Metropolitan Innocent (Pustynsky)

Metropolitan Innocent (Pustynsky) 1868-1937)

Alexander may be spelt Aleksander.

Dmitrievich may be spelt Dimitrievich, Dimitriyevich, Dimitrievitch.

Innocent may be spelt Innokentiy.

Early life of Alexander Dmitrievich Pustynsky

Alexander Dmitrievich Pustynsky was born on 24 September/6 October, 1868, into the family of the sexton of Holy Trinity Church of the Alexandro-Korovinsk village of Pustyn in the Vologda Governorate of the Russian Empire. This is now in the Gryazovetsky County of the Vologda Oblast (province)).

Alexander Dmitrievich was baptised on 26 September/8 October, 1868.

He was raised in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church, and he sang in the choir of the Holy Trinity Temple in which his father was the sexton.

However, early in his life, the parents of Alexander Dmitrievich reposed in the Lord.

As an orphan, he made his living by working as a shepherd-boy.

Alexander Dmitrievich was taught to read and write by the local priest, Vasili (Basil) Avduyevskiy, who procured a place for the boy in the Vologda Theological Seminary. He collected money for the journey from the villagers.

Higher education

He entered the Vologda Seminary in 1883. The Vologda Theological Seminary was the largest educational institution of the Russian North. It had a rich library (works of Ovid, Virgil, Cicero, Horace, Homer, the writings of spiritual writers, books on philosophy, history, natural sciences). There were brilliant teachers at the seminary, amongst whom were included (not all at the time of Alexander Dmitrievich) local historians N I Sovorov and I N Suvorov ; ethnographer and folklorist N S Shaizhin ; historian M S Sierov. During the course of his studies, Alexander Dmitrievich had studied in all subjects, except mathematics. With fervour, he sang in the choir, and then he directed the choir of the seminary.

In 1889, Alexander Dmitrievich graduated from the Vologda Theological Seminary.

Vologda Theological Seminary

In 1889, Alexander Dmitrievich enrolled in the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy.

In 1893, Alexander graduated from the Kiev Theological Academy with the degree of Candidate of Theology (Ph.D.).

Transfer to North America, 1893

In 1893, Alexander Dmitrievich was sent immediately to North America, and he was assigned to be the sacristan of the cathedral in San Francisco, California, USA, where he served briefly.

Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco

Monastic tonsure, 1894

On 14 September, 1894, Alexander Dmitrievich was tonsured to be a monk and he was given the name Innocent.

Diaconal ordination, 1894

A little later in September, 1894, the Monk Innocent (Pustynsky) was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by Bishop Nicholas (Ziorov).

Presbyteral ordination, 1894

On 25 September, 1894, the Hierodeacon Innocent (Pustynsky) was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Bishop Nicholas (Ziorov).

Pastoral service

The Hieromonk Innocent (Pustynsky) was then sent to serve briefly in the parishes of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin in Osceola Mills, and of Saint Nicholas in Allegheny (Pittsburgh) in Pennsylvania, after which he was sent back to Russia.

Nativity of the Theotokos Temple, Osceola Mills

Return to Russia, teaching, other responsibilities, 1895

In 1895, the Priest-monk Innocent was assigned to be the Assistant Inspector (Assistant Supervisor) of the Novgorod Theological Seminary.

In 1897, the Priest-monk Innocent was assigned to be the Assistant Inspector of the Moscow Theological Academy.

In 1898, the Priest-monk Innocent was assigned to be the Acting Inspector of the Moscow Theological Academy.

In 1899, the Priest-monk Innocent was assigned to be a member of the Saint Petersburg Spiritual Censorship Committee.

He was at the same time elevated to the dignity of archimandrite.

In 1900, for his work, “Pastoral Theology in Russia in the 19th Century”, Archimandrite Innocent received a Master of Theology degree.

Later in 1900, Archimandrite Innocent (Pustynsky) was assigned to be the rector of the Tver Theological Seminary.

At the beginning of 1903, Archimandrite Innocent was assigned to be the Vicar-Abbot ("namestnik") of the Chudov Monastery in Moscow.

At about this time, he also graduated from the Moscow Institute of Archaeology.

Episcopal ordination, 1903

On 14 December, 1903, in Saint Petersburg, Archimandrite Innocent (Pustynsky) was ordained to the Holy Episcopate. The ordaining bishops were : Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) of Moscow ; Metropolitan Flavian (Gorodetsky) of Kiev ; Archbishop Dimitri (Znatchenia) of Kazan ; Bishop Tikhon (Belavin) of North America ; Bishop Pitirim (Oknov) of Tula ; Bishop Antony (Khrapovitsky) of Volyn ; Bishop Nicanor (Nadezhdin) of Yakutsk ; Bishop Constantine (Boulichev) of Gdov ; Bishop Antonin (Granovsky) of Narva ; and the recently-ordained Bishop Euthymiy (Eliev) of Alaverdi.

Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky)

Episcopal service ; transfer back to North America, 1904

Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) was assigned to serve as the Bishop of Alaska, and as the First Vicar-Bishop of the Diocese of the Aleutians and North America.

Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) of Alaska was the first Vicar-Bishop (auxiliary bishop) for Archbishop Tikhon (Belavin) of the North American Diocese and he served as Bishop of Alaska in North America from 1904 to 1909.

On 24 February, 1904, Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) arrived in New York City from Russia, in order to take up his responsibility as the Vicar-Bishop of Alaska.

After his arrival in the USA, Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) joined with Bishop Tikhon (Belavin) in the ordination of Archimandrite Raphael (Hawaweeny) to the Holy Episcopate as Bishop of Brooklyn on the third Sunday of Lent in 1904. This was the first ordination of an Orthodox bishop in the "New World". Bishop Raphael served as the Second Vicar-Bishop to Bishop Tikhon, and he primarily served the Syrian Orthodox community in the USA.

In 1905 while in Sitka, Alaska, Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) tonsured the future New-martyr Seraphim of Uglitch to be a monk, and then ordained him to the Holy Diaconate and to the Holy Priesthood.

Bishop Innocent had been well-prepared not only for missionary labours, but also for the necessary internal spiritual resources for accomplishing this work, together with teaching and preaching. For instance, he had learnt Greek, Latin, German and English. He had his own large private library, not only of theological books, but also of books in various branches of science, history, and literature. He was also a good musician. He took his accordion with him on all his travels.

At the time Bishop Innocent arrived in Alaska, there were already 16 parishes (and 60 chapels attached to them) with 17 priests, 1 deacon and 12 readers, who served nearly 12,000 parishioners. These included 87 Russian-speakers, 2,257 Creoles, 2,147 Kolosh-Tlingit, and 4,839 "Eskimos". There were 45 church schools with 760 students ; 2 of the schools had a two-year programme for training clergy. There were 5 orphanages with 65 pupils ; 8 fraternities with 370 members ; 4 temperance societies organised in parishes. Despite the fact of the previous sale of Alaska to the USA in 1867, the source of the funding for the schools operated by the Orthodox Church in Alaska was still the budget of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

There was another context which makes evident the work of God amongst the Orthodox Christians, and that was the post-sale situation after the sale of Alaska to the USA. The central USA government's decisions about Alaska were under the influence of the Presbyterian minister Sheldon Jackson, who became the General Agent of Education for Alaska in 1885. Soon after the sale in 1867, Alaska had been shared out amongst various Christian (Protestant and Roman Catholic) denominations in the mid-1880s. The Baptists operated in the Cook Inlet and on Kodiak Island ; the Episcopalians, along the Yukon River and along the Arctic Coast ; the Methodists, in the Aleutian Islands ; the Moravians, in the Kuskokwim region, on the Nushagak River, and in Bethel ; the Congregationalists, at Cape Prince of Wales ; the Swedish Evangelists, in the Unalakleet area ; the Quakers, in Kotzebue ; the Lutherans and the Evangelical Covenant Church, in the Nome area ; the Roman Catholics, in the Lower Yukon ; the Presbyterians, in Southeast Alaska, Saint Lawrence Island, and on the northern Arctic Coast.

The Russian Orthodox Church (which had brought the Christian Faith to Alaska nearly 100 years earlier) was not included in the arrangement. One main excuse given was that most of the Russian missionary priests were Russian citizens and subjects of the Russian Tsar. Officials may have regarded this as some sort of "foreign sect", although all the parishioners were American citizens. This situation simply exhibits an anti-Russian and anti-Orthodox prejudice (evident from 1867).

In the Canadian Yukon, 1905

On 28 June, 1905, being accompanied by the Priest Antonii Vasiliev, Vladyka Innocent travelled from Sitka, by way of Juneau and Skagway, to the Yukon Territory of Canada. They had then embarked on the steam-driven river-boat, the "Yukoner", and they eventually arrived in Dawson City. Vladyka Innocent was searching for any Russian-speakers, Orthodox Christians, who might need pastoral care while searching for gold. As he told the newspaper reporter from the “Daily News” (who described Vladyka as being young, of vigorous demeanour and affable manner), he was “on a tour of inspection of the several Greek-Russian missions on the lower Yukon, which was settled 200 years ago by the Russians”. After a two-week stay in Dawson, Bishop Innocent continued north and west along the length of the Yukon River. Two accounts of this journey follow these biographical notes.

"Yukoner" river steamboat

Dawson City

What Bishop Innocent may not yet have understood in 1905, as he was beginning his journey, was that besides the supposed gold-prospectors, there were then a good many indigenous people in the region who were Orthodox Christians. Most of these Inland Tklingit people were living scattered “on the land”, to the south in the region of Lake Teslin. The missions established in previous times lower on the river were easier to contact than were people who lived here and there in small groups.

