A "Birthday" of Sorts

We would be remiss if we did not recognize this date as a "birthday".

At Saint Herman's in Hudson, we have a kind of "portable mentality".  Our building is rented space inside the city cemetery, and so we need to "tear down" our worship facility periodically (when the city arranges for the building to be used by others).  We are therefore not permitted to have any permanent signage outside the building, and so we have portable placards.

I mention these because they proclaim boldly the continuous pattern of Orthodox worship in this continent since 1794.  And thus, the 'birthday'.

It was on this day, 24September1794 that a missionary group from Russia landed in Alaska.  The group, which included one archimandrite, three priestmonks, one deacon monk, and one lay monk, departed from St. Petersburg on 21Dec1793.  They traveled 7300 miles in 293 days (25 miles per day).

The monks, as they arrived, had great compassion for the natives, who had been exploited by their countrymen who came to this region to trade in fur.

From the OCA web site (http://oca.org/history-archives/orthodox-christians-na/chapter-1), the following account of our own beloved Patron Saint Herman can be found:

The more general success of the Alaskan mission can be explained only by the heroic efforts of the missionaries in defending the Alaskans from Baranov and his henchmen, as well as by the missionaries’ sensitive approach to the pre-Christian spirituality of the Aleuts. The Russian monks presented Orthodox Christianity not as the abolition, but as the fulfillment, of the Aleut’s ancient religious heritage. Most persuasively, the personal example of the monk Herman provided the natives with tangible evidence that the Gospel, when embraced with full dedication and commitment, produced God-like men.

To avoid harassment (and possible assassination at the hands of Baranov’s men), the monk Herman left Kodiak sometime between 1808-1818, and relocated to Spruce Island, three miles to the north. He named his small hermitage “New Valaam,” in honor of his former monastery, from earlier generations of Orthodox monks had set out to evangelize Karelian, Lapp, and Finnish tribespeople. At New Valaam, Herman spent the rest of his life teaching the Aleuts, nursing the sick, raising orphans, praying, and working miracles. Most importantly, through his kindness, compassion and personal holiness, Herman exemplified an ideal Christian life. The last surviving member of the original mission, Herman died in 1837. His remains repose in Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Kodiak. The Aleuts never forgot the humble monk nor his legacy of prayer and deeds. Largely at their insistence, Herman was canonized in 1970 by the Orthodox Church in America as the first Orthodox saint America.

Through the prayers of Saint Herman of Alaska, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and save us!  Amen!!