Podcasts about aleuts

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniaminov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniaminov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniaminov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

https://www.rt.com/shows/inland-visions/588280-kamchatka-indigenous-groups-traditions/ Koryak. Korya. Korea... Kamchatka is one Russia's lesser populated regions, yet thousands of 'nationalities' live here. Among the indigenous groups are the Koryaks, Itelmens, Evens, Aleuts, and Chukchi. They live in total harmony with nature, seeking to preserve centuries-old traditions and culture. #2023 #art #music #movies #poetry #poem #photooftheday #volcano #news #money #food #weather #climate #monkeys #horse #puppy #fyp #love #instagood #onelove #eyes #getyoked #horsie #gotmilk #book #shecomin #getready

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniaminov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniaminov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 2:1-11WHEN THE DAY of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontos and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." It feels like just a few years ago, but I think we're heading on two decades. It just a couples years before Thomas came home. Beth and I spent a week touring Paris with Beth's sister Becky. I have to say Paris was amazing and that I'd go back in a heartbeat, but one of the most interesting parts of our trip - something that was a bit unique - was the timing. You see, it was 2003 and we landed in Paris on the same day that President George W. Bush launched the US's invasion of Iraq. It was the beginning of our nation's military response to 9/11, which you could say finally ended just last year with our withdrawal from Afghanistan. The US launched that invasion with support from an international coalition that included the United Kingdom, Poland, and Australia, but we weren't in England, Poland, or Australia. We were in France. And France had taken a stand against our invasion.I remember seeing posters at bus stops with French headlines reading “Guerre Bush” or Bush's War. I have photographs of the protestors outside the US Embassy and French police lining up in riot gear including bulletproof shields shields and batons, all standing at the ready, waiting to keep the peace by force if necessary. I don't remember any personal trouble related to our presence as American tourists in Paris, but I do remember one time, as I was browsing a little gift shop, the owner of that shop had the radio playing. It was a talk show, and I couldn't understand a thing, of course, because the announcer and his guest were speaking French, but then in the middle of his monologue, I heard two English words and I had to laugh because I knew exactly what they were talking about. Those words were: “Freedom Fries.”You see, in reaction to the French pushback to our invasion, some Americans had decided to shun anything French. And that included the most popular fast food side dish in America, French Fries. And so a small number of restaurants and the Congressional Cafeteria renamed French Fries as Freedom Fries. Forget the fact that French Fries were invented in America, that “French” in the name is a reference to a style of cutting, not the country. But who ever really started saying “Freedom Fries.” It was 100% a stunt. And a laughable one, at that.But 2003 was notthe first time Americans had decided to change the names of their foods to reflect their negative feelings about other ethnicities. Have you ever heard of “Liberty Cabbage” or “Liberty Sandwiches?” Well, in 1918, as America fought Germany in World War I, anti-German sentiment here at home led to the renaming of sauerkraut as “Liberty Cabbage” and hamburgers as “Liberty Sandwiches.” Those names didn't stick, either. But unfortunately, this anti-German sentiment during World War I went even deeper than it's 2003 equivalent, leading to the banning of German classes in schools and the speaking of German in public. It even led to prohibiting German preaching in German-speaking churches.Right here in Iowa, our Governor at the time, passed the “Babel Proclamation,” an executive order forbidding the use of any language other than English in public. This executive order, a gross and obvious infringement of the first amendment, was enforced by local municipalities who would fine violators. Fines were often in the $25 range, which would be the equivalent of about $450 today. Right here in Scott County four women were fined $225 (or $2,250 of today's dollars) by the County Defense Council when they were heard speaking German to one another over their a party line. And if you're too young to know what a party line is, when telephones were first invented they were shared by communities, not just households, and you could listen in on your neighbor. These women were fined for simply speaking to their friends and family in their native tongue.This proclamation was made, accepted, and enforced because people were afraid. In spite of the fact that these very same German immigrants had fled to America in an attempt to escape the oppression of the government that the US now fought, Americans feared what they could not understand. Iowa's Governor Harding argued that his proclamation would "save the lives of American boys overseas by curbing sedition at home." His rhetoric was backed by none other than President Theodore Roosevelt who said in reference to the proclamation in Iowa: “America is a nation—not a polyglot boarding house ... There can be but one loyalty—to the Stars and Stripes; one nationality—the American—and therefore only one language—the English language.”I have to say I love the irony of the name of the “Babel Proclamation,” a reference to the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. Doubtless Governor Harding or his advisors chose this name to give the proclamation an air of Christian authority. But did Governor Harding or his advisors know that they were naming their proclamation after the bad guys in that story? That evil king Nimrod was able to gather all the people together in one place and attempt to build his sacrilegious tower specifically because all the peoples of Earth spoke one language. And did he stop to think that it was God who sent the various languages to make sure that humanity huddle together in this way again, but rather fulfill his commandment to be “fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.” By insisting that all Americans speak only one language, Governor Harding and Teddy Roosevelt were standing on the side of King Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. And they were standing against the will of God.I thought talking about separation caused by languages, fear of what we don't understand, and the Tower of Babel would be a good place to start this morning, because many of our hymns see what happened at Pentecost as an answer to what happened at the Tower of Babel. For example, today's Kontakion reads, “When the High One descended, confusing tongues, He divided the nations. And when He distributed the fiery tongues He called all to one unity.” I think it is important to remember that this miracle didn't sudden make everyone understand Aramaic. It didn't make everyone suddenly start speaking a single language like Hebrew or Latin. The very first miracle performed upon the descent of the Holy Spirit was to see the Church preaching and teaching in a variety of tongues.The passage read from Acts today begins with the disciples—the very same disciples who had fallen asleep in the garden of Gethsemane, who had fled in the face of persecution, who had hidden themselves behind locked doors when their Lord was hung on a cross—all gathered together and praying. Our icons always very stylistically show the twelve disciples or the twelve disciples and Mary, which is kind of how I always pictured it, but John Chrysostum makes the point and I think he is right that we are supposed to understand from the text that this was the entire 120 mentioned a few sentences earlier. So this group included not just the 12, but also Mary the mother of Jesus, Jesus' brothers, and about 100 other disciples, men and women gathered together in prayer. And then suddenly a wind roars through the room, and tongues of fire come to rest upon each of these 120 individuals. As the Holy Spirit rests upon all these men and women in that upper room, we are witnessing the birth of the Church. Ezekiel had described the Glory of the