During the years of his episcopal service in Alaska, Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) appealed to the civil authorities (even to the President of the USA, Theodore Roosevelt), to remedy the shortage of schools for indigenous people in Alaska. Since the purchase of the state, schooling in Alaska had been deliberately placed under the control of Protestant pastors, many of whom were at the same time public servants. They had little interest in the allocation of funds for the Orthodox native population of Alaska.

The Protestants of the USA in general and of the Territory of Alaska in particular did not have any perception about Orthodox Christianity (save when confused with mistaken ideas about Roman Catholicism), nor about the customs and way of life of the local population, who had virtually no protection from the American authorities. Alaska was at that time a territory of the USA, not a state, and therefore American laws seem not to have been applied in Alaska. Clauses signed with Russia at the sale of Alaska to the USA were not respected regarding the needs of the indigenous peoples. Orthodox inhabitants were often oppressed. Sometimes, children were not permitted to attend the Orthodox Church. Because the indigenous population of Alaska was not white, there was discrimination against them. When the “Klondike Gold Rush” began in 1896, businessmen openly harassed the local indigenous population.

Therefore, Bishop Innocent spoke in defence of the rights of the oppressed indigenous people. Under his direction, a missionary school was established in Sitka to train local young people to be church readers (and in the future perhaps to be ordained to be priests). In Kodiak, a girls’ school and orphanage was established.

Service beyond Alaska, in the Diocese of North America

The service of Bishop Innocent was not limited exclusively to Alaska. He performed other tasks delegated by Archbishop Tikhon (Belavin). For instance, he travelled to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in order to conduct examinations in the Minneapolis Theological Seminary. He wrote articles, and he helped Archbishop Tikhon with the administration of diocesan affairs.

In 1907, Bishop Innocent sponsored a pamphlet, "In Praise of Temperance", prepared by the “Orthodox Temperance Society”, which was to encourage sobriety, and to fight drunkenness through the use of quotations of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers. Originally prepared in the Aleut language, it was also published in the Kolosh (Tlingit), English, and Kodiak (Alutiiq) languages.

After Archbishop Tikhon (Belavin) had scheduled the convening of the First All-American Sobor at Mayfield, Pennsylvania for early 1907, he was transferred back to Russia by the Most Holy Synod.

Locum Tenens of the North American Diocese, 1907

Pending the arrival of Archbishop Platon (Rozhdestvensky) (the new diocesan bishop), Bishop Innocent was assigned to serve as the locum tenens.

On 20 February, 1907, Bishop Innocent convened the Sobor at the Temple of Saint John the Baptist. Archbishop Tikhon was present a the sobor in an unofficial capacity while he awaited his departure.

Saint John the Baptist Temple, Mayfield, site of the sobor

On 26 March, 1907, Archbishop Tikhon (Belavin) sailed for Europe.

On 1 August, 1907, Bishop Innocent led the sanctification of the newly rebuilt Saints Peter and Paul Church on Saint Paul Island in the Bering Sea.

Saints Peter and Paul Temple, Saint Paul Island

Archpriest Alexander Hotovitzky wrote about Vladyka Innocent during this time :

 After His Eminence Tikhon left for Russia, to another Diocese, our North American Church became orphaned.  It is true 
 that, the spiritual leadership was entrusted by the Higher Church Administration to His Eminence Innocent, Bishop of 
 Alaska, but at the same time, by the decree of the Holy Synod it was determined that the powers given to his Eminence 
 are of temporary nature.  But temporary leadership naturally [...] – to avoid tying knots or to start works that would 
 require time-consuming tasks and individual inclinations in life.  For a person to take the initiative is, therefore, 
 almost impossible.  

Even though he was left as the administrator of the North American Diocese in the interim, Bishop Innocent was in a difficult situation. He had no authority to transfer clergy, to solve financial problems, or to make many other sorts of needed decisions. At that time, there was a convention of the "Orthodox Mutual Aid Society" and of the Diocese. It was necessary to make decisions about the publishing house, as well as the publication and editing of the newspaper "Svit".

However, until the assignment of a new archpastor for the North American Diocese by the Most Holy Synod, Bishop Innocent had to postpone the resolution of all such projects, regardless of whether he wanted to approve them or not.

In 1907, Archbishop Platon (Rozhdestvensky) was assigned as the new bishop ; but after he arrived in North America, he delegated the duties of the diocesan administration to the Vicar-Bishops Innocent (Pustynsky) and Raphael (Hawaweeny), and he returned to Russia.

In March, 1909, Bishop Innocent was released by the Most Holy Synod from his American responsibilities, in order to return to Russia.

Transfer back to Russia, 1909

On 1 May, 1909 Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) was assigned to be the Bishop of Yakutsk and Vilyuysk.

On 23 February, 1912, he was released from the diocese of Yakutsk and Vilyuysk.

Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky), 1909

On 25 June, 1912, Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) was assigned to be the Bishop of Tashkent and Turkestan.

In December, 1916, Bishop Innocent moved the centre of the Diocese of Tashkent (now in Uzbekistan) to Verniy (later Alma-Ata, now Almaty) in Kazakhstan. From that time until June, 1923, he served as the Bishop of Tashkent and Turkestan (although he was forced out before that date, and the name of the diocese had not yet changed).

In 1917, Bishop Innocent was assigned to be a member of the All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918.

Revolution and turmoil, 1917

In October-November, 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution began. Then followed the consequences of the Bolshevik communist revolution, which produced intense persecution of the Orthodox Church, and turmoil on all levels of society.

All-Russian Sobor session

In 1918, on the Feast-day of Pascha, Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) was elevated to the dignity of archbishop.

The Bolsheviks soon enabled the development of the entity called the “Living Church” ("Renovationist Church") as a part of their attempt to destroy the Orthodox Church. This entity was a schism from the canonical Russian Orthodox Church. Through the use of various nefarious methods, they either seduced or forced bishops and clergy to become part of it. Some suffered greatly in various ways in the course of the techniques used to ensure compliance.

In the early 1920s, Archbishop Innocent opposed the “Renovationist Church” with Archpriest Andrei Malov, and the layman-physician-professor Valentin Voyno-Yasenetsky. Vladyka proposed that the widowed Professor Voyno-Yasenetsky become a priest. In 1921, Vladyka Innocent ordained him to the Holy Priesthood. Soon afterwards, Father Valentin was tonsured to be a monk and given the name Luke, and then he was ordained to the Holy Episcopate. [Later, Bishop Luke became a hieromartyr. His intercession brought many wonders and healings. He was officially declared to be a saint by the Church of Russia in 1996.]

Bishop Innocent with the Priest Valentin Voino-Yasenitsky (Saint Luke), about 1921

The government of the USSR continued to manifest its hostility towards the Church and towards monasticism. Following the so-called advice of the atheistic authorities, some Renovationists (the so-called "High Church Authority", "Высшее Церковное Управление") decided "to close the monasteries, permit second marriages for clergy and introduce a married episcopate".

Vladyka Innocent understood that the activities of the Renovationists were causing destruction in the Orthodox Church, and he refused to recognise the "High Church Authority". The administration of his Diocese announced that his Tashkent-Turkestan Diocese would become self-administered, and Vladyka Innocent so notified Patriarch Tikhon.

The Diocesan Council of clergy and laity of Tashkent, convened by Vladyka, rejected the demands of the "High Church Authority" and episcopal vicariates were established. Local civil authorities began to persecute Vladyka Innocent : there were newspaper articles against him, and then he was called for questioning by the GPU (State Political Directorate). At night, there were invasions and searches of his house.

Renovationism, 1922

In 1922, by order of the GPU, Archbishop Innocent hastily left Tashkent.

In 1922, Archbishop Innocent (Pustynsky) fell into "Renovationism". He had been put in such a situation that he felt forced to recognise the jurisdiction of the “Renovationist Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church”. He was appointed by the Renovationists to be the Archbishop of Kursk and Oboyan.

Attention is drawn by some to the fact that,

 for some clergy membership in Renovationism was not a betrayal of Orthodoxy, but was rather an attempt to continue their service 
 to believers during the extremely harsh waves of persecution of the Church by the Soviet authorities.  Reportedly, this was also 
 the situation of Archbishop Innocent.  The fact of his opposition to Renovationism was subsequently collaborated by KGB documents.  

In 1923, the Renovationists ordered that Archbishop Innocent be placed in the “unassigned” category. A schismatic bishop was to be installed in his place. Without waiting for the arrival of the schismatic bishop, he concelebrated with Bishop Sergiy (Lavrov) in an attempt to keep the diocese away from the Renovationists. They both were under pressure and threat.

The pressure against Archbishop Innocent was great. On 29 January, 1923, he fled secretly to Moscow by night. He hoped to get to the Valaam monastery (which at that time was not in the Soviet Union, but across the border in Finland). He failed ; and “after a long time”, he wrote to the future Confessor Archbishop Luke (Voyno-Yasenetsky), that “he was able to sneak into the Pustynsky village” in the Vologda Province.

Despite the collective appeals of believers that he return to Tashkent to manage the diocese on a canonical foundation, he did not return.

In March, 1924, Archbishop Innocent was dismissed by the "Renovationist Centre for Peace" (the name of their headquarters).

Transfer to Kursk and Oboyansk, 1924

Later in 1924, Archbishop Innocent was appointed by the Renovationist synod to become the “Archbishop” of Kursk and Oboyansk.

He organised the Renovationist diocesan administration in Kursk. According to the files of the OGPU, this diocese was organised under their guidance with the purpose to “strangle the Tikhon regime”.

