As a young man, St. Herman of Alaska was drawn to the monastic life during the time of the revival of monasticism in Russia, led by St. Paisius Velichkovsky. He favored the monasteries that were isolated, becoming a monk at the monastery in Valaam after having lived in the forests in southeastern Russia and a monastery in St. Petersburg. There, he received a blessing to live in solitude, pursuing his salvation by prayer and fasting.
One of the hallmarks of our Orthodox life is that of obedience. We see this in St. Herman’s life. Word came to Abbot Nazarius at Valaam of the mistreatment by Russian traders and businessmen of the Aleut Indians in the Russian territory of Alaska. Abbot Nazarius knew that missionaries were needed to both recall the Russians there to living their Orthodox faith; and to bring that same faith to the pagan Aleuts. He therefore selected ten men from the monastery; one of whom was St. Herman. He probably would have preferred to remain in solitude; but, out of obedience, he left Valaam with the others to make the journey across Siberia to the Alaskan territory. It was the year 1793.
Once he had arrived in Alaska, St. Herman established himself in a solitary setting on Spruce Island, adjacent to Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Taking little care for himself, living in a hole in the ground he scooped out for himself (he called it his “cave”) until the Russian-American Company built him a hut, he built a chapel and a school, and taught the Orthodox faith and way of life to the native Aleuts, even as he labored to bring the Russians there to a renewed faith. He did all he could to provide food, and clothing, and books for the children in his care; and prayed and fasted with all his power. He did not hesitate to stand up for the weak and helpless before those who oppressed them. The example of his life, and the miracles God performed through His servant, Herman, led many others to pursue salvation, and built an Orthodox community among the Aleuts that remains to this day.
That was then; this is now. We do not need to look far away to find reports of people being misused by those in government or business; we do not need to look far away to find people who are in need of faith, or a renewal of faith. We do not need to travel to unknown lands to be missionaries for the Orthodox Church and faith. The mission field begins right outside the door to the church; you enter it as soon as you pull out of the driveway. Maybe we don’t see it because we’re so used to the world around us that we miss seeing what we might see if we were in an unfamiliar land, as St. Herman and the other missionaries were upon arriving in Alaska. Maybe we don’t see it because we are, in effect, living lives in solitude – not the solitude in which St. Herman lived; in which one might find salvation – but rather a life cut off from the world around us, in our comfortable homes, with abundance, and many forms of entertainment to distract us from not only the needs of others, but even the care of our own souls, even the pursuit of our own salvation. In some ways, the mission field begins within us; it begins with the transformation of our own hearts and lives.
Brothers and sisters: As we celebrate the life and ministry of our holy Father Herman of Alaska, let us examine our own lives. Are we living as lights in the world? Will those around us see someone living, not an earthly life, but the heavenly life? They might, if we would pursue holiness, as did St. Herman. They might, if we grasped that we are called to be missionaries, to leave behind the life we have, to be obedient to the instruction to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Let us pray, including in our petitions that God would use each of us to build His Church. Let us fast, that we might not be so attached to this world that we cannot see, or live in, the world to come. Let us give, so that we may help those is need, even as we help ourselves by being set free from the material realm; and let us struggle to be holy, and so be lights to a world in darkness, and in the shadow of death. To the glory of God, and the salvation of souls, we say: Holy Father Herman, pray to God for us.
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