Lord leaving the Temple in Jerusalem, and notice here that the Holy Spirit did not simply move into some central Christian Church. Instead, just as St. Paul would later describe, every person had become the Temple of the Lord. And just as Jesus had promised the woman at the well, the time had come for every person to worship in Spirit and in truth.After the apostles and disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit, only then are they moved to leave their silent prayer and begin proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. We are told that in the streets of Jerusalem that day were many devout people who had journeyed to Jerusalem from all over the world to celebrate Pentecost, the major Judean festival. The author of Acts goes out of his way to describe the very diverse audience: “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Judeans and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs.” Europe, Asia, and Africa are all represented in this list of visitors. This is a mix of Judean travelers; those who are not Judean, but simply interested in the Judean religion; and those with no Judean ties at all. And in a crowd like that, it would be most likely that all of these visitors would be trying to speak Greek, the most common language in the Greco-Roman world. And it would have probably been acceptable for the Aramaic speaking disciples to attempt to reach out to this crowd and do their best in Greek. But this was not enough for the birthday of the Church. Instead of insisting on Aramaic or Greek or Latin, the disciples miraculously begin to speak to each of these people in this crowd in their own native languages.The first thing the Holy Spirit does on Pentecost is demonstrate the path forward for this new Christian religion destined to reach the ends of the earth, and it is not to enforce some single language like reborn King Nimrod. Instead, the Holy Spirit caused the apostles to speak the various languages of these foreigh visitors. God spoke to these men and women in their own tongues. And yes, in this story, the language is learned with miraculous speed. But when a missionary dedicates his or her life to learning the language of a people they hope to serve, it is no less the miraculous just because it takes longer. It is every bit the work of the Holy Spirit that drives this action. When Sts. Cyril and Methodius worked with the Slavs, or when St. Nicolai Kasatin evangelized the Japanese, or St. Herman ministered to the Aleuts, or St. Patrick to the Irish, or St. Olaf the Norwegians, or St. Sava the Serbs, or St Nina to the Georgians, it was no less the Holy Spirit that led them to learn, work, and write in the language of the people. It was love, patience, kindness, and faithfulness that allowed them to do their work. In fact, it is always a loving act to take the time and effort to understand the many different peoples who live around us. It is fear causes us to mistrust what we can't understand. And perfect love drives out fear.And “different languages” doesn't always have to mean literal linguistics. We all know different generations can have a hard time understanding one another. Or different occupations, whether you are a teacher or a manager or a grandmother or a meteorologist or a nurse or a technician, we each speak different languages in our daily lives. But each of you were called to carry the Spirit of Christ to all of those you work with every day. We come here, like the disciples gathered in the upper room, to pray, to purify our hearts, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that we can carry that Spirit out into the world. Each of you was chosen specifically and on purpose to be the hands and feet and mouth of Christ, spreading his love into places that only you can reach with words that only you know.As St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “To the Judeans I became as a Judean, that I might win Judeans; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law, that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people that I might by all means save some.” We must learn to speak the languages – both literal and figurative - of all those around us.The story of Pentecost concludes with Peter, the same Peter who had sunk in the waves when he tried to walk on the water, who had fallen on his face in fear at the Transfiguration, who had denied Jesus three times on the night of His betrayal—preaching his first sermon, witnessing to Jesus Christ's lordship without fear—in the streets of the very same city who had so recently – only 50 days earlier - crucified his Lord. Thousands are converted by his words and a community founded in love grows up in Jerusalem. Acts tells us that this community “continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”We often come to this passage to explore the beginnings of the Eucharist, the meal that we are here today to participate in today. Or we like to emphasize the notion communal living. It is easy to admire this lifestyle, this sharing of everything in common that still happens to this day in our monastic communities. But today, I'd really just like to emphasize the spirit of unity among these new Christians as they “continued daily with one accord” - with one accord. What a miraculous witness we would be to the world if we could do just this one simple thing. In an ever increasingly polarized society where so many are willing to post on Facebook about how others are “stupid” or “evil” and how “I know better than you,” what a glory it would be if there were just one community where love, patience, and humility were the rule. Where we listen to people who we disagree with. Where we show patience with people who make mistakes. And we are able to show humility, to demonstrate an understanding the limits of our own knowledge. Just like the apostles, I have little doubt that a place that that we would find “favor with all the people.”Love is always the truest sign of the Church. This is why the Eucharist, a shared meal, lives at the heart of our faith. We prove, or at least try to prove, every week that we are one, that we are a family, that we are indeed the Church, by our willingness to come together to share a meal. To be the Church, we must do our best to remember that within the Church there is “neither Judean nor foreigner, slave nor free, male nor female.” Indeed, St. Maximus the Confessor takes this Pauline notion even further, saying: “Men, women, and children, profoundly divided as to race, nation, language, manner of life, work, knowledge, honor, fortune…the Church recreates all of them in the Spirit. To all equally she communicates a divine aspect. All receive from her a unique nature which cannot be broken asunder, a nature which no longer permits one henceforth to take into consideration the many and profound differences which are their lot. In that way all are raised up and united in a manner which is truly universal. In her none is in the least degree separated from the community, all are grounded, so to speak, in one another, by the simple and indivisible power of faith.” This is what the Church is. It is not a place to sing the prettiest songs or display the best icons - though those things certainly can happen here. It is where humanity is called together in order to practice and grow our love. Jesus taught this to his disciples as he washed their feet. He said: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”I hope this is why you are here today; to love and forgive one another; to live and pray in humility. If we had thousands here with us and we couldn't love, we would be wasting our time. But I tell you that even when there are only a few of us are here, we have the potential to change the world. “Acquire the Spirit of Peace and a thousand souls around you will be saved,” St. Seraphim of Sarov famously taught. If you are able to find peace here and carry that peace out into the world, it will not go unnoticed. People are craving peace – especially right now - and they will seek you out and ask you where you found it. I promise you that.May we be the kind of community where we love one another in spite of our differences, where we make sacrifices for one another in spite our own needs. May the fire of the Holy Spirit burn so brightly among us that it is unmistakable. May we be instantly recognizable to any who walk through our doors as the very icon of the Church founded over 2000 years ago when the Holy Spirit rested upon each of those one hundred and twenty disciples in that upper room.

