9 October 2011

9 October 2011 – Repose of St. John the Theologian
St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow (Canonization this day 1989)

Friday, 14 October 2011 – The Protection of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary (Pokrov/Покров)


Lots going on this week!

We're going to look at the great American (and Russian) saint, St. Tikhon!

St. Tikhon was the Patriarch of Moscow from 1917 through 1925.

He is important to us because he was bishop of Aleutians and Alaska from 1898 to 1907. The first Orthodox missionaries in America were all Russians, and they focused mostly on Alaska and the Alutian islands. However, as the United States grew, and many men saw a way to make a profit in the West, many Russians and Greeks and other Orthodox came to San Francisco.

He moved his see (his episcopal throne and home) to San Francisco and renamed the diocese the "Diocese of the Aleutians and North America" in 1900. While living in the United States Archbishop Tikhon was made a citizen of the United States.

He returned to Russia in 1907 and was made bishop of Moscow in 1917, the same year that the Holy Synod of Russia elected to bring back the Patriarchate (which had been dissolved under Peter the Great in 1700). He was then elected the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in over 200 years.

Here are some links about him:

http://gnisios.narod.ru/tikhonmoscow.html (very thorough site)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikhon_of_Moscow (not very thorough site)

http://forallsaints.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/tikhon-patriarch-of-moscow-and-confessor-1925/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l32Ov8VQ7yU (short talk on St. Tikhon)



Your homework:

Learn about St. Tikhon. The first link above is a longer text, but very thorough. Wikipedia doesn't give much information.

Answer these questions and email me the answers by Sunday, October 16.

1. When St. Tikhon was in America, he consecrated a bishop in New York, who became Bishop of Brooklyn. Who was this man? Is he a saint, too?
2. Is St. Tikhon considered a martyr? Why or why not?
3. Where was his body found in 1992?
4. What does "see" mean when we refer to an "episcopal see"? Where is the see of our diocese?

2 October 2011

Sunday after the Universal Elevation of the Precious and Life-Creating Cross of the Lord

Today, we will look at the life of St. Innocent of Alaska, Metropolitan of Moscow. He was canonized a saint on 6 October 1977 by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), on behalf of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). The feast of his glorification is celebrated on 6 October, while the feast of his repose (death) is celebrated on March 31.

You can read about his life on these pages:
http://www.firebirdvideos.com/saintslives/lifeofinnocentak.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocent_of_Alaska
http://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/ (This one requires you to find the date, then click on his name to see his vita (life story) in a pop-up window).

You can also do a search in Google or another search engine for stories about his life.

This week's homework is simple. I want you to answer these questions:

1. Where was St. Innocent from (What town, country, etc)?

2. What was St. Innocent's name before he became a monk/bishop?

3. Was St. Innocent married? Did he have any children?

4. What languages did St. Innocent translate the Scriptures and service books into?

5. When did St. Innocent die (what exact date)?

6. Give me definitions for "repose" and "vita" in your own words (not taken from a dictionary!).

Enjoy! St. Innocent of Alaska, Enlightener of the Americas, Equal-to-the-Apostles lived an amazing life. We can learn a lot from his example!