Transfer to Kiev, 1924

In 1924, he was appointed to be the Renovationist Metropolitan of Kiev and Galich, and also the Chairman of the Board and the Rector of the Theological Academy in Kiev.

At the same time, he was elevated by the Renovationists to the dignity of metropolitan.

In early September, 1924, as a Renovationist "Metropolitan" of Kiev and Galicia, he entered the Kiev Caves Lavra, where he served in the Catholicon of the monastery.

Metropolitan Innocent was then made a member of the "Renovationist All-Ukrainian Synod". At the "All-Ukrainian Pre-Council Conference" (November, 1924), he spoke sharp words against the monks of the Ukrainian monasteries (who for the most part remained faithful to Patriarch Tikhon). He proposed organising "Renovationist monasteries". Then followed the capture of the Kiev Caves Monastery by the Renovationists.

On 15 November, 1924, he participated in the “Ukrainian meeting” before the Second Renovators’ Council in Kharkiv (UAOC-“UPATS”), and he there defended the autocephalous Ukrainianisation of worship (that is, using the modern Ukrainian language instead of Church Slavonic). He condemned religious fanaticism in the Church, political provocation against the state religion, aggressive conflict of the “Tikhonites”, although he previously had belonged to the Moscow Patriarchate. Under the influence of this meeting, he agreed to translate liturgical books into the modern Ukrainian language and to send priests with these books to the Orthodox Ukrainians in the regions of Kuban, Don, Turkestan and Eastern Siberia. This focus on Ukraine was related to the fidelity of the major monasteries and of many others to the administration of Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin), and an attempt to change this.

After the repose in Christ of (Saint) Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin) in 1925, the Church was thrown into deeper chaos.

In April, 1925, Metropolitan Innocent negotiated with Bishop Konstantin (Dyakov), the administrator of the Diocese of Sumy. However, he failed to attract anyone to the Ukrainian Renovationists.

In 1925, at a meeting of the Renovationist "Third Local Council", Metropolitan Innocent proposed cancelling the decisions of the previous Renovationist council of 1923 about the closure of monasteries. He also was appointed to be a member of the presidium of the Renovationist "Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church".

On 1 January, 1926, Metropolitan Innocent issued a message to the "members of the Local Kiev Church", in which he mentioned the successes of the Renovationists in organising church life in Ukraine, and about plans for its Ukrainisation, "thereby removing the obstacle to our communication with those who wanted church autocephaly".

In 1926, Metropolitan Innocent, indicating that there was support from the authorities (meaning the OGPU), was negotiating a possible unification with the non-canonical "'self-sanctifiying' Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church" (UAOC), led by "Metropolitan" Vasyl (Lipkivsky). He invited UAOC representatives to worship at the Lavra Church (because of fear of an attack by indignant parishioners Metropolitan Innocent served there under police protection). After "Metropolitan" Lipkovsky was removed from the UAOC leadership and replaced by "Metropolitan Mykola (Boretsky)", who was more comfortable with the authorities, the process of rapprochement between the Renovationists and Autocephalists in Ukraine intensified.

In 1927, Metropolitan Innocent announced the creation of the "Higher Ukrainian Theological School" instead of the now-closed Kiev Theological Academy. It was opened in March, 1927, on the territory of the Kiev Caves Lavra which had by then been seized by the Renovationists. He became the rector, and he taught catechism. In November, 1927, under Metropolitan Innocent, the Holy Transfiguration Temple in Kyiv was completed and sanctified (an exceptional event for the Renovationists, since even the previously-existing Temples were falling into decay).

In February, 1928, Metropolitan Innocent visited the head of the UAOC at his residence at the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, and he formally proposed to unite, but "Metropolitan" Boretsky called this proposal premature.

Transfer to Arkhangelsk and Khomogorsk, 1932

In early 1932, the Synod appointed Metropolitan Innocent to the Renovationist Arkhangelsk and Kholmogorsk Diocese. In the spring of that year, Metropolitan Innocent was elected to be the chairman of the Church Control of the Northern Territory of Russia.

Break from Renovationism, repentance, 1932

In 1932, Metropolitan Innocent was able to break away from Renovationism. He departed from the diocese, and he returned to his homeland.

According to the memoirs of Vologda's inhabitants, under the harshest conditions of the communist dictatorship, Vladyka Innocent then performed various sorts of services for the local people. He baptised infants, married parishioners, and he fulfilled all of the sacred needs at the Holy Trinity Temple in the Pustyn Village in the Vologda region. Memories about all this were preserved by the Faithful in the region, and passed on from generation to generation to the present day. (Many memoirs can now be found in the museum in Kirpichny.)

Arrest for "anti-Soviet propaganda", 1933

On 14 March, 1933, Metropolitan Innocent (Pustynsky) was arrested by the NKVD in the Pustyn village in Vologda, and he was taken to Arkhangelsk. There, he was tried (Investigative Case no. 914/33) on charges of "disagreeing with the policy of the Soviet government towards the Church", and the conduct of activities to create a counter-revolutionary church-monarchist underground (paragraph 10 of Article 58 of “anti-Soviet propaganda”). The records of the investigators during the interrogation indicate that he confirmed that he had condemned the actions of the Soviet authorities against believers ; and that he gave derogatory characterisations of the members of the "Renovationist" synod. The records also indicate that Metropolitan Innocent was not cunning, and that he behaved decently and honestly.

According to the verdict, he was sent to 3 years of exile in Kazakhstan. He lived in the city of Alma Ata (Almaty), and he served the community of the "Vvedensky" (Meeting of the Lord) Temple as a bell-ringer.

In the autumn of 1937, Vladyka Innocent (Pustynsky) was again arrested.

Repose, 1937

On 3 December, 1937, by the decision of the UNKVD Troika (a notorious secret court), Metropolitan Innocent (Pustynsky) was shot and killed in Alma-Ata (Almaty), Kazakhstan.

Vladyka Innocent's body was interred at the Janalyk landfill in the Alma-Ata region.

During the years 1937 and 1938, many, many thousands of Orthodox Christian bishops, priests, deacons, male and female monastics, and Orthodox Christian believers were "liquidated" in the Soviet attempt to eradicate the Orthodox Christian Church and all religion from its territory.

— Bishop of Alaska 1904-1909. Preceded by : Vicariate established. Succeeded by : Bishop Alexander (Nemolovsky).

— First Vicar-Bishop of the Diocese of the Aleutians and North America.

— Bishop of Yakutsk and Vilyuysk 1909-1912. Preceded by : ____. See name changed.

— Bishop of Tashkent and Turkestan 1912-1918. Preceded by : ____.

— Archbishop of Tashkhent and Turkestan 1918-1923. Succeeded by : ____.

— Archbishop of Kursk and Oboyan 1923 (Renovationist).

— Metropolitan of Kiev and Halich after 1924 (Renovationist). Preceded by : ____. Succeeded by : ____.

— Metropolitan of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory 1932 (Renovationist). Preceded by : ____. Succeeded by : ____.

Reflections

In considering what may be regarded as the incongruous last portion of Metropolitan Innocent's life, it is important to keep in mind that on 16 January, 1989, he was rehabilitated on the basis of the Decree of the PVS of the USSR. He was posthumously rehabilitated by the Prosecutor's Office of the Kazakhstan Soviet Republic, from 1937.

With regard to the fact that Vladyka Innocent (Pustynsky) became part of the "Renovationists", it is important to keep in mind that the government agents of the Soviet Union were involved in this phenomenon and entity. The forces of the secret police were involved as well. The period of time that followed the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing Russian Civil War was one of considerable chaos, and people were very much unaccustomed to the great quantity of lies and betrayals that were becoming an integral part of the developing atheistic state. It is true that many bishops and clergy willingly embraced the Renovationist entity. Others misunderstood what they saw, and they mistakenly fell into the Renovationist entity. Others encountered various sorts of secret police tactics which took them into the Renovationist entity by force. From amongst these various sorts of situations, there were many bishops and clergy who repented (some very quickly, some later). However, for the clergy who had been taken into that entity, the involvement of the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Antioch in approving the Renovationist entity did not make it easier in any way to discern the truth. There is yet another group, one to which Metropolitan Innocent (Pustynsky) seems to have belonged : those who, having found themselves enmeshed in the entity for whatever reason, did whatever they could to support the canonical Russian Orthodox Church and to try to nudge the Renovationist entity away from its wild ways.

G M Soldatow, writing in a "Russian Orthodox Church Abroad" article, opined :

 It must be pointed out, however, that for some clergy, membership in Renovationism was not a betrayal of Orthodoxy ; but 
 rather it was an attempt to continue service to believers during the extremely harsh waves of persecution of the Church by 
 the Soviet authorities.  Reportedly, this was also the situation of Archbishop Innocent : the fact of his opposition to 
 Renovationism was subsequently collaborated by KGB documents.  
 
 On 7 October, 1994, in the settlement of Kirpichny, Vologda region, located on the river Monsa, just 12 km from the 
 place of Metropolitan Innocent's birth, the Alexandro-Korovin Pustyn Museum 'In Memory of the Holy Martyr Metropolitan 
 Innocent' was opened.  The main organiser was A S Khairetdinova who then also became the Museum's director.  To the 
 opening of this Museum came local officials, reporters, students ; and, most importantly, local residents came to the 
 opening of the museum.  Many of those local residents either remembered Vladyka Innocent themselves, or knew about 
 him from their parents.
 
 There were numerous reports about the opening of the museum in newspapers and on radio.  A S Khairetdinova published 
 a 173-page book about Innocent (in Russian), and on the Internet a book of 308 pages is available, also in Russian.  
 
