Hudson Incident

The Hudson Incident was an incident that gave rise to the foundation of the Albanian Orthodox Mission in America under the leadership of Fan Noli, who later would become the leader of the Orthodox Church of Albania. Eastern Orthodoxes in the United States would usually carry with them their lithurgy and language, however the case of the Albanians was different. Since they had been prohibited their own language in churches and schools, they established their first national church in Boston, United States.^[1]

Background

In 1907, a young Albanian emigrant to the United States, Kristaq Dishnica, died in Hudson, Massachusetts of influenza.^[2] Dishnica was an Albanian patriot, and since the Greek Church had excommunicated him, no Orthodox Church in the area would perform his funeral rites. As Dishnica was laid to rest in a Worcester cemetery without any religious service, the ire of the Albanians in Massachusetts arose.

Fan Noli, an Albanian who had emigrated one year earlier to Boston, and who at that time was simply a church cantor,^[3] recognized this as an opportunity to serve the spiritual needs of his own community and to champion the cause for religious and political freedom in Albania. Noli was able to garner the support of Archbishop Platon, head of the Russian Orthodox Church in the United States, who ordained him as a priest on March 18, 1908 at the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in New York City.^[2]

A week later Fan Stylian Noli was appointed administer of the Albanian Orthodox Mission in America, and later elevated to the rank of Mitred Archmandrite.^[2]

Aftermath

As a result Saint George Albanian Orthodox Church is organized at the Knights of Honor Hall on Tremont Street in Boston. The church later evolved into the Saint George Albanian Orthodox Cathedral, which is also the seat of the Albanian Archdiocese of the Orthodox Church in America.^[4]

References

1. Tarasar, Constance J. (1975). Orthodox America, 1794-1976: development of the Orthodox Church in America. Bavarian State Library. p. 309. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
2. "The 90th Anniversary Historical Trilogy by Denise Lymperis". Saint George Cathedral.
3. "Orthodox Christians in North America 1794 - 1994". Orthodox Church of America.
4. "CHRONOLOGY: The Albanians of Boston". Frosina.

Other sources

• Smith, Timothy L. (December 1978). "Religion and Ethnicity in America". The American Historical Review 83 (5): 1155–1185. doi:10.2307/1854689. JSTOR 1854689.