The Shepherd, October 2005
NEWS SECTION, 1
SITKA ICON IN SAN FRANCISCO
ONE OF THE MOST REVERED ICONS in North America is the Sitka Icon of the Mother of God. It is kept in Archangel Michael Cathedral in Sitka, Alaska. The icon was ordered by St Innocent (Veniaminov) of Moscow, the first ruling bishop of North America. The Cathedral of Archangel Michael in Sitka received the icon in 1850, two years after the completion of its construction. At first, the Sitka Icon was part of the main iconostasis of Archangel Michael Cathedral. In 1966, the church burned down, but the Sitka icon miraculously survived. Now, in the rebuilt church, a special place for this icon was erected to the left of the iconostasis. This Autumn the Sitka Icon is visiting over 60 parishes in North America. Bishop Nicolas of the Alaskan Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America suggested that it also visit the Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in San Francisco (ROCA). With the blessing of Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America, the Sitka Icon was greeted by an enormous gathering of worshippers, after which a moleben was served along with an akathist to the Most Holy Mother of God. Almost all the clergymen of the San Francisco Deanery participated in the services. Representatives of the Moscow and Jerusalem Patriarchates, and of the OCA, also prayed at the services. Archbishop Kyrill spent over an hour anointing those who came to venerate the miracle-working icon. After the service, a reception was held for the clergymen of the Alaskan Diocese. They spoke about the Sitka Icon, about St Herman of Alaska and about life in the oldest diocese in North America. The following morning, the Sitka Icon visited the Cathedral's St John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy.
DEATH OF BISHOP ALEXANDER
ON THE NIGHT of 12th/13th September, after a lengthy illness, His Grace, Bishop Alexander of Buenos Aires & South America departed to the Lord. Bishop Alexander was born Alexander Vasilievich Mileant in Odessa in 1938. During the Second World War his father disappeared at the front, and his family, fleeing the Communists, went to the West. They lived in Prague, in Rome, and finally in Buenos Aires, where the young Alexander received his education. From the age of eight, Alexander served as an altar boy under Archbishop Panteleimon, then under Archbishop Afanassy, who took him under his wing and gave him three years of formal theological training. Archbishop Afanassy possessed a great theological library. Wishing to read the works of the Holy Fathers in the original, Alexander first learned modern Greek, then ancient Greek. At the end of 1963, Alexander enrolled at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, which he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology in 1967. A year earlier, Archbishop Averky (Taushev, +1976) had ordained him to the diaconate, and during Great Lent, Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky, +1985) of blessed memory ordained him to the priesthood and sent him to Protection of the Holy Virgin Church in Los Angeles, where he served as rector for 31 years. From 1971-1985, Fr Alexander led several youth pilgrimages to Greece and the Holy Land. While spiritually nourishing his flock, Fr Alexander continued his scientific education. His lay work enabled him to become an expert in computers, which in turn helped him publish numerous missionary pamphlets which enjoyed great popularity in Russia and abroad. Today there are over 300 brochures published in Russian, English and Spanish on Orthodox Christianity. In 1995, Protopriest Alexander was tonsured a monk in Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, and given the name Alexander in honour of Holy New Hieromartyr Alexander of Kharkov, who died in prison in 1939 (until then, Fr Alexander bore the name of St Alexander Nevsky, whose feastday was celebrated on the last day of his life). In 1998, he was consecrated a bishop at the Synodal Cathedral in New York and appointed Bishop of Buenos Aires and South America. His Grace’s funeral was held at Holy Trinity Church, Oxnard, California, and he was later laid to rest in the cemetery of the Holy Trinity Monastery at Jordanville. Eternal be his Memory!
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