Orthodox Christians: An American Presence (1981)

On January 9, 1981, For Our Times, a CBS News program that aired from 1979-88, broadcast Orthodox Christians: An American Presence. Longtime news anchor Douglas Edwards (1917-90) hosted the episode. Its narrator was Fr. Paul Schneirla (1916-2014), then the pastor of St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church of Brooklyn, New York and a founding member of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas – SCOBA. The 30-minute episode begins with an introduction to the Orthodox Christian jurisdictions in North America. Fr. Paul recounts how immigrants from the Middle East, the eastern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe brought their faith across the Atlantic Ocean, while Russian missionaries crossed the Pacific Ocean to evangelize the native population in Alaska, starting in the 18th and 19th centuries. Fr. Paul also explains to the television audience that the Eastern and Western churches were united for the first 1,000 years, and what led to their schism. The show then features film from a Divine Liturgy celebrated by Patriarch Elias IV of Antioch (1914-1979) of thrice-blessed memory when he visited the Antiochian Archdiocese in 1977. It also shows Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America of thrice-blessed memory at the annual dive for the cross in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Next, Fr. Paul talks about the great feast of Theophany (Epiphany) and its importance. This part of the show features Metropolitan Philip (1931-2014) of thrice-blessed memory sanctifying the water at St. Mary Church in Brooklyn, which Fr. Paul pastored for 50 years. In the background, viewers will see and hear Mr. Basil Kazan (1915-2001), the chanter who created settings for the books of Byzantine music that bear his name. The show concludes with Fr. Paul’s assessment of Orthodoxy in North America in 1981. He described SCOBA (the predecessor to the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America) as a body to help the leaders of the Orthodox Christian jurisdictions collaborate to solve common problems with hopes of creating one North American patriarchate. Antiochian.org is very thankful to Fr. Paul’s daughter, Ms. Dorothy Schneirla Downie, for sharing this treasure with us. It now appears with other videos posted here on the Archdiocese’s YouTube channel. If you have historic film and video that can be digitized and shared, please write to [email protected] and [email protected]. www.antiochian.org