Unalaska, Alaska, August 29, 2024
Photo: oca.org
The Alaska Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America hosted a pilgrimage earlier this month in honor of the 200th anniversary of the arrival of St. Innocent of Alaska and the first Liturgy he served there.
The pilgrimage celebrations were led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington and All America and Canada, who was invited by the local hierarch His Grace Bishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska, the OCA reports.
In early 1823, the Bishop Michael of Irkutsk was instructed to dispatch a priest to Unalaska, an island in the Aleutian chain. Fr. John Veniaminov, the future Metropolitan of Moscow, stepped forward for this mission. On May 7, 1823, he set out from Irkutsk with an entourage consisting of his elderly mother, his brother Stefan, his wife, and their infant son, Innocent. Their journey, which involved both overland and sea travel, was arduous and took over a year. Finally, on July 29, 1824, the group reached their destination of Unalaska.
Photo: oca.org
Met. Tikhon arrived in Unalaska on Saturday, August 17, to celebrate this event. He immediately traveled to the Ascension of Our Lord Cathedral, where he led a moleben for the welcoming of a hierarch to the diocese. Later that evening, he also presided over the All-Night Vigil.
The next morning, Met. Tikhon, Bp. Alexei, and Fr. Timothy Kolb celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the cathedral. Following the service, the parish community was presented a gramota in honor of the 200th anniversary of St. Innocent’s first Liturgy there.
That afternoon, a banquet was held with performances of traditional Alaskan dances and presentations by Mayor Vicent Tutiakoff and members of the local community.
That evening, Met. Tikhon celebrated the All-Night Vigil for the feast of the Transfiguration (the Diocese of Alaska serves on the Old Calendar).
In September 2022, the 225th anniversary of the birth of St. Innocent was celebrated in his hometown of Anga in the Irkutsk Province.
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