos (Coucouzis) vigorously supported the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that was introduced by President John F. Kennedy in his civil rights speech of June 11, 1963; the United States Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling that ended government-sponsored prayer in American public schools (Abington School District v. Schempp).
- 1964 Bulgarian Diocese in Exile established under the ROCOR.
- 1965 SCOBA appeals to mother churches to allow concrete steps to be taken toward American Orthodox unity; at 12th All-American Sobor, Ireney (Bekish) chosen to succeed Leonty (Turkevich) as primate of Metropolia; North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation founded; Abp. Iakovos (Coucouzis) marched next to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Selma to Montgomery marches, captured on the cover of LIFE Magazine, March 26, 1965.
- 1966-80 About 160,000 more Greeks emigrated to the US, tapering off considerably from the 1980s onwards.
- 1966 Death of Metr. Antony (Bashir); election and consecration of Philip (Saliba) as Metropolitan of Syrian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of New York; founding of Hellenic College (Brookline, Massachusetts); death of John Maximovitch; death of Aftimios Ofiesh; Fr. Alexander Schmemann travels to Constantinople to intercede for Metropolia but is rebuffed; first founding of OISM.
- 1967 Consecration of Theodosius (Lazor) of Sitka; Church of Constantinople orders Greek Archdiocese to suspend communion with Metropolia; 13th All-American Sobor of Metropolia held in New York City.
- 1968 Meeting between Metropolia representatives and Moscow Patriarchate in Uppsala, Sweden, discussing autocephaly for the Metropolia; Synod of Bishops of Metropolia decides to start official exploratory negotiations with MP.
- 1969 Consecration of Dmitri (Royster) (seen by many to be first convert bishop); official autocephaly meetings of Metropolia with Moscow Patriarchate take place in New York City, Tokyo and Geneva; Metr. Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York issues the first of a series of "Sorrowful Epistles" (1969,1971,1975) to the primates of the local Orthodox Churches, condemning forays into ecumenism.
Union and Division (1970-1994)
- 1970 Russian Metropolia reconciles with the Church of Russia and is granted autocephaly; 14th All-American Sobor/1st All-American Council accepts autocephaly Tomos and approves new name of Orthodox Church in America (OCA); Constantinople ceases all official contact with the OCA and declares it uncanonical; Russian Exarchate of North America is dissolved, but the majority of its parishes remain under the Church of Russia; glorification of Herman of Alaska in separate services by the ROCOR and the OCA.
- 1971 ROCOR denounces Moscow's grant of autocephaly to the Metropolia; OCA receives rebel ROCOR parish in Australia; Albanian Archdiocese received into the OCA at 2nd All-American Council held at St. Tikhon's Monastery, South Canaan, PA.
- 1972 OCA receives the Mexican National Catholic Church, creating its Exarchate of Mexico.
- 1973 The 3rd All-American Council of OCA held in Pittsburgh, PA.
- 1974 3rd All-Diaspora Council of ROCOR held in Jordanville, New York; OCA Metr. Ireney (Bekish) of New York goes into semi-retirement, while his duties are taken up by Abp. Sylvester (Haruns) of Montreal.
- 1975 "Russi-Antaaki" division in the Antiochian church in North America overcome by Metr. Philip (Saliba) of New York and Metr. Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo by union of two Syrian archdioceses into one Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, led by Metr. Philip; 4th All-American Council of OCA held in Cleveland, Ohio.
- 1976 Reception into OCA of ROCOR's Bulgarian Diocese in Exile and its hierarch, Bishop Kyrill (Yonchev).
- 1977 OCA holds its 5th All-American Council in Montreal, electing Theodosius (Lazor) as metropolitan, replacing the retiring Ireney (Bekish); glorification in Russia of Innocent of Alaska.
- 1978 Founding of Antiochian Village by Metr. Philip (Saliba).
- 1980 The 6th All-American Council of OCA held in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1981 The Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute (PAOI) is founded in Berkeley, California; OCA primatial see transferred from New York to Washington.
- 1982 Calendar schism in OCA Diocese of E. Pennsylvania, ROCOR receiving multiple parishes in the area.
- 1983 7th All-American Council of OCA was held Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1985 Founding of Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) as Greek Archdiocesan Mission Center; murder of Father John (Karastamatis) of Santa Cruz.
- 1986 8th All-American Council of OCA held in Washington, D.C.
- 1987 Majority of parishes of the Evangelical Orthodox Church received into Antiochian Archdiocese by Metr. Philip (Saliba), becoming the Antiochian Evangelical Orthodox Mission (AEOM).
- 1988 Healing of schism between two Serbian dioceses.
- 1989 Glorification in Russia of Tikhon of Moscow; Elder Ephraim begins founding Athonite-style monasteries in North America; 9th All-American Council of OCA held in Saint Louis, Missouri.
- 1990 Contact between Constantinople and OCA resumes.
