St. Clement's Episcopal Church plays an important role in my novel. That denomination for years was dominant in the South. Several colonies were officially Anglican. After the American Revolution and the establishment of the USA, the Episcopal Church in the USA emerged.
In a town like Marion, many of the leading families attend St. Clement's, or at least are on the rolls. Fr. Johnson comes to Marion from his first parish, which is more remote and smaller. He yearns to be back home in Williamstown on the coast. Sadly, he is someone who is capable enough but who does not stand out. A parish like St. Clement's is the best he can expect.
Johnson is concerned about liberal trends in his denomination and seeks out Orthodoxy. Many Episcopalians, lay and ordained, felt that same way and sought an Anglo-Catholic parish or actually became Roman Catholic or Orthodox. After Johnson realizes that St. Clement's is not going to indulge his Orthodox tastes, he decides to leave. Insisting on observing the date for Orthodox Easter and excommunicating his vestry does not help, either.
Orthodoxy appeals to Johnson since he studied Classics and History in college. But the canonical (official) Orthodox groups want him to spend a few years studying. After that, there is no assurance that he will be in or even in the same state as Willamstown.
Johnson stumbles across a non-canonical Orthodox group. And things get very interesting. This link has a lot of information and can appear confusing. Soon his transforms to Fr. Dmitry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church_organization#Unrecognized_churches
Jump down to section 3, Unrecognized Churches and get an idea.
To order the book,
https://www.blurb.com/b/10799783-the-botleys-of-beaumont-county
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