Archpriest Michael and Mother Xenia (born Angellan) Oleksa

Archpriest Michael Oleksa (1947-2023)

and

Mother Xenia (born Angellan) Oleksa (194_-20__)

Michael may be spelt Mikhail, Michel.

Doris may be spelt Dorris.

Xenia may be spelt Ksenia.

Mother may be spelt Matushka.

Early life of Michael Oleksa

On 16 March, 1947, Michael James Oleksa was born to Michael and Doris Mae Oleksa (born Conrad) in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA (in the Lehigh Valley). His family's origin had been in what is now Slovakia, in the Trans-Carpathian region, where people were known as Carpatho-Rusyns (Carpatho-Russians). His father, Michael, was a member of Saint Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Allentown. His mother, Doris, was a member of Saint John's Lutheran Church in Emmaus.

He, and his brother Thomas, and his sister JoAnn were raised as an Orthodox Christian by his family.

He completed his secondary education at Emmaus High School, from which he graduated.

Higher education

After completing his secondary education, Michael entered Georgetown University, from which he graduated in 1969.

Later in 1969, Michael began studies towards the Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) degree at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary at Crestwood, Yonkers, New York.

Old Harbour, Alaska

In the summer of 1970, while he was a student, he served as a student-worker (like an "intern") in the village of Old Harbour on Kodiak Island, Alaska.

During this summer, Michael participated in the annual blessing of boats as they set sail for fishing.

Annual blessing of fishing-boats

Further, in August, 1970, Seminarian Michael Oleksa was present for the Glorification of the Elder Herman of Alaska as an official saint of the Orthodox Church.

On Spruce Island at the Glorification of Saint Herman

In 1971, when Michael returned to Alaska, he met Xenia Angellan, who was of the village of Kwethluk in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of Western Alaska.

In 1973, Michael Oleksa graduated from Saint Vladimir's Seminary with the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree.

About Xenia Angellan

Xenia Angellan had been born to Orthodox Christian parents at Kwethluk, Alaska (not far upriver from Bethel, Alaska), and she had been raised as an Orthodox Christian in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Alaska.

Moreover, while she was growing up, Matushka Olga Michael (1916-1979) was still alive and in the village, as was her husband, Priest Nikolai Michael (1912-1984).

Xenia had received her high school education first at Mount Edgecumbe High School (at that time operated by the operated by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)). It was named for the eponymous volcano) on Japonski Island at Sitka, Alaska.

Then, in 1969, a senior, she attended Sheldon Jackson College on Baranof Island.

Marriage

Seminarian Michael Oleksa was crowned in marriage with Xenia Angellan at Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Seminarian Michael Oleksa and his wife Xenia (centre) at their wedding in Pennsylvania. In back, from left to right, are Michael Oleksa's father Michael, his brother Thomas, his mother Dorris, and his sister JoAnn. (Courtesy John Oleksa)

Ordinations

After their marriage, Michael Oleksa was ordained to the Holy Diaconate.

Then, in 1974, Deacon Michael Oleksa was ordained to the Holy Priesthood at Saint Jacob’s Church in Napaskiak (near Bethel), Alaska.

Saint Jacob's Temple, Napaskiak

Pastoral service

Priest Michael and Matushka (Mother) Xenia Oleksa began their years of pastoral service in the Diocese of Alaska. Saint Seraphim of Sarov (Dillingham), Three Saints (Old Harbour), Saint Innocent Cathedral (Anchorage), Saint Herman’s (Fairbanks), Saint Sophia (Bethel), Saint Michael’s (Koliganek), Saint Michael’s (Sitka), Saint Nicholas (Juneau), and Saint Alexis Chapel (Anchorage).

They also served parishes at Lake Iliamna, North Naknek, Eek Kwigillingok, Kongiganak.

Further education : doctorate

During the course of his pastoral service, Father Michael Oleksa began a course of studies with the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Prešov, Slovakia.

In 1988, Father Michael graduated with a doctorate in theology from the seminary. His thesis was focussed on Native Alaskan History During the Alaskan “Russian period”, from 1741 to 1867.

Indigenous matters

Father Michael Oleksa was married to an indigenous Orthodox Christian, and together, they cared pastorally for the parishes of indigenous Orthodox Christians a large part of Alaska.

Having studied the missionary methods of the Church of Russia in Siberia and the Far East, and having studied the missionary methods of Saint Innocent (Veniaminov) and of Saint Jakob Netsvetov, Father Michael spoke widely on this subject. He repeated constantly the directive of the Saviour before His Ascension :

 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to 
 Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore, and make disciples of all the 
 nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the 
 Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you ; 
 and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:18-20). 

Father Michael was quoted as saying :

 Missiology is the reality in which the church looks at a reality, a culture, a 
 context, (a continent), and then does its best to step inside that beam of light 
 and articulate what it knows and what it brought into that experience, but 
 the two cannot be done simultaneously.  You can either look at the reality 
 from the outside or you can step into that reality and experience it from 
 within.  
 
 Missiology is the task of the Church stepping into the beam of light, 
 and come to understand that reality from within and then articulate its own 
 vision as it brought from without.  It is the place where dogmatics and 
 ecclesiology and everything else meet. (I submit to you that missiology is 
 where everything else joins).

Bereavements, 2003

On 21 July, 2003, (Sergeant) Michael Oleksa fell asleep in the Lord at Allentown, Pennsylvania.

