Innocent (Pustynsky) of Alaska
Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) of Alaska was the first auxiliary bishop for Archbishop Tikhon (Belavin) of the Diocese of the Aleutians and North America and served as Bishop of Alaska in North America from 1904 to 1909.
Fr. Innocent (Pustynsky) was consecrated at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan in St. Petersburg, Russia and was appointed Bishop of Alaska as first auxiliary bishop to Bishop Tikhon in the North American diocese. On February 24,1904 he arrived from Russia to take up his position as the vicar Bishop of Alaska.
After his arrival in the United States, Bp. Innocent joined with Bp. Tikhon in the consecration of Archimandrite Raphael (Hawaweeny) as Bishop of Brooklyn on the third Sunday of Lent in 1904. This was the first consecration of an Orthodox bishop in the New World. Bp. Raphael was Bp. Tikhon's second vicar, serving the Syrian Orthodox community in the United States.
In 1905 while in Sitka, Alaska. Bp. Innocent tonsured the future neo-martyr Seraphim of Uglitch into the mantiya and ordained him a hieromonk. In 1907, Bp. Innocent sponsored a pamphlet prepared by the "Orthodox Temperance Society" to encourage sobriety and fighting drunkenness through the use of quotations of the Holy Scriptures and Holy Fathers. Originally prepared in the Aleut language, it was also published in the Kolosh (Tlingit), English, and Kodiak (Alutiiq) languages.
After Abp. Tikhon had scheduled the convening of the First All-American Sobor at Mayfield, Pennsylvania for early 1907, he was transferred back to Russia. Pending the arrival of Abp. Platon, as the new diocesan bishop, Bp. Innocent was named the locum tenens. On [[February 20], 1906, Bp. Innocent convened the Sobor, with Abp. Tikhon attending pending his departure.
On August 1, 1907, Bp. Innocent led the consecration of the newly rebuilt Ss. Peter and Paul Church on St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea.
In March 1909, Bp. Innocent returned to Russia where he was Bishop of Yakutsk and Viluisk before becoming Archbishop of Tashkent.
| Innocent (Pustynsky) of Alaska | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: — |
Bishop of Alaska Vicar 1904-1909 |
Succeeded by: Alexander (Nemolovsky) |
Sources
- Orthodox America 1794-1976 Development of the Orthodox Church in America, C. J. Tarasar, Gen. Ed. 1975, The Orthodox Church in America, Syosett, New York
- Neo-martyr Seraphim
- In Praise of Temperance
- Glorificatin of Our Holy Father Bishop Raphael
- Isabel Hapgood article in New York Tribune, March 8, 1915
