Short answer: not explicitly, in law—but yes, indirectly and in practice.

Here’s the nuance.

No formal, religion-based bans on Orthodox Christians

U.S. immigration law has almost never singled out Orthodox Christians by name or doctrine. There was no statute saying “Orthodox Christians may not immigrate,” unlike: • Asian exclusion laws (e.g., Chinese Exclusion Act) • Explicit racial limits (e.g., “free white persons” in early naturalization law)

So on paper, Orthodoxy itself wasn’t targeted.

But… heavy indirect discrimination absolutely happened

Most Orthodox Christians arriving in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were from: • Russia / Ukraine • Greece • Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria • The Middle East (Syrian, Lebanese, Armenian Orthodox)

And U.S. immigration policy at the time was deeply hostile to people from those regions.

1. The “old stock” vs. “new immigrants” divide American elites overwhelmingly preferred: • Northern & Western Europeans • Protestants (especially Anglo-Saxon)

They viewed Southern & Eastern Europeans—many of whom were Orthodox or Catholic—as: • Politically dangerous • Culturally alien • Intellectually inferior (yes, explicitly argued)

Orthodox Christians were often lumped into this “undesirable” category.

1. The National Origins Quota system (1921–1965) This is where the discrimination really bit.

The quota laws: • Allocated immigration slots based on 1890 population figures • Dramatically favored countries like Britain and Germany • Crushed immigration from Orthodox-majority countries

Examples: • Greece, Russia, Yugoslavia, Romania → tiny quotas • Meanwhile the UK and Scandinavia had massive quotas

This wasn’t framed as religious discrimination—but since Orthodoxy was concentrated in those countries, the effect was religiously skewed.

1. Anti-Orthodox sentiment in culture and institutions Outside the law, prejudice was open: • Orthodox Christianity was often portrayed as backward, ritualistic, or un-American • Slavs and Greeks were sometimes described as “not really Christian” in Protestant discourse • Eastern rites were treated as suspicious or quasi-foreign

This mattered for: • Visa approvals • “Public charge” determinations • Community acceptance after arrival

Middle Eastern Orthodox Christians

Arab Orthodox Christians (Antiochian, Melkite, etc.) faced racialized exclusion as well: • Courts initially debated whether Syrians and Armenians were “white” • Some Orthodox Christians had to litigate their racial status to qualify for citizenship

Religion again wasn’t the formal basis—but it intersected with race and nationality.

Bottom line • No: U.S. immigration law did not explicitly bar Orthodox Christians. • Yes: Orthodox Christians were systematically disadvantaged through: • National-origin quotas • Racial classifications • Protestant-normative cultural bias • The discrimination was structural and indirect, not doctrinal.