Russian Orthodox Saints of North America



St. Peter the Aleut (By Paul Drozdowski)

According to the All Saints of North America Russian

Orthodox Church website, a Protestant Reformation never

occurred in the Eastern Orthodox Church because there was never a need for one there.

The explanation then given is that Western teachings about

purgatory, indulgences, the primacy and infallibility of the pope - plus the West’s “subtle change” of the Early Church

Creed - were never adopted by the East.  The website states:  There was no need to resurrect the ancient Faith, because in the East, it never died!

Although this Russian Orthodox Church is dedicated to All

Saints of North America, the biographies of six saints are

particularly highlighted on the website.  The following brief summaries of these biographies are being presented in order to whet the appetite for more in-depth readings.

St. Herman of Alaska

He was first a hermit monk, then a great ascetic who was

always barefoot in the far North.  He “advocated for and defended the Aleuts against sometimes oppressive authorities.”

St. John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco

He was also a great ascetic who slept for only an hour or two on the floor.  Like Moses, he had a speech impediment, and therefore felt unworthy to serve God when called to do so.

St. Innocent of Alaska

After travelling 2,000 miles over the course of a year to get to Alaska, he then built a church there with his own hands.  He also developed the first written alphabet for the Aleuts, then translated the Bible into their language.

St. Juvenaly

He was the first Orthodox martyr of the Americas.  He had baptized “more than 700 Chugach Sugpiag Indians” and “later many Athabaskan Indians.”

St. Patriarch Tikhon

He was the Patriarch of the Russian Church prior to and during the Russian Revolution.  He served as Bishop of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, and was also associated with cathedrals in San Francisco and New York City.

St. Peter the Aleut

He was a native of Kodiak Island, who was enslaved and tortured by Spanish priests in California.  He thus

became another Orthodox martyr of the Americas.

Resources

http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/orthodoxy.html

http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/orthodoxy/herman.html

http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/orthodoxy/john.html

http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/orthodoxy/innocent.html

http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/orthodoxy/juvenaly.html

http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/orthodoxy/tikhon.html

http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/orthodoxy/peter.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_the_Aleut

Copyright June 23, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved