Part 2 of Met. Petros of Astoria - His Life and Struggle

THIS IS PART TWO (2)

Metropolitan Petros of Astoria (1915-1997) was the founder of St. Markella’s Cathedral in Astoria, New York, and is considered the founder of Traditionalist Greek Orthodox Christianity, and monasticism in America.

In his lifetime, he was a member of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece as an Archimandrite, then fell in with a group of vagante pseudo-Old Calendarists, and was taken in by the Metropolia (forerunner of the Orthodox Church in America [OCA]), was consecrated a bishop by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, and became a member of the Synod of Bishops of the Church of the GOC of Greece.

During his forty-seven years in America (thirty-five years as bishop,) he founded and pastored St. Markella’s Cathedral, and oversaw other parishes in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Florida, and Montreal. He remained firmly at the helm of the diocese until his final days. He is therefore of great interest to those concerned with genuine Orthodox Christianity, and to those interested in the building of a Greek Orthodox parish from scratch in an immigrant community, and who have an interest in Greek Old Calendarist relations with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), among other things.

Orthodox Awareness

Why Do We Follow the Old Orthodox Calendar?

Why do we follow the Old Orthodox Calendar?

a Because based on it, the First Ecumenical Council established the Paschal Canon and appointed that the feast of Holy Pascha may fall anywhere from March 22nd until April 25th, while with the New (Papal) Calendar it can fall as late at May 8th.

b The Gregorian (Papal) Calendar has been condemned by three Pan-Orthodox Councils under Patriarch Jeremiah Tranos (1583, 1587, 1589) Read more...

Missions

Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Mission, Tucson, Arizona

Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church is a beautiful mission parish near downtown Tucson, a city in southern Arizona. It was started in 1997 by Father John Bockman, who was a missionary Priest formerly serving missions in Tennessee and Massachusetts since 1990. Father John served the faithful in Tucson and the surrounding area in his home Chapel until his repose in November of 2000. His wife, Presbytera Valerie, continued to make her home Chapel available for the mission, with clergy from Saint Nectarios Orthodox Church in Seattle and His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto (then of Portland), visiting to provide the Divine Services.

Read more...
Youth

2023 Youth Conference

Please join us for the 2023 youth conference in Chicago, IL! To learn more, visit the home page or visit the conference website.

Ask A Priest

Morning and Evening Prayers

Q. Are the prayers in the blue prayer book [A Prayerbook for Orthodox Christians by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery —ed.] compulsory for everyone? I mean their morning prayers and the service of Small Compline. My confessor gave me a special rule but wasn’t clear about whether this replaced the book prayers or was in addition to them. Read more...