On 24 August, 2003, Doris Mae Oleksa (born Conrad) fell asleep in the Lord at Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The were both interred in the Woodland Memorial Park Cemetery at Allentown.

Saint Olga of Kwethluk

Because of his contact with the Yu’pik people, in his youth, Father Michael had come know and to know about Matushka Olga Michael in Kwethluk. She and her husband, Father Nicholas, were still alive in the village. When, later, Father Michael wrote his “Orthodox Alaska” in 1987, Matushka Olga began to be known very widely (not only in Alaska, but throughout North America, and around the world). In the course of his lectures and talks, Father Michael spoke about both her and her people, how they view all creation, and how this is in harmony with the Orthodox Christian Way.

It is very much because of his drawing attention to this holy woman, whose humility was exemplary, that people came to understand that they could turn to her intercession for help. The wonders that were wrought through her prayers convinced the people at large, and the bishops in particular that she was an exemplary and holy person, and this led to her being recognised officially as being a holy woman, and then included on the annual calendar of saints.

Presence in Canada

On 12 December, 2014, Vigil for the Feast of Saint Herman of Alaska was celebrated by Bishop Irénée (Rochon) at Saint Herman of Alaska Sobor in Edmonton, Alberta. He was joined by Bishop Job (Smakouz) (Moscow Patriarchate) ; and by Bishop Ilarion II (Rudnyk) (Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada). They were assisted by the Dean of Alberta, Archpriest Phillip Eriksson ; Priest-in-Charge of Saint Herman's Sobor, Priest Vincent Lehr ; and by special guest Archpriest Michael Oleksa, along with numerous other local and visiting clergy and Faithful.

Following Vigil, a reception was held, during which Father Michael Oleksa began the first part of his lecture on "Orthodox Spirituality in Alaska", which included history of Alaskan tribes, spirituality and the first Russian missionaries, including Saint Herman.

On 13 December, the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated at Saint Herman's Sobor. Bishop Irénée was joined by Bishop Job, and they were assisted by Archpriest Phillip Eriksson ; Priest Vincent Lehr ; Archpriest Michael Oleksa ; and by other visiting clergy and Faithful. Following the festal banquet, Father Michael continued his enlightening lectures during 2 sessions in the afternoon, and after Great Vespers, the final session of the lecture.

On 1 May, 2015, the "Alaskan Orthodox Texts Project" in Hamilton, Ontario, its 10th anniversary. Although Father Michael Oleksa himself was not present, it was certainly his life's work and witness which provided the impetus for the development of this project.

In November, 2015, Father Michael travelled to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, where he gave a series of lectures (in association with the local parish of Saint Nikolai, Bishop of Zhitsa Mission). He spoke about the Orthodox Christian life of the Indigenous peoples in Alaska, and he discussed the various methods of education in the USA and in Canada.

On Saturday, 18 March, 2017, at All Saints of North America Church in Hamilton, Ontario, Father Michael Oleksa addressed the subject. "Many Cultures, One Faith : Healing Society Through Orthodox Christian Living". Indigenous Alaska is itself a territory of many cultures, as is the Orthodox Christian Diocese of Alaska itself. The Orthodox Church in North America, because it subsists in a tri-national environment, is also in a territory of many cultures ; however, each of the countries is itself an entity of many cultures both because of the many and various indigenous peoples, and because of the many and varied cultures of immigration. Father Michael led a consideration of the many ways culture hinders – and helps – the missionary work of the Church, and the ways it can be harnessed to strengthen the faith of each Christian.

Suspension

Archpriest Michael Oleksa, in his retirement, was suspended temporarily from all priestly functions, effective 4 September, 2020. This occurred near the end of the archiepiscopal service of Bishop David (Mahaffey) of Alaska.

On 8 June, 2022, the suspension of Archpriest Michael Oeksa, in his retirement, was lifted. This occurred near the beginning of the archiepiscopal service of Bishop Alexis (Trader) of Alaska.

Repose

On Wednesday, 29 November, 2023, Archpriest Michael Oleksa fell asleep in the Lord in Anchorage, Alaska.

All services were held at Saint Innocent’s Cathedral (401, Turpin Street), Anchorage, Alaska.

Saint Innocent Cathedral, Anchorage

On Monday, 4 December, 2023, at 3:00 p.m., the body of Archpriest Michael Oleksa was taken in its coffin to the Cathedral of Saint Innocent.

A Panikhida (Memorial Service) was offered at that time, and the Faithful came to pay their respects and to pray.

On Tuesday, 5 December, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Priest was offered in the cathedral. Archbishop Benjamin (Peterson) and Bishop Alexis (Trader) presided. Many priests and deacons assisted them.

Bishop Alexis, Archbishop Benjamin, and clergy

Mother Xenia and family

Vladyka Benjamin reading one of the Gospel passages

The Last Kiss

Vladyka Benjamin, Mother Xenia

Procession towards the grave begins

Following the funeral obsequies, the coffin containing the body of Archpriest Michael Oleksa was transported to the Saint John Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral Cemetery in Eagle River (near Anchorage) for interment.

Grave-marker

Saint John's Cathedral, Eagle River

Reflections

Recognised as an “Elder” by the Alaska Federation of Natives, a Distinguished Public Servant by the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska, and honoured by the Alaska State Legislature, and the National Governors Association, Dr. Oleksa was a storyteller who sought to foster greater understanding across boundaries of race and culture. Father Oleksa was a leader in the development of cross-cultural education in Alaska, an educator of Alaskan teachers, and a student of Alaska Native languages and cultures. He had recently published a book in collaboration with the Association of Alaska School Boards entitled “Another Culture/Another World” that explores the great diversity and common humanity of Alaska’s cultural mosaic.

