Innocent of Alaska
Encyclopedia
Saint Innocent of Alaska (August 26, 1797 - March 31, 1879), also known as Saint Innocent of Moscow (Russian Митрополит Инноке́нтий) 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 19th century. He is known for his great zeal for his work as well as his abilities as a scholar, linguist, and administrator. He was a missionary and 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 native peoples and their languages, as well as dictionaries and religious works in their languages. He also translated parts of the Bible
into several native languages.
Evseyevich Popov (Иван Евсѣевич Попов) on August 26, 1797 into the family of a church server in the village of Anginskoye, Verkholensk District, Irkutsk Province
, in Russia
. His father, Evsey Popov, died when Ivan was six.
In 1807 Ivan entered the Irkutsk
Theological Seminary, where the rector renamed him Veniaminov in honor of the recently deceased Bishop Veniamin of Irkutsk. In 1817 he married a local priest's daughter named Catherine, and on May 18, 1817 he was ordained a deacon
of the Church of the Annunciation in Irkutsk
. After he completed his studies in 1818, he was appointed a teacher in a parish school
; and on May 18, 1821 he was ordained a priest to serve in the Church of the Annunciation. In Russian he was known as Father Ioann, the religious version of Ivan.
At the beginning of 1823, Bishop Michael of Irkutsk received instructions to send a priest to the island of Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Father Ioann Veniaminov volunteered to go and on May 7, 1823 he departed from Irkutsk, accompanied by his aging mother, his wife, his infant son Innocent, and his brother Stefan. After a difficult yearlong journey, they arrived at Unalaska on July 29, 1824.
After Father Ioann and his family built and moved into an earthen hut, he undertook the construction of a 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 Ioann'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 earlier religious beliefs and customs. Father Ioann often traveled between the islands in a canoe
, battling the stormy ocean in the Gulf of Alaska
.
His travels over the islands greatly enhanced Father Ioann Veniaminov's familiarity with the local dialects. In a short time he mastered six of the dialects. He devised an alphabet of Cyrillic letters for the most widespread dialect, the Unagan dialect of Aleut
and, in 1828, translated portions of the Bible and other church material into that dialect. In 1829 he journeyed to the Bering Sea
coast of the Alaskan mainland and preached to the people there.
In 1834, Father Ioann was transferred to Sitka Island
, to the town of Novoarkhangelsk, later called Sitka. He devoted himself to the Tlingit people and studied their language
and customs. His studies there produced the scholarly works Notes on the Kolushchan and Kodiak Tongues and Other Dialects of the Russo-American Territories, with a Russian-Kolushchan Glossary.
In 1838, Father Ioann journeyed to St. Petersburg
, Moscow
and Kiev
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 Ioann at first ignored these suggestions, but, on November 29, 1840 he was tonsure
d a monk. He chose the name Innocent in honor of Saint Innocent, the first bishop of Irkutsk (†1731, commemorated on November 26), and was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite
.
On December 15, 1840, Archimandrite Innocent was consecrated
Bishop of Kamchatka
and Kuril Islands
in Russia and the Aleutian Islands in Russian America. His see
was located in Novoarkhangelsk, to which he returned in September 1841. He spent the next nine years in the administration of his diocese
as well as on several long missionary journeys to its remote areas. On April 21, 1850, Bishop Innocent 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 Holy Governing Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
On November 19, 1867, he was appointed the Metropolitan of Moscow, replacing his friend and mentor, Saint Filaret
, who had died. As metropolitan, he undertook revisions of many church texts that contained errors, raised funds to improve the living conditions of impoverished priests and established a retirement home for clergy.
Innocent died on March 31, 1879. He was buried on April 5, 1879 at Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, outside of Moscow
.
, acting on the official request of the Orthodox Church in America
, made Innocent a saint
. His feast day is celebrated twice a year — on October 6 (for those churches which follow the Julian Calendar
, this date falls on October 19 of the Gregorian Calendar
) in commemoration of his glorification
(canonization) as a saint
, and March 31 (April 13), in commemoration of his repose. He is widely venerated as Equal-to-apostles
.
Innocent is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA)
on March 30.
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
and Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia. He is known for his missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
work, scholarship and leadership in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and the Russian Far East during the 19th century. He is known for his great zeal for his work as well as his abilities as a scholar, linguist, and administrator. He was a missionary and 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 native peoples and their languages, as well as dictionaries and religious works in their languages. He also translated parts of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
into several native languages.
Biography
Saint Innocent was born IvanIvan
-Meteorology:* Tropical Storm Ivan - a number of tropical storms - Places:* Ivan Mountain in Bosnia and Herzegovina* Iván, a village in Hungary* Ivaň, name common to two villages in Czech Republic...
Evseyevich Popov (Иван Евсѣевич Попов) on August 26, 1797 into the family of a church server in the village of Anginskoye, Verkholensk District, Irkutsk Province
Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...
, in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. His father, Evsey Popov, died when Ivan was six.
In 1807 Ivan entered the Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
Theological Seminary, where the rector renamed him Veniaminov in honor of the recently deceased Bishop Veniamin of Irkutsk. In 1817 he married a local priest's daughter named Catherine, and on May 18, 1817 he was ordained a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
of the Church of the Annunciation in Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
. After he completed his studies in 1818, he was appointed a teacher in a parish school
Parochial school
A parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
; and on May 18, 1821 he was ordained a priest to serve in the Church of the Annunciation. In Russian he was known as Father Ioann, the religious version of Ivan.
