Section 03 — To America

In 1895 Raphael was invited to New York to shepherd the growing community of Arab (Syrian) Orthodox immigrants under the Russian mission, and he arrived that November. As head of the Syro-Arab Mission he built its parishes — above all St. Nicholas in Brooklyn — traveled the continent to gather a scattered people, and laid the foundations of an American Arab Orthodox Church.

Tradition: Antiochian Orthodox (Arab-American diaspora)

Contents

File Description
call-to-the-syrian-mission-1895.md The 1895 invitation to shepherd the Arab immigrants of New York under the Russian archdiocese; his arrival in November 1895 and the founding of the St. Nicholas chapel in Manhattan
head-of-the-syro-arab-mission.md Building St. Nicholas, Brooklyn, and the pastoral labor of the mission: the continental journeys, the ordinations, the founding of parishes, and the cemetery provision

See Also