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| Society of Saint John Chrysostom | |
|---|---|
| Name | Society of Saint John Chrysostom |
| Formation | 1920s |
| Type | Religious lay organization |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Region served | International |
| Leader title | President |
Society of Saint John Chrysostom is a lay organization devoted to fostering appreciation of Eastern Orthodox Church heritage in Western Christianity, promoting ties between Orthodox Church in America, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and Western institutions such as Roman Catholic Church bodies and Anglican Communion centers. Founded in the early 20th century amid post-World War I migrations and rising interest in Byzantine Rite liturgy, the society historically engaged clergy, scholars, diplomats, philanthropists, and parish networks across United States, United Kingdom, and Greece.
The society emerged during a period marked by the aftermath of World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the influx of émigrés from the Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire into America and Western Europe. Early patrons included émigré figures connected to the White movement, cultural intermediaries tied to Harvard University and Oxford University, and clerics influenced by exchanges with the Patriarchate of Moscow and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the society worked alongside organizations such as the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the Orthodox Church in America, and philanthropic foundations linked to families like the Rothschild family and donors associated with Carnegie Corporation. During World War II and the Cold War, its activities intersected with émigré relief efforts, dialogues involving the State Department and cultural diplomacy initiatives like those of the Fulbright Program. In the late 20th century, engagements with scholars from institutions such as Columbia University, Princeton University, and Yale University expanded the society’s role in sponsoring conferences on Byzantine Empire history, Hesychasm, and liturgical music associated with figures akin to Sergei Rachmaninoff and composers inspired by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
The society’s stated mission emphasized promotion of Byzantine Rite arts, support for Orthodox Christian liturgical renewal, and facilitation of cultural exchange between Orthodox communities and Western churches such as the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. Programs traditionally included sponsorship of lectures featuring historians of the Byzantine Empire, musicologists specializing in Byzantine chant, and theologians conversant with writings of Saint John Chrysostom, Gregory Palamas, Maximus the Confessor, and Photios I of Constantinople. It collaborated with seminaries and academic departments at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, and university centers at Duke University and Rutgers University to support research on topics ranging from Iconoclasm to modern pastoral care debates involving figures like Alexander Schmemann and John Meyendorff.
Governance typically comprised an elected board of directors including clergy, lay presidents, treasurers, and secretaries drawn from parishes under hierarchs such as the Archbishop Iakovos of America in historical periods, and cooperating with bishops from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Orthodox Church in America. Advisory councils often included academics affiliated with Harvard Divinity School, Princeton Theological Seminary, University of Oxford, and cultural institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Legal incorporation and nonprofit filings were managed through state authorities in New York State with fiduciary oversight of endowments, grants, and donor-advised funds comparable to mechanisms used by entities such as the Guggenheim Foundation.
Membership comprised clergy, laity, émigré intellectuals, patrons, and students, with chapters and affiliates in urban centers including New York City, Boston, Chicago, London, Athens, and Thessaloniki. Chapters coordinated local events in partnership with parishes under jurisdictions like the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia; outreach targeted alumni networks of institutions such as Columbia University and Brown University. International partnerships linked to cultural ministries in Greece and academic chairs at universities such as University of Thessaloniki strengthened transnational chapter relations.
Regular programs included lecture series, concerts of Byzantine chant and Orthodox sacred music, exhibitions of icons and manuscripts loaned by collections such as the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and symposia on patristic theology that attracted scholars from University of Notre Dame, King's College London, and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Annual dinners and commemorations often featured addresses by hierarchs from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, ambassadors from Greece and Russia, and cultural figures linked to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Educational initiatives partnered with seminaries like St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary and publishing houses comparable to Oxford University Press for conference proceedings.
The society maintained both cooperative and complex relations with major Orthodox bodies including the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and the Orthodox Church in America. It participated in ecumenical dialogues involving the World Council of Churches, the Vatican II legacy within Roman Catholic Church, and bilateral conversations with the Anglican Communion and Lutheran World Federation, engaging theologians such as Alexander Schmemann and diplomats who mediated ties during the Cold War. At times, tensions arose over jurisdictional issues resonant with disputes involving the Patriarchate of Moscow and ecclesial recognition akin to debates surrounding autocephaly and canonical territory.
The society produced newsletters, scholarly proceedings, and occasional monographs distributed to libraries including the New York Public Library, university collections at Harvard University Library and Yale University Library, and parish libraries. It collaborated with academic journals and presses that publish work on Byzantine Studies, such as journals affiliated with Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection and academic publishers like Cambridge University Press. Communications also extended to radio addresses, later podcasts, and partnerships with cultural programs at institutions like the Lincoln Center to broaden public engagement.
Category:Christian organizations Category:Eastern Orthodox Church