Saint Tikhon & Saint Raphael in New York – Church history & Family bloodline.

Saint Tikhon & Saint Raphael in New York

What was established, what was completed, and what remains unfinished

1. The Apostolic Foundation in America

Sharing some notes passed down from my great grandfather, Фурман, who served within the Russian Orthodox Mission—this is not just history to me, but living continuity.

At the turn of the 20th century, Saint Tikhon of Moscow and Saint Raphael of Brooklyn were not building separate jurisdictions—they were laying one unified Apostolic Church in America.

This must be clearly understood:

This was not “Orthodox versus Catholic.”

This was the one Church as it existed in the beginning.

When many first arrived in New York, there were times they lived and worshipped within Catholic parishes, because the reality on the ground reflected something deeper than modern division—there was still a living memory of unity between East and West.

They established:

A structured Church in America meant to be one A Church where East and West lived as one in the same Apostolic faith A Church for all ethnicities—Russians, Arabs, Greeks, Slavs, and all peoples The one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church as it was in the beginning

Saint Tikhon reorganized the mission into a unified diocese centered in New York.

Saint Raphael served as bishop in Brooklyn, shepherding the Arabic-speaking faithful.

👉 This was not fragmentation.

👉 This was unity in its purest missionary form.

2. What Was Established

In New York and Brooklyn

St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral

Built and completed in 1902 under Saint Tikhon Became the administrative and spiritual center of the Church in America

St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn (under Saint Raphael)

Founded as the center for Arab Orthodox Christians A missionary parish receiving all who came, centered in Christ

Missionary Expansion

Through Saint Raphael:

Dozens of parishes established Churches built across the land Tireless pastoral care for scattered faithful

Through Saint Tikhon:

Establishment of a monastery (1905) Encouragement of liturgical unity, including English usage Organization of a council (Sobor) uniting clergy and faithful

3. What Was Completed

By the early 1900s, they had successfully:

✔ Established a true Apostolic presence in America

✔ Built visible centers of worship—cathedrals, parishes, monastery

✔ Created a missionary Church for all people, not divided by ethnicity

✔ Consecrated a bishop on American soil (Saint Raphael, 1904)

👉 They completed the foundation of the Church in America as one body

4. What Was NOT Completed

The Great Vision: One Unified Church in America

Saint Tikhon’s vision was clear:

One Church in America Many shepherds serving different peoples All under one unified Apostolic structure

This unity—this visible unity—was not fully completed.

Why?

Ethnic identities began to divide what was once unified National loyalties overtook Apostolic unity Jurisdictions formed where there should have remained one Authority became separated rather than shared

👉 Instead of one visible Church…

America became a place of parallel jurisdictions

5. Why This Matters Spiritually

This is not administrative—it is spiritual.

Christ established one Church

The Apostles preserved one faith

Saint Tikhon and Saint Raphael planted that same unity here.

But what began in unity became fragmented over time.

6. What We Are Called to Fulfill

We are not here to create something new.

We are here to continue what was already begun.

The Unfinished Work:

Restore Apostolic unity without compromise Bring together East and West as one, not divided Re-establish the Church as it was in 33 A.D.—undivided, whole, and faithful

Not through force

Not through politics

But through truth, humility, and Christ Himself

7. The Apostolic Charge

Saint Tikhon began it

Saint Raphael built it

My great grandfather, Фурман, was part of it

This is not distant history to me—this is a living inheritance.

But the fullness of visible unity remains unfinished.

So the question remains:

Will we continue in division…

or will we return to what was given in the beginning?

Final Reflection

The work was never lost.

It was handed forward.

What they established:

👉 The foundation

What they completed:

👉 The missionary structure

What remains:

👉 The visible unity of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in America

In Christ and in the spirit of the Apostles,

✠ Primate Archbishop Кевин Филд

The Holy Catholic Orthodox Patriarchate of America

The Society of VaticanX

Archbishop Diocese of Atlanta Holy Catholic Church

Primate Archbishop Кевин Филд