It may be possible to say about Father Michael that in Christ, he became truly what he taught about : becoming a “Real Person”.

As reported by Rhonda McBride of “Alaska Public Media”,

 Father Oleksa was a man who was many things to many people – a priest, 
 scholar, teacher, historian, author, and much more.  And the common thread 
 through it all was his ability to weave a great story – a talent that took him all 
 over the state to lecture widely on what he called ‘communicating across 
 cultures’.
 
 Alaska turned out to be a mother lode of great stories for Oleksa, a 
 Pennsylvania transplant, and I suspect the Kuskokwim River village of 
 Kwethluk is where he first struck gold.
 
 He was studying for the priesthood when he met his wife Xenia, at a fish 
 camp near Kwethluk.  At 4 feet, 11 inches tall, Xenia may seem small in 
 stature but is a tower of strength – and not to be trifled with.
 
 Xenia told me he kept winking at her when they first met.
 
 ‘I thought he was very brazen myself’, she said, with that matter-of-fact touch 
 of dry, Yup’ik humour.  But she must have gotten over her initial annoyance, 
 because they soon married.  Next year, they would have celebrated their 50th 
 anniversary.
 
 ‘In Kwethluk, Father Oleksa found himself in the bosom of Yup’ik life, the 
 wellspring of many of his wonderful stories.
 
 Those who know Father Oleksa probably have their favourites.  Mine was 
 about a muskrat hunt he was invited to.
 
 ‘We came home one afternoon with about a dozen muskrats’, he told me in a 
 2016 interview.
 
 Oleksa said the muskrats were delivered to his Yup’ik teacher, Annabelle Olick.
 
 ‘She was delighted. She skinned and gutted these muskrats. Then she set the 
 table with washcloths as well as spoons’, he said. ‘I knew we were having 
 soup, but the washcloths mystified me.  I was soon to find out those were for 
 pukug-ing, a word I had not yet learned’.
 
 ‘Pukug’ in Yugtun, or the Yup’ik language, is to eat small bits of meat that 
 cling to the bone – which you patiently pick away at with your fingers.
 
 Annabelle came to check on him and asked if he was done. When he said yes, 
 she didn’t look happy, which made him look around the table and realize that 
 everyone else was still pukug-ing their muskrats.
 
 ‘And with a lot of extra effort and noise’, said Father Oleksa, as he made loud 
 sucking and slurping sounds to demonstrate. ‘That’s the Yup’ik word, pukug-
 ing – removing the meat from every little bone’. 
 
 The priest said this was his first lesson in Yup’ik etiquette.
 
 ‘Waste nothing’, he said. ‘These animals died, sacrificed themselves to feed 
 you. You consume everything as a sign of gratitude and respect, even for the 
 animals, who have died to keep you alive’.
 
 Father Oleksa loved stories about the spirituality of living off the land, lessons 
 he learned from elders and shared for the benefit of Natives and non-Natives 
 alike.
 
 When he got his first assignment as a priest in Old Harbor on Kodiak Island, 
 young people in his congregation heard for the word ‘Sugpiaq’ for the first 
 time. Elders knew that it was the name people on Kodiak Island once called 
 themselves. But the people stopped using it, because they had begun to think 
 of themselves as Aleut.
 ‘He wanted to make sure people understood our history, which was something 
 that wasn’t taught or wasn’t spoken about’, Sven Haakanson said. ‘Aleut is a 
 name that the Russians just called everybody from the Aleutians, all the way 
 up to the Prince William Sound’.
 Haakanson grew up in Old Harbour and has known Father Oleksa since he 
 was a small boy.
 
 For many in his congregation, Oleksa’s use of the word, Sugpiaq, was healing. 
 
 Haakanson says the priest’s lessons in history made him curious about his 
 own culture, which started him on his journey to become one of the first 
 Alaska Native anthropologists.
 
 Haakanson flew to Oleksa’s services all the way from Seattle, where he is 
 chairman of the anthropology department at the University of Washington.
 
 Haakanson’s sister, Phyllis Clough, works at the school in Old Harbor, where 
 the priest also taught – but whether in church or in the classroom, all his 
 lessons were served up with stories that people were hungry to hear.
 ‘He would explain everything, where everyone could understand, because 
 there was a lot of broken English back then’, Clough said. ‘He had a way. His 
 eyes lit up when people would come to church, and he would be so happy’. 
 
 Father Oleksa, however, wasn’t happy with the way Alaska’s educational 
 system treated Native children. He was passionate about helping educators 
 understand and appreciate Native culture, so they could be more effective in 
 the classroom.
 
 In the 1980s and 1990s, Father Oleksa became known for his 
 groundbreaking work as a cultural ambassador – telling stories in which he 
 was usually the butt of every joke, as a safe way to talk about difficult 
 subjects.
 
 One of his books, ‘Conflicting Landscapes’, which he co-wrote with Clifton 
 Bates, a longtime teacher in the Kuskokwim River community of Aniak, was a 
 guide for newly arrived teachers. It had a history of the schooling of Native 
 children, including case studies of mistakes teachers had made that not only 
 disrespected Native children but kept them from reaching their potential.
 Last year, after a teacher bailed out of a commitment to teach in Nanwalek, a 
 tiny Russian Orthodox community on the Kenai Peninsula, Father Oleksa 
 came out of retirement and returned to his true love: the classroom.
 I thought how lucky those kids were to have a regular supply of Father 
 Oleksa’s wonderful stories.
 
