Pioneering an ancient faith in the
north woods of Lake Superior

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We Orthodox of the far north woods are the second wave of pioneers,  following in the footsteps of the original Orthodox Christian ethnic groups who emigrated to Michigan's "Upper Peninsula", northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota at the beginning of the 20th century. 

These first  pioneers were the working and merchant class of the Middle East and Eastern Europe:  Lebanese, Serbian,  Greek,  and Russian,  who came because the work was plentiful.   They labored in the woods,  in the mines,  on the fledgling railroads, and in the camp towns that were springing up across the Lake Superior basin. 

The women soon followed their men.  It was then that the towns began to take shape - schools and Churches were quickly built to accommodate the large families.  For these early Orthodox,  the Church represented the center of their community.  While each ethnic group tended toward building its own Church, some built together like the Lebanese and Greeks in Ironwood.  

These first Orthodox pioneers are now gone as are the plentiful jobs.  Many of their children have also moved away,  leaving behind  a  tiny  fraction  of  their  original numbers who  still maintain the Churches of their forefathers and mothers.

But a new kind of  "pioneer"  is emerging to fill the empty pews.  Some are new converts to Orthodoxy.   Others have left the cities and larger Church communities for the snowy serenity of the far north.  Quietly,  they are building and shaping new Orthodox Christian communities.  Together,  they are the trail blazers for a new  American Orthodoxy that transcends ethnic or geographic boundaries.   This site is dedicated to the faith,  strength and perseverance of all these pioneers.


 

Updated:  10/23/2010