Synaxis of All Saints of North America
On the second Sunday after Pentecost,
each local Orthodox Church commemorates all the saints, known and
unknown, who have shone forth in its territory. Accordingly, the
Orthodox Church in America remembers the saints of North America on this
day.
Saints of all times, and in
every country are seen as the fulfillment of God's promise to redeem
fallen humanity. Their example encourages us to "lay aside every weight,
and the sin which so easily besets us" and to "run with patience the
race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). The saints of North America
also teach us how we should live, and what we must expect to endure as
Christians
Although it is a relatively
young church, the Orthodox Church in America has produced saints in
nearly all of the six major categories of saints: Apostles (and Equals
of the Apostles); Martyrs (and Confessors); Prophets; Hierarchs;
Monastic Saints; and the Righteous. Prophets, of course, lived in Old
Testament times and predicted the coming of Christ.
The first Divine Liturgy in what
is now American territory (northern latitude 58 degrees, 14 minutes,
western longitude 141 degrees) was celebrated on July 20, 1741, the
Feast of the Prophet Elias, aboard the ship Peter under the command of
Vitus Bering. Hieromonk Hilarion Trusov and the priest Ignatius
Kozirevsky served together on that occasion. Several years later, the
Russian merchant Gregory I. Shelikov visited Valaam monastery,
suggesting to the abbot that it would be desirable to send missionaries
to Russian America.
On September 24, 1794, after a
journey of 7,327 miles (the longest missionary journey in Orthodox
history) and 293 days, a group of monks from Valaam arrived on Kodiak
Island in Alaska. The mission was headed by Archimandrite Joasaph, and
included Hieromonks Juvenal, Macarius, and Athanasius, the Hierodeacons
Nectarius and Stephen, and the monks Herman and Joasaph. St Herman of
Alaska (December 13, August 9), the last surviving member of the
mission, fell asleep in the Lord in 1837.
Throughout the Church's history,
the seeds of faith have always been watered by the blood of the
martyrs. The Protomartyr Juvenal was killed near Lake Iliamna by natives
in 1799, thus becoming the first Orthodox Christian to shed his blood
for Christ in the New World. In 1816, St Peter the Aleut was put to
death by Spanish missionaries in California when he refused to convert
to Roman Catholicism.
Missionary efforts continued in
the nineteenth century, with outreach to the native peoples of Alaska.
Two of the most prominent laborers in Christ's Vineyard were St Innocent
Veniaminov (March 31 and October 6) and St Jacob Netsvetov (July 26),
who translated Orthodox services and books into the native languages.
Father Jacob Netsvetev died in Sitka in 1864 after a life of devoted
service to the Church. Father John Veniaminov, after his wife's death,
received monastic tonsure with the name Innocent. He died in 1879 as the
Metropolitan of Moscow.
As the nineteenth century was
drawing to a close, an event of enormous significance for the North
American Church took place. On March 25, 1891, Bishop Vladimir went to
Minneapolis to receive St Alexis Toth (May 7) and 361 of his
parishioners into the Orthodox Church. This was the beginning of the
return of many Uniates to Orthodoxy.
St Tikhon (Belavin), the future
Patriarch of Moscow (April 7, October 9), came to America as bishop of
the diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska in September 1898. As the only
Orthodox bishop on the continent, St Tikhon traveled extensively
throughout North America in order to minister to his widely scattered
and diverse flock. He realized that the local church here could not be a
permanent extension of the Russian Church. Therefore, he focused his
efforts on giving the American Church a diocesan and parish structure
which would help it mature and grow.
St Tikhon returned to Russia in
1907, and was elected as Patriarch of Moscow ten years later. He died in
1925, and for many years his exact burial place remained unknown. St
Tikhon's grave was discovered on February 22, 1992 in the smaller
cathedral of Our Lady of the Don in the Don Monastery when a fire made
renovation of the church necessary.
St Raphael of Brooklyn (February
27) was the first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated in North America.
Archimandrite Raphael Hawaweeny was consecrated by Bishop Tikhon and
Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) at St Nicholas Cathedral in New York on
March 13, 1904. As Bishop of Brooklyn, St Raphael was a trusted and
capable assistant to St Tikhon in his archpastoral ministry. St Raphael
reposed on February 27, 1915.
The first All American Council
took place March 5-7, 1907 at Mayfield, PA, and the main topic was "How
to expand the mission." Guidelines and directions for missionary
activity, and statutes for the administrative structure of parishes were
also set forth.
In the twentieth century, in the
aftermath of the Russian Revolution, countless men, women, and children
received the crown of martyrdom rather than renounce Christ. Sts John
Kochurov (October 31) and Alexander Hotovitzky (December 4 and August 7)
both served the Church in North America before going back to Russia. St
John became the first clergyman to be martyred in Russia on October 31,
1917 in St Petersburg. St Alexander Hotovitzky, who served in America
until 1914, was killed in 1937.
In addition to the saints listed
above, we also honor those saints who are known only to God, and have
not been recognized officially by the Church. As we contemplate the
lives of these saints, let us remember that we are also called by God to
a life of holiness.
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