 As people sang at his service in those beautiful Slavonic, multi-part 
 harmonies, I wondered what connection they had to Father Oleksa. Just like 
 me, each had their own story to share about his many random acts of 
 kindness.
 
 As I was about to leave, Jasmin Gil stopped me on the church steps to tell me 
 her story.
 
 ‘He was a miracle for me’, said Gil, who said she was just short of having 
 enough money to get into a nurse practitioner program. ‘I didn’t have a way to 
 afford that, so I reached out to Father Oleksa’.
 
 The priest said yes right away, which helped her secure a spot in the 
 program.
 
 She broke down in tears, after she said she had hoped he would anoint her 
 next spring at her graduation from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in 
 Baltimore.
 
 Jasmin’s mother, Tina, spoke at length about how Father Oleksa and his wife, 
 Xenia, would often house and feed people who found themselves homeless, 
 even help pay for their travel back to their home village.
 
 One of Father Oleksa’s last legacies was his work to canonize the Russian 
 Orthodox church’s first female saint in North America – Matushka Olga, or 
 Mother Olga, the wife of a Kwethluk priest known for her healing love, 
 especially for abused women – a cause also close to Father Oleksa’s heart.
 It is impossible to know all the facets of Father Oleksa, who scattered stories 
 in Alaska like loaves of bread.  But as they say in the Russian Orthodox faith, 
 he will live in ‘memory eternal’.

An “open letter”

Holy Trinity Orthodox Church at Kernersville, North Carolina, published an open letter by Father Michael Oleksa. He had spoken at a meeting of the Metropolitan Council of the OCA about the role of the clergy and the laity in the Church. At the time, he was requested to publish his comments as an open letter to Metropolitan Tikhon (Mollard), which follows here :

 On Conciliarity, the Emperor and the Laity
 by V. Rev. Michael Oleksa
 
 Your Beatitude! Most Blessed Master, Bless
 
 Your Beatitude asked me to write some thoughts and reflections on the situation of our Church, of Orthodoxy in the 
 New World, to continue thinking about who we are and what we are doing, and perhaps where we've been and 
 should go.  I have no pretensions to being a learned theologian, still less in any way adequate to offering any 
 ‘brilliant insights’ or ‘ultimate solutions’, to anything. But since Your Beatitude asked me, I am writing this 
 morning, the day after our Metropolitan Council sessions adjourned, to offer some observations on our history and 
 the work that lies before us as Church.
 
 With the arrival of St. Herman and the Valaam monks at Kodiak in 1794, the holy task to which the Mission 
 devoted itself has been to bring Orthodox Christianity to Americans in North America. Initially, the ‘Americans’ 
 meant the indigenous Alaskan tribes, but this was later expanded to include immigrants who came to the New 
 World seeking a permanent home in the USA and Canada.  Later still, the Mission also welcomed additional 
 communities, both indigenous and immigrant in Mexico, into the Household of Faith. Never, not even when the 
 majority of parishes were Slavic and Eastern, did the Metropolia lose sight of its Alaskan (origins and identity as 
 ‘Nasha Missiya’ as Metropolitan Leonty of blessed memory used to reflect), as a continuous mission to North 
 America and Americans.
 
 Following the Council of the Church in Russia at Moscow in 1917-18, where the former bishop ‘ of the Aleutian 
 Islands and North America’, Tikhon (Bellavin), was elected Patriarch, the American Mission attempted, perhaps 
 more intentionally than anywhere else, to implement the decisions of that council, particularly embracing the 
 concept of ‘sobornost’, (catholicity as conciliarity) specifically by organizing itself in a conciliar structure, with 
 parish, diocesan and church-wide councils, a pattern instituted by St. Patriarch Tikhon before his return to Europe.
 
 The ninth century genius of the Greek missionaries, SS. Cyril and Methodius, presented the Slavic Orthodox the 
 opportunity to develop this concept of catholicity as conciliar, from the translation of the Symbol of Faith, the 
 Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, stating that we believe in ‘edina, svyataya sobornaya i apolstolskaya Tserkva’ –
 one, holy catholic-as conciliar, apostolic Church. The notion that the Faith, preached by the Apostles and delivered 
 to the Church is proclaimed and preached by the ordained clergy, bishops and priests, but is defended by the whole 
 People of God, who remain responsible for it, was reaffirmed by the Eastern Patriarchs in their reply to the Pope of 
 Rome in 1848. The whole Body, the whole People of God are the guardians of the Faith, not just the professional 
 theologians or the hierarchy. Thus, in a certain way, the whole Orthodox Church has affirmed its commitment to 
 catholicity as conciliar. The commitment to offering the Orthodox Faith, to opening the Orthodox Church to all 
 peoples of North America, and to a polity of conciliarity in its governance and decision making structures at the 
 parish, diocesan and continental levels, characterize and define the particular identity of the Orthodox Church in 
 America.
 
 The process by which the Metropolitan Council and its Strategic Planning subcommittee is employing to develop a 
 church-wide consensus on the identity, condition and future development of the OCA exemplifies this continuing 
 commitment to conciliarity.  Each successive draft of the Strategic Plan has been edited, augmented, and 
 reconsidered following hours and even days of discussion.  In fact, the process by which each level of the Church 
 becomes engaged in this task may, in the long run, prove to be more significant and potentially transformative –
 healing and uniting the faithful, the parish clergy, and the hierarchy – and fostering a renewal of faith, of mutual 
 trust and respect, and ultimately of love, out of which our evangelical mission flows.
 
