Alaskan Missionary Spirituality

During the 18th to 19th centuries, a drama unique to the history of Christian missions occurred on Kodiak Island and in the Yukon Delta, in Alaska. There, Orthodox priests and lay people from Russia evangelized the Aleutian people by correlating traditional Orthodox Christian doctrine with the pre-Christian beliefs and customs of the Alaska natives. A collection of documents illustrating the spirituality and methodology of the Alaskan Orthodox missionaries comprises this volume, which contains many works never before published in English. Included among the many selections are: letters of the Monk Herman (St. Herman) to Simeon Yanovskii; Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven, by Bishop Innocent [Veniaminov] (St. Innocent); the diary of Aleut priest Iakov Netsvetov at Atka; and the Valaam Monastery s 1894 Report from Kodiak.