Herman of Alaska
celebrated by the Church on November 15
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea-monsters and all deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and fog, tempestuous wind, doing his will;
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars;
Wild beasts and all cattle, creeping things and winged birds;
Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the world;
Young men and maidens, old and young together.
Let them praise the Name of the Lord, for his Name only is exalted, his splendor is over earth and heaven.
He has raised up strength for his people and praise for all his loyal servants, the children of Israel, a people who are near him. Hallelujah! (Psalm 148:7-14)
Growing up, I loved reading the books of James Michener. Like Stephen King, you either love his writing or you loathe it.
During his life, James Michener wrote 40 books. They were sweeping historical novels, often combining facts of history with tales of social and ethical concerns across multiple generations.
I was introduced to James Michener through television. I remember, as a young child, watching the movie “Hawaii.” My grandmother shared with me that it was based on a book and she bought it for me the next time we were at a bookstore. Although I was a little intimidated by the book’s size, it was at that moment that I started reading Michener.
Several of his books begin with creation moments. Michener’s book titled Alaska, begins this way;
“About nine billion years ago, a minor portion— staggering in size though only a fraction— began to coalesce into what would ultimately become the galaxy of which we are a part. In this galaxy some two hundred billion stars would form, the one we see rising each morning as our sun being one of the smaller. We must not take too much pride in our galaxy, wonderful as it is, because it is merely one of more than a billion; quite often the others are greater in dimension and larger in their starry populations.”1
Somewhere, in a small Russian village, it was these very stars, moons, and galaxies that young Egor Ivanovich Popov would peer up at as a child. These existential encounters as a child with worlds above and beyond sparked a love and care for creation in Egor, transcendently connecting him forever with the Divine.
At 12, Egor would follow the Sorov River in order to retreat and pray at a monastery resting on the river’s edge. He became a novice in 1778, residing in a little hermitage located in the woods of the monastery property. As legend would have it, as a teenager Egor grew a tumor on his face. He had trouble swallowing. Instead of going to a doctor, he prayed for days on end in front of an icon of the Mother of God, asking her to grant him healing. He wiped the icon’s face and wrapped it around the tumor. Igor fell asleep and Mary appeared to him in a dream and healed him.When he woke up, the tumor was gone.2
In 1782, Egor journeyed to Vallum Monastery in St. Petersburg. Academic N. Ia. Ozertskovskii visited the monastery and observed the following:
“With an adequate supply of all that is necessary for life and while living in complete silence and tranquility, these hermits lead a blessed life and have compelling reason to conduct themselves according to their calling. In fairness, it is impossible not to give them credit for this, since they are well behaved and conduct the cycle of services every day. They all eat lunch and dinner together; moreover, they typically observe absolute silence, for the keeping of which one of the brotherhood stands and reads loudly and clearly from some religious book while the brothers eat. Their diet typically consists of cabbage soup, fish soup, and meal. They do not dish these liquids into bowls, but instead scoop them up with wooden spoons from large wooden bowls; they do not hold napkins for cleaning up… . At meals, the youngest waits upon them. At the end of the meal, they all read a prayer out loud together and depart for their cells. There they practice various handiwork, such as turning maple spoons, carving cypress crosses, and the like, while in the summer they work in vegetable gardens, till the soil, harvest wheat, and cut hay. The superior, Nazarius, participates in all these jobs with the others.”3
Egor, whom we know as Hermon of Alaska and celebrate today, spent 10 years in that monastery. But, as is usually the case, God had something else in mind. Herman would journey across the Bering Sea and minister to the people of Alaska.
Michener notes in his book Alaska that Alaska, “did not produce supermen, but in its formative periods it was served by men of character and determination, and it is a fortunate land which knows such public servants.”4
In 1793, Hermon enthusiastically volunteered to become a missionary in the Americas. With several companions, Hermon made his way to port, crossed what we know as the Bering Sea, and landed on Spruce Island, appropriately named because of all of the lovely trees.
Many challenges were faced by Herman and his orthodox Christian missioners. The native Alaskan’s practice of polygamy prevented many from converting to the Christian faith. Once learning they had to give up their extra wives in order to follow the ways of Jesus, many chose not to be baptized.
Translating theological matters proved to be difficult, but Hermon was determined to learn the local languages and dialects so that he could spread and interpret the Good News.
Hermon was also a little taken aback when he discovered that many locals had children with their cousins and relatives. But Herman decided that if they were willing to marry, he would baptize the children.
Writing to his superior back home in Russia, Hermon shared:
“We live between a bucket and bad weather, between joy and tedium, between plenty and privation, satisfaction and hunger, warmth and cold. With all my sorrows, I find nothing so cheers me as when I hear discussions among the brothers about preaching and about dividing various regions among themselves for that purpose. For they had set out around (Spruce Island) in the smallest sort of hide-covered boats, in spite of the dangers of the sea.”5
As trust between locals and Hermon grew, it was decided that he would remain on Spruce Island and take over the mission entirely. Herman built a barabara which is a traditional home created by digging space in the ground and then laying sod and grass over the dug-out frame. Herman’s prayer life drew him closer to God and to God’s people. He taught them how to cook, store, prepare, and live into the story of Jesus Christ. He built a school for the children, taught them to bake, and became known on the island as “Apa,” which means father.
When a forest fire threatened to burn down all the villages, Herman taught the locals that they could stop the fire by tilling and tossing the soil. Many villages were saved, and the people gave glory to God. Many nights thereafter, the people would gather around the campfire and tell stories of their ancestors, and Herman would connect the villagers’ stories to God’s holy story. Herman reminded the people that God was always with them and that they were never alone.
As Hermon prepared for death, he shared with the people God had called him to serve these words of counsel: “A true Christian is made by faith and love toward Christ. Our sins do not in the least hinder our Christianity, according to the word of the Savior Himself. He deigned to say: not the righteous have I come to call, but sinners to salvation; there is more joy in heaven over one who repents than over ninety righteous ones. Likewise, concerning the sinful woman who touched His feet, He deigned to say to the Pharisee Simon: to one who has love, a great debt is forgiven, but from one who has no love, even a small debt will be demanded. From these judgments, a Christian should bring himself to hope and joy, and not in the least accept an inflicted despair. Here one needs the shield of faith.”
These words from Michner’s Alaska come to mind, “Rarely does an entire month go by without the clouds lifting for at least a day,” and with that hope, I shall go to bed tonight, praying that tomorrow may be that one day in thirty.”6
“Almighty God, who raised up your servant Herman to be a light in the world, and to preach the Gospel to the people of Alaska: Illuminate our hearts, that we also in our own generation may show forth your praise, who called us out of darkness and into your marvelous light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen”
Michener, James A.. Alaska: A Novel . Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Korsun, Sergei; Black, Lydia. Herman: A Wilderness Saint: From Sarov, Russia to Kodiak, Alaska (p. 17). Holy Trinity Publications. Kindle Edition.
N. Ia. Ozertskovskoi, Puteshestvie po ozeram Ladozhskomu i Onezhskomu, (Peterozavodsk, 1989,) 67-69.
Michener, James A.
Pasek, Ocherki Rossii (Sketches of Russia), 224-28.
Michener, James A.