www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology St. Herman of Alaska

I have been reading about Saint Herman of Alaska from Kodiak, AK who had been a monk from Valaam. Is there any devotion to Saint Herman among Eastern Catholics or is he only venerated by Orthodox? He is a wonderful Saint!
Silouan, monk

St. Herman is acknowledged as a saint by virtue of his canonization among the Orthodox, but I don't think there is a special devotion for him in the BCC, or any other recent saint of churches that are outside Rome, for that matter. However, my parish includes him in a fresco in our temple, and we are usually aware of others through catechesis of one kind or another.

We have devotions to Blessed Theodore Romzha, our bishop who was martyred in 1947 by the Soviets, but as far as I know, he is also not revered in a special devotion in churches outside Rome.

I figure that such devotions tie into church identity, and many other saints are also worthy of devotion. The faithful call on the ones to whom they can best relate or identify with, IMHO, along their Paths.

Dear Father, his icon graces our icon corner and we sing his Akathist on his feast day (December 12th).

He was indeed a great Saint and a true grace-filled model to me for evangelization (which seems to be a hot topic these days).

St. Herman, Enlightener of America, pray for us!!!

I have a personal devotion to Saint Peter the Aleut, who died as a brave martyr to his Eastern Christian faith. He was baptized by one of St. Herman's missionaries. St. Innocent is also a tremendous witness as well!

I think, with the exception of Father Alexis Toth, there is no reason why we should not embrace these North American witnesses to Orthodoxy as inspirations to all Byzantine Christians - Catholic or Orthodox.

Peace -

Gordo

Why not Alexis Toth? ALbeit certainly in a different way, he was and is a tremendous wake-up call to all who will notice and listen.

Dear Friends,

It was an article about St Herman of Alaska by Mr. Eugene Ivankiw from Sts Volodymyr and Olha in Chicago years ago that first got me interested in Byzantine everything.

Ivankiw was critiquing a Ukrainian Catholic Church in Welland that commemorated St Herman of Alaska and other Orthodox Saints in their Litia . . .

Fr. Keleher and others were at the canonization of St Herman however and his icon was general among all those in Toronto who were "Orthodox in communion with Rome."

Moreover, the Ukies among them were making the claim that St Herman was Ukrainian since he always signed his name with the Ukrainian "G" rather than the Russian (a fair argument at that and St Paissy Velichkovsky called attention to his Ukrainian background by underlining himself being a "Native of Poltava.")

So the cult of St Herman and other Orthodox saints would be general in those EC parishes that are, for the sake of a term, "High Orthodox."

That is not to say that such a cult would not "cause comment" should other EC's who are less than "High Orthodox" visit the parish.

An icon of the "Pillars of Orthodoxy" is one such example .

I once, naively, called my local Basilian priest to ask if it was legitimate to have such an icon of SS. Gregory Palamas, Photios and Mark of Ephesus.

He bluntly told me that "a picture is a picture" but that it "should not become an object of personal devotion" since the individuals depicted on it were "filled with the spirit of schism."

St Alexis Toth might also be put in that classification by some . . .

There are others who also reject the idea that EC's may have devotion to Orthodox saints without the approval of Rome . . .

A number of us have had our knuckles rapped for trying to do same . . .

Alex

Alex -

I would certainly NOT put Father Alexis Toth in the same category as St. Herman, St. Innocent, St. Peter the Aleut and St. Gregory Palamas.

While St. Peter suffered for his faith against Spanish Ecclesiatical Imperialists, Father Alexis Toth waged a campaign against the Unia itself, actively recruiting others to abandon communion with the Church of Rome for Moscow. I have no regard for Ireland and his ilk, mind you, and believe him to bear most of the blame for the schism within the Greek Catholic Church. But to declare Father Alexis a saint? Where is the evidence of such a high degree of holiness? Do we really believe that he deserves to be added to the liturgical calendars and icon walls of OC's and EC's everywhere, on par with the likes of St. Nicholas of Myra, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Silouan the Anthonite? Truly?

Whatever the historical circumstances and significance surrounding his cause, I personally question the discernment of the OCA in this matter. (I have visited my friends at St. Mary's Cathedral in Minneapolis on many occasions and have refused to venerate his icon, though without making any public display of my protest.) If he is a saint, maybe the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis should open the cause of John Ireland, Builder of Cathedrals and Destroyer of Churches?!? Neither men strike me as being glowing witnesses or examples of Christian faith meriting glorification by either jurisdiction.

Father Chrysostom Frank addressed some of the problematic issues surrounding Father Alexis' canonization from an ecclesiastical vantage point in an article in Pro Ecclesia a number of years ago. It is well worth reading. He also mentions Pope John Paul II's reference to St. Seraphim of Sarov as an authentic saint and model of holiness. No one can argue that this quote of JPII in a personal publication establishes anything canonically, but to me it argues convincingly that the Pope recognizes that Rome does not hold exclusive right to canonized (or canonizable) saints.

You wrote: "There are others who also reject the idea that EC's may have devotion to Orthodox saints without the approval of Rome . . ."

For me, I certainly do not agree with the "others" you mention. My criteria is personal holiness, not canonical approval from Rome. As one who has devotion to many Orthodox saints, I would only say that it is always a matter for discernment, rather than blanket acceptance.

Pray for me a sinner -

Gordo

I suspect that private devotions are actually beyond the reach of official hierarchy. It's when someone attempts to introduce something to the congregation as part of their worship that official blessing is necessary. There are lots of traditions, etc. that people follow privately that are not necessarily officially approved or politically correct.