 What is unique to Orthodox mission? What lies at its source? Where is its ‘heart’? Over twenty years ago I was 
 invited to reflect on this for an issue of the International Review of Mission, published by the World Council of 
 Churches. I entitled the essay, ‘Overwhelmed by Joy’, and wrote in an uncharacteristic first-personal way, of my 
 luminous Paschal experience of love, joy, peace, during Holy Week and culminating at the glorious Bright Night of 
 the Resurrection vigil at St. Vladimir's when I was a college student. I don't have to explain to any Orthodox 
 Christian who has shared this encounter with the Risen Lord, for indeed there are no words. But I am certain that 
 many of us know exactly what this experience is, though we seldom speak of it, even to each other. There are those 
 unexpected moments when the significance of what we are remembering and celebrating simply overcomes us.
 
 We can do nothing to instill or incite it. It is not deliberately sought or induced. But it comes: the overwhelming 
 sense of joy, love and peace which passes, precisely, all understanding. The only sadness one can feel after such 
 moments pass, is that there are those who have never known such encounters. And it is the inward compulsion, 
 the burning desire to share this experience, this encounter with others that inspires and impels us to declare what 
 our eyes have seen, our ears have heard, our hands have touched – the reality here, in this world, of the age to 
 come, the Kingdom of God revealed and accessible, the eternal present in time, the ineffable and uncontainable with 
 us and in us.
 
 For us, as Orthodox, this experience is offered to us in and through the liturgical and sacramental life of the 
 Church. We must say to the whole world, and for our mission, to all North America, ‘Come and see!’ For this 
 invitation to be at all successful, I believe our public worship must embody three elements. First the services must 
 be intelligible to anyone who attends. This means the use of whatever language predominates in that location – 
 in the Aleutian Islands, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleut_language Unangan Aleut in the Aleutian Islands, Tlingit in Sitka and Juneau, Yup'ik Eskimo in the Yukon- Kuskokwim Delta, 
 Slavonic for Eastern European immigrants, Greek for Greeks, Romanian for Romanians, French in Quebec, 
 Spanish, Mayan and Aztec for the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Guatemala.  And if we look back on the last half 
 century, we realize that this is precisely what we have attempted to do.  The entire liturgical heritage of the ancient 
 Church is now available in English and daily published on our website.  We cannot do mission in ‘unknown 
 tongues’, but we are truly ‘pentecostal’ in the great number of languages and cultures employed in our churches 
 across this continent.
 
 Second, our Tradition must be explicable. We cannot expect visitors or even our own people to understand 
 intuitively the meaning of our worship. Its foundations are ancient. Its texts are Biblical and patristic. The structure 
 may be difficult to discern. Full participation with understanding requires more than an intelligible translation: we 
 need to teach and preach, to explain and more, to challenge those who have ears to hear with the substance, the 
 eternal truths of our Faith.  There should never be a service, no matter how brief, without a few words of instruction. 
 Woe to us all if we do not preach the Gospel!
 
 Thirdly, our services must be as solemn and beautiful as possible. Beauty and Truth, in our Tradition, are 
 intimately linked. I realize that we can be rightfully criticized for perhaps exaggerating, for over-emphasizing this 
 dimension to the exclusion of other Christian duties, but the necessity of beauty cannot be neglected. If our goal, 
 our mission, is to witness to the Kingdom of God which has come upon us, to testify to our encounter with the 
 Risen Christ, iconography, architecture, music and even landscaping are essential components of our witness to 
 the world. We need art, as well as words, that is ‘adequate to God’.  And if a parish, no matter how humble, 
 celebrates its services in an intelligible language, with regular and meaningful preaching, in an environment of 
 artistic beauty and solemnity, it will, at least liturgically, be adequate to the mission of the Church – to offer Paschal 
 Joy to all who enter and, with attention, participate in its worship. The rest, the encounter, the experience of the 
 Risen and Triumphant Risen and Triumphant Lord, is up to God.
 
 In this sense, I believe Orthodox religious education must be fundamentally distinct from other Christian 
 approaches. The goal of our church schools must be to inform and equip our children to participate meaningfully 
 and attentively in the Liturgy and the liturgical life of the Church. For if they simply attend with some knowledge 
 and ‘eager anticipation’ of the coming Feast, and observe the cycles of fasting and fulfillment in joy, as their (often 
 illiterate) ancestors did, they will know that overwhelming Joy into which we have baptized them. Simply knowing 
 the biblical stories and commandments is not sufficient to bring a person into the Church and retain them as a 
 committed Orthodox Christian. One ‘good’ Pascha will.
 
 And from this encounter, this conversion, we can anticipate an overflow of precisely that very love, joy and peace, 
 the Presence of Christ, which will impel that person to acts of mercy, kindness charity and generosity, to the love of 
 God and neighbor which are the natural fruits of such a conversion. Preaching ‘good works’ without this experience 
 may have some positive influence, but we are doing very little more than the local chapters of the the Red Cross or 
 the Rotary Club. Christ did not command us to make improvements, to raise living standards, to lobby for political 
 reforms, necessary though these may be. He revealed to us His Kingdom and He insists that we reveal and proclaim 
 it. We are not here, ultimately, to transform this world into God's Kingdom: there is no biblical evidence that the 
 world will evolve gradually to some better, higher ‘improved’  condition and finally metamorphasize into God's Reign. 
 In fact, Christ expresses some doubt whether or not He will even find faith on earth when He returns. We have no 
 confidence in some evolutionary upward progression by human effort. The Kingdom will simply come as a decision 
 and act of God. All we can do as witness to it and prepare for it. Our acts of charity and outreach, like all our 
 evangelical efforts, are inspired and energized by Paschal Joy.
 