 It is evident that Vladyka Innocent, even under the threat of death, did not turn away from God.   In the Museum 
 dedicated to his memory are copies of numerous documents, including the report of his arrest, records of his 
 interrogations, indictment, and a letter from the Moscow Patriarchate's Alma-Ata Diocese confirming that Bishop 
 Innocent was, on 3 December, 1937, shot in Alma-Ata per the decision of an NKVD Troika – the notorious three-member 
 secret 'court'.  
 
 In the interrogation reports, there is evidence that he not only criticised, but also had the conviction that the 
 Renovation Church had no value.  He criticised the interference of the Soviet government in the affairs of the Church, 
 and he believed that all partitions of the Church needed to unite under one administrative spiritual administration.  
 If he really belonged to the Renovation Church then, in all likelihood, it seems he truly repented of this, because 
 during the years of exile up to his execution, he lived and served at the church in Alma-Ata, which had no part in 
 the Renovationist schism.  
 
 The Minutes of the NKVD documents show that the arrest and interrogations were carried out against Vladyka, while the 
 decision against him was already made, and that this action was simply a move against the Church.  Charges were made by 
 dubious witnesses, since the Bishop himself did not deny the fact that he believed in the Truth, even when it was 
 dangerous for him to admit it.  
 
 Vladyka Innocent obediently served the Church as a missionary, a spiritual writer, a defender of the Faithful and 
 the poor, and an organiser of schools.  The fact that he was arrested by the Soviet authorities is in itself proof 
 that he did not serve the communists, but instead that he served God.

Metropolitan Innocent (Pustynsky) in the 1930s

Writings

• «Пастырское богословие в России за XIX век». (Сергиев Посад, 1899, магистерская диссертация) ["Pastoral Theology in Russia in the 19th Century" (Sergiev Posad, 1899). Master's Thesis.]

• «Пастырское богословие. (Мысли по поводу изданной книги: «Пастырское богословие в России») // «Православный собеседник», 1900, I ['Pastoral Theology : Thoughts about the book published : “Pastoral Theology in Russia”' in “Orthodox Interlocutor” (1900)]

• «Многое и единое». (Лук. 10, 41, 42) // «Богословский вестник» 1898, октябрь, с. 8. ['Many things and one thing' (Luke 10:41, 42) in "The Theological Bulletin" (October, 1898), p. 8.]

• «Дары земные небесному жителю». «Богословский вестник» 1897, ноябрь, с. 169. ['The Gifts of the Earth to the Heavenly Inhabitant' in "The Theological Herald" (November, 1897), p. 169.]

• «Два пути». «Богословский вестник» 1897, октябрь. ['Two Ways' in "The Theological Herald" (October, 1897)]

• «Три искушения». Речь. (Тверь, 1901) ["Three Temptations" : Speech (Tver, 1901)]

• “In Praise of Temperance” (Pamphlet)

Writings by various authors ; reports :

• “Church Gazette”, no. 48 (1900), p. 368 ; no. 1 (1901). p. 12 ; no. 49 (1903). p. 388 ; 1909, no. 20 (1909), p. 193 ; no. 9 (1912), p. 55 ; 1918, nos. 17-18 (1918), p. 104.

• “Additions to the Church Messenger”, no. 49 (1903), p. 1938 ; nos. 51-52, pp. 2023-2028.

• “Russian Pilgrim”, no. 21 (1909), p. 339 ; no. 36 (1912), pp. 555, 560.

• “Church Renewal”, nos. 2-3 (1924), p. 6 ; nos. 5, 6, 7 (1925), pp. 54, 55.

• “News of the Kazan Diocese”, no. 4 (1912), p. 120 ; no. 16, p. 516.

• “Journal of the Sessions of the Holy Synod”, no. 18 (October 30, 1950).

• “Ukrainian Orthodox Messenger”, no. 16 (1925), p. 12.

• “Orthodox Assembly” (January, 1901), pp. 91, 92 ; (January, 1902) p. ; (September, 1902), p. 33, p. adj. 3 ; (March, 1905), p. 542.

• “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”, no. 3 (1955), p. 70.

• “Missionary Calendar”, (1907), p. 133.

• Popov, Lawrence, “His Eminence Innokenty (Pustynsky) : His Ministry in the Yakutsk Diocese 1909-1911” (St Petersburg, 1913), 31 pp. (Extracts from the “Yakutsk Diocesan Gazette” 1909, 1911),

• “Herald of the Orthodox United Communities of the Old AP Churches”, no. 1 (1923), p. 16.

• “Document of the Holy Russian Orthodox Church Hierarchy for 1917”, pp. 212-213

• List of Bishops of 1987-1944 (Patr. Alex.), p. 15.

• Bulgakov, pp. 1394, 1417.

• "FPS" I, no. 11, p. 1 ; III, p. 3.

• "FAM" II, no. 23, p. 2

• "NES", vol. 19, p. 480

• "Cat-EU", no. 1, p. 5 ; no. 24

• "Cat-AM", no. 145

• "BEL", vol. V (Saint Petersburg), pp. 973, 974.

• "BES", vol. I (Saint Petersburg), pp. 945, 946 ; vol. II, coll. 2196, 2401

• “Bibliographic Index of Russian spiritual Writers from Monastics in the 18th, 19th Centuries and Half of the 20th Century”, Part I, compiled by V. Volkov (Zagorsk, 1961).

• ‘Review of Master's Thesis : Proceedings of the Kiev Theological Academy, December, 1899’ in "Orthodox Interlocutor" (1902), attached 3

• ‘Review of the Holy Synod of the Master's Thesis’ in “Additions to the Church Messenger”, no. 23 (1902), p. 762.

Excerpts from a 1905 newspaper interview given by Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) in Dawson, Yukon Territory :

 I have been in Alaska for 13 months, and this is my first tour of my vast field.  In my 
 district, covering all Alaska, our Church has 10,000 communicants, of which 1,000 are 
 pure-blooded Russians, and the others are chiefly natives.  Some of the 9,000 are half-breeds.  
 The Church has 16 priests in this district, and many of them have to travel long distances to 
 visit all the chapels.  
 
 My trip will be a tortuous one, and will aggregate 15,000 miles of travel.  Beginning at Sitka, 
 I have come to Dawson by way of Juneau and Skagway.  From here I go to Russian Mission, on the 
 lower Yukon ; from there, I cross overland on foot 250 miles to the head of the Kuskokwim River, 
 to dedicate a new chapel.  Thence I return to Russian Mission on the Yukon ; I then go to 
 Andreafski, thence to St. Michael, thence along the coast to Gottlich ; thence out to Unalaska ; 
 then to the seal islands of St. George and St. Paul, possibly on the United States revenue 
 cutter ; thence to Bristol Bay and the 20 missions along the Nushagak River ; thence to 
 Belkovsky, Unga, Chignic, Karluk, Koliak, Afognak, and about six points on Cook Inlet ; thence 
 to Yakutat and several small places along the coast ; thence to Sitka. 
 
 Diseases of the white man and his crime and debauchery have caused us to lose many of our 
 adherents in Alaska.  The sins of the whites have been a curse among our people.  
 
 Our Church was established in Alaska first at Kodiak in 1794, by traders, prospectors, fur 
 dealers and others who came across from the Siberian coast towns.  Later the Russians came to 
 Alaska by way of the route taken by the Baltic fleet, covering 35,000 miles.  
 
 At numerous points which I am to visit are schools and orphanages for children, and some of the 
 places simply have chapels.  
 
 The cathedral of the Russian church in Sitka is not the oldest among many other Orthodox Temples 
 dedicated to St. Archangel Michael, who is considered to be the heavenly protector of the whole 
 town.  
 
 The northern portion of the cross is occupied by an Altar, dedicated to the most pure Mother of God 
 whose icon, valued at about $25,000.00, constitutes the ornament of the whole temple and a source 
 of artistic enjoyment to its visitors.  The southern portion of the cross contains an Altar of 
 St. John the Baptist and : finally the western portion serves as an entry into the Temple and 
 a stairway into the tower, where the tower clock is placed and also the ten bells of different 
 tones and sizes.
 
 At the present time the service in this Temple is performed by six persons, to wit : one bishop, 
 two priests, one (hiero) deacon, a teacher and an interpreter ; these persons carry on the 
 instruction in the church school and the Indian school, and also manage the children’s orphanage 
 which exists with the church school.  The local congregation which consists of whites, creoles 
 and Indians is computed at 800 persons.  

"Under the Flag of the Double Cross"

An article by Bishop Innocent, “Under the Flag of the Double Cross”, written in two instalments of the “Russian American Orthodox Messenger” (also referred to as the “American Orthodox Messenger”) follows. Its words are instructive a century and more later for those who wish to proclaim and spread the Gospel of Christ in the Orthodox way.

The title of this article refers to the British "Union Jack" flag which was raised on buildings in the Yukon Territory, and which was also raised on the boat on which he travelled on the Canadian part of the Yukon River. This flag combines the "Cross of Saint George" and the "Cross of Saint Andrew". However, there is a third Cross included (perhaps less obvious, since the shape is similar to that of Saint Andrew) : the "Cross of Saint Patrick". Although England, Scotland and Ireland are represented in the flag, Wales is neglected.

Flag of the United Kingdom, with 2 apparent Cross-forms

 UNDER THE FLAG OF THE DOUBLE CROSS 
 
 (Part 1)  ‘Russian American Orthodox Messenger’ IX (English translation), 1905 : August 1-14, no. 15.
 