At the beginning of 1823, Bishop Michael of Irkutsk received instructions to send a priest to the island of Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Father Ioann Veniaminov volunteered to go and on May 7, 1823 he departed from Irkutsk, accompanied by his aging mother, his wife, his infant son Innocent, and his brother Stefan. After a difficult yearlong journey, they arrived at Unalaska on July 29, 1824.
After Father Ioann and his family built and moved into an earthen hut, he undertook the construction of a 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 Ioann's parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
included the island of Unalaska and the neighboring Fox Islands
Fox Islands (Alaska)
The Fox Islands are a group of islands in the eastern Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Fox Islands are the closest to mainland North America in the Aleutian chain, and just east of Samalga Pass and the Islands of Four Mountains group....
and Pribilof Islands
Pribilof Islands
The Pribilof Islands are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of Unalaska and 200 miles southwest of Cape Newenham. The Siberia coast is roughly northwest...
, whose inhabitants had been converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
before his arrival but retained many of their earlier religious beliefs and customs. Father Ioann often traveled between the islands in a canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
, battling the stormy ocean in the Gulf of Alaska
Gulf of Alaska
The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.The entire shoreline of the Gulf is...
.
Aleut language
Aleut is a language of the Eskimo–Aleut language family. It is the heritage language of the Aleut people living in the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, and Commander Islands. As of 2007 there were about 150 speakers of Aleut .- Dialects :Aleut is alone with the Eskimo languages in the...
and, in 1828, translated portions of the Bible and other church material into that dialect. In 1829 he journeyed to the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
coast of the Alaskan mainland and preached to the people there.
In 1834, Father Ioann was transferred to Sitka Island
Baranof Island
Baranof Island, also sometimes called Baranov Island, Shee or Sitka Island, is an island in the northern Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle, in Alaska. The name Baranof was given in 1805 by Imperial Russian Navy captain U. F. Lisianski to honor Alexander Andreyevich Baranov...
, to the town of Novoarkhangelsk, later called Sitka. He devoted himself to the Tlingit people and studied their language
Tlingit language
The Tlingit language ) is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada. It is a branch of the Na-Dené language family. Tlingit is very endangered, with fewer than 140 native speakers still living, all of whom are bilingual or near-bilingual in English...
and customs. His studies there produced the scholarly works Notes on the Kolushchan and Kodiak Tongues and Other Dialects of the Russo-American Territories, with a Russian-Kolushchan Glossary.
In 1838, Father Ioann journeyed to St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
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
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
. Father Ioann at first ignored these suggestions, but, on November 29, 1840 he was tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
d a monk. He chose the name Innocent in honor of Saint Innocent, the first bishop of Irkutsk (†1731, commemorated on November 26), and was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
.
On December 15, 1840, Archimandrite Innocent was consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
Bishop of Kamchatka
Kamchatka Oblast
Kamchatka Oblast was, until being incorporated into Kamchatka Krai on July 1, 2007, a federal subject of Russia . To the north, it bordered Magadan Oblast and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Koryak Autonomous Okrug was located in the northern part of the oblast...
and Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
in Russia and the Aleutian Islands in Russian America. His see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
was located in Novoarkhangelsk, to which he returned in September 1841. He spent the next nine years in the administration of his diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
as well as on several long missionary journeys to its remote areas. On April 21, 1850, Bishop Innocent was elevated to Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
. 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
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
. 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 Holy Governing Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
On November 19, 1867, he was appointed the Metropolitan of Moscow, replacing his friend and mentor, Saint Filaret
Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow
Filaret , Metropolitan of Moscow was the most influential figure in the Russian Orthodox Church for more than 40 years, from 1821 to 1867. He was canonized on 13 October 1994 and his feast day is celebrated on November 19.-Life:He was born in Kolomna as Vasily Drozdov...
, who had died. As metropolitan, he undertook revisions of many church texts that contained errors, raised funds to improve the living conditions of impoverished priests and established a retirement home for clergy.
Innocent died on March 31, 1879. He was buried on April 5, 1879 at Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, outside of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
Sainthood
On October 6, 1977, the Russian Orthodox ChurchRussian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, acting on the official request of the Orthodox Church in America
Orthodox Church in America
The Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah , who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008...
, made Innocent a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
. His feast day is celebrated twice a year — on October 6 (for those churches which follow the Julian Calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
, this date falls on October 19 of the Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
) in commemoration of his glorification
Glorification
-Catholicism:For the process by which the Roman Catholic Church or Anglican Communion grants official recognition to someone as a saint, see canonization.-Eastern Orthodox Church:...
(canonization) as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
, and March 31 (April 13), in commemoration of his repose. He is widely venerated as Equal-to-apostles
Equal-to-apostles
An equal-to-the-apostles is a special title given to some canonized saints in Eastern Orthodoxy. It is also used by Eastern Rite Catholic Churches that are in communion with Rome...
.
Innocent is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA)
Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)
The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition may...
on March 30.
External links
- Biography
- Alaskan Orthodox Christian texts (Aleut, Tlingit) by St. Innocent (Veniaminov)
- Repose of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas (Orthodox iconIconAn icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
and synaxarion for the March 31 feast) - Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas (October 6 feast)
- World Digital LibraryWorld Digital LibraryThe World Digital Library is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress.The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet, provide...
presentation of Evangelie ot Matfeiaor Gospel of St. Matthew, in Innocent's Aleut script, 1840. National Library of Russia. Primary source book with summary description, 288 images with enhanced view and zoom features, text to speech capability. Russian, Aleut. Links to related to content. Content available as TIF, PDF. This book is Veniaminov’s translation of the Gospel of Matthew from Russian into the Aleut-Fox language.