Herman of Alaska
Spruce Island, Alaska (burial site) | |
---|---|
Feast | August 9 (glorification) December 13 (repose) November 15 (repose-alternate) |
Attributes | Clothed as a monk, with a flowing white beard; sometimes wearing a wrought iron cross and chains about his chest. |
Patronage | Americas |
Herman of Alaska (Russian: Преподобный Ге́рман Аляскинский,
Early life
Biographers disagree about Herman's early life. His official biography, which Valaam Monastery published in 1867, said that his pre-monastic name was unknown, but that Herman was born into a merchant's family in
Another former RAC Chief Manager, Ferdinand von Wrangel, stated Herman was originally from a prosperous peasant family in the Voronezh Governorate and served in the military. He then entered monastic life as a novice at Sarov Monastery. This concurred with testimony of Archimandrite Theophan (Sokolov), and a letter written by Herman himself. These agree that Herman began his monastic life as a novice at Sarov, and later received the full tonsure at Valaam.[5] A young military clerk named Egor Ivanovich Popov, from the Voronezh Governorate, was tonsured with the name 'Herman' at Valaam in 1782.[6]
All biographers agree that at Valaam, Herman studied under Abbot Nazarius, previously of Sarov Monastery. The abbot had been influenced by the
Mission in Alaska
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Grigory_Shelikov.jpg/220px-Grigory_Shelikov.jpg)
The
Grigory Shelikhov, a fur-trader, subjugated the native population of Kodiak Island. With Ivan Golikov, he founded a fur-trading company that eventually received a monopoly from the Imperial government; it became known as the Russian-American Company. Shelikhov founded a school for the natives, and many were converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity.[13][14]
The Shelikhov-Golikov Company appealed to the Most Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church to provide a priest for the natives. Catherine the Great decided instead to send an entire mission to America. She entrusted the task of recruiting missionaries to Metropolitan Gabriel of St. Petersburg, who sent ten monks from Valaam, including Herman.[15] The missionaries arrived on Kodiak on September 24, 1794.[16]
Herman and the other missionaries encountered a harsh reality at Kodiak that did not correspond to Shelikhov's rosy descriptions. The native Kodiak population, called "Americans" by the Russian settlers, were subject to harsh treatment by the Russian-American Company, which was being overseen by Shelikhov's manager Alexander Baranov. He later became the first governor of the colony.
The men were forced to hunt for sea otter even during harsh weather, and women and children were abused.[16] The monks were also shocked at the widespread alcoholism in the Russian population, and the fact that most of the settlers had taken native mistresses.[17] The monks themselves were not given the supplies that Shelikhov promised them,[18] and had to till the ground with wooden implements.[19]
Despite these difficulties, the monks baptized more than 7,000 natives in the Kodiak region, and set about building a church and monastery. Herman was assigned in the bakery and acted as the mission's steward (ekonom).[20]
The monks became the defenders of the native Kodiak population. Herman was especially noted for his zeal in protecting them from the excessive demands of the RAC, and Baranov disparaged him in a letter as a "hack writer and chatterer."[21] A contemporary historian compares him to Bartolomé de las Casas, the Roman Catholic friar who defended the rights of native South Americans against the Spanish colonists.[22]
After over a decade spent in Alaska, Herman became the head of the mission in 1807, although he was not ordained to the priesthood. The local population loved and respected him, and he had established good relations with Baranov.[23] Herman ran the mission school, where he taught church subjects such as singing and catechism, alongside reading and writing. He also taught agriculture on Spruce Island.[24] But, because he still longed for the life of a hermit, he retired from active duty in the mission and moved to Spruce Island.[25]
Life on Spruce Island
Herman moved to Spruce Island around 1811 to 1817.[26] The island is separated from Kodiak by a mile-wide strait, making it ideal for eremitic life. Herman named his hermitage "New Valaam." He wore simple clothes and slept on a bench covered with a deerskin. When asked how he could bear to be alone in the forest, he replied, "I am not alone. God is here, as God is everywhere."[27]
Despite his solitary life, he soon gained a following. He received many visitors—especially native
Entire families moved to the island in order to be closer to the Elder, who helped to sort out their disputes.[28] Herman had a deep love for the native Aleuts: he stood up for them against the excesses of the Russian-American Company, and once during an epidemic, he was the only Russian to visit them, working tirelessly to care for the sick and console the dying.[8][29] Herman spent the rest of his life on Spruce Island, where he died on November 15, 1837.[30]
Sainthood
On March 11, 1969, the bishops of the
On the same date, the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) also canonized Herman at the Holy Virgin Cathedral ("Joy of All Who Sorrow") in San Francisco. At the all-night vigil, the canon to Herman was read for the first time by Gleb Podmoshensky, one of the founding brothers of the St. Herman of Alaska Serbian Orthodox Brotherhood in 1963. He, Eugene (Seraphim) Rose, and Lawrence Campbell gathered material for the Synod of Bishops in order to support the glorification of Herman, and also helped compose the liturgical service in his honor.[34]
There are several feast days throughout the year on which Saint Herman of Alaska is commemorated. Since there are two different calendars currently in use among various Orthodox churches, two dates are listed: the first date is the date on the traditional
- July 27/August 9—Glorification: This is the anniversary of the joint-glorification (canonization) of Herman of Alaska as a saint in 1970.