 I. 
 
 	‘The Juneau priest, as being closest, should sometime travel to Dawson City and by being there, 
 	explain the questions about the land, and also bring comfort to the Orthodox who are there’. 
 	BISHOP TIKHON.
 
 Skagway was the last sea point which lay on our path into the English ownership of central 
 Alaska. Here we bade farewell to the magnificent ocean and found ourselves in a narrow and dusty 
 pass, at the bottom of which lay this little city.  It is not large in itself and one cannot say 
 anything special about it.  Neither gold nor silver have yet been discovered in its vicinity and 
 its significance consists of being where goods are transferred from sea vessels onto a railroad 
 and, conversely, a transfer of gold dust onto ships to transport it to larger cities.  Thus, 
 there is a customs-house which provides the government of the United States with a huge income. 
 
 There are very few Orthodox here, and they have not required of us any ‘serving’ since, 
 according to the degree of possibility and necessity, they visit Sitka and Juneau.  To the 
 contrary, they themselves, as much as they could, served us, for example, in seeking quarters, 
 in purchasing tickets, in freeing the baggage from customs inspection, etc.  We are especially 
 grateful to a certain customs official, N I Bolshanin, who was forewarned of our arrival, and 
 came and offered us all his co-operation.  It was he who took us into the railway coach when it 
 became possible to set out on the path ahead. 
 
 II. 
 
 ‘A Railroad among the Clouds’.  
 
 Up to now I have not had occasion either to hear, or to read if an Orthodox missionary had at 
 any time stepped upon this soil.  I am even prepared to think that this present path from Skagway 
 into the internal areas of Canada was unknown to the white man until most recently, and only the 
 poor Indian, somewhere at the top of a cliff, set up a hut for himself, like an eagle’s nest*. 
 
 [*footnote : Thus, even to this day, there is a certain place here that has preserved the name 
 ‘Eagle’s Nest’]. 
 
 Vegetation is poor — all mountains and mountains, all rock and rock.  But, in 1897 the first gold 
 was found in the Klondike, and since then this country has literally become alive.  Along 
 mountains and ravines locomotives moved, boats sailed in lakes and rivers, and there appeared 
 stations, mills, cities.  The white man came to own the land and the Indians went into the 
 mountains — a usual phenomenon in the wild American means of colonisation and exploitation of 
 natural resources.  After this, very quickly appeared unavoidable co-travellers of the new 
 master : forests were burned in limitless quantities, and in place of pure mountain air, stench 
 spread for hundreds of miles about, instead of emerald streams from the mountains, muddy 
 torrents began to flow, and turbid rivers troubled the purity of the mirror-like mountain lakes. 
 
 ‘Does it matter to anyone ? Have we not become accustomed to the smelly air of our cities ? Have 
 we not befouled nature everywhere around us ? But, from 1898 to 1904 we brought out from here 
 110,000,000 dollars of gold dust into the world market !’ 
 
 Thus speak those in the gold trade — and the golden number of one hundred and ten million 
 dollars (220,000,000 rubles) seals the lips of the accusers.  Of course Father Antony and I had 
 no need or desire either to argue or to accuse — thus we, with peaceful hearts, gazed out the 
 windows of the coach at the forest fires and were truly amazed at the steel-like will of man 
 which drove through these mountains, threw these bridges over chasms, dried up lakes, changed 
 the course of rivers, in order to level the road to the gold fields.  True, the railroad has been 
 laid here for only 150 versts [tr. versta — 3,500 feet], but this construction, in technical 
 difficulties, is simply amazing, and one must see it with one’s own eyes in order to form an 
 understanding of it. 
 
 Seven hours of travel on the railroad ‘beyond the clouds’ passed unnoticed.  Our little train, 
 comprising a steam engine, baggage coach and one passenger coach with 30 passengers, either hid 
 in tunnels, or sped along the passes from which could be seen only a narrow strip of the sky, or 
 we were carried across rivers and lakes along huge dams, or we crossed mountain waterfalls and 
 abysses along suspended bridges up to seventy sazhins [tr. sazhin - 7 feet] in height ; or we 
 rose to the mountain tops amidst clouds, or finally we again descended into the ravines.  At each 
 step there were revealed various views, at each turn — new pictures.  Only it was difficult to 
 breathe and the head ached, for the suffocating smoke from the forests burning everywhere, had 
 covered even the sun itself. 
 
 And here, at about six o’clock in the evening, our steam engine gave a shrill whistle and 
 stopped. Its service had ended.  From here began the water journey along the Yukon River. 
 
 Everywhere on the flag staffs there appeared the English flag of the Double Cross*. 
 
 [*footnote : The English national flag, as it is well known, represents the union of the emblem 
 of the Red Cross with our St. Andrew’s Cross] 
 
 III. 
 
 ‘The Great River’.  
 
 The shallow steamboat Yukoner, a huge paddle wheeler with four rudders behind itself, was 
 already tied up at the dock, ready to take on passengers and proceed on its trip.  Our cabin was 
 reserved earlier so that we found it without difficulty and carried our things there from the 
 coach.  But we were very hungry, since at the railroad station we could not find anything lenten, 
 and therefore we ate nothing the entire day.  Thus, the first matter on the boat was our request 
 to prepare some fish for us, and with pleasure we ate a piece each of some kind of bony river 
 sort : still, it was better than nothing ! 
 
 Then, coming out onto the deck, we looked about.  Our station is called White Horse, and is
 considered to be a city.  But a week before our arrival, this ‘city’ burned to the ground, and 
 now instead of homes along the shore, there stood tents and huts in which the sufferers from the 
 fire took shelter.  The river, born of rapids which restricted its movement, becomes navigable 
 from here and carries its water up to the Bering Sea, up to Michael’s Redoubt itself, i.e., a 
 distance of 2,500 miles (about 4,000 versts), — and thus it is called in Indian Kvakpakh (Great 
 River).  True, near White Horse it is not yet great, but when we set out on our trip, we saw that 
 the farther from here, the wider and deeper became its channel, sometimes spreading to the size 
 of a lake with a width of 20 miles.  Its water is not sufficiently clear, and the deeper, the 
 worse it is — which is explained by its sandy bottom, its fast flowing and its character of a 
 mountain stream and, finally, by the abundance of tributaries at which gold seekers everywhere 
 pan the gold-bearing soil.  Mountains of medium height stand like walls on the right and on the 
 left.  Their slopes are covered with grass, bushes of small growth, and scanty trees.  The shores 
 are absolutely empty.  Only occasionally a poor hut of a wild woodcutter could be glimpsed, and 
 police stations would make themselves evident by an English flag raised high.  We expected at 
 least to see fishermen, but we were told that there were few fish here because the water was not 
 good. 
 
 The steam boat goes down stream very quickly, carefully avoiding dangerous sand banks, going 
 around islands and piles of sand, very usual for the channels of this river and very often 
 unseen in the muddy water.  Thus, in less than 48 hours we made about 500 miles and on the 
 evening of 15/28 June, we approached the place of our first stop, precisely at Dawson, famous in 
 the history of the gold industry. 

Route of the Yukon River

 IV. 
 
 'A magic city of the North'. 
 
 Dawson, an enchanted city of the far North — as the local inhabitants call it — is situated on 
 the right shore of the Yukon River, where the Klondike River flows into it from that right side. 
 In 1897, on the site of the present city, there stood several tents of gold seekers ; in a year’s 
 time up to 30,000 people flooded here and life was in full swing.  Now, the original fever has 
 cooled down and the city peacefully continues the original matter.  It has up to 5,000 permanent 
 inhabitants, several avenues, four churches, electric lights, post office, telegraph, telephone, 
 schools.  Here also is found the regional court and the customs house.  A governor and other 
 administrative personnel live here. 
 
 The local papers, through some motives unclear to us, had earlier informed their readers of the 
 time of our arrival in the city and thus, having left the vessel, we were compelled to ‘proceed’ 
 along the landing stage and along the nearest street through a crowd of thousands of people.  We 
 were scrutinized in a most unceremonious manner by thousands of eyes ; photographic cameras were 
 aimed at us from the side, from the front, and from behind ; a whole crowd of children followed 
 us — but we were not embarrassed and bravely strode along the street to the designated haven, 
 only from time to time asking passers by : ‘Where is the Regina ?’ To our pleasure, immediately 
 upon our arrival at the hotel, we were visited by the local Episcopal priest, Rev. E P 
 Flewelling, to pay us his respects and to offer his services in becoming acquainted with the 
 city.  After him there appeared reporters who examined us from head to toe, asked about all sorts 
 of things, and then for two days they filled their newspapers with all possible information, 
 correct and thought up, concerning war and peace, the Russian Church and people, our personage 
 and attire, our aims and hopes.  The 'Yukon World', for example, on the morning of 16/29 June, 
 informed the public in bold letters : 'Bishop Innokenty, a Prelate of the Greek Church, arrived 
 in town accompanied by his secretary — Fr Antony Vasiliev, visiting his co-religionists.  He is 
 examining the missions of the Russian Church along the Yukon River and will remain here for a 
 week.  All those who desire to see him can see him at the Regina [...]' etc.  Another paper, the 
 'Dawson Daily News', did not limit itself to such brief information as did the ‘Yukon World’, 
 the ‘Yukon Sun’ and others ; but in the evening of that same day it placed a huge article where, 
 moreover, it was said : ‘A high church official is to be found here.  Yesterday, when the Yukoner 
 stopped at the pier, the inhabitants of Dawson greeted two foreigners in long flowing attire, 
 with high head attire.  They were two dignitaries of the Greek faith, sent here by the Governing 
 Body of the Russian Church’.   
   