- 1992 Founding of International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC); 10th All-American Council of OCA held in Miami, Florida; about 60 theologians from the Eastern Orthodox Church and Evangelical groups met at Wheaton college to discuss differences and similarities between their Christian groups, as speakers from both sides sketched their views of Scripture, tradition, and authority in church life.[6]
Ligonier and Beyond (1994-present)
- 1994 Bicentennial of Orthodox Christianity in North America (1794-1994); Ligonier Meeting held; glorification of Alexis of Wilkes-Barre by OCA; OCMC becomes SCOBA agency and changes to its current name; glorification in Russia of John Kochurov and Alexander Hotovitsky; glorification by ROCOR of John Maximovitch; Women's Orthodox Ministries and Education Network (WOMEN) incorporated.
- 1995 Death of Bp. Gerasimos (Papadopoulos) of Abydos; 11th All-American Council of OCA held in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1996 Retirement of Greek Abp. Iakovos (Coucouzis) of America, being replaced by Spyridon (Papageorge); Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America joins Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA, coming under Constantinople.
- 1997 Visit by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople to US.
- 1998 Ben Lomond crisis in (formerly EOC) Antiochian parish of Ss. Peter and Paul (Ben Lomond, California); SCOBA's Social & Moral Issues Commission (SMIC) established; the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate formally accepted the Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou in Astoria NY as a Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Institution, as well as its founders Metr. Paisios (Loulourgas) of Tyana and Bp. Vikentios (Malamatenios) of Apameia (formerly of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece).
- 1999 Retirement of Spyridon (Papageorge), Greek Archbishop of America, being replaced by Demetrios (Trakatellis); reception of dissident group from Ben Lomond crisis by the Jerusalem Patriarchate, including re-ordination of some of the excommunicated and/or deposed clergy; 12th All-American Council of OCA held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- 2000 Glorification of Raphael of Brooklyn at St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania) by the OCA jointly with Antiochian hierarchs; reception of multiple former parishes of the Holy Order of MANS/Christ the Saviour Brotherhood into the patriarchal Bulgarian diocese.
- 2001 Second meeting of most bishops associated with SCOBA; the 2001 data from Statistics Canada gives a total of 433,815 Orthodox in Canada.[7]
- 2002 Retirement of Theodosius (Lazor) and election of Herman (Swaiko) as Metropolitan of the OCA at 13th All-American Council held in Orlando, Florida.
- 2003 Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is granted "self-rule" (similar but not identical to autonomy) by Antioch, establishing 9 new dioceses in North America and promoting its titular bishops to diocesan ones; after years of inactivity, refounding of OISM.
- 2004 Consecration in Damascus of 3 new diocesan bishops for the Antiochian Archdiocese, Thomas (Joseph) of Charleston and Oakland, Mark (Maymon) of Toledo, and Alexander (Mufarrij) of Ottawa.
- 2005 Death of Abp. Iakovos (Coucouzis); consecration of Alejo (Pacheco y Vera) of Mexico City , auxiliary bishop of the OCA Exarchate of Mexico; OCA's New York diocese subsumed into its Diocese of Washington, creating Diocese of Washington and New York at 14th All-American Council held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- 2006 Fourth All-Diaspora Council of the ROCOR votes to restore full communion with Moscow Patriarchate; four priests and one deacon who departed the Antiochian Archdiocese during the Ben Lomond crisis return to Antioch; major financial scandal made public in the OCA; third meeting of most SCOBA bishops agrees to work together on canonical and pastoral questions.
- 2007 OISM holds first meeting at a ROCOR seminary, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary; restoration of full communion between ROCOR and Moscow Patriarchate with incorporation of ROCOR as semi-autonomous entity of the patriarchate.
- 2008 Jerusalem jurisdiction transferred to Greek Archdiocese, forming Vicariate for Palestinian/Jordanian Communities in the USA; Metr. Herman (Swaiko) retired by OCA amidst financial scandal; Jonah (Paffhausen) elected primate of OCA; Fifteenth All-American Council held in Pittsburgh, PA.
- 2009 Church of Georgia names Metr. Dimitri (Shiolashvili) of Batumi and Lazeti as bishop for North America; visit of Abp. Demetios (Trakatellis) to ROCOR headquarters, the first visit of a Greek archbishop in more than 40 years; OCMC opens training center; Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference in Chambesy, Switzerland mandates "Episcopal Assemblies" for various regions of the world, including North America; OCA reestablishes dioceses for Washington and New York and New Jersey; visit to US of Ecumenical Patr. Batholomew I (Archontonis).
- 2010 Consecration of Bp. Michael (Dahulich) of New York; formation of Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America, with 55 Bishops in attendance; ROCOR marks its 90th anniversary; the Ministry of Education of the Hellenic Republic formally recognized St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania) as an accredited institution of Higher Education, equal in standing to the schools of theology in the universities of Greece and the EU's member states; Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy (Toronto, Ontario) and Saint Paul Catholic Pontifical University in Ottawa sign cooperation agreement as twin institutions within the Province of Ontario.[8][note 4]
- 2011 Second gathering of the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America, convened May 25-27 in Chicago, with 45 Bishops in attendance; Sixteenth All-American Council of the OCA was held in Bellevue, Washington; For the first time in nearly 70 years, the primates and hierarchs of the OCA and ROCOR concelebrate the Divine Liturgy.
