St. Herman of Alaska

(December 25, 2003)

Our holy father Herman of Alaska became a monk at the age of 16. He entered the monastic life at the Holy Trinity - St. Sergius monastery near St. Petersburg, probably through the St. Sergius Lavra, a dependency of the monastery, located in Moscow, near the place of Fr. Herman’s birth. After 5 or six years, he went to the monastery at Valaam. There, he was guided by the abbot, Blessed Nazarius, and he found in the brotherhood and the ascetic life of the community a true joy, which he truly loved.

I do not doubt but that St. Herman would have rejoiced to have been able to have lived all his life at Valaam. But Abbot Nazarius, charged with choosing monks to send to Alaska to tend to the flock growing there among the Russian trappers and traders and the native peoples, chose Fr. Herman to be one of ten missionaries. In 1794, they left Valaam to make the trip east across all of Russia, and then to take ship from Kamchatka for Alaska. Fr. Herman settled on Spruce Island, about two miles from Kodiak Island. He named his home, “New Valaam.” He was part of a missionary effort that saw thousands baptized, with churches and schools being built. St. Herman in particular loved children, and built an orphanage for them.

St. Herman lived the ascetic life of Valaam. At first, he lived in a “cave” that was little more than a hole he dug in the ground. Even after the Russian-American Company built him a small cabin to use as his cell, he kept the cave for the day of his burial. His bed was a board covered with deerskins; his pillow, a few bricks. He used another board atop his body, calling it his blanket - this in Alaska! By regular prayer, and fasting, and struggles with his passions, and with the demons, he was transformed. He could perform great feats of physical strength; he needed little sleep, and even less food. He would give away to those in need all the food and other gifts people brought to him. He also performed healings, and was seen to have power over the elements - floods, fire, wind, rain, and so on.

St. Herman taught that, “A true Christian is made by faith and love towards Christ.” He also taught, “A true Christian is a warrior fighting his way through the regiments of the unseen enemy to his heavenly homeland.” He said, “The vain desires of this world separate us from our homeland; love of them and habit clothe our soul as if in a hideous garment. … We who travel on the journey of this life and call on God to help us ought to divest ourselves of this garment, and clothe ourselves in new desires, in a new love of the age to come, and thereby to receive knowledge of how near or how far we are from our heavenly homeland. But it is not possible to do this quickly; rather, one must follow the example of sick people who, wishing the desired [health], do not leave off means of curing themselves.” When he died, the people living nearby spoke of having seen the light from Spruce Island go out; they knew that Fr. Herman had departed from this life.

Brothers and sisters, our holy father Herman was not created from something different from us. We share together in one human nature - the same human nature that our Lord Jesus Christ took on when He became Incarnate. We have been baptized into the same life of Christ; we have received the same Holy Spirit in chrismation; we partake of the same grace in the holy Mysteries. If the fruits of our lives do not begin to compare with those of the life of St. Herman, it is not because he was made different from us; but rather that he made different choices. As God grants us time, as St. Herman has taught, “…let make a promise to ourselves, that from this day, from this hour, from this minute, we shall strive to love God above all, and to fulfill His holy will.”

Holy father Herman, pray to God for us. Amen.