RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS



First Russian saint in America memorialized in homeland

MONUMENT TO SAINT GERMAN OF ALASKA OPENED IN RIAZAN OBLAST

Interfax-Religiia, 10 September 2021

 

In the working class village of Kadom of Riazan oblast, there occurred on Friday the unveiling of a monument to Saint German of Alaska, timed to correspond with the 270th anniversary of his date of birth, the press service of the regional government reported.

 

The monument was erected in the small homeland of the first Orthodox saint of Russian America, not far from the embankment in the public garden of German [or Herman] of Alaska. The creator of the monument was the sculptor Oleg Sedov. This monument is made of composite materials; its height, including the pedestal, is four meters.

 

"Not very long ago a group of devotees reached out to us with a request to perpetuate the memory of the great son of the Kadom land and today this remarkable monument is being unveiled. In preserving the memory of the saint and making known his activity and the heritage of German of Alaska we nurture for future generations a proper lifestyle and spiritual and moral values and we instill in youth a feeling of patriotism and pride in their fellow countrymen. Continue to do this work in the future and we will support you in this," the vice-chairman of the government of Riazan oblast, Roman Petriaev, noted.

 

Funds for erecting the monument in the amount of 6.3 million rubles were allocated from the budgets of Riazan oblast and Kadom district.

 

In the early nineteenth century German of Alaska was instructed to go to the distant land of what was then still Russian Alaska. He baptized many Aleuts and other residents of Russian America. He is viewed as the celestial patron of America. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 September 2021)

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