St Herman, for many the Patron of North America, was born near Moscow around 1756 to a pious merchant family, and entered monastic life at the age of sixteen, at the Trinity - St Sergius Lavra near St Petersburg. While there he was attacked by a cancer of the face, but the Mother of God appeared to him and healed him completely. He was tonsured a monk in 1783 with the name of Herman (a form of Germanos), and was received into Valaam Monastery on Lake Ladoga. After some time, he was allowed to withdraw to the life of a hermit in the forest, and only came to the monastery for feast days.   In 1793, in response to a request by the Russian-American Commercial Company for missionaries to Alaska, Valaam Monastery was told to select a company of its best monks to travel to America. Eight were chosen, of whom the hermit Herman was one. The company crossed all of Siberia and , almost a year later, first saw Kodiak Island in September 1794. The missionaries set about their work, and found the native Aleut people so receptive to the Gospel of Christ that in the first year about 7,000 were baptized and 1,500 marriages performed.   Despite severe hardships, the missionaries covered huge distances, on foot and in small boats, to reach the scattered fishing settlements of the Aleuts. In general they found a warm reception, but many of the pagan shamans opposed their message and sometimes stirred up the people against them. It was thus that the Priest-monk Juvenaly was killed in 1796, becoming the First Martyr of North America.   Despite such opposition, the missionaries' major difficulty was with the Russian traders and settlers, who were in the habit of exploiting the Aleuts as they wished, and who had oppressed and disgusted the native people with their immoral behavior. When the missionaries came to the defense of the natives, they were repaid with the opposition of the Russian-American company, whose leadership put countless obstacles in the path of their work. In time, several of the company died at sea, and several more abandoned the mission in discouragement, leaving the monk Herman alone.   He settled on Spruce Island near Kodiak, and once again took up the hermit's life, dwelling in a small cabin in the forest. He spent his days in prayer and mission work, and denied himself every fleshly comfort: he fasted often and lived on a diet of blackberries, mushrooms and vegetables (in Alaska!!). Despite these privations, he founded an orphanage and a school for the natives of the island, cared for the sick in epidemics, and built a chapel where he conducted divine services attended by many. (He was not a priest, but God made up the lack in miraculous ways: at Theophany, Angels descended to bless the waters of the bay, and the Saint would use the holy water to heal the sick). Asked if he was ever lonely or dejected in his solitude, and replied: "I am not alone; God is here as everywhere, and the Angels too. There is no better company."   Saint Herman reposed in peace on Spruce island, at the age of eighty-one, in 1836. At the moment of his departure, his face was radiant with light, and the inhabitants nearby saw a pillar of light rising above his hermitage. His last wish was to be buried on Spruce Island. When some of his well-intended disciples attempted to take his relics back to Kodiak to be buried from the church there, a storm rose up and continued unabated until they had abandoned the plan and buried him as he desired. He was officially glorified in 1970, the first canonized American Saint.   Saint Peter was a young Aleut convert to the Orthodox faith. In 1812 the Russian- American Company set up a post in California, where Russians and Aleuts farmed and traded to supply the needs of the Alaskans; Peter was one of these. The Spanish, who at the time ruled California, suspected the Russians of territorial ambitions, and in 1815 captured about twenty Orthodox Aleuts and took them to San Francisco. Fourteen of these were put to torture in an effort to convert them to the Roman Catholic faith. All refused to compromise their faith, and Peter and a companion were singled out for especially vicious treatment: Peter's fingers, then hands and feet, were severed, and he died from loss of blood, still firm in his confession. The Latins were preparing the same fate for the others when word came that they were to be transferred; eventually they returned to Alaska. When he heard a first-hand account of Peter's martyrdom, Saint Herman crossed himself and said "Holy New Martyr Peter, pray to God for us!" Saint Peter the Aleut is the first recognized Saint of American birth.   St Herman appears several times on the Church's calendar. The Synaxis of St Herman and the American Protomartyrs is celebrated today. St Herman is commemorated on November 15, the day of his repose; but (partly because pilgrimage to Alaska is so difficult in the winter) the day of his glorification, July 27 / August 9 is kept there as his primary feast day.   Following is a fragment of a conversation between St Herman and some officers of a Russian ship, recorded by his disciple Yanovsky; it includes perhaps the most familiar quotation from St Herman.   "But do you love God?" asked the Elder. And all answered: "Of course we love God. How can we not love God?" "And I, a sinner, have tried to love God for more than forty years, and I cannot say that I perfectly love Him," answered Father Herman, and began to explain how one must love God. "If we love someone," he said, "then we always think of that one, we strive to please that one; day and night our heart is preoccupied with that object. Is it in this way, gentlemen, that you love God? Do you often turn to Him, do you always remember Him, do you always pray to Him and fulfill His Holy commandments?" We had to admit that we did not. "For our good, for our happiness," concluded the Elder, "at least let us give a vow to ourselves, that from this day, from this hour, from this minute, we shall strive above all else to love God and to do His Holy Will!"   Saint Herman is also commemorated on December 12.