 Returning to the work of the Strategic Planning committee and the final document the entire Church will produce, I 
 might contradict somewhat what I just wrote: the final product may be of some lasting importance, depending on 
 how the Church in North America develops. We may be unique in our commitment to clergy and laity cooperating in 
 the administration of the Church, in our focus on conciliarity. The medieval tendency toward aristocratic and even 
 autocratic structures had its impact on the Church which imitated, in many ways the top-down, lord to servant, 
 social organization of their societies. In this system, the bishop sits as prince and the clergy his immediate servants, 
 the laity as peasants with no voice or responsibility except obedience. Our recent tragic experience in Alaska with a 
 hierarch who attempted to impose this sort of understanding as canonical and traditional there, however, indicates 
 that conciliarity has become endemic among us, not only among Alaska Natives but across the entire Church. 
 When a few heroic Yup'ik clergy defied specific orders from their bishop as detrimental to the well-being and 
 salvation of their flocks, dozens and eventually hundreds of others supported them. The Holy Synod was initially 
 reluctant to intervene, but the whole church, clergy and laity, rose to their defense. Confusion, hesitation and even 
 betrayal of our own highest ideals did not prevent the whole People of God from expressing their love, their 
 commitment, their dedication to precisely the identity of the Orthodox Church in America as essentially conciliar 
 and missionary. Alaska represents the missionary foundation of the Church in North America, and in defense of its 
 fundamental missionary identity, affirming its conciliar nature, priests and laity and ultimate the entire hierarchy 
 eventually spoke ‘with one heart and one mind’. 
 
 Much has been said about the internet and its use in Church life. Some consider this technology inherently evil, 
 others see it as a great blessing. The internet is a human tool. It can certainly be used diabolically. The power of 
 words of language, can be powerful and poisonous. But like any human tool, any invention or technology, it can 
 also be put to positive and effective use. Like a knife or ax, the internet is neutral – neither good nor evil in itself. It's 
 goodness or wickedness are not in the object itself, but in the use to which human beings will put it. And we should 
 note, with gratitude, that the instant communication that emails permit, the proper use of the internet, saved 
 Alaska.
 
 When our final Strategic Plan document is adopted, I hope it will be a milestone for us and for Orthodoxy in the New 
 World. I expect it to be an historic statement that, for however long it survives, whether that be five years or five 
 thousand, there is in America a fully canonical and historical Orthodox Church, a community that has sought to 
 adapt Orthodoxy to the new conditions and to face the challenges of modern life, structuring itself in a conciliar 
 fashion to bring Orthodoxy to America, for Americans. Whether this vision, by the Grace of God, spreads and 
 inspires other Orthodox communities in this hemisphere or the other, whether it endures or disappears 
 temporarily, I have no doubt that, if this is the work, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, our continuously evolving 
 Strategic Plan, will have lasting meaning and significance for Orthodox Christians yet unborn. That is my hope and 
 prayer.
 
 Ancient Byzantium's flag, adopted by other Orthodox nations and incorporated into the flag that flew over Alaska 
 for 127 years, depicted a double-headed eagle, representing the two dimensions our Greek Orthodox forebearers 
 understood as complimentary and necessary to the proper governance and wellbeing of society, Church and State. 
 In that era, of course, the State was but one person, the Emperor or Tsar. The Church was represented by its 
 Patriarch, and the ideal of harmony, the ‘symphonia’ between him and the secular ruler was envisioned as the ideal 
 balance of responsibility and authority in the Empire. There were, of course, situations in which the Emperors 
 sought to impose their will, even their theology on the Church, particularly during the iconoclastic controversy. In 
 Russia, there was a time when the Patriarch dominated secular as well as religious life. There were frequent 
 conflicts between the two ‘heads’, but the symphony they were intended to produce remained the ideal.
 
 Some observers have noted that there is very little in the canonical tradition of the Church to justify the 
 participation of laity or even parish clergy in the administrative governance of the Church. I would note however, 
 that the Church historically and even canonically, recognized a role for the Emperor, precisely in the administrative 
 life of the Church and even accorded him certain liturgical prerogatives. The Church depended on the Emperor to 
 grant it land, to recognize its moral and canonical decisions as legal and binding, to support many of its 
 monasteries, even to build and maintain its temples and chapels. Other wealthy benefactors, princes and even 
 ‘business men’ erected and funded churches in the days of these empires, and no one considered this 
 inappropriate or abnormal.
 
 Part of the process of adaptation to the new circumstances of life without an empire, without an emperor requires 
 the Church to find another benefactor, a replacement for the role fulfilled by the Imperial government in its affairs. 
 And who serves that function in a democracy. If in an autocracy an autocrat did, then in a democracy, the demos 
 must. The place of the Emperor has been taken by O Laos tou Theou, the People of God.
 
