Herman of Alaska
Saint Herman of Alaska is the first
saint to be canonized by the
Orthodox Church in America.
Herman of
Alaska was a Russian Orthodox
monk from the Valaam Monastery in
Russia, who traveled with eight other monks in
1793 to bring the
Gospel to the native
Aleuts and
Eskimos in the
Aleutian Islands. As part of the
Russian colonization of the Americas Russians had been exploring and trading there since at least 1740. Thus, he marks the first arrival of
Orthodox Christian missionaries in
North America. He built a school for the Aleutians, and often defended them from the injustices and exploitation of the Russian traders. He was known to them as "Apa" which means "Grandfather." He lived most of his life as the sole resident of Spruce Island, a tiny wooded island near
Kodiak Island.
Category:Saints
