Herman of Alaska

St. Herman of Alaska

Our venerable father Herman of Alaska (1756 - December 13, 1837) is the first saint to be canonized by the Orthodox Church in America.

Herman of Alaska was a Russian Orthodox monk from 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.

St. Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Kodiak, Alaska) is named in his honor. His relics are enshrined at the St. Ignatius Chapel at the Antiochian Village, where he is regarded as one of their patron saints.

External Links

• St. Herman of Alaska Wonderworker of All America
• Who Was St. Herman?
• St. Herman of Alaska Life and Akathist
• The Akathist Hymn to St. Herman of Alaska (PDF)

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