 I realize this concept requires deeper theological and canonical reflection and elaboration, but I would submit that 
 as the Church, changing only to remain the same, as Father Alexander Schmemann so often declared, adapts to the 
 new conditions in a new society, she needs to recognize that without an Emperor to support and defend her, must 
 rely on the Laos collectively to fulfill the necessary role of the Tsars. The bishops of the old world were not educated 
 in law, engineer and architecture, finance and accounting, medicine, education, mathemetics, biology, or physics. 
 They relied on the expertise the government and court could provide. Today these areas of expertise are the offering 
 the laity bring to the Church. While understanding and accepting, welcoming and rejoicing in the hierarchial 
 leadership of the bishops as archpastors and teachers, the guardians and embodiment of the Orthodox Tradition, 
 the laity also have their responsibilities and functions within the Body, just as St. Paul wrote so many centuries  
 ago. As the Strategic Plan develops therefore, we expect that these basic principles will not only be further defined 
 and articulated but exemplified by the very process we seek to follow in our discussions.
 
 And to be conciliar is not simply to decide by majority vote, as ‘Roberts Rules of Order’ suppose. In this respect, we 
 need to consider whether this format is altogether appropriate for our purposes. I have no problem with the ‘order’ 
 it imposes, the need for speakers to be recognized by the Chair, for motions to be filed and for voting to occur. But if 
 we are committed to conciliarity, the Rules will need to be adjusted first to insist, not just permit, that everyone be 
 given an opportunity to contribute to the discussion. This requires the Chair to call upon all those who have not 
 spoken to speak before any vote has been taken. This seems to me to be a simple but necessary adjustment. And 
 the opportunity to reconsider a decision should be more easily and widely offered. A narrow majority is not 
 consensus. If, because some participants are more vocal or simply more agile or successful in securing the Chair's 
 attention, they dominate the conversation, it is incumbent on the Chair to allow those who move less quickly or who 
 speak more softly, an equal opportunity to express their views. In particular, women should not be deprived of their 
 voice because the men are speaking faster or louder, not deliberately or consciously of course, but simply because 
 different cultures and even genders within cultures have different patterns of speaking, especially in public. In a 
 multi-cultural and international Body, these variations must be taken respectfully into account.
 
 Well, Your Beatitude, those are my immediate thoughts and reflections as we conclude this extraordinary week. I 
 think we should all rejoice in each other, delighting in the gifts God has given each member of the Holy Synod and 
 to each member of our Council. They listened with respect and patience to each other this week, appreciating that 
 everyone present sincerely loves God, loves Jesus Christ, loves His Church. If we can enlarge this circle now to 
 include more clergy and laity, in the parishes and dioceses of North America, if we can bring the questions and 
 challenges we face before the entire People of God, and with the same respect and love hear their voice, our Church 
 will heal and regain her strength, her voice. And then we will, in whatever canonical governing structure, have the 
 renewed commitment to our mission, bringing the Joy of Pascha, the Reality of the Kingdom of God and His 
 Righteous, to the people of this continent which we also deeply love.
 
 In Christ,
 
 the unworthy archpriest
 
 Michael Oleksa

Writings

• Academia.edu list of publications by Archpriest Michael Oleksa

• “Alaskan Missionary Spirituality” (Mahway, New Jersey : Paulist Press, 1987) pp. 3-35.

• “Icons and the Cosmos : the Missionary Significance” (The World Council of Churches : International Review of Mission, Issue 1 : Witnessing, January, 1983). Vol. LXXII No. 285, pp. 42-123.

• “Another Culture / Another World” (Juneau, Alaska : Association of Alaska School Boards, 2005). Pamphlet Part 2 Pamphlet Part 3 Pamphlet Part 4

• “‘Civilizing’ Native Alaska : Federal Support of Mission Schools, 1885-1906” (Washington, D.C. : Prepared for the National Education Association, January, 1991).

• ‘Evangelism and Culture’ in “International Review of Mission”. [Authentic Witness Within Each Culture. Section 1; Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 1996). Vol. 84, no. 335, October, 1995. The World Council of Churches] pp. 387-393.

• “Father John Veniaminov and Father Jacob Netsvetov” (Digital Typography, www.asna.ca. July, 1975).

• “I Didn’t Even Need a Passport !” (Lit Site, Alaska Traditions, February, 2006).

• ‘Giving and Receiving’ in “AGAIN” : The Ancient Christian Faith Today (Fall, 2005), vol. 27, no. 3, p. 34.

• “Orthodox Alaska : A Theology of Mission” (Crestwood, New York :Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998)

• “Orthodox Missiological Education for the Twenty-First Century : The Book, the Circle, and the Sandals” (Maryknoll, New York : Orbis Books, 1996) pp. 83-90.

• “Orthodoxy in Alaska : The Spiritual History of the Kodiak Aleut People” (Crestwood, New York : St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly, 1981) vol. 25, no. 1.

• ‘Overwhelmed by Joy’ in “International Review of Mission. Conversion”, vol. 72, no. 287 (The World Council of Churches, July, 1983) pp. 415-420.

• “Six Alaskan Native Women Leaders : Pre-Statehood Juneau, Alaska” (Alaska Department of Education, 1991).

• ‘The Creoles and Their Contributions to the Development of Alaska’ in “Russian America : The Forgotten Frontier”, Smith, Barbara Sweetland, and Redmond, J. Barnett (eds.) (Tacoma, Washinton : Washington State Historical Society, 1990) pp. 185- 195.

• ‘The Death of Hieromonk Juvenaly’ in “Russia in North America : Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Russian America”, Sitka, Alaska, 19-22 August, 1987 (Fairbanks, Alaska : Limestone Press, 1990) pp. 322-357.

