Saints of North America

I originally posted this on my personal blog. I'm reposting it here with some minor editing. Hope this is of interest!

I used to think that I had a pretty good idea of who the Saints of North America were. Yes, of course I realized that the Saints we glorify are only a fraction of those saved by God, but that aside I was pretty sure I knew all the guys in the icons - Sts. Herman of Alaska, Tikhon of New York, Peter the Aleut New Martyr, et cetera. I never knew about those righteous who are already being venerated (and in several cases, being considered for glorification or already glorified by certain Orthodox jurisdictions) as Saints without the glorification and recognition of the Catholic Church.

It took me a while to find information on many of these Saints of God, both the unrecognized and even the recognized, so I want to put links for the basics of their lives here on my blog. I hope whoever reads their lives will be touched and strengthened by both the reading and the Saints' prayers. If there are any others I have not listed here, please let me know! This is a small work, but I do it in memory of the servant of God Joshua, who fell asleep in the Lord on 21 August 2007. As I come across new-to-me saints I will be sure to include them here!

Alright, here are the links:

Glorified:
St. Alexander (Hotovitsky) of New York
St. Alexis (Toth) of Minneapolis and Wilkes-Barre
St. Anatolius (Kamenskiy) of Sitka and Minneapolis
St. Barnabas (Nastich) of Gary
St. Basil (Martysz) of Afognak and Vostok
St. Brendan the Navigator
St. Elijah (Zotikov) of New York
St. Herman of Alaska
St. Innocent (Veniaminov) of Alaska
St. Jacob (Netsvetov) of Alaska
St. John (Kochurov) of Chicago
St. John (Maximovich) the Wonderworker of San Francisco
St. Juvenaly (Hovorukhin) the New Martyr of Alaska
St. Mardarius (Uskokovich) of Libertyville
St. Nicholas (Velimirovich) of Libertyville and South Canaan
St. Peter the Aleut New Martyr
St. Raphael (Hawaweeny) of Brooklyn
St. Sebastian (Dabovich) of Jackson
St. Seraphim (Samoilovich) of Sitka
St. Tikhon (Belavin) of San Francisco and New York

Not Glorified:
St. Jacob (Korchinskiy) of Honolulu
St. Leontius (Turkevich) of Chicago and New York (Under consideration for glorification by the American Orthodox Church.)
St. Olga (Michael) of Alaska (Under consideration for glorification by the American Orthodox Church.)
St. Philaret (Voznesensky) the Confessor of New York (St. Philaret's relics have been found to be incorrupt, but so far he has only been glorified by several schisms from the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.)
St. Seraphim (Rose) of Platina (Under consideration for glorification by the Serbian Orthodox Church.)

Of Interest:
Archbishop Avercius (Taushev) of Jordanville (It's been a while since I did much reading on Vladyka Averky, but I believe he's been glorified by a schism from the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.)
Protopresbyter Alexander (Schmemann) of New York
Abbess Alexandra (Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen) of Ellwood City
Archbishop Andrew (Rymarenko) of Novo Diveyevo and Rockland
Abbess Ariadna of San Francisco
Archbishop Arsenius (Chahovtsev) of Winnipeg (Under consideration for glorification by the American Orthodox Church.)
Archimandrite Basil (Philippov) of Chicago and South Canaan (More later here. There's nothing online and I only just heard of him through a personal story told me by an Evangelical Protestant acquaintance from South Canaan.)(I'm still looking for more information on Fr. Basil to post here. Anything you know would be welcome!)(An article was recently posted on Pravoslavie, which I've linked to as I believe Archimandrite Basil (Philippov) and Monk Basil are likely the same man. May his memory be eternal!)
Abbess Benedicta (Braga) of Rives Junction
Bishop Cyrus (al-Anba Bishoy) of the Mojave
Archimandrite Gerasim (Schmaltz) of Spruce Island and Alaska
Priest John (Karastamatis) of Santa Cruz (Venerated by some Greek Orthodox Christians.)
Priest Joseph Xanthopoulos
Brother Joseph Muñoz-Cortes
Mother Michaella Altschul of Kansas City
Priest Nicholas (Yanney) of Kearney
Archimandrite Roman (Braga) of Rives Junction
Archimandrite Theoclitus (Triantafilides) of San Francisco and Galveston

In Memoriam: Metropolitan Mar Barnabas of New York

Metropolitan Mar Barnabas (Mathews) of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, recently retired Metropolitan of New York and Northeast America, has reposed at the age of eighty-eight. Born K.K. Mathukutty in Perumbavoor, Kerala, on 9 August 1924, the future metropolitan was in 1951 ordained to the priesthood as Fr. Mathews, later being consecrated to the episcopacy in 1978 as Bishop Mar Barnabas.