St Herman, for many the Patron of North America, was born near Moscow around 1756 to a pious merchant family, and entered monastic life at the age of sixteen, at the Trinity - St Sergius Lavra near St Petersburg. While there he was attacked by a cancer of the face, but the Mother of God appeared to him and healed him completely. He was tonsured a monk in 1783 with the name of Herman (a form of Germanos), and was received into Valaam Monastery on Lake Ladoga. After some time, he was allowed to withdraw to the life of a hermit in the forest, and only came to the monastery for feast days.   In 1793, in response to a request by the Russian-American Commercial Company for missionaries to Alaska, Valaam Monastery was told to select a company of its best monks to travel to America. Eight were chosen, of whom the hermit Herman was one. The company crossed all of Siberia and , almost a year later, first saw Kodiak Island in September 1794. The missionaries set about their work, and found the native Aleut people so receptive to the Gospel of Christ that in the first year about 7,000 were baptized and 1,500 marriages performed.   Despite severe hardships, the missionaries covered huge distances, on foot and in small boats, to reach the scattered fishing settlements of the Aleuts. In general they found a warm reception, but many of the pagan shamans opposed their message and sometimes stirred up the people against them. It was thus that the Priest-monk Juvenaly was killed in 1796, becoming the First Martyr of North America.   Despite such opposition, the missionaries' major difficulty was with the Russian traders and settlers, who were in the habit of exploiting the Aleuts as they wished, and who had oppressed and disgusted the native people with their immoral behavior. When the missionaries came to the defense of the natives, they were repaid with the opposition of the Russian-American company, whose leadership put countless obstacles in the path of their work. In time, several of the company died at sea, and several more abandoned the mission in discouragement, leaving the monk Herman alone.   He settled on Spruce Island near Kodiak, and once again took up the hermit's life, dwelling in a small cabin in the forest. He spent his days in prayer and mission work, and denied himself every fleshly comfort: he fasted often and lived on a diet of blackberries, mushrooms and vegetables (in Alaska!!). Despite these privations, he founded an orphanage and a school for the natives of the island, cared for the sick in epidemics, and built a chapel where he conducted divine services attended by many. (He was not a priest, but God made up the lack in miraculous ways: at Theophany, Angels descended to bless the waters of the bay, and the Saint would use the holy water to heal the sick). Asked if he was ever lonely or dejected in his solitude, and replied: "I am not alone; God is here as everywhere, and the Angels too. There is no better company."   Saint Herman reposed in peace on Spruce island, at the age of eighty-one, in 1836. At the moment of his departure, his face was radiant with light, and the inhabitants nearby saw a pillar of light rising above his hermitage. His last wish was to be buried on Spruce Island. When some of his well-intended disciples attempted to take his relics back to Kodiak to be buried from the church there, a storm rose up and continued unabated until they had abandoned the plan and buried him as he desired. He was officially glorified in 1970, the first canonized American Saint.   Saint Peter was a young Aleut convert to the Orthodox faith. In 1812 the Russian- American Company set up a post in California, where Russians and Aleuts farmed and traded to supply the needs of the Alaskans; Peter was one of these. The Spanish, who at the time ruled California, suspected the Russians of territorial ambitions, and in 1815 captured about twenty Orthodox Aleuts and took them to San Francisco. Fourteen of these were put to torture in an effort to convert them to the Roman Catholic faith. All refused to compromise their faith, and Peter and a companion were singled out for especially vicious treatment: Peter's fingers, then hands and feet, were severed, and he died from loss of blood, still firm in his confession. The Latins were preparing the same fate for the others when word came that they were to be transferred; eventually they returned to Alaska. When he heard a first-hand account of Peter's martyrdom, Saint Herman crossed himself and said "Holy New Martyr Peter, pray to God for us!" Saint Peter the Aleut is the first recognized Saint of American birth.   St Herman appears several times on the Church's calendar. The Synaxis of St Herman and the American Protomartyrs is celebrated today. St Herman is commemorated on November 15, the day of his repose; but (partly because pilgrimage to Alaska is so difficult in the winter) the day of his glorification, July 27 / August 9 is kept there as his primary feast day.   Following is a fragment of a conversation between St Herman and some officers of a Russian ship, recorded by his disciple Yanovsky; it includes perhaps the most familiar quotation from St Herman.   "But do you love God?" asked the Elder. And all answered: "Of course we love God. How can we not love God?" "And I, a sinner, have tried to love God for more than forty years, and I cannot say that I perfectly love Him," answered Father Herman, and began to explain how one must love God. "If we love someone," he said, "then we always think of that one, we strive to please that one; day and night our heart is preoccupied with that object. Is it in this way, gentlemen, that you love God? Do you often turn to Him, do you always remember Him, do you always pray to Him and fulfill His Holy commandments?" We had to admit that we did not. "For our good, for our happiness," concluded the Elder, "at least let us give a vow to ourselves, that from this day, from this hour, from this minute, we shall strive above all else to love God and to do His Holy Will!"   Saint Herman is also commemorated on December 12.