 His Grace Innokenty, Bishop of Alaska, who has his residence in Sitka, represents, in this 
 party, the highest degree of a remarkable personage.  A precious Crucifixion adorns his breast 
 and a gold chain descends from the neck.  A patriarchal beard has covered half his face and a 
 tall staff in his hands serves as a sign of his spiritual authority.  This is a man of early 
 youth, with remarkable energy in movement, and affableness in manner (He is distinguished by a 
 full vigorous demeanor and his affable manners)’. [...] Further the newspaper enumerates the 
 ‘Orthodox stations’ where I had assumed to stop, and it indicates the difficulty of travelling a 
 distance of 15,000 miles ; it expounds my grief of the sorrowful fate of the Indians and the hope 
 for a better future and etc.  On the following day there appeared in the newspapers historical 
 information about the former Russian mission in America, our schools, churches and shelters and, 
 finally, there was reprinted in its entirety my latest article in the English Episcopalian 
 magazine, 'Cross-Bearer', for the month of June of the current year (Ketchikan, Alaska), with my 
 portrait and a photograph of the Sitka Cathedral.  Later, almost every day more and more new 
 people came to us daily for a visit, respectable Americans as, for example, Mr. A S Grant, the 
 rector of the Presbyterian Church, pure-blooded Englishman Dr. I Bourke, our friends the 
 French agents of the Trading Company and others — we obligingly returned the visits.  Thus, we 
 visited Pastor Flewelling in his church of Holy Apostle Paul, arriving there for a divine 
 service ; we responded to Mister Grant, by being present at a spiritual concert in his church of 
 the Holy Apostle Andrew, and examining the hospital at the church ; we visited Dr. Bourke at his 
 personal Metropole on Third Avenue ; at the same time, we entered the offices of the company, 
 inspected the public school, searched out the head of customs (in order to free my new 
 photographic camera from duties), went to the post office, the telegraph station, etc.  Thus, in 
 several days, we personally became acquainted with a multitude of people, and each boy, while 
 playing ball in the street, now bravely pointed us out to his friends, recommending : ‘Look, here 
 comes a Russian bishop with his secretary !’ 
   
 V. 
 
 ‘It is necessary to travel to Dawson City and to resolve the land questions on the spot’.  
 BISHOP TIKHON.
 
 In no way were we frightened by such ‘popularity’ ; but to the contrary, were glad of it since we 
 hoped that by such means Orthodox people would find out about us sooner, and they would come to 
 us ‘like sheep near their shepherd’.  But — what an amazing matter ! Regardless of the fact that 
 we announced in the papers our desire to see anyone of our co-religionists, and were seen 
 everywhere possible — we did not encounter anyone. 
 
 Where did these hundreds of Russians, Greeks, Slavs disappear — about whom Father Korchinsky had
 once reported to his bishop ? Where are these people who were ready to make all sorts of 
 sacrifices for the benefit of an Orthodox Church ? If they do not exist, then why did I have to 
 come here these thousands of versts ? 
 
 The situation was not good.  Outwardly, one could think that we were searching for the 
 non-existent, chasing after phantoms and tilting at windmills. 
 
 Of course, everyone can think whatever he wishes — still, let no one hurry to a similar 
 conclusion.  We knew very well what we were doing, why we came here, and what we had need of 
 here.  Our ‘matter’ consisted of the following : In the summer of 1898, together with tens of 
 thousands of gold seekers, our Orthodox priest Father Iakov Korchinsky came to Dawson from 
 Michael’s Redoubt and he informed His Grace Nikolai that there were up to 200 Orthodox here who 
 needed a church and were prepared to construct it if an agreement to this is received from His 
 Grace.  At the same time, he made a declaration to the local Administration of Government 
 Properties for a free allotment of government land for an Orthodox church and parish house 
 within the boundaries of the city. 
 
 In his time, he ‘left for the old country’.  But the matter progresses.  There was a lot of free 
 land in Dawson then, and the local government agent for land matters, in a letter of 23 June, 
 1898, informed His Grace Nikolai that he was convinced of a successful ending of the matter, 
 approved by the local governor, and he hoped that there would be no hold up in Ottawa (the 
 capital of Canada), and that the land asked for would be given as nominal rental use by the 
 Orthodox inhabitants of Dawson for a period of twenty years with the payment of one dollar for 
 all this time and with the right to renew the rent in that same condition, if after this the 
 church will continue its existence*.  By this letter, the agent requested His Grace Nikolai to 
 affirm the declaration of Father Karchinsky [Korchinsky] for a legal drawing up of the question. 
 
 [*footnote : In view of the special importance of the document in historic purposes, we consider 
 it our duty to cite its authentic text here]. 
 
 	DAWSON CITY, N.W.T.
 	June 23, 1898
 	His Lordship, Bishop Nicholas
 	Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
 	
 	Your Lordship : 
 		I beg to inform you that an application has been received by me today as Dominion 
 Lands Agent for the District of the Yukon, at Dawson City, from J Kortchinsky, who, I 
 understand, is one of your priests, for the lease for the period of twenty years, at a nominal 
 rental, for the use of the Greek-Russian Orthodox Church, which is said to have some two hundred   
 adherents in Dawson City at present, all that portion of the Government Reserve more particularly 
 described as commencing at the northeast corner of the Police Reserve, thence southerly along 
 the east limit of the Police Reserve sixty feet, thence westerly parallel to the northerly limit 
 of the said Police Reserve one hundred feet, more or less, to the line of the easterly limit of 
 the 6th Avenue produced, thence northerly along said produced street limit and parallel to the 
 easterly limit of the Police Reserve sixty feet, more or less, to the northerly limit of the 
 Police Reserve, thence easterly along the north limit of the said Police Reserve one hundred 
 feet, more or less, to the place of beginning, containing by measurement six thousand square 
 feet, more or less, reserving a right of way ten feet in width along the east line of the said 
 described lot running along the east limit of the Police Reserve and on the west side of the 
 limit.  This application has been approved by Major J N Walsh, Commissioner of the Yukon, and 
 will be forwarded to the Minister of the Interior at Ottawa in due course.  I also as Dominion 
 Lands Agent will recommend that the application be granted.  I have no doubt whatever but that 
 the application will be granted under the proviso that the property will not be used for any 
 purposes other than for the use of the Greek-Russian Orthodox Church and parsonage in connection 
 therewith.  You are at liberty to at once construct a contemplated church and parsonage on said 
 property.
 
 							I am yours truly,
 							F C Ware
 							Dominion Land Agent
 
 But this property also, as well discovered now, in exactly the same way, ‘left from here to its 
 own city’.   
 His Grace Nikolai fulfilled what was necessary, and, in turn, he also ‘left’.   
 
 Thus, ‘everyone left’ but time did not wait.  The year 1898 ended, 1899 began and ended, 1900 
 passed by, and 1901 ended and 1902 began — when our Eminence Vladyka Tikhon discovered the said 
 letter of the lands agent of 23 June, 1898, and ordered an expedient undertaking of the matter. 
 Precisely, he gave it the following resolution : ‘The Juneau priest must sometime go to Dawson 
 City (he being the closest), and on the spot clear up the land questions, and also bring 
 spiritual comfort to the Orthodox who are located there’.  Truly, I cannot say exactly when this 
 resolution was precisely made — for it has no date, no number — but I think that it was made in 
 January, 1902, judging by the fact that I have at hand an ukaze of the ecclesiastical 
 administration for 26 January, 1902, Number 116, in the name of the then former dean of the 
 Sitka region, Priest-monk Sevastion, with the following content : 
 
 ‘Expediting herein the letter of a certain Agent of Government lands in Dawson, the North 
 American Ecclesiastical Administration asks you to make, by this, an order conforming the 
 resolution which has followed it by His Grace Bishop Tikhon, Bishop of Alaska and North 
 America. [...]’ 
 
 Seven months later Father Priest-monk Sevastion, in a report of 30 August, 1902, Number 66, 
 informed His Grace that the Juneau priest, Father A Yaroshevich agreed to set out for Dawson. 
 But on this report Vladyka, moreover wrote : ‘10 September, 1902 — Before going to Dawson, Priest 
 Yaroshevich must correspond with the Orthodox there and find out how much it would cost for a 
 return trip [...]’.   
 
 I do not know if Father Yaroshevich corresponded with any inhabitants of Dawson, but a full 
 three-year period passed when, finally, this matter came into my hands.  However, no one could 
 tell me what turn it would take ; in whose hands the land promised to us lay ; do the present day 
 Dawsonites await a priest as they once did, etc.  Thus, the desire to fulfill the resolution of 
 His Eminence, our Archpastor, and personally to resolve the said question was, as I suppose, a 
 fully sufficient motive for my trip to Dawson. 
 
 But unfortunately I came here too late.  The successor to the agent who had written the letter to 
 His Grace Nikolai, on my request searched out, in the archives, an immense ‘matter’ instigated 
 by Father Korchinsky seven years ago.  Together, we read it in full in the original form, 
 examined the map of the city attached to the ‘matter’ where our land was designated on the 
 corner of Church Street and Sixth Avenue, and we conversed sufficiently at length in order to 
 explain the entire path of the question’s progress.  In a few words, the essence of the 
 conversation consisted of the following : 
 
 ‘You arrived too late’, said the agent. ‘The land was given to you at the proper time — on that 
 street where now are built the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches — which is why the street 
 itself is called Church Street.  But you did not come, and you did not authorize anyone to take 
 it.  Meanwhile, the city grew not by the day, but by the hour — and there was no sense for us to 
 wait any longer.  Nevertheless, we did not give your land away to someone else, but added it to 
 the government reserve, and now a city park has been levelled off there.  Go and look for 
 yourselves : it is two steps away from the Administration Building’.   
 