- November 15/28—Repose: This is the anniversary of the actual death of Herman.
- December 13/26—Repose: Due to an error in record keeping, this was originally thought to be the day of Herman's death, and because of the long-established tradition of celebrating his memory on this day, it has remained a feast day. It is more likely that this is the day he was buried. For those Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian Calendar, this day falls on December 25 of the Gregorian Calendar.
- Second Sunday after Pentecost:, as one of the saints commemorated on the Synaxis of the Saints of North America—this is a ecclesiastical year, and the date of its observance will change from year to year.[35]
The major portion of his relics are preserved at Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Kodiak, Alaska, His burial site at the Sts. Sergius and Herman Chapel, Spruce Island, Alaska is an important pilgrimage site. The devout will often take soil from his grave and water from the spring named in his honour.
A portion of his relics are enshrined at the St. Ignatius Chapel at the Antiochan Village in Pennsylvania,[36] a conference and retreat center of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. He is regarded as one of their patron saints.
In 1963, with the blessing of John Maximovitch, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, a community of Orthodox booksellers and publishers called the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood was formed to publish Orthodox missionary information in English.
One of the founders was Father
On Tuesday, August 4, 1970, the
In 1993,
In 2022, Herman was officially added to the
See also
Notes
- ^ "Преподобный Ге́рман Аляскинский". azbyka.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ Walsh, p. 261.
- ^ Little Russian Philokalia, p. 21.
- ^ Korsun, p. x.
- ^ Korsun, p. xi.
- ^ Korsun, p. 5.
- ^ Korsun, 7–9.
- ^ a b c d "German Alyaskinsky."
- ^ Korsun, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Little Russian Philokalia, p. 22.
- ^ Little Russian Philokalia, p. 153.
- ^ Oleksa, pp. 81–88.
- ^ Korsun, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Oleksa, pp. 89–93.
- ^ Korsun, pp. 13–14.
- ^ a b Oleksa, p. 109.
- ^ Korsun, pp. 29.
- ^ Oleksa, p. 108.
- ^ Korsun, p. 24.
- ^ Korsun, pp. 24, 50.
- ^ Korsun, p. 50.
- ^ Korsun, p. 55.
- ^ Korsun, p. 68.
- ^ Korsun, p. 76.
- ^ Korsun, p. 89.
- ^ Korsun, p. 92.
- ^ Oleksa, pp. 118–120.
- ^ Korsun pp. 124–126.
- ^ Little Russian Philokalia, p. 28.
- ^ Although his official hagiography states that he died on December 13, 1837, this was a mistake. The correct date is based on the dispatch by the company manager Kupreyanov to the bishop of Irkutsk. See Korsun, p. 146.
- ^ "Address of the Great Council."
- ^ "Hierarchs and Clergy."
- ^ Korsun, pp. 184–185.
- ^ Korsun, pp. 179–184.
- ^ "Second Sunday after Pentecost"
- ^ "Antiochian Village"
- ^ Congressional Record
- ^ "General Convention Virtual Binder". www.vbinder.net. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
References
- "Address of the Great Council of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America 11–13 March 1969, Concerning The Canonization of the Spiritual Father Herman of Alaska". Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- "Antiochian Village: St. Herman". Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- "Herman of Alaska: Missionary 1837". The Episcopal Church. Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- "Hierarchs and Clergy celebrating the Services of Canonization of St. Herman of Alaska". Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- Korsun, Sergei (2012). Herman: A Wilderness Saint. Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Publications. ISBN 978-0-88465-192-5.
- Kovalskaya, E. Yu. "German Alyaskinsky" (in Russian). Pravoslavnaya Entsiklopediya. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- Little Russian Philokalia, vol. III: St. Herman. Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Press. 1988. ISBN 0-938635-32-8.
- "Second Sunday after Pentecost: The Commemoration of All Saints of North America". Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- Walsh, Michael J. (2007). A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press. ISBN 978-0-8146-3186-7.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Herman of Alaska on OrthodoxWiki
- "The Relics of St. Herman of Alaska" on YouTube– A documentary about St. Herman
- The Life of Our Holy Father Saint Herman of Alaska
- Life of Monk Herman of Valaam, American Missionary