The Greek Orthodox Church in America: A Modern History. By Alexander Kitroeff. Northern Illinois University Series in Orthodox Christian Studies. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2020. xv + 330 pp. $29.75 paper

In addition to his recent book on The Greeks and the Making of Modern Egypt (American University in Cairo Press, 2019), he is the author of many articles and shorter pieces that explore Greek colonies in Balkan commercial hubs and Mediterranean and Black Sea ports, their migrations, and their continuing impact on Greek cultural identity. Early Greek colonies in America began in much the same way as those in the Old World: as “communities” dominated by bankers, export merchants, consular officials, and others whose financial resources and social networks gave them sufficient means to support cultural organizations, benevolent societies, and educational institutions as well as churches. [...]Kitroeff's concentration on archbishops and Clergy-Laity Congresses conveys a rather top-down picture of church life, one suggestive of corporate board rooms and annual stockholder meetings, of backroom deals and well-choreographed public photo shoots.