 ‘But if the land is not occupied’, I replied, ‘then cannot I renew the solicitation for the 
 right to make use of this parcel for religious purposes ?’ 
 
 ‘No, it is now completely impossible, since the government has already cleaned and dried it, and 
 the plan for a city park, confirmed by a proper order, has already begun to be realized’.   
 
 ‘In such a case, can we not receive a parcel of land in another appropriate place ?’ 
 
 ‘In the city all the places are occupied ; and to acquire anything here at the present time, you 
 can only do so by purchase.  Concerning vacant crown land beyond the city limits is a matter not 
 of the city administration, but of the Ministry of Governmental Properties in Ottawa. 
 Nevertheless, if in the city and surrounding area you have more or less a sufficient number of 
 your co-religionists, and if you will ask for a portion of land for yourselves beyond the city 
 limits for religious purposes, then I am prepared to help you, and I can assure you that your 
 request would be respected’.   
 
 Together with Father Antony, I walked out into the street to see the spot which had at one time 
 been given to us and on which now an Orthodox Cross could have shone.  In three minutes, next to 
 the ‘Administration Building’ we saw a beautiful lot measuring 100 X 50 feet, covered with dense 
 green grass and comprising a corner of the city park.  But it was not our lot now : we arrived too 
 late. 
 
 Innokenty, 
 
 Bishop of Alaska 
 1905, 30 June 
 Dawson, British Columbia. 

Situation of Dawson City, Yukon River, Klondike River

 UNDER THE FLAG OF THE DOUBLE CROSS 
 
 (Part 2)  'Russian American Orthodox Messenger' IX, (English translation), 1905 : August 15-28. 
 
 VI. 
 
 'One should [...] travel to Dawson City in order to [...] bring comfort to the Orthodox who are there'. 
 BISHOP TIKHON.  
 
 From my conversation with the land agent in Dawson it became clear that the further progress of 
 the question about land, for the construction here of an Orthodox Church, could take place and 
 receive meaning only by the effectiveness in the city and surrounding area of a 'more or less 
 sufficient number of Orthodox people'.   
 
 In order to seek them out, no matter what, Father Antony and I, after announcements in the 
 newspapers, began to walk to fruit and retail shops, to barber shops, confectionaries, etc., 
 asking everywhere and everyone of the possible presence of Russians, Slavs, Greeks and Orthodox 
 in general.  For a long time our searches had no success until, finally, we found a Pole by the 
 name of Andrey Rishtov from Warsaw, who owned Andy's Candy Factory, Hotel and Grocery in Dawson. 
 Of course, the Pole was not a Russian, much less Orthodox, but he indicated a certain barber to 
 us who, in his words, was (probably) Russian, and perhaps even Orthodox.  We went to the best 
 street of the city (First Avenue), seeking out No.133 and we found a typical Little Russian from 
 the Kiev Province, a G V Nogaevsky, who excellently cut and shaved the 'golden fleeced' 
 English and Americans, and who received 1 ruble for a haircut per person and 50 kopecks for a 
 shave, 'per mug'.  This was our Aquila with whom we became acquainted sufficiently well and from 
 whom we found out some things about others.  First of all, Nogaevsky (locally he was Mr. Henry 
 Freeman) informed us that he had been living in America for twenty years and personally 
 participated in the construction of Dawson from the first days of its seven year existence, 
 having at the present time several gold-bearing pieces of land, five small houses in the city 
 and two hairdressing shops.  Then it turned out that his wife was German of the Roman Catholic 
 confession, so that she could not be Priscilla, although consequently we often ate food prepared 
 by her hands.  Later we discovered that in place of one or two hundred, the most that can be 
 gathered at the present time are 15-20 Orthodox, and it is very difficult to gather them into 
 unity because people have become disaccustomed to their homeland.  They have smothered their 
 feelings of religion, fasts, icons ; they have forgotten about feastdays ; they speak English, and 
 worship the golden calf. 
   
 A most cheerless impression was made, and for a long time we refused to believe the similar 
 accounts until the facts convinced us of their exactness.  The facts were somewhat like the 
 following.  For example, we once entered a clothing store together with Nogaevsky and asked for a 
 shoe brush. 
 	'You're Russian, the owner suddenly exclaimed. 
 	'Yes, Russian', we replied, 'and who might you be ?' 
 	'I am a Little Russian from near Poltava'.  
 	'And what is your name ?' 'Mr Krouse'.   
 	'What's that ? — Mr Krouse ? Are there such names near Poltava ?' 
 	'Well, you see, it's not a Russian name, but American.  I've already forgotten my actual name'.   
 	'Are you Orthodox ?' 
 	'What else would I be ?' 
 	'Do you have a wife and children ?' 
 	'Hey, why wouldn't I have any ?' 
 	'Of course ! In so far as you are Russian and Orthodox and have a family, then come to us 
 	and we will have a chat : perhaps you and your wife should be married, or children 
 	baptized, or someone to have confession, and at the same time too we can deliberate about 
 	how to gather the people together and build a church [..]'.   
 	'All right ! On Sunday there will be no work and we shall come'.   
 	'Meanwhile, stay well and may Christ preserve you.' 
 	'Good bye ! I shall come ! Good bye !' 
 
 A few days later we found another 'Orthodox' : Nicholas (a barber) a Greek man with a family.  In 
 the same manner, we invited him to drop in to see us on Sunday when there would be no work.  The 
 Greek willingly promised to drop by.  Finally, we were shown an Orthodox Creole woman, Mrs. 
 Bourke, born in San Francisco, and living with her husband (a Roman Catholic) on the edge of the 
 city.  We searched out the little house and spent some time in conversation with the Russian 
 woman and her husband.  In the same manner, we invited both of them to us on Sunday.  We did not 
 find a single more Orthodox neither in Dawson nor in its surrounding area in the course of two 
 weeks, regardless of all our striving and questioning.  We now could find no Fedulov, nor 
 Gorbunov, nor Alexandrov or anyone else of whom I had heard earlier.  It became clear to us that 
 Fedulov had about six Russians working with him in the mines, while Alexandrov had about three 
 men, and that all these people remain at work on the river from May to December and almost never 
 come to the city. 
 
 In any case, we awaited the appointed Sunday with interest, and the gathering of the faithful, 
 preparing ourselves if not for a full Liturgy, then at least for confession and communion of 
 people with the Reserved Holy Gifts, which we brought from Sitka, specially for Dawson, for 
 about one hundred people.  During the course of this entire day, we did not go out, almost not 
 even removing our ryassas and each minute we awaited visitors.  But alas, during this entire day, 
 not a single Orthodox person came to us.  Only late in the evening Mr. and Mrs. Bourke, while 
 walking past our quarters and seeing me in the reception room with an American, stopped for a 
 few minutes with me.  Later it became evident that the Greek on purpose left the city on Sunday 
 for a picnic, and Mr. Krouse spent his time with visitors. 
 
 It was clear to us that these people had become completely unsociable.  They not only do not want 
 to lift a finger for the salvation of their souls, but they do not even wish to discuss it, in 
 spite of us coming thousands of miles to them in order to 'provide them with religious comfort'.  
 
 Nevertheless, in order not to make our stay in Dawson completely fruitless, we authorized G V 
 Nogaevsky to work for the common benefit — to try to organize here some sort of Russian circle 
 in winter-time, when people cease to work in the mines and return to the city.  What will come of 
 this, the future will tell.  We, on our part, did what was possible for us, in the hope that the 
 Lord will not abandon His Church's children 'who are here' without His protection until there 
 will be a pastor there, placed by Him. 
 
 VII. 
 
 'Fresh vegetables ! Cheap ! For example, cucumbers : only 50 cents each ! Don’t miss this 
 chance [...] !' 
 Advertisement.
 
 The two-week stay in Dawson of Father Antony and myself was extremely costly for us, and so 
 reflects on the shortening of the remaining journey (by reason of the scarcity of our finances). 
 In all of this, our 'living' was very meagre.  In actual fact, if, in the month of July, one 
 cucumber costs 50 cents then one can imagine what prices here are considered normal ! Thus we 
 were compelled to live, in the true sense of the word, in the attic, right under the roof 
 itself, which served us as a ceiling, and to contemplate the back yards of the neighbouring 
 buildings through garret windows.  Moreover, the roof itself was not horizontal, as ceilings 
 usually are, but was at an angle to the floor and inner wall.  When it rained, water freely 
 penetrated into the interior of the room and got the poorly glued wallpaper wet.  In particular, 
 my cell had exactly six paces in length and as much in width, and it was so small that there was 
 no room for a little table — and I was compelled to write my papers right on a chest of drawers 
 where, at the same time, there lay books and klobuk [tr: monastic headgear with a veil] and an 
 icon and a washing set and writing accessories, etc.  Father Antony’s premises were even more 
 modest. 
 
 Having had dinner on the first day in the restaurant which was located on the lower floor of our 
 hotel, we 'urgently' became convinced that it was more than we could afford — all the more so 
 that it was a fasting period (Saints Peter and Paul Fast).  After that, we had dinner only six 
 times during two whole weeks (i.e., we had hot food once every two days).  The rest of the time 
 we ate miner’s crackers, dried fish in boxes, olives and bread ; added to this, we daily 
 'solicited' two tea kettles of boiling water, and we prepared tea for ourselves (with the help 
 of a Russian bottle-case brought from Moscow and which had already served me last year in Nome). 
 'Still', it is all right and we are alive, only the belts have slackened ; and, after leaving 
 Dawson, scurvy began to torment me.  
 