What is atonement? Atonement is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other expression of feelings of remorse. Here are several instances throughout U.S. history in which America admitted to acting wrongly, and atoned. - Native Americans - US to Japanese Americans for Internment - US to Aleuts of Alaska - North Carolina to Eugenics Victims (Forced Sterilization) - US to the victims of the Tuskegee experiment - Florida to the survivors of the Rosewood massacre - City of Chicago to victims of police torture But there's one egregious act missing from that list above... enslavement. Under the law at that time, Blacks were treated as property and could be bought, sold, or given away. The forced migration and subsequent harsh treatment of slaves in growing cotton, sugar and tobacco was integral to establishing the United States as a world economic power. Slavery continues to have an impact on America in the most basic economic sense. Studies show the legacy of slavery still affects the situation of black people in American society today. The United States has not admitted to this wrongdoing nor has it atoned for the impacts of slavery against it's Black citizens. It's time for the U.S. to right this wrong. On today's show Chris Lodgson & Kim Mims - founding members of California's Task Force To Study And Develop Reparations Proposals For African Americans. Join the discussion and become informed.

Hello and welcome to the bottom-up skills podcast I'm Mike Parsons the CEO of Qualitance. And today we continue our journey into the world of Revolut. Yes, the FinTech, the Neo bank that seems to be conquering all. And today we're going to look at the user experience from its product. Are they delighting customers?I wonder, are they serving each and every user? Are they doing it right? These are the questions we're going to ask. Now, the starting point here. Is that they do indeed  provide a user experience, which is super fast, very snappy interface, easy, and boy, the features they just keep on coming. They are adding features at a prolific rate.So you and I, we're going to dive into what users actually love about the [00:01:00] Revolut product. And we're going to learn what best practices we can take out from. This banking customer experience. We're going to see what we can use when we build products to now, the first thing I want to do is set some context because the Revolut story is quite simple.When we come to product, it's just doing the basics right now. That's not particularly revolutionary or earth shattering, but in the context of banking, it most certainly is. Let me give you the proof just to compare what people really think about this product, what the customer experience is really like for Revolut.I've gotten competitor to one of the better legacy banks in the United Kingdom. Buckeye spank. And what I did is I thought, well, okay, let's go find a really large number [00:02:00] of reviews for both in the same platform. And so I went to Trustpilot very good, a customer review application, and I compared. What over 5,000 people had to say about Barclays and then over 70,000 people, what they had to say with Revolut and the numbers just don't align.Barclays can only muster our 1.5 stars out of five. So we're talking about an incredibly seasoned, traditional legacy bank. Huge incise. Yeah, customers rate it so poorly that Trustpilot has these different categories for the number of stars that you have. And Barclays with 1.5 stars out of five, they are in the bad category.[00:03:00] I mean, what a travesty that a bank of their tenure, a bank. That is so institutionalized in the United Kingdom and abroad. Yeah. They can only muster at 1.5 out of five Revolut. On the other hand, I mean, huge number of reviews, 79,000 that already tells you something 4.3 average category. Excellent. And I think I've, I've chosen two reviews that I think expose the story behind, after sifting through them all.This is what I want to share with you. Here's one. This is by a reviewer in the United Kingdom. His name is Chris packer. He gives Barclays one star out of five and his headline. Is avoid Barclays, if you can. I mean, this is when your customers go into what we call [00:04:00] detract mode. They're not neutral and they're certainly not advocates.They are detractors. They're advocating against you. He says in his review, avoid Barclays. If you can, I've had numerous problems with Barclays, including having posts sent to the wrong address, access being denied, online banking and infuriating telephone banking system. Well, I mean, sending posts doesn't sound like too, how to thing, sorting out access denials to online banking, you know, with all the passwords and security procedures, that's kind of cost of entry for any bank these days and a telephone banking system.Like, come on guys, telephone's been around a century now think we might be able to get that right. But on the other hand, Here's a review that I got from this, this person's called G fan 2015. And he says in his review of Revolut, [00:05:00] of course, Revolut is a great product, as long as you don't hit a snag. Hmm.Okay. So this is interesting. The moment you're facing issue, there is no way to resolve it quickly. And he goes on to explain some of that. So it's interesting. Isn't it? Just the difference there, even though, I mean, I deliberately chose this Revolut one, which wasn't all strawberries and cream, but what it did say is I'll take you back to this.Of course, Revolut is a great product and that's why we can learn so very, very much.  What is astounding to me? The actually Barclays isn't the worst customer experience in the United Kingdom because we have done a lot of work studying the UX of banking report by Peter Ramsey, where in the UK, he studied the experience and measured the customer experience throughout the UK banking system.And barcodes actually was kind of one of the better. So I [00:06:00] really don't want to experience the worst there. So this is the context of why getting the basics is so innovative. It's so new in an existing category. So the story here is that legacy banks just get the basics wrong. It's not fast, they're not transparent about fees.And some of their basic features like hello, telephone calls. They can't get those touch points. Right. And the truth is that Revolut gets the basics, right? Super fast product, very transparent about fees, and they just continue to add more features. But if we step back, there's still so much opportunity.Whether it's for Revolut, Barclays or some other neobank or FinTech, you can see that it seems like everyone stumbles, when you have a particular  what we call in the industry, like an edge case where there's some unusual  characteristic that  blocks our user journey. Both banks seem [00:07:00] to struggle with that.So there's the opportunity. So Revolut has got even further to grow and I think the gap for Barclays and other legacy banks becomes larger. Okay. So let's take now a snapshot and a check-in on what are the features that they actually include in their product? Well, money transfers. They seem to be the gods of, and.What's really important on the back of a transfer or a payment is that you get instant, real time notifications and analytics. It's really important that if you study the customer experience, people hate the fact that they have to sometimes reload, close their account and reopen it to get the new balance.Okay. So that's really good. Essential again. Revolut does it. Well, many others do not. And of course they've  Done a great job on bill splitting.  They've opened up into cryptocurrencies and they're doing this now across many markets, such as [00:08:00] Japan, India, and the U S they're really charging for some global expansion there.I'm talking about being overseas. I mean, handling currencies and transfers in different currency seems to be one of their great strengths. It's it really is  exceptional when compared to the. Rest of the market. And of course there's lots of other features that help you manage your money. I want to focus on one feature in their product.I think it tells a little bit the story of Revolut and why their customer experience is so good. So the way back in April, 2018, they launched volts. Volts are a special little area that you have.  It's a, it's a little envelope  where you can put your savings into. And  these little volts are really interesting.It's a beautifully, simple idea. It's like a, a little savings area and here's the interesting thing. The [00:09:00] saving features are personal. All four groups. So you can chip in with your friends and check this out. Since they launched it, there have been over 4.5 million volts created by users. There is 6,000 new volts created each day and into those volts, the Revolut global user base has saved over $2.5 billion.How good is this? This is a great example of not just being someone that holds onto your money. What Revolut is showing us with volts is by understanding the user and their end goals, a trip to Japan, to Mexico, maybe saving for a wedding, or just paying the bills. They will help you get it done. And this is where they can build so much trust.And imagine if they get a charter and licensed to be a [00:10:00] full fledged bank across these markets, it would be incredibly powerful because their user experience is far. Better than the industry. And that's why they've grown to over 15 million customers. And it's not only with consumers, the Aleuts product is rolling out.Those features, they're getting into the business side of things. So just.  In less than the last six months, they have launched a bunch of new features. They're allowing businesses to, to run on Revolut. Of course, they've now got QR codes for socially distance payments. They've got a new expenses product they've got, and this is really interesting.Two other things I want to talk about the ultimate freelancer plants. So usually. Going from this, this kind of mass growth freemium model. This is one of the most successful models for fintechs  neobanks, usually these  [00:11:00]  which is a complimented by a different way of thinking where you kind of go after just a local market or perhaps a segment of customers.What Revolut are doing is they have built the ultimate freelance plant, which serves. The growing number of freelances who are perhaps working from home or they're digital nomads. So they are not only going for the mass freemium model, but they're also starting to cater to particular segments such as business, such as freelances.They have even built a plugin for the very. Popular WordPress  till called WooCommerce WooCommerce commerce helps you create an easy shop, do E business to retail on your WordPress website. And the reason this matters is WordPress makes up well over a quarter of all websites on the internet and built with WordPress.And so Revolut have created this gateway that enables you to use Revolut as your payments engine. [00:12:00] Really interesting stuff. So no doubt. They're innovating. I will say the one word of caution here is. That they are becoming bigger and bigger, and they're doing more things than just focusing on international money transfer.This could be their opportunity, but it could also be their greatest challenge. And coupled with the fact that they are going to have to move more customers to paid, can they sustain their growth? Can they achieve a viable business? Because they've given a lot of way  to their customers and that's afforded them the growth.The real question is can they actually convert. I mean to premium. So I want to talk about some of the homework I want to give to the team at Revolut.  They are definitely going to have to find a balance as they transition more of their value into their premium features.  This is really, really important.They're going to have to really think about  how they're going to operate, whether it's going to be as a full stack or whether it's going to be as a front [00:13:00] end bank.  They are going to need a banking license and charter. If they want to have the most viable customer relationships, if they want to increase total revenue per user, they're going to need that because then they'll be able to offer the full deposit guarantee  and offer a full  range of credit and debit services across all currencies.And without a doubt  a lot of people do complain when little snags hit. So taking you back to that review that I started at the beginning of this episode, when people get frozen out due to security reasons in their app, this seems to be a bit of a nightmare  for the user. So. Homework for Revolut to do there and all in all.When we do see users having errors that go outside of the normal, we are seeing a lot of negative feedback about customer support. Sometimes the chat takes too long. Maybe the chat doesn't get answered so [00:14:00] homework to do, but wow. When we look at this product, we can see. At Revolut truly has done the basics.Right. And they have been able to grow by just doing the basics. Right? What a powerful lesson that we can take from Revolut. And I hope all of you are now with a little bit of inspiration and some practical advice on how you can build great products, too. Now talking about building great products, you can go to bottom-up dot IO and we have a ton of free courses.We have design thinking, agile lean case studies and Revolut. Lots of FinTech presentations. Get on over to bottom-up dot IO. It's all free too. Open source so you can learn to make better products. All right. That's it for the bottom upskills podcast. That's right. 

