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[[Image:Innocent of Alaska.jpg|right|frame|St. Innocent of Alaska, depicted holding his book [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/kingdomofheaven.aspx "The Indication of the Way Into the Kingdom of Heaven"], which he wrote in [http://www.asna.ca/alaska/aleut/indication-of-the-pathway.pdf Aleut], but which became a popular text in [http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/russian/king_r.htm Russian] as well.]]
Our father among the saints '''Innocent of Alaska''', [[Equal-to-the-Apostles]] and [[Enlightener]] of North America (1797-1879), was a Russian Orthodox [[priest]], [[bishop]], [[archbishop]], and [[Metropolitan]] of Moscow and all Russia. He is known for his [[missionary ]] work, scholarship, and leadership in Alaska and the Russian Far East during the 1800s. He is known for his great zeal for his work as well as his great abilities as a scholar, linguist, and administrator. He was a [[missionary]], later a bishop and archbishop in Alaska and the Russian Far East. He learned several native languages and was the author of many of the earliest scholarly works about the natives and their languages, as well as dictionaries and religious works in these languages. He also translated parts of the [[Bible]] into several native languages.
==Life==
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
After John and his family built and moved into an earthen hut, he undertook the construction of a church [[Holy Ascension Cathedral (Unalaska, Alaska)|Holy Ascension Church]] on the island and set about studying the local languages and dialects. He trained some of his parishioners in construction techniques and with them undertook the construction of a church, which was finished the following July.
Father John's parish included the island of Unalaska and the neighboring Fox Islands and Pribilof Islands, whose inhabitants had been converted to Christianity before his arrival, but retained many of their pagan ways and customs. Father John often traveled between the islands in a canoe, battling the stormy Gulf of Alaska.
In 1834, Father John was transferred to Sitka Island, to the town of Novoarkhangelsk, later called Sitka. He devoted himself the Tlingit people and studied their language and customs. His studies there produced the scholarly works ''[http://www.asna.ca/alaska/research/zamechaniya.pdf Notes on the Kolushchan and Kodiak Tongues]'' and ''Other Dialects of the Russo-American Territories, with a Russian-Kolushchan Glossary''.
[[Image:Innokentii, Metropolitan of Moscow.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Innokentii(Innocent), Metropolitan of Moscow (1797-1879), called the "Apostle of Alaska"]]
In 1838, Father John journeyed to St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, and Kiev, Ukraine, to report on his activities and request an expansion of the Church's activities in Russian America. While he was there, he received notice that his wife had died. He requested permission to return to Sitka. Instead, it was suggested that he take vows as a monk. Father John at first ignored these suggestions, but, on [[November 29]], 1840, made his vows. He chose the name ''Innocent'' in honor of Bishop Innocent of Irkutsk.
[[File:Apostle-to-aleuts.jpg|thumb|right|Apostle to the Aleuts]]On [[December 15]], 1840, [[Archimandrite]] Innocent Veniaminov was consecrated Bishop of Kamchatka and Kuril Islands in Russia and the Aleutian Islands in Russian America. His see was located in Novoarkhangelsk, which he returned to in September 1841. He spent the next nine years in the administration of his see as well as on several long [[missionary ]] journeys to its remote areas. On [[April 21]], 1850, Bishop lnnocent was elevated to Archbishop. In 1852, the Yakut area was admitted to the Kamchatka Diocese, and in September 1853, Archbishop Innocent took up permanent residence in the town of Yakutsk. Innocent took frequent trips throughout his enlarged diocese. He devoted much energy to the translation of the scriptures and service books into the Yakut (Sakha) language.
In April 1865, Archbishop Innocent was appointed a member of the [[Apostolic Governing Synod|Holy Governing Synod ]] of the Church.
On [[November 19]], 1867, he was appointed the Metropolitan of Moscow, replacing his friend and mentor, Filaret, who had died. While there, he undertook revisions of many Church texts that contained errors, raised funds to improve the living conditions of priests and established a retirement home for priests.
{{succession|
before=?|
title=Bishop of KamachatkaKamchatka, the Kuril Aleutian Islands|
years=1840-1853|
after=[[Peter (Ekaterinovsky) of Novoarkhangelsk|Peter (Ekaterinovsky)]]|}}
== 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
==See Also==
* [[Missionary]]
==External links==
[[Category:American Saints]]
[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Metropolitans 19th-century bishops]][[Category:Bishops of the OCAMoscow]][[Category:Bishops of Aleutian Islands]][[Category:Bishops of Yakutsk]][[Category:Bishops of Kamchatka]]
[[Category:Missionaries]]
[[Category:Patriarchs of Moscow]]
[[el:Ιννοκέντιος Αλάσκας]]
[[ro:Inochentie de Alaska]]
[[Category:19th-century saints]]