• ‘The Legacy of St. Vladimir : Byzantium, Russia, America’ in “Papers presented at a Symposium commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary” (Crestwood, New York, 1988) pp, 243-258.

• ‘The Orthodox Church and Orthodox Christian Mission From an Alaskan Perspective’ in “International Review of Mission. Ecclesiology and Mission (I)”, (“The World”, vol. 90, no. 358, July, 2001).

• ‘Priest Brings Multicultural Message’ by Christa Sadler in “Chilkat Valley News” (Haines, Alaska : 15 February, 2006).

• “Conflicting Landscapes American Schooling/Alaska Natives”, co-authored with Clifton Bates (Alaska : The Kuskokwim Corporation, 2008). Distributed by University of Alaska Press and University Press of Colorado.

Audio presentations :

• Lecture 1 :

- “The Diverse Cultures of Siberia and Alaska as New Fields for the Seed of the Gospel”- Tape 1

- “The Diverse Cultures of Siberia and Alaska as New Fields for the Seed of the Gospel”- Tape 2

• Lecture 2 :

- “The Exploration of Alaska and the Lay Foundation of the church 1741-1794” – Tape 1

- “The Exploration of Alaska and the Lay Foundation of the Church 1741-1794” – Tape 2

• Lecture 3 :

- “The Monastic Mission to Kodiak and the First Fruits of the Harvest : St. Herman, St. Peter the Aleut, and others” – Tape 1

- “The Monastic Mission to Kodiak and the First Fruits of the Harvest : St. Herman, St. Peter the Aleut, and others” – Tape 2

• Lecture 4 :

- “Missionary Expansion Across Alaska: St. Innocent Veniaminov and St. Jacob Netsvetov” – Tape 1

- “Missionary Expansion Across Alaska: St. Innocent Veniaminov and St. Jacob Netsvetov” – Tape 2

• Lecture 5 :

- “Alaska Orthodoxy Today, Unsung Heroes of the 20th Century, Another Anonization?” – Tape 1

- “Alaska Orthodoxy Today, Unsung Heroes of the 20th Century, Another Anonization?” – Tape 2

References

Archpriest Michael Oleksa personal biography

Wikipedia biography

Additional information :

OCA In Memoriam article about Archpriest Michael Oleksa

Academia.edu reference to Archpriest Michael Oleksa

Archpriest Michael Oleksa web-site

Alaskapublic.org obituary for Archpriest Michael Oleksa

Orthodox Christian Laity obituary for Archpriest Michael Oleksa

Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary In Memoriam for Archpriest Michael Oleksa

Orthochristion.com obituary of Archpriest Michael Oleksa

Orthodoxwiki article about the Diocese of Alaska (OCA)

Wikipedia article about The Orthodox Church in America

Saint Olga (Michael) of Kwethluk, and Archpriest Nikolai Michael

Metropolitan Theophilus (Pashkovsky)

Metropolitan Leonty (Turkevich)

Metropolitan Ireney (Bekish)

Metropolitan Theodosius (Lazor)

Metropolitan Herman (Swaiko)

Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen)

Metropolitan Tikhon (Mollard)

Archbishop Gregory (Afonsky)

Archbishop Nikolai (Soraich)

Bishop Innocent (Gula)

Archbishop Benjamin (Peterson)

Bishop David (Mahaffey)

Bishop Alexis (Trader)

Photos from the funeral

Findagrave reference to Archpriest Michael Oleksa

Old Harbour Native Corporation

Saint Michael's Cathedral, Sitka, Alaska, web-site (with history section)

OCA reference for Saint Innocent Cathedral, Anchorage (with some history)

Orthodoxwiki article about Russian Orthodox Church Sites in Alaska (with historical value)

OCA list of parishes in the Bethel-Kuskokwim Deanery

OCA list of parishes in the Kodiak Deanery

OCA list of parishes in the Sitka Deanery

OCA list of parishes in the Anchorage Deanery

“Patronal Feast-day at Saint Herman of Alaska Sobor, Edmonton, Alberta” (12-13 December, 2014)

“The Alaskan Orthodox Texts Project celebrates its 10th anniversary” (1 May, 2015)

“Orthodoxy in Alaska from CBC North (Fr Michael's visit to Yukon)” (1 September, 2015)

CBC North : “Priest shares history of Alaska Natives during Russian period” (1 November, 2015)

“‘Healing Earth’ - Orthodox Christian perspectives on Ecology and Climate Change Conference” (13-15 October, 2016)

“Many Cultures, One Faith : Healing Society Through Orthodox Christian Living - Hamilton, Ontario” (18 March, 2017)

“Father Michael Oleksa to Lead Annual Lenten Retreat at St Aidan's, Cranbrook” (29-31 March, 2019)

“Visit of Fr Michael Oleksa to St Aidan's in Cranbrook” (29-31 March, 2019)

Bristol Bay Times : “Prominent Russian Orthodox Missionary Archpriest Michael James Oleksa Suffers Fatal Stroke” (12 November, 2023)

Youtube : “Interview with Father Michael Oleksa”, 24 August, 2005

Youtube : Lecture “Russian America: The Alaskan Native Spiritual Legacy - Rev Dr. Michael James Oleksa”, Villanova University (5 April, 2016)

Youtube : “Interview : Meaning of “‘Bukook’”, 2017

Youtube : “Talk on 2017 Cruise to Alaska”

Video : Movie excerpt : “Sacred Alaska” 2024