Repose of Saint Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas ............................................................................................................................................................ 237 Saint Hypatius the Wonderworker, Bishop of Gangra ............................................................................. 238 Repose of Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia ............................................................. 240 Venerable Hypatius the Healer of the Kiev Caves .................................................................................... 242 Venerable Apollonius, Ascetic, of Egypt ................................................................................................. 242 Hieromartyr Abdas, Bishop of Persia, and Martyr Benjamin the Deacon ................................................... 243 Venerable Hypatius, Abbot of Rufinus in Chalcedon ................................................................................ 243 Appearance of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God ............................................................................... 244 Saint Acacius the Confessor ................................................................................................................... 245 Righteous Joseph the Patriarch ............................................................................................................... 246 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/an-orthodox/message

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniamov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

Craig and Eric go over amazing and lesser known facts about the battle of midway. How did the US break the Jn-25 code? How did Radar effect the battle? How did the USS Yorktown get repaired so fast to be at the battle? Why was famous Hollywood director John Ford at the battle? What was the importance of the Aleutian islands campaign and how did aboriginal Aleuts get involved? What was the Akutan Zero fighter? What was Nagummo's dilemma? What role did submarines play in the battle of Midway? How did anti-air guns on either side of the battle influence its outcome? How did the battle of Midway dethrone Battleships for Aircraft Carriers? All of this and more!

Homily, 12.13.2020 - Sunday of the Forefathers (Ancestors) of Christ, Herman of Alaska, Enlightener of the Aleuts

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniamov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

The year was 1797. We remember Saint Innocent—Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of the Aleuts, and Apostle to the Americas. The reading is from Kate Bowler, an excerpt from "Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved." — FULL TRANSCRIPTS available: https://www.1517.org/podcasts/the-christian-history-almanac GIVE BACK: Support the work of 1517 today CONTACT: CHA@1517.org SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Overcast Google Play FOLLOW US: Facebook Twitter Audio production by Christopher Gillespie (gillespie.media).

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniamov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniamov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniamov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

Our guest on today's episode is very special! His name is, Larry Merculieff. Larry is an Alaskan elder who has almost four decades of experience serving his people, the Aleuts of the Pribilof Islands and other indigenous peoples in a number of capacities—locally, statewide, nationally and internationally. For his entire career, Merculieff has been a passionate advocate for indigenous rights/wisdom, and harmonious relationship with the Earth Mother. In this conversation, Larry shares the wisdom of his people and how it can be applied for modern living. The key message in our conversation is - all that is required of humanity right now is to connect with their hearts. Larry goes on to share stories from childhood around how he was raised the traditional way - and how that impacted him as a man and the work he does in the world today. This is a beautiful conversation not to be missed!Heart House Meditation is now accepting new clients - Meditation and mentorship on your path to healing your life, discovering your purpose and sharing it with the world. Click the link above to arrange an intro call to work exclusively with Marshall. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

He was born in Siberia in 1797 to a clerical family, and became a married parish priest in Irkutsk. A devout explorer, John Kriukov, told him of the great spiritual needs among the Russian and native peoples in Alaska, then Russian territory. Moved to serve Christ in this very difficult environment, he and his family arrived in Alaska in 1824. He quickly learned the Aleut language and worked humbly and tirelessly among the Aleuts. His spiritual classic, An Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven, was originally written in Aleut and later translated into many languages.   While he was visiting Russia in 1838, his wife died; one year later he was tonsured a monk and given the name of Innocent (he had been Fr John Veniamov). Almost immediately after his tonsuring he was, without warning, raised to the rank of Bishop of all Eastern Siberia and Russian America, probably the largest diocese in the world at that time. Returning to Alaska, he continued his missionary work with vigor, often traveling among Aleut and Tlingit settlements in his own kayak. Wherever he went, he found the Alaskan people hungry for the faith, and his labors bore rich fruit which is still obvious today: Alaska has more Orthodox churches per capita than any other state.   In old age he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. His concern for Christian mission was undiminished, and as Metropolitan he created the Orthodox Missionary Society. He reposed on Holy Saturday of 1879.

This week we turn to the Arctic! We look at Eskimos, Aleuts, and Alaska. In addition, we talk about dad jokes, David Attenborough, Planet Earth II, Hamilton, and why my best friend is amazing.

