On the Occasion of the Commemoration and
Centennial of the Repose
(†February 14/27,1915)
of St. Raphael the Syrian, Bishop of Brooklyn,
a Great Missionary and Early Anti-Ecumenist
1860-1915
S t. Raphael was born in 1860 in Syria [ac-
cording to other sources, in Beirut, Leba-
non] to pious parents, Michael Hawaweeny
and his wife, Mariam, who was the daughter
of a Priest in Damascus.
Owing to the violent persecution of the
Christians at that time, during which the fam-
ily’s parish Priest and spiritual Father, St. Jo-
seph of Damascus (†July 10, 1860), was mar-
tyred, the family fled to Beirut.
They returned to Damascus in 1861. The
young Raphael showed great aptitude in his
studies, and he was recommended to Patriarch Hierotheos of Antioch
(1850-1884) as a candidate for the Priesthood. He studied at the Patri-
archate and was such a talented student that, in 1877, he was appointed
Assistant Professor.
On March 28, 1879, he was tonsured a monk by Patriarch Hierotheos,
who took him into his personal service.
Since the seminary of Balamand had been closed since 1840, the
Œcumenical Patriarchate, under Patriarch Joachim III (1878-1884), of-
fered a scholarship for a Syrian student, and Raphael was chosen to
complete his studies at the Theological School at Halke.
He was ordained a Deacon there (December 8, 1885), and returned
home the following year with a degree in theology.
The new Patriarch of Antioch, Gerasimos (1884-1891), took him
with him on his pastoral visitations, and asked him to preach to the
people when he was unable to be present in person.
***
Since he thirsted for further education, the better to serve the Holy
Orthodox Church, Deacon Raphael was sent to the Theological Acad-
1
amy of Kiev for his post-graduate
education.
Metropolitan Ioannikios of Mos-
cow ordained him a Priest and raised
him to the rank of Archimandrite,
and he was put in charge of the Pa-
triarchate of Antioch’s Church in the
Russian capital (1889).
He managed to reduce the
Church’s debts a great deal and ob-
tained scholarships for twenty-four Syrian students.
When Patriarch Gerasimos was transferred to Jerusalem, Archiman-
drite Raphael contended for an Arabic-speaking Hierarch to replace him
on the Throne of Antioch, for which he was reprimanded by the Œcu-
menical Patriarch Spyridon (1891-1898), a Cypriot.
He was suspended from his Priestly functions, but continued to write
in favor of the Arabization of the See of Antioch in Russian periodi-
cals and then in books. He was ultimately reconciled with the Patriarch,
asked forgiveness, and was restored to the ministry.
He was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Moscow
and was appointed Professor of Arabic Studies at the Theological Acad-
emy of Kazan.
***
Archimandrite Raphael had a missionary outlook and zeal in his
ministry to the people of God. He was distinguished for his spirit of self-
abnegation and self-sacrifice in his ecclesiastical ministry.
In 1895, at the invitation of the Benevolent Society of Syrian Or-
thodox of New York, he left for the United States, where he arrived on
November 2, 1895, in order to take charge of the Arab Orthodox com-
munity of New York, which had neither a place of worship nor a Priest.
On the first Sunday after his arrival (November 5), he liturgized with
Bishop Nicholas at the Russian Church in New York City.
Two weeks later, he set up a chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas in
lower Manhattan, with the blessing of Bishop Nicholas of the Russian
Church, which at that time was the only Orthodox jurisdiction in Amer-
ica, with its See in San Francisco.
With all his strength, he preached and celebrated the Divine Lit-
urgy for his parishioners, also showing great concern for the many Arab
2
Christian immigrants scattered across North America.
These faithful, for want of a pastor, were in danger of being ab-
sorbed by the other Christian confessions or even of abandoning all
religious life.
Well aware of how greatly the teachings of the heterodox di-
verged from the doctrine transmitted by Holy Tradition, he forbade
the faithful from attending the services of those of other confessions.
Between 1896 and 1899, he made three pastoral journeys across the
continent, seeking, as a Good Shepherd, the scattered sheep and creating
places of worship for the celebration of the Divine services.
He celebrated the Divine Liturgy and the Mysteries for all of the
Orthodox, whether Greek, Russian, or Arab—at that time all of the Or-
thodox Christians in the United States depended on the Russian mis-
sion—restored peace and harmony to all of the communities that he vis-
ited, and, with the blessing of Bishop Nicholas, invited qualified Priests
from Syria in order to serve in the Arab-speaking parishes that he had
founded, and sought out educated laymen for ordination.
Strict towards himself, he was always benevolent, merciful, and
full of love for his faithful, who came to him with their difficulties, ap-
proaching him as a genuine Shepherd of Christ.
After the election of Metropolitan Meletios as Patriarch of Antioch
(1899-1916), the Metropolitan of Beirut proposed to make him his As-
sistant Bishop, but Raphael refused, so as not to abandon his flock in the
United States. It was with great joy, however, that the Saint announced
to his people that, for the first time in 168 years, a native Arab had been
chosen as Primate of the Church of Antioch.
***
In December of 1901, Archimandrite Ra-
phael was elected Bishop of Zahlé, Lebanon,
but he again declined to return to the Middle
East. He wished to complete the project of
building a parish Church for the Syrian com-
munity of New York.
