Most Importantly: St. Jacob Understands the People
St. Jacob of Alaska was also an astute observer of the native people: their habits, their customs, and sometimes even their disposition towards the gospel. Every once in a while, his journals have an aside to explain points of interest—the dangers of navigation and shipping in Alaskan waters, the entryway of native houses in different […]
How is St. Jacob an example for us today?
Importance of Family — Our town or region may not compare to 1800s Alaska, but there are plenty of lessons to be learned from St. Jacob that can be applied to any situation. Though little is made of it, St. Jacob’s relationship with his family seems to be key. He sailed to his first parish […]
A Baseless Accusation against St. Jacob
A decade later, in 1849, after faithful service in the Yukon region, St. Jacob asked for an assistant. As Fr. Michael Oleksa says it, he was sent an “unhappy misfit”, Hieromonk Filaret, sent against his will to Alaska. He ended up attacking St. Jacob with a pistol and later an ax, and needing to be […]
Russian Alaska and a Creole Priest
One struggle I was looking for in the journals of St. Jacob is racism. St. Jacob was half Russian, half Alaskan native. And in much of the world’s history during this colonial era, racism is thoroughly embedded. I did find one reference of such an issue from Governor Chistiakov in Sitka, when St. Jacob, his […]
St. Jacob’s Greatest Gifts to the Church
St. Jacob followed in the footsteps of many who came before him, not only the big names like St. Herman, St. Juvenaly, and St. Innocent, but more than that, the faithful, everyday folks who worked for the Russian-American Company and lived a faithful witness among the Alaskan peoples. What we find all over St. Jacob’s […]