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!