[Kolokotronis]

"I'm not sure what you mean by "pass for white". You aren't going multiculturalist left on us are you?"

LOL; no! The old immigrant generation of Orthodox were desperate to be accepted and make Orthodoxy accepted as fully American. The lengths they went to, for example adopting Western clerical dress and Episcopalian dog collars, are frankly quite sad. The fact of the matter is, however, that many Balkan and Middle Eastern Orthodox Christians were not considered white. My own grandfather was told that only "white boys" could shine shoes in front of a certain hotel and in 1909 a Greek orthodox fellow was lynched for dating a "white woman" (in Wisconsin of all places!). Anyway, even many of the hierarchs were ready to adopt Western religious practices and customs in the belief that they would thereby be accepted by the culture around them.

[stripes1776]

LOL; no! The old immigrant generation of Orthodox were desperate to be accepted and make Orthodoxy accepted as fully American.

This is an old story--i.e. repeated in many times and places. We could find any number of stories of persecution and murder by Orthodox Christians of people who didn't conform to their standards during the Byzantine Empire, and much worse than the stories you have to tell. Do those acts define Orthodox culture? I don't think so.

[redgolum]

. The fact of the matter is, however, that many Balkan and Middle Eastern Orthodox Christians were not considered white. My own grandfather was told that only "white boys" could shine shoes in front of a certain hotel and in 1909 a Greek orthodox fellow was lynched for dating a "white woman" (in Wisconsin of all places!). Anyway, even many of the hierarchs were ready to adopt Western religious practices and customs in the belief that they would thereby be accepted by the culture around them.

Funny, in that my grandfather remembered for a long time when during WWI, the local Lutheran churches were forced to put American flags in the sanctuary (big no no) and to stop having the services in German.

It sometimes is interesting to see what the "good old days" were really like.