- 2012 Jonah (Paffhausen) primate of OCA requests retirement; Tikhon (Mollard) elected primate of OCA at the 17th All-American Council held in Parma, Ohio; Third Annual Meeting of the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America, from September 10-12, in Chicago, with 43 Bishops in attendance.
See also
- Timeline of Orthodoxy in Australia
- Timeline of Orthodoxy in Britain
- Timeline of Orthodoxy in China
- Timeline of Orthodoxy in Greece
- Timeline of Orthodoxy in New Zealand
- Timeline of Orthodoxy in Japan
- Timeline of Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic relations
- ↑ In 1844, St. Innocent (Veniaminov) organized the first Orthodox theological school in North America at Sitka, inaugurating a golden age of Orthodox educational ministry and mission in Alaska. This lasted until the catastrophe of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, when the last Russian-sponsored parochial school in Alaska closed.
- St. Herman's Seminary, Kodiak, Alaska. Orthodox Church in America (OCA) - Parishes. Retrieved: 2013-10-06.
- ↑ October 18 is now celebrated as "Alaska Day."
- ↑ Russian Orthodox missionaries had translated their liturgy into the Tlingit language. It has been argued that they saw Eastern Orthodox Christianity as a way of resisting assimilation to the "American way of life," which was associated with Presbyterianism.
- Kan, Sergei. Memory Eternal: Tlingit Culture and Russian Orthodox Christianity Through Two Centuries. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1999. pp.xix-xxii.
- ↑ Saint Paul University in Ottawa is the home of the the "Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies", named after the primate of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Andrey Sheptytsky (1865-1944); it specializes in Eastern Christian Studies with special but not exclusive emphasis on the tradition of the Church of Kyiv.
- ↑ Two Views of Double-Headed Eagles. Northwest Coast Archaeology. Posted on March 1, 2010. Retrieved: 2013-10-06.
- ↑ SS. Peter and Paul Church. Orthodox Church in America (OCA) - Parishes. Retrieved: 2013-10-06.
- ↑ Alaska Native History - Timeline - Alaskool. Alaskool (Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage). Retreived: 2013-10-06.
- ↑ Boyd, Robert Thomas. The Coming of the Spirit of Pestilence: Introduced Infectious Diseases and Population Decline among Northwest Coast Indians, 1774-1874. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999. p. 241.
- ↑ Timeline of Archbishop Michael. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
- ↑ Loconte, Joe. "Peering over the Orthodox-evangelical crevasse." Christianity Today. 9 Nov. 1992: 63.
- ↑ Subdeacon Kevin Wigglesworth. Statistics of Orthodox Christianity in Canada. The Canadian Journal of Orthodox Christianity. Volume V, No 1, Winter 2010. p.33.
- ↑ Pravoslavie.ru. Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy & Saint Paul University sign cooperation agreement. 16/12/2010.
External link
- OrthodoxHistory.org, website of the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas (SOCHA)


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UPDATED: At Least 2 Dead, 22 Injured in New York City Building Explosion [PHOTOS]
UPDATE 1:30 P.M. EST: Police have updated the casualty numbers, saying that along with the two women who were confirmed dead at the scene, two of the 22 injured are in critical condition.
Two businesses were also located on the ground floor of the two buildings, a piano-repair company and a Spanish Christian church. The church's pastor, who also owns one of the buildings, is on the scene working with police to figure out if anyone is missing.
UPDATE 12:36 P.M. EST: At a press conference still taking place, authorities announced that Con Edison received a call about a strong smell of gas at 9:13 Wednesday morning. Con Ed dispatched an inspection team two minutes later, but by the time the team had arrived at the scene, the explosion had already happened.
Two adjacent apartment buildings in Manhattan collapsed after a gas explosion Wednesday morning. Two women were killed in the blast, which also injured at least 18 people and left many more missing.
Firefighters are still battling the resulting fire at the site, at 1644 and 1646 Park Avenue, which is in East Harlem. The five-story buildings sat between 116th and 117th Streets, but have been reduced to rubble, possibly trapping numerous people inside.
Emergency personnel are trying to uncover anyone caught in the debris, but still-burning fire is largely preventing any full-scale rescue attempts. Police are encouraging anyone who knows someone who lived or worked in either building to contact them.
Authorities have not revealed the cause of the explosion, but it seems likely to have been a gas leak, as many witnesses at the scene said the smell of gas was prevalent beforehand.
The explosion occurred near the Metro North transit line, which has been shut down indefinitely. Subway lines do not seem to have been damaged.