The Feast of Saint Herman of Alaska (according to the Julian Calendar)
The following post was sent to me by His Grace, Bishop George of Australia. I wish to share it with all of you on this, the Feast of Saint Herman of Alaska. For all of you who are celebrating the Nativity of Christ today, I wish you all the joy and gladness that comes with this holy day of the commemoration of the Birth of Our Lord, God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Some time ago, in the 1990s, our parish invited a local “tree surgeon,” Leo M., to cut down a couple of dead trees in the back of the church property. He came and worked with his wife, Kathleen, doing the job quickly and with kindness to the rest of the surroundings. But they strongly resisted being paid, insisting on offering their work gratis to our church. They were non-Orthodox, and we wondered about the reason for such generosity. The reason, as we learned from them later, was to be found in something that happened a few years before, just after they had been married.
Both Leo and Kathleen were serious enthusiasts of mountaineering and rock climbing, and so for their honeymoon trip they decided to go to Alaska to bag the highest peak of North America, Mount Denali (aka McKinley), 20,320 feet. While living at the camp at the foot of the mountain, they thoroughly prepared their expedition: talking to guides, studying the maps, checking the equipment, and waiting for a long stretch of good weather. When they finally started their exciting, but extremely difficult, ascent, everything went just fine for a few days. But at the end of one day, on a narrow path, they met an old, strange-looking man in a long dark robe. He was walking in the opposite direction, down the mountain.
In a friendly manner he greeted them and advised them to turn around and return to the base camp as quickly as possible because the weather was changing into a severe storm. Soon, he said, it will be very dangerous around here. And, as if in answer to their unasked question of how he could know such a thing, he explained that he was local and knew the climate very well. Leaving them surprised and uneasy, he continued on his way.
Some minutes later, after Leo and Kathleen made the wise decision to turn back, and then tried to recall the appearance of the old man, they realized that they hadn’t seen a backpack or any other hiking gear with him. How could he have made it up so high in the bare, rocky mountain in sub-zero temps, without any food or protection?!
A few days later, almost at the bottom of the mountain, they were indeed caught by a severe storm. They survived it, constantly in their minds thanking the old man who had warned them of the danger. A week later, still staying at the base camp, they learned that some other climbers, who happened to be at higher elevations than they were during the storm, never came back.
Then, as if in answer to their curiosity, Leo and Kathleen noticed something at the camp cafeteria. It was a picture of their rescuer, pinned on a bulletin board between some miscellaneous ads and photos of the mountain. They recognized him at a glance. When they asked the waiter for his name, he told them, ” It’s an Orthodox saint who lived in Alaska. His name is St. Herman.” And the photo showed the icon of St. Herman from the Orthodox church nearby.
The Saint had told them the truth. He was indeed a local man…
”By enduring the trials of nature, the storms’ cold and wind together
with hunger, thou didst kindle spiritual peace, warmth and satiety, and become unaffected by the elements, truly a heavenly man and earthly angel, O wondrous Herman; so wishing to honor thee as is meet we cry out: Rejoice, conqueror of nature’s hardships! Rejoice, thou who was arrayed in the virtues! … Rejoice, O venerable Father Herman, adornment of Alaska and joy of all America! ” (From the Akathist to St Herman)
Photo: The monastery’s icon of Saint Herman of Alaska (together with his holy relic), painted by my spiritual son, Shayne Swenson, of Spokane, WA.
Saturday December 25, 2021 / December 12, 2021
27th Week after Pentecost. Tone one.
Nativity (St. Philip’s Fast). Fish Allowed
Venerable Saint Herman of Alaska
St. Spyridon the Wonderworker of Tremithon (348).
Venerable Therapontes, abbot of Monza (1597).
Hieromartyr Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem (251).
Martyr Synesius of Rome (3rd c.).
Synaxis of the First Martyrs of the American land: Hieromartyr Juvenal, Peter the Aleut, and New Martyrs of Russia Anatole (Kamensky) of Irkutsk and Seraphim (Samoilovich) of Uglich and priests John (Kochurov) of Chicago and Alexander (Khotovitsky) of New York.
Venerable Finian, founder of Clonard and Skellig Michael (Ireland) (549) (Celtic & British).
Venerable Colman of Glendalough (Ireland) (659) (Celtic & British).
St. John, metropolitan of Zichon, founder of the monastery of the Forerunner on Mt. Menikion (1333) (Greek).
Sts. Amonathus and Anthus, monks (Greek).
Martyr John, abbot of the Zedazeni, Georgia (9th c.) (Georgia).
The Scripture Readings
Galatians 5:22-6:2
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Bear and Share Burdens
6 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Luke 13:18-29
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
18 Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
The Parable of the Leaven
20 And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures[c] of meal till it was all leavened.”
The Narrow Way
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.