 VIII. 
 
 'The value of a church sermon'.  
 
 'If any person or even an angel from heaven will teach you anything not in accord with the 
 teaching of the Pope of Rome, let them be anathema'.   
 Reverend Lebert (not to be confused with the Apostle Paul).
 
 Our last 'temptation' under the flag of the Double Cross turned out to be one that bore, so to 
 speak, a dogmatic character.  It was, precisely, a sermon of the Roman Catholic priest one 
 Sunday, 9 July according to the new style.  On that day we reverently appeared in church for the 
 divine service, removed our kamilavkas and ceremoniously occupied seats near the altar.  The 
 church was full of worshippers and those who were curious.  The Mass began and sounds from the 
 organ resounded, voices of the soloists and the singing of the choir were heard — everything was 
 in good order.  But then the serving priest began to read the Gospel — Matthew 16:13-19.  What we 
 heard was : 'And I say also unto thee, Simon, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will 
 build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give unto thee 
 the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in 
 heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven'.   
 
 I do not know if this 'reading' was to be read precisely on that day according to their rule, or 
 if it had been chosen arbitrarily, in any case, we received an imposing reading and the stone 
 thrown into our garden hit the bull’s eye.  Still, this was only the beginning of the 
 'temptation'.  After the Gospel reading, another priest (Rev. Lebert) came out to the pulpit and 
 began to give a sermon.  He was almost still a youngster and he had a squeaky child’s voice — but 
 his words bore the severe character of the 'Holy Inquisition' of ancient times.  At first, by the 
 way, he only lightly scolded the fathers and mothers for not sending their children to the 
 Sunday School, which was to continue for the entire year, regardless of the holidays in the 
 public schools.  Then he announced that in the forthcoming week there would be a feastday on 
 Friday and two weddings. After this there was read the daily 'reading' from the Epistle (Romans 
 8:1-27) and the Gospel from Luke 5:1-11. 
 
 'And Jesus saw two boats near the shore of Lake Gennesaret and a multitude of peoples on the 
 shore, wishing to hear the word of God', the priest read in a pattering manner.  And He went into 
 one of them which belonged to Simon', continued the preacher, strongly singling out this text, 
 'and began to teach'.   
 
 Then followed again a quick reading of the Gospel narration about the miraculous catch of fish 
 (verses 4-8) and again an expressive reading from verse 9 : 'Terror seized Peter and his partners 
 (James and John), but the Lord, leaving the others without attention, turned only to Simon with 
 the words : Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men [...]'.  
 
 One such reading already, in direct connection with Matthew 16:13-19, was capable of creating a 
 strong impression on the readers.  But after the reading, there followed a corresponding 
 interpretation.  'Why did the Lord enter the boat that belonged precisely to Simon and not into 
 the other which stood next to it ?' the preacher asked.  And then he replied : 'Without a doubt, in 
 order to show that He came to love chiefly that church vessel which is Simon’s, i.e. the Roman 
 Church, and this true teaching of Christ today is offered only in the confines of Peter’s Church 
 — just as 'at that time' Christ Himself gave it to the people from Simon’s boat.  Thus, if any 
 person (looking in our direction), or even an angel from heaven (pointing upward), will teach 
 you anything that is not in accord with the teaching of the Pope of Rome, let him be accursed, 
 as Apostle Paul confirmed this'.* 
 
 [*footnote: Galatians 1:8-9. This text of Apostle Paul reads quite differently, but the preacher 
 evidently had little need of the biblical text, and he cited the indicated verses exactly as 
 shown here]. 
 
 'More must be said : not only must one not believe such preachers but even the right to preach 
 God’s word can be had by no one other than our holy father and persons authorized by him.  For, 
 you see : the Lord does not pay attention to James and John even though they were partners in 
 fishing with Simon, and gives them no authority but turns only to Peter and says to him alone : 
 'do not fear, henceforth — you alone — will catch people for the heavenly kingdom [...]'.   
 
 In conclusion, there followed a moral deduction which ended with a doxology to the Lord God : 'in 
 omnia saecula saeculorum'.  
 
 Then the divine service continued in the usual order.  'In his own time' the church-warden went 
 about with a plate, gathering the 'denaraii' and 'mites' of Peter.  We placed a dollar each as a 
 donation and left the church in order to be more careful in the future.  
 
 On the following day, in the 'Dawson Daily News', my brief article was published under the title 
 of 'The value of a church sermon', where, by the way, it was explained that I could not call 
 yesterday’s sermon anything but a childish game with the Gospel’s words ; this interpretation of 
 the text and the sacred-historical events I acknowledge as being completely incorrect, and the 
 general illumination of the Gospel reading — in the extreme was tendentious and one-sided.  In 
 conclusion, it stated that equally with an exegetical ignorance, I find in this fact a social 
 ignorance expressed by a clear and conscious intention to offend foreigners and, finally, that 
 in such a spirit of preaching, people will not only not remain in Peter’s (Rome’s) boat — in 
 order to hear the word of God (Luke 5:1ff), but will flee away from it farther than now.  For in 
 place of the voice of a good pastor, from there they hear a voice not even of a mercenary, but 
 one of a wolf (John 10:5). 
 
 After yet another day, we set out on the steamboat N S Co Susie from Dawson down the Great 
 River, heading for the settlement of Ikogmiut (2000 versts from Dawson).  The steam boat 
 progressed swiftly, and the English flag of the Double Cross soon remained far behind us. 
 
 Innokenty, 
 Bishop of Alaska. 
 1905, 5 July 
 Ramport, Y.T.

References

“The Russian Mission in North America”

Tarasar, C. J. ed., “Orthodox America 1794-1976: Development of the Orthodox Church in America” (Syosett, NY : The Orthodox Church in America, 1975).

Orthodoxwiki biography

Russian Wikipedia biography (see the entry for "Innocent (Desert)"

Russian Wikipedia biography (in Russian)

"Archbishops and Bishops' in "Biographical Dictionary of Missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church"

"Russian Orthodoxy" biography

"Russian Orthodoxy" biography (in Russian)

Orthodox Encyclopaedia biography

Drevo Open Encyclopaedia biography

Biography by Alexander D Rostrosky in "Database of Repressed Orthodox Clerics and Lay-persons of Central Asia and Kazakhstan"

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"Metropolitan Innocent : Persecuted Orthodox Clergy and Laity of Central Asia and Kazakhstan"

"Turkestan Golgotha" biography

Additional information :

(Afonsky), Bishop Gregory, "A History of the Orthodox Church in Alaska, 1794-1917" (Kodiak : Saint Herman's Theological Seminary Press, 1977), p. 88. ISBN : B0006CUQ42.

Kapalin, Metropolitan Kliment, “Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska until 1917” (Moscow, OLMA Media Group, 2009). ISBN : 978-5-373-01618-6.

Kishkovsky, Archpriest L, Stokoe, M, “Orthodox Christians in North America (1794-1994)” (New York : Orthodox Church in America, 1995), pp. 8-9. ISBN-10 : 0866420533. ISBN-13 : 978-0866420532.

(Pustynsky), Metropolitan Innocent, 'Under the Flag of the Double Cross' in the "Russian American Orthodox Messenger IX" (English translation), 1905 : August 1-14, no. 15 ; and August 15-28, no. 16.

...... "Russian Orthodox American Messenger" : various issues, 1896-1973, translated by Richard Bland, May, 1999. (The precise references for the translation used here are unknown at present).

Smith, Barbara, "Orthodoxy and Native Americans : The Alaskan Mission" (Syosset, NY : Orthodox Church in America, Dept. of History and Archives, 1980).

Vorobyov, Archpriest Vladimir, ed., “History of the Hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church : List of the Episcopal Hierarchs since 862 with Commentary” (Moscow : St Tikhon’s Orthodox Humanitarian University, 2006). ISBN : 978-5-7429-01437.

Encyclopaedia of Ukraine article about the Kyiv Theological Academy

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Страница памяти на сайте жертв репрессий [Memorial Page on the site "Victims of Repression"]

OCA History of the Russian Mission, Chapter 2 : 1870-1920

'From Vologda to Alaska, from Yakutia to Turkestan' in "Moscow Journal" no. 3 (315) March, 2017

Bishops of Yakutia on the private site of Victor Skripin

Patriarch (Saint) Tikhon (Belavin)

Bishop (Saint) Raphael (Hawaweeny)

Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky)

Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky)

Archbishop Dimitri (Znatchenia)

Metropolitan Flavian (Gorodetsky)

Bishop Nicholas (Ziorov)

Bishop Pitirim (Oknov)

Bishop Nicanor (Nadezhdin)

Bishop Constantine (Boulichev)

Bishop Antonin (Granovsky)

Bishop Euthymiy (Eliev)

Priest Jacob Korchinsky

Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) of Simferopol and Crimea

New-martyr Seraphim (Samoilovich) of Uglich

All Russian Church Council of 1917-1918

In Praise of Temperance

Glorification of Our Holy Father Bishop Raphael

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Encyclopaedia.com article about the Renovationists

Russian language wikisource details in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 vols. (82 vols. and 4 additional) (Saint Petersburg, 1890-1907).

Canadian Encyclopaedia article about the Yukon River

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Orthodoxwiki article about The Orthodox Church in America

Orthodoxwiki article about Alaska

Orthodoxwiki article about the Church of Russia

The “Russian Mission” in North America