In 1981 Mar Barnabas was elevated to the rank of metropolitan, and in 1982 he was elected as the first metropolitan of the newly established Diocese of Idukki in eastern Kerala. In 1992 Metropolitan Mar Barnabas was transferred to the Malankara Orthodox Diocese of New York and America, becoming its second ruling metropolitan and shepherding the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in North America until 2009, when new dioceses were created and he became ruling metropolitan of the Northeast American Diocese.

During Metropolitan Mar Barnabas' tenure in North America the Church there underwent a period of significant growth, with new churches being established across the continent. In 2011 he retired as metropolitan to return to Kerala, where he was cared for as his health declined. This past Sunday, 9 December, he fell asleep at the Pampady Monastery at the age of eighty-eight. May Metropolitan Mar Barnabas' memory be eternal! A full account of his life may be found here.

In Memoriam: Metropolitan Constantine of the UOCUSA

Metropolitan Constantine (Buggan) of Irinoupolis and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and the Diaspora fell asleep today at the age of seventy-six. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Constantine served the UOCUSA in various capacities for forty-five years, forty of those years as a hierarch of either the independent Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) or the UOCUSA (after much of the UAOC in the Ukrainian Diaspora was received into the Ecumenical Patriarchate). May his memory be eternal! More information on Metropolitan Constantine's life can be found here.

St. Herman of Alaska

Joyous feast! С праздником! Today is one of the few fixed feast days that share the same day on both the Julian and Gregorian calendars as we commemorate the simultaneous glorification of St. Herman of Alaska by the American Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which took place on this day 41 years ago. A full account of St. Herman's life can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!

Today is a special day for me as it's the day I became a catechumen in 2002. I coincidentally noticed St. Herman's icon in the local parish bookstore and bought it shortly before I was made a catechumen and have felt a connection with him since, though unfortunately not strong enough of one for me to have been baptized as Herman or Germanus. (I get enough weird looks from my family as it is ;-).) St. Herman is truly the father of every Orthodox Christian in North America - I hope his blessings are with you in a special way today!

"O Blessed Father Herman of Alaska, North Star of Christ's Holy Church! The light of your holy life and great deeds guides those who follow the Orthodox Way! Together we lift high the holy cross you planted firmly in the Americas! Let all behold and glorify Jesus Christ, singing His Holy Resurrection!

Sitka Icon of the Mother of God

Joyous feast! The Sitka Icon of the Mother of God is one of the oldest of North America's wonderworking icons. The Icon was painted in the style of the Kazan Icon by Vladimir Borovikovskiy in the 18th or early 19th century, with a portrayal of God the Father blessing included above the Mother of God and the Christ Child. In 1850 the employees of the Russian-America Company purchased the Sitka Icon and donated it to the newly completed Cathedral of St. Michael in Sitka, Alaska.

Since its arrival in North America the Sitka Icon has had numerous healings and miracles attributed to it by the local Orthodox faithful. The Mother of God is portrayed especially peacefully in the Icon, but the artistic elements of the Sitka Icon aside faithful entering churches where the Icon has rested have been immediately struck by the imminence of the Mother of God, of her peace-giving presence amongst those coming to venerate her image. This peacefulness is apparent even to some Evangelical Protestants, who have been known to keep a copy of the Sitka Icon despite their rejection of the veneration of the saints and images.

Although originally placed on the iconostas of St. Michael's Cathedral the Sitka Icon is now enshrined in another part of the cathedral and regularly visits the faithful in Alaska and other parts of the United States. More on the Sitka Icon's history can be found here. May the Mother of God's protection and intercessions be with us all!

St. Juvenaly of Alaska

Joyous feast! С праздником! St. Juvenaly, the Protomartyr of the Americas, was born in the late 1700s in Siberia and trained as an engineer before entering a monastery in St. Petersburg following the death of his wife. Three years after his tonsuring in 1791 he traveled to Alaska to serve as a missionary there. In Alaska the Saint traveled extensively, preaching the Gospel and baptizing many of the local peoples.

It was during one of his missionary journeys, in 1796, that St. Juvenaly came across a hunting party and was murdered by them. Although why the hunting party killed the Saint is unknown, it was later reported to St. Innocent, then Bishop of Sitka, that St. Juvenaly did not try to escape or defend himself, instead begging the band not to attack the newly baptized faithful nearby. Although left for dead, St. Juvenaly rose up and followed his attackers, urging them to repent. After several instances of this happening the hunters hacked St. Juvenaly to pieces to ensure that he would not follow them again.

More on St. Juvenaly's life can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!

Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God

Joyous feast! The Tikhvin Icon is said to be one of the icons of the Mother of God written by St. Luke the Evangelist. In the 400s the Tikhvin Icon was translated from the Holy City of Jerusalem to Constantinople where the Blachernae church was built to enshrine it. Several hundred years later, in 1383, the Tikhvin Icon disappeared from Blachernae and appeared over the waters of Lake Ladoga in northern Russia, eventually settling near the city of Tikhvin, where it was enshrined anew in a monastery dedicated to the Dormition.

