WASHINGTON, March 8, Dmitry Zlodorev The new documentary film “Sacred Alaska” shows how Russian monks who preached among local peoples in the 18th-19th centuries showed them the Orthodox way of life and helped to accept Christ, said the film’s American director Simon Scionka.
“»Of course, many saints shone in Alaska, but in our film we mainly talk about three — saints Herman, Innocent and Jacob. They brought the Orthodox way of life to the local population, and not just the Russian approach to it» , — said Scionka.
According to him, the natives of Alaska accepted Russian Orthodoxy with all their hearts and souls. What helped them greatly in this was that they had the opportunity to conduct services and read prayers in their native language and in accordance with their culture.
As the director noted, Saint Jacob, who had Russian and Aleut roots, became the first from the local population to receive spiritual education in Russia and returned to Alaska to educate the people who lived there. He also stressed that the church has translated services into indigenous languages so that they can better understand them.
«Nobody forced them to learn Church Slavonic to say prayers. And they still sing in their native language, and it's nice to hear. We included many of these chants in Yup'ik in our film,» he said.
Scionka drew attention to the fact that Russian monks showed patience in communicating with the indigenous population of Alaska, respected their culture, traditions, language, and served them in a way that was understandable to them.
“Even before they started preaching and converting local residents to Orthodoxy, they tried to find out who these people are and understand them. And to find ways to establish contact with them, to talk about Christianity, to tell the story of Christ to these people who have never haven't heard of it before, and tell it in a way that makes sense,» he said.
The director expressed confidence that Alaska remains sacred to this day, since the people living there have managed to preserve Orthodoxy through generations. He also drew attention to the fact that this territory has belonged to the United States for more than 150 years, but many Russian traditions are preserved there, and the churches with their domes and crosses are similar to churches in Russia.
“»We even drew the following parallel: St. Herman came from the Russian island of Valaam, and in Alaska he lived and prayed on Spruce Island. There are very similar forests, rocks and nature in general. And even on the mainland, in the tundra, there is much reminds us of Russia. For example, people also go to the forest and pick berries,» said Scionka.
Russian industrialists began to develop Alaska in the 18th century. The Russian Church sent missionaries to educate local residents and preach Orthodoxy among them. Many of the ascetics who served in Alaska are now canonized, including Saints Herman, Innocent and James, who are revered as the Heavenly Patrons of Alaska.
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