The following year, he was able to buy an
existing church building on Pacific Street in
Brooklyn and had it remodeled for Orthodox
worship. To the great joy of the faithful, Bish-
op Tikhon—the successor of Bishop Nicholas
3
in America and future Patriarch of Moscow,
venerated as a Saint by the Orthodox Church (†
March 25, 1925)—consecrated it as the Cathe-
dral of St. Nicholas.
St. Tikhon had been elected Bishop at the
age of thirty-two and was sent to North Amer-
ica, where he developed extensive missionary
activities, founding more than fifty-five parish-
es, one monastery, and one seminary.
The number of Orthodox parishes within
the Diocese of North America was growing, and it was impossible for
Bishop Tikhon to meet all of the various pastoral needs of such a large
and multi-ethnic flock.
Thus, he proposed to the Holy Synod in Russia the transfer of his
See from San Francisco to New York, and the Consecration of Archi-
mandrite Raphael as his second Assistant Bishop, with care of the Arab
communities. Bishop Innocent of Alaska had already been elected and
consecrated as his first Assistant Bishop.
In 1903, the proposal was unanimously accepted, and on the Third
Sunday of Great Lent in 1904, Archimandrite Raphael was consecrated
Bishop of Brooklyn, concelebrating with Bishops Tikhon and Innocent
at the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Brooklyn. The new bishop’s vest-
ments were a gift from Tsar Nicholas II, the future Royal-Martyr (†July
4, 1918).
This was the first consecration of an Orthodox Bishop on Amer-
ican soil.
***
After his consecration, Bishop Raphael retained direction of the
Syro-Arab Orthodox Mission in North America.
With redoubled zeal, he continued his pastoral labors, ordaining
Priests for the parishes and helping Bishop Tikhon in the administration
of his immense Diocese.
In January of 1905, he began publishing a periodical called Al-
Kalimat (The Word) as the official publication of the Syro-Arab Mis-
sion, with the aim of communicating with, informing, and catechizing
the communities scattered over the American continent. He regarded
this publication as a milestone in his missionary activities, of equal im-
portance to the acquisition of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas (1902) in
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Brooklyn and the cemetery (1901) on Long Island.
In July of 1905, Bishop Raphael laid the foun-
dation of the Monastery of Saint Tikhon in South
Canaan, Pennsylvania. An orphanage was also
built alongside the monastery.
For the next ten years, the holy Shepherd dili-
gently tended his growing flock in New York and
showed special concern for the youth. He orga-
nized night schools so that children would receive
an Orthodox Christian education, since children
who did not speak Arabic were going to Sunday
School classes in heterodox Churches, where Eng-
lish was spoken.
He also understood the importance of integrating his communi-
ties into American society. Thus, he recommended the use in all of his
parishes of the Service Book of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic
Church, which had been translated into English.
After Saint Tikhon returned to Russia (March of 1907) and was re-
placed by Archbishop Platon, Bishop Raphael was nominated in 1908 to
succeed Patriarch Gregory as Metropolitan of Tripoli, Syria. The Holy
Synod of Antioch rejected his candidature, alleging the canonical prohi-
bition of Episcopal transfers.
On the Sunday of Orthodoxy in 1911, Bishop Raphael was honored
for his fifteen years of pastoral ministry in North America. Archbishop
Platon presented him with a silver-plated Icon of Christ and praised him
for his multifaceted and arduous pastoral work. In his humility, Bishop
Raphael considered himself an unworthy servant of the Lord and could
not understand why he should be honored for merely doing his duty.
Toward the end of 1912, Bishop Raphael was diagnosed with a heart
disease, but that did not prevent him from undertaking pastoral journeys
during the next two years.
In 1915, worn out at last by his labours, he fell ill again, retired to
his house, and, after two months of illness patiently borne with thanks-
giving, faith in God, and prayer, he fell asleep in the Lord on February
14/27, 1915.
***
The Holy Bishop Raphael was, and continues to be, a model Ortho-
dox Shepherd and missionary, who sacrificed himself on behalf of his
flock.
5
When he arrived in America in Novem-
ber of 1895, at the age of thirty-five, he had to
minister to a divided flock scattered through-
out the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
By the end of his twenty-year ministry,
the Syro-Arab Mission had thirty parishes
with 25,000 faithful.
He kept his flock unharmed from the
danger of converting to heterodox Chris-
tian confessions and protected them from
every spiritual harm.
He was a learned man and the author of
numerous books, and many of his articles
were published in the periodical The Word.
In addition to Arabic, he was fluent in English, Russian, and Greek.
With perspicacity, he permitted the use of the English language in
the Divine Liturgy and in educational programs.
He communicated with Orthodox of every nationality and race,
speaking to them in their mother tongue.
He was for all a gentle father; he gained their love and respect by
his outstanding personality and excellent character; he was always kind,
merciful, and understanding with others, but strict with himself; he
served God and his fellow man with a spirit of self-sacrifice.
The faithful immediately and spontane-
ously venerated him as a Saint of the Or-
thodox Church.
The sacred relics of St. Raphael were
found to be partially incorrupt when they
were translated from New York to Antio-
chian Village, near Ligonier, Pennsylvania,
where they are preserved to this day as a
source of healings.
†
Unto our All-Holy Triune God,
Who is glorified in His Saints,
be worship and thanksgiving,
unto the ages of ages.
Amen!
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