The Tikhvin Icon remained in northern Russia for many years, at one time helping the Russian armies defeat the invading Swedes. During the upheaval of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union the Icon was taken from Tikhvin to the Latvian capital, Riga. When the Soviets began to approach Riga towards the end of World War II the Tikhvin Icon was again translated, eventually settling in Chicago with its caretaker and remaining there until its return to Russia in 2004.

More on the Tikhvin Icon can be found here. May the Mother of God's protection and prayers be with us all!

Sunday of All the Saints of North America

Joyous feast! Today we honor all the saints glorified by God in North America, both those clearly revealed to us, as St. Herman was, and those known only to God, as many of our yiayias and babas and whoever else no doubt are. For more links to information on the lives of the North American saints and some of the righteous known to us see my earlier (and still growing) post on the subject. May their blessings and prayers be with us all!

Alaskan Diocesan Assembly in August to Nominate Episcopal Candidate

It has been announced that this August a special diocesan assembly will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, to nominate a candidate for election by the Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church as Bishop of Sitka and Alaska. More here.

Memorial Day

Christ is risen! Today's commemoration is kept by Orthodox Christians in the United States and informally at that. Although a federal holiday, Memorial Day is very much in keeping with the practice of preserving the memory of the dead and those who have died for their country.

This particular holiday began amongst black Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, to commemorate the US soldiers who died to reintegrate the South into the United States and to bring freedom to the South's slaves. Since its beginnings in the late 1800s Memorial Day has become a holiday celebrating all the soldiers who have died fighting for the United States and in popular practice often supplants All Saints' as a day for visiting loved ones in the cemeteries.

May the memory of our loved ones who have fallen asleep be eternal! God grant them and us His peace, in this life and the next...

St. Brendan the Navigator

Christ is risen! Joyous feast! St. Brendan may well be the earliest North American saint, though it's hard to know with any certainty at this point. More on his life can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!

A Life of St. John of Santa Cruz

An interesting account of the life and death of St. John (Karastamatis) of Santa Cruz can be found here. Hat tip to Mystagogy for reminding me of St. John!

St. Alexis of Minneapolis

Christ is risen! Joyous feast! St. Alexis Toth of Minneapolis and Wilkes-Barre is one of the better known Orthodox Christian missionaries of the United States, having led a large number of Ruthenians (Carpatho-Rusyns, Carpatho-Russians, et cetera) out of the Ruthenian Catholic Church and into the Russian Orthodox Church in North America. Many of his spiritual descendants today form the cores of the independent American Orthodox Church and the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. More on St. Alexis' life can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!

St. Basil of Vostok

Christ is risen! Joyous feast! Today is the feast of one of North America's missionary saints from the Russian Empire, the Hieromartyr Basil (Martysz), who served in Alaska, the northeastern United States, and western Canada. After his return to Eastern Europe, St. Basil served in the Russian Orthodox Church and then, following the collapse of the Russian Empire, in the young Polish Orthodox Church. The Saint was eventually martyred by thieves during World War II and glorified by he Church of Poland in 2003. More on his life can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!

St. Nicholas of Libertyville

Christ is risen! Joyous feast! Today is the feast of one of North America's glorified saints, St. Nicholas (Velimirovich) of Libertyville and South Canaan. St. Nicholas (also commonly known as St. Nikolai of Zhicha or Ohrid) is often called 'the New Chrysostom' and left a rich legacy in both his native Serbian Orthodox Church in the Balkans and the USA as well as in what became the American Orthodox Church. More on his life and legacy can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!

"Russian Community Calls Austin Home"

The Daily Texan has run an article on an Austin area parish currently pastored by an old internet friend of mine, Hieromonk Aidan (Keller), that can be found here.

OCA "Strategic Plan" to be Discussed by Holy Synod, Metropolitan Council in May

It has been announced that a new draft of the "Strategic Plan" for the American Orthodox Church will be presented to the Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council for their review this coming May. The Plan is supposed to help the OCA know what it is and where it is going. More here.

"Priests Don't Answer E-mails"

And another hat tip to Byzantine Texas on an excellent post about the need for better communication skills by our clergy and parishes here in North America!

Serbian Orthodox in Midwest Call for Unified Diocese, New Metropolitan

The recent diocesan assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Novo Grachanica and the Midwest has called on the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church to unify the diocese with the Metropolitanate of Libertyville and elect their diocesan bishop, Bishop Longin (Krco), as Metropolitan of Nova Grachanica and First Hierarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church of North America. More here. Hat tip to Byzantine Texas for posting this!

St. Innocent of Sitka

Joyous feast! С праздником! St. Innocent was one of the great lights of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 19th century and certainly an even greater light in Alaskan and American Orthodoxy. An account of his life can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!