Back on topic, St. Herman is a wonderful example of missionary zeal, and there are numerous stories of his help to the Faithful. As to St. Alexis Toth, he was canonized according to the procedures within the OCA, which include body incorruptibility among other things.

Dear Gordo, I agree completely. It is in fact a VERY Eastern Christian tradition to venerate and pray to (privately) all the Saints that a person has devotion to...and at the end of his/her prayers, to pray to one's parents, grandparents, and relatives and friends who have 'gone home to be with the Lord' and ask their prayers also. I have a devotion to the Cure of Ars (stemming probably from my youth as a 'good French-Canadian boy') and I continue to ask for his prayers...as well as MANY Roman Catholic Saints: Mother Teresa (who once gave a retreat in NYC that I attended)...St. Teresa of Avila, St. Joseph Labrie, Sister Th�r�se of the Child Jesus, Bl. Alan de la Roche (Saint of the Rosary), St. Eulalia (patron of Barcelona, but also an Orthodox Saint), and others. All of this makes for a richer and fuller spiritual life. I always remember something that Gregory Baum, OSA taught us in grad school: "I want to share and experience what God is doing in other ecclesiastical communities...because He is not just working here (in our Roman Catholic Church)." Wherever we see humility, kindness, and love---there, the 'finger' of God is at work! Praise and glory be to Him!

In His Holy and Precious Name,
+Fr. Gregory

St. Herman is a preeminent model I would say for evangelism. And why? What did he do? He prayed the Horologion and other prayers of our beautiful Constantinopolitan tradition in his cell. He walked amongst the people praying his chotki silently.

He didn't stand on a pile of rocks in the midst of the Aleut villages (i.e. street preacher) nor handed out tracts or other trinkets. He invited others to pray with him. It was the experience of the people of him and his prayer of the Church that won them over.

Gordo, this thread goes to show another thing. One church's saint may be another church's devil. Similar arguments can be heard about St. Josaphat of Polotsk from the Orthodox.

I do agree with Fr. Chrysostom's article wholeheartedly and thought it was well reasoned. But regarding Fr. Toth, could you honestly say that after the abuse Alexis Toth endured from Ireland and other Latins you wouldn't harbor some bitterness?

I couldn't agree more. The witness of his prayer is a powerful one, and very much in keeping with our Byzantine heritage and missionary spirit.

How utterly true! And, funny you should mention him. I was thinking about the differing perspectives on St. Josaphat as I was writing about Father Alexis. (Two years ago, BTW, I had the blessing of being of Rome and was able to venerate the relics of the saint in St. Peter's.) Although I agree with your underlying point, substantively I think the differences between the two men are vast. I also think that Josaphat is much maligned and many of the accusations against him are false. Father Alexis may be a hero to many within the OCA (and outside), but heroism is not synonymous with sanctity.

This is the whole tragedy of the event. Father Alexis was clearly a man of good will, and Ireland was a pompous, arrogant power hungry ecclesiarch. He came to Ireland with noble and holy intentions, and was spurned in the worst way. Do I blame him entirely for the events that followed? No - I think he acted out of desparation and anger over how he had been humiliated, and how the Unia had been abused. (And let's not forget, he also suffered at the hands of his own on the Orthodox side. There is a reason why he is not St. Alexis Toth of Minneapolis, is there not?) It was certainly a tumultuous time and, while I would not presume to judge his eternal destination, I think it is a bit of a stretch to say that he should be glorified in the terms contained in the Kontakion for his feast:

Kontakion in tone 5
Let us, the faithful, praise the Priest Alexis,
A bright beacon of Orthodoxy in America,
A model of patience and humility,
A worthy shepherd of the Flock of Christ.
He called back the sheep who had been led astray
And brought them by his preaching
To the Heavenly Kingdom!

Does that mean that I, as a Byzantine Catholic Christian, am one of the sheep that has been led astray? Is that how communion with Rome should be regarded? And mind you, that text was recent, not some holdover of Orthodox triumphalism from earlier centuries.

So, not to beat a dead horse, but no icon of Father Alexis will ever darken the doorway of my house. I'm quite comfortable, though, with Saint Seraphim on my wall next to St. Therese. Now I just need to locate an icon of Sts. Herman, Innocent and Peter!

Peace -

Gordo

Father Gregory -

Very, very interesting! I was not aware of the tradition of praying to your ancestors. I only thought of praying FOR them. One does not preclude the other, I suppose!

And you were a student of Gregory Baum? I've seen some of his books. What was his theological specialty?

Pray for me a sinner!

Peace and all good -

Gordo

The icon my wife gave me for my 40th birthday is the same one seen here: http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/st-herman-alaska.htm This is a copy of the icon at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville.

You can get it from St. Isaac of Syria Skete at http://www.skete.com/moreinfo.cfm?Category=52&Product_ID=517 They also have St. Innocent at http://www.skete.com/moreinfo.cfm?Category=52&Product_ID=523 and St. Peter the Aleut at http://www.comeandseeicons.com/cap27.htm

St. Josaphat is even misunderstood amongst the Basilian order. He was a great proponent for adherence to the received tradition and opposed latinizations.

My point was one of perspective. We can cite many more examples that Alexis Toth and St. Josaphat of differing ideas of saints. And that's nothing compared to some of the disagreements between others such as Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonians, etc. Just ask Alex.

Thanks, Diak...what a great icon and website! It offers a terrific summary of his life.

Gordo