Few years in U.S. history call to mind such immediate stock images as 1776. Powdered wigs. Founding fathers. Red coats. And if asked to place this assembly of objects and people, a few cities stand out: Boston. Philadelphia. Williamsburg, perhaps. This is the small world conjured by the Revolutionary era; the remainder of the continent, some 96% percent of the landmass exclusive of the original thirteen colonies that called themselves Continental, conceived of as a blank slate, awaiting inevitable expansion. Claudio Saunt wants to change this. Richard B. Russell Professor of American History at the University of Georgia and co-director of the Center for Virtual History, Saunt’s new book, West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776 (W.W. Norton, 2014), explores nine American places and the diverse peoples who populated them in that fateful year, from the Aleutian Islands to San Diego, the Florida Gulf Coast to the Saskatchewan River. By illustrating complicated webs of trade and exchange, competing empires and diverse Indigenous responses, Saunt makes the case that the stories of people like the Aleuts in the Aleutian archipelago, Miwoks and Costanoans of northern California, Creek Indians of the Deep South and numerous others deserve our historical attention as fully and richly as musket-bearing minutemen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few years in U.S. history call to mind such immediate stock images as 1776. Powdered wigs. Founding fathers. Red coats. And if asked to place this assembly of objects and people, a few cities stand out: Boston. Philadelphia. Williamsburg, perhaps. This is the small world conjured by the Revolutionary era; the remainder of the continent, some 96% percent of the landmass exclusive of the original thirteen colonies that called themselves Continental, conceived of as a blank slate, awaiting inevitable expansion. Claudio Saunt wants to change this. Richard B. Russell Professor of American History at the University of Georgia and co-director of the Center for Virtual History, Saunt’s new book, West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776 (W.W. Norton, 2014), explores nine American places and the diverse peoples who populated them in that fateful year, from the Aleutian Islands to San Diego, the Florida Gulf Coast to the Saskatchewan River. By illustrating complicated webs of trade and exchange, competing empires and diverse Indigenous responses, Saunt makes the case that the stories of people like the Aleuts in the Aleutian archipelago, Miwoks and Costanoans of northern California, Creek Indians of the Deep South and numerous others deserve our historical attention as fully and richly as musket-bearing minutemen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few years in U.S. history call to mind such immediate stock images as 1776. Powdered wigs. Founding fathers. Red coats. And if asked to place this assembly of objects and people, a few cities stand out: Boston. Philadelphia. Williamsburg, perhaps. This is the small world conjured by the Revolutionary era; the remainder of the continent, some 96% percent of the landmass exclusive of the original thirteen colonies that called themselves Continental, conceived of as a blank slate, awaiting inevitable expansion. Claudio Saunt wants to change this. Richard B. Russell Professor of American History at the University of Georgia and co-director of the Center for Virtual History, Saunt’s new book, West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776 (W.W. Norton, 2014), explores nine American places and the diverse peoples who populated them in that fateful year, from the Aleutian Islands to San Diego, the Florida Gulf Coast to the Saskatchewan River. By illustrating complicated webs of trade and exchange, competing empires and diverse Indigenous responses, Saunt makes the case that the stories of people like the Aleuts in the Aleutian archipelago, Miwoks and Costanoans of northern California, Creek Indians of the Deep South and numerous others deserve our historical attention as fully and richly as musket-bearing minutemen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few years in U.S. history call to mind such immediate stock images as 1776. Powdered wigs. Founding fathers. Red coats. And if asked to place this assembly of objects and people, a few cities stand out: Boston. Philadelphia. Williamsburg, perhaps. This is the small world conjured by the Revolutionary era; the remainder of the continent, some 96% percent of the landmass exclusive of the original thirteen colonies that called themselves Continental, conceived of as a blank slate, awaiting inevitable expansion. Claudio Saunt wants to change this. Richard B. Russell Professor of American History at the University of Georgia and co-director of the Center for Virtual History, Saunt’s new book, West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776 (W.W. Norton, 2014), explores nine American places and the diverse peoples who populated them in that fateful year, from the Aleutian Islands to San Diego, the Florida Gulf Coast to the Saskatchewan River. By illustrating complicated webs of trade and exchange, competing empires and diverse Indigenous responses, Saunt makes the case that the stories of people like the Aleuts in the Aleutian archipelago, Miwoks and Costanoans of northern California, Creek Indians of the Deep South and numerous others deserve our historical attention as fully and richly as musket-bearing minutemen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since last week's episode was titled Westward Ho! As we track the expansion of the Faith into the New World with Spain and Portugal's immersion, this week as we turn to the other Europeans we'll title this week's episode, Westward Ho-Ho, because I'm tired of saying Part 2. I know it's lame, but hey, it's my podcast so I'll call it what I want.Before we dive into this week's content, I wanted to say a huge thanks to all those who've left comments on iTunes and the CS FB page.Last week we ended the episode on the expansion of the Faith into the New World by speaking of the Spanish missions on the West Coast. The Spanish were urgent to press north from what would later be called Southern CA because the Russians were advancing south from their base in Alaska. And as any history buff knows, they'd already established a base at San Francisco.Russians weren't the only Old World power feared by Spain. The French had New World possessions in Louisiana and French Jesuits were active in the Mississippi Valley. Some dreamed of a link between French Canada and the South down the Mississippi River. The gifted linguist Father Marquette, sailed south along the Mississippi and attempted a mission among the Illinois Indians. While in Quebec, he'd made himself master of 7 Algonquin languages and gained a mighty reputation as an Indian-style orator. He combined preacher, pastor, explorer and geographer in one. His writings contributed to local knowledge of Indian peoples, culture, and agriculture. As any high school student knows, the French were to lose New Orleans and Western Mississippi to Spain, while Eastern Mississippi went to the British. But French Carmelites, a 16th C branch of the Franciscans known as the Recollects, and the Jesuits accomplished much in French possessions before the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1763. They'd attempted a failed mission to the Sioux. Nevertheless, French Roman Catholic influence remained strong in Canada.As I tell these ultra-bare sketches of mission work among New World Indians, it can easily become just a pedantic recounting of generalized info. A sort of, “Europeans came, Indians were preached to. Churches were planted. Movements happened, some guys died - blah, blah, blah.”Our goal here is to give the history of the Church in short doses. That means, if we're to make any headway against the flow of it all, we have to summarize a LOT. But that works against real interest in the history and what makes the story exciting.It's the individual stories of specific people that make the tale come alive. à Jesuit, Franciscan, and Protestant missionaries; and just ordinary colonists who weren't set on a specific mission but were real-deal born again followers of Jesus who came to the New World to make a new life for themselves and their descendants, and just happened to share their faith with the Native Americans and they got saved and started a whole new chapter in the Jesus story. è THAT'S where the good stuff is.So, let me mention one of these Jesuit missionaries we've been talking about who brought the Gospel to Canadian Indians.Jean de Brébeuf was born to a family of the French nobility and entered the Jesuit order in 1617. He reached Canada 8 yrs later. He learned Algonquin and lived among the Huron for 3 yrs. After being captured by the British, he returned to France but renewed his mission in 1633. He founded an outpost called St Marie Among the Hurons in 1639. The Mission was destroyed by the Iroquois a decade later.Because De Brébeuf was tall and strongly built, he became known as the Gentle Giant. Like the Jesuits in Paraguay we looked at in the last episode, he could see ahead into how European colonists would bring an unstoppable challenge to the Indian way of life and advocated the Hurons withdraw into a secluded missionary settlement in order to preserve their culture. He's an example of the heroic pioneer Jesuit, of which there were many, whose missionary life ended in martyrdom in the field.De Brébeuf stands as a little known, but ought to be lauded, example of the fact that not all Europeans who came to the New World, especially not all missionaries, conflated following Christ with European culture and lifestyle. That's an assumption many moderns have; that it wasn't until the modern era that missionaries figured out people could remain IN their culture and follow Jesus, that they didn't have to become converts to Western Civilization BEFORE they could become Christians. While it has certainly been true that some missions and eras equated the Faith with a particular cultural milieu, throughout history, MOST believers have understood that the True Gospel is trans-cultural, even super-cultural.Many Jesuit missionaries in the New World like De Brébeuf tried to preserve the native American cultures – while filling them with the Gospel. They saw the emerging European colonies as a THREAT to the Indians and wanted to protect them.With the end of the 7 Years War, or as it's known in the US, the French and Indian War, French Canada became a British possession. The Jesuits, on the verge of their being banned from the New World, expanded their work among the Indians to include the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, and Senecas, as well as those Algonquins yet unreached in Quebec. While converts were made among the Iroquois tribes, the majority remained hostile. Among the converts, there was a huge problem with disease introduced by the missionaries themselves, and the influence of alcohol brought by Europeans. Indian physiological tolerance to hard alcohol was low and addiction quick. Jesuit missionaries reached the Hudson Bay area and baptized thousands. Even after the British won Canada and the Jesuit order was suppressed, some remained in Canada as late as 1789.In the far NW, Russians entered Alaska in 1741. Russian Orthodox Christianity had begun on Kodiak Island, just off Alaska, in 1794. By ‘96 thousands of Kodiaks and the population of the Aleutian Islands had been baptized. They met hostility from the Russian American Company but the mission received fresh invigoration by the arrival an Orthodox priest from Siberia named Innocent Veniaminoff.  