St. Raphael of Brooklyn

Raphael Hawaweeny was born in Beirut to a Damascene family and studied in Damascus, at Halki and in Kyiv. In 1895 he came to New York to serve the Arab Orthodox immigrants, and he founded St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn. In 1904 he became the first Orthodox bishop consecrated in North America. He travelled constantly, founding some thirty parishes, and published a magazine for his scattered flock. He reposed in 1915 and was glorified in 2000.

• Feast: February 27 (New Calendar)
• Lived: 1860–1915
• Place: Brooklyn, New York
• Relics today: Antiochian Village, Pennsylvania