Synaxis of the Saints of Alaska

The Synaxis of the Saints of Alaska honors those who brought the Orthodox faith to the far north and made it the faith of its native peoples. Orthodoxy came to Alaska in 1794 with the missionary monks of Valaam, and within a few generations it had taken deep root among the Aleut, Tlingit, Yup'ik, and Alutiiq — carried not only by monks and bishops from Russia but by native catechists, priests, and faithful who became saints in their own land.

At the head of this company stands Saint Herman of Alaska, the humble wonderworker of Spruce Island, who defended the native peoples and became the first saint glorified in the New World. With him are Saint Innocent (Veniaminov), the apostle of Alaska who gave the Aleuts Scripture and services in their own tongue; the Protomartyr Juvenaly and the boy-martyr Peter the Aleut, who died for Christ; Saint Jacob Netsvetov, the first native Alaskan priest, enlightener of the Yup'ik; and the righteous matushka Olga of Kwethluk, a healer and comforter of women in our own century.

These saints are commemorated together with all the Saints of North America on the second Sunday after Pentecost, and each is also kept on his or her own day. It is an open commemoration, and as the Church glorifies more of Alaska's holy ones, they are numbered among this assembly.