He reached the Aleutians in the 1820s and mastered the local dialect well enough to translate the Gospel of Matthew and write a devotional tract that became a classic, titled = An Indication of the Pathway into the Kingdom of Heaven. After working among the Aleutians for some years, Veniaminoff served among the Tlingit people. After his wife died, he was appointed bishop of a vast region stretching from Alaska to CA. Between 1840 and 68 he carried out a massive work. Although 40 yrs of missionary service, often in conditions of tremendous physical hardship, left him exhausted and longing to retire, he was appointed Metropolitan of Moscow, a position he used to found the Russian Missionary Society as a means of support for Orthodox missions. His outstanding service was recognized in 1977 by the Orthodox Church of America conferring on him the title of ‘Evangelizer of the Aleuts and Apostle to America.'Alaska was sold to the United States in the 1870s but the Orthodox Synod created an independent bishopric to include Alaska in 1872. By 1900 there were some 10,000 Orthodox Christians in the diocese. Of the 65,000 Alaskan and Aleutian people today, some 70% claim to be Christian and many of these belong to the Orthodox community.The Roman Catholic orders had a great advantage in missions due to their central organizing body called The Sacred Propaganda for the Faith. Today this structure is called the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Nations.In contrast to Roman monastic orders and their missionary zeal, Protestant churches had little missionary vision in the 16th C. When they engaged in missions in the 17th they had no organizing center.French Protestants, led by the Huguenot Admiral Coligny, attempted a short-lived experiment off Rio de Janeiro when Admiral Villegagnon established a Calvinist settlement in 1555. It folded when the French were expelled by the Portuguese. A more permanent Calvinist settlement was made by the Dutch when they captured Pernambuco, a region at the eastern tip of Brazil. This settlement remained a Calvinist enclave for 40 years.North America presented a very different scene for missions than Central and South America. The voyage of the Mayflower with its ‘Pilgrims' in 1620 was a historical pointer to the strong influence of Calvinism in what would become New England. The states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire were strongly Congregationalist or Presbyterian in church life and heavily influenced by English Puritanism. At least some of these pioneers felt a responsibility for spreading the Christian faith to the native Americans.John Eliot is regarded as the driving force behind the early evangelization of the Indians. He was the Presbyterian pastor at Roxby, a village near Boston in 1632. He learned the Iroquois language, and like the Jesuits in Paraguay, though surely with no knowledge of their methodology, founded ‘praying towns' for the Indians. These were communities that, over a period of 40 yrs, came to include some 3,000 Christian Indians in Natick and other settlements. Eliot translated the entire Bible into Iroquois by 1663 and trained 24 native American pastors by the time of his death.A remarkable family called The Mayhews were pioneers in missionary work in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands off Cape Cod. Thomas Mayhew bought the islands in 1641 with an Indian population of around 5,000. His son, Thomas Jr., began a mission and by 1651 200 Indians had come to faith. After the death of Thomas Sr. and Jr., John, youngest son of  Thomas Jr., along with his son Experience Mayhew continued the mission.  Experience had the advantage of fluency in the Indian language with the ability to write it. Zechariah, his son, carried on a tradition that lasted all the way to 1806 and produced many Indian clergy and a Harvard graduate. The ministry of the Mayhews spanned almost 2 centuries.Another New England figure who became a missionary icon to such great spreaders of the faith as William Carey and David Livingstone, was David Brainerd. Brainerd was born in the farming country of Haddam, Connecticut, and studied for the ministry at Yale College, from which he was wrongly expelled in 1741. He impressed the local leadership of the Scottish Society for the Propagation of the Gospel enough for them to employ him for missionary service in 1742. He worked among the Indians of Stockbridge and then, after ordination as a Presbyterian, he worked in western Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. There he experienced genuine religious revival among the Delaware Indians, which he recounted in detail in his journals.Brainerd died young but his diary and the account of his life by the great preacher, theologian, and philosopher, Jonathan Edwards, became immensely influential in the Protestant world. Edwards, also a student at Yale, was himself a missionary at Stockbridge among the Indians from 1750–58.While it's risky to do a diagnosis on someone 270 years later, we glean from David Brainerd's logs that he suffered from at least a mild case of a depression-disorder, and maybe not so mild. It's his honesty in sharing with his journals his emotions that proved to be a tonic to mission-luminaries like Carey and Livingstone.New England Presbyterians and Congregationalists were matched by other Protestants in their efforts among Indians. Episcopalians and the missionary society of the Church of England achieved some success in evangelizing them.Work among the Iroquois of New York was initiated by Governor Lord Bellomont, and a converted Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant, who helped establish a Mohawk church. Queen Anne of England even presented silver communion implements to 4 Mohawk Christians in London in 1704 for use in one of their chapels.In Virginia, the royal charter declared one of the aims of the colony was the conversion of Indians. The first minister of the village of Henrico, Alexander Whitaker, did significant missionary work and introduced the Indian princess, Pocahontas, to the faith.BTW: Pocahontas was her nickname – which translates roughly to “Little Hellion.” Her real name was Matoaka, but she was so precocious as a child her nickname became her favored label.Whitaker established a college at Henrico for the education of Indians and there were appeals for funding for Indian missions back in England by King James I and his archbishops so that 1 of 6 professorships at the College of William and Mary was set apart for teaching Indians.Methodists had the example of John and Charles Wesley when they were Anglican priests and missionaries for the Society of the Proclamation of the Gospel in Georgia from 1735. Though John's primary assignment was a chaplain for the English settlers, he tried to reach out to the Choctaw and Chickasaw. He had little response from the Native Americans. No wonder, since he'd later say he was most likely unconverted at that point.After his break with the Church of England, Wesley's chief lieutenant in the New World was Thomas Coke who became a driving force for Methodist missionary work, attempting a mission in Nova Scotia in 1786 before being re-directed to the West Indies by a storm. Methodist missions came into their own in the 19th C after Coke's death and took the form of frontier preachers and ‘circuit riders' under the direction of Francis Asbury, who traveled some 300,000 miles on horseback in the cause of the Gospel and whose vision included both Indians and black slaves for Methodist outreach. By the time of Asbury's death in 1816 Methodist membership had risen from just 13 to 200,000 over a 30-yr period.The 19th C in North America saw the far north reached by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Methodists.The 19th C was a time of extraordinary development in North America, despite the ravages of the Civil War in the 1860's. Great numbers of immigrants flooded into the country from Europe, estimated at 33 million between 1820 and 1950. Of British emigrants between 1815 and 1900, 65% found their way to the US. Of African-Americans, whereas only some 12% belonged to a church in 1860, by 1910 that number was 44%. Many joined the Baptist and Methodist congregations of the southern states after the abolition of slavery. In the Nation at large, the extraordinary achievement to any non-American was the blending into one nation of so many different peoples, so that their American citizenship was more prominent than their roots as Italian, Irish, Jewish, German, Scandinavian or English. This influx posed great challenges to the churches but Americans largely became a church-going people. And while differences over Religion had become the cause of so much misery and bloodshed in Post-Reformation Europe, Americans learned to live in civil harmony with people of other denominations.