The Diocese of Alaska (russian: Епархия Аляски) is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as Autocephaly, autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, commun ...

(OCA).Diocese of Alaska
Its territory includes

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es,

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, and missions located in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. The

diocesan chancery A diocesan chancery is the branch of administration which handles all written documents used in the official government of a Catholic or Anglican diocese. It is in the diocesan chancery that, under the direction of the bishop or his representativ ...

is located in

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

. The Diocese was founded when Alaska was part of Russia and is one of the oldest in the United States. The

Church of the Holy Ascension The Church of the Holy Ascension (russian: Церковь Вознесения Господня), also known as the Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, is a prominent landmark in Unalaska, the major community of the western Aleutian Islands in sout ...

(1826), which belongs to the Diocese, is one of the oldest American churches. Altogether, twenty-three churches are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; thirty churches are considered National Historic Landmarks. As of 2013, the Diocese includes 89 parishes, which represents the highest concentration of Orthodox Church in America parishes among the states. According to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', the diocese had around 30,000 members statewide as of 2006.

Deaneries

The diocese is grouped geographically into

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

. Each deanery is headed by a parish

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, known as a

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

. The deans coordinate activities in their area's parishes, and report to the diocesan bishop. As of 2015, the deaneries of the Diocese of Alaska are:The Diocese of Alaska Parish Directory
/ref> * Alaska Peninsula Deanery * Aleutian Deanery * Anchorage Deanery * Bethel and Kuskokwim Deanery * Bristol Bay Deanery * Iliamna Deanery * Kenai and Prince William Sound Deanery * Kodiak Deanery * Russian Mission and Yukon Deanery * Sitka and Southeast Deanery

Bishops

Alaska Vicariate of the North American Diocese * Innocent (Pustynsky) (14 December 1903 - 1 May 1909) * Alexander (Nemolovsky) (15 November 1909 - 6 July 1916) *

Philip (Stavitsky) Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

(6 August 1916 - April 1919) * Anthony (Dashkievich) (11 December 1921 - 1922) * Amphilochius (Vakulsky) (28 July 1924 - September 1930) * Antonin (Vasilyev) (11 October 1930 - 1934) Diocese of Alaska *

Alexis (Panteleev) Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–197 ...

(November 1934 - 1944) *

John (Zlobin) John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(10 March 1946 - ca. 1952) *

Ambrose (Merezhko) Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promot ...

(11 September 1955 - 1967) *

Theodosius (Lazor) Metropolitan Theodosius (secular name Frank Lazor; , Canonsburg, Pennsylvania) was the primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) from 1977 until his retirement in 2002. On , Metropolitan Theodosius (who had suffered a series of strokes) s ...

(6 May 1967 - 30 May 1972) *

Gregory (Afonsky) Archbishop Gregory (secular name George Sergeyevich Afonsky, russian: Георгий Серге́евич Афонский; April 17, 1925 – April 15, 2008) was the Archbishop of Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Alaska, Sitka and Alaska from ...

(13 May 1973 - 20 July 1995) **

Herman (Swaiko) Metropolitan Herman (born Joseph Swaiko, 1 February 1932 – 6 September 2022) was the primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). As the head of the OCA, he was the Archbishop of Washington and New York, and Metropolitan of All America ...

(1995 - ca. Consecration. 2001) locum tenens *

Nicholas (Soraich) Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its ...

(4 March 2002 - 13 May 2008) ** Locum tenens:

(13 May 2008 - 4 September 2008) ** Locum tenens:

Benjamin (Peterson) Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thi ...

(4 September 2008 - 21 February 2014) *

David (Mahaffey) David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

(21 February 2014 - 27 November 2020) **Diocesan administrator:

Alexis (Trader) Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–197 ...

(3 November 2020 - 27 March 2022) *

(27 March 2022 - present)

References

External links

*
St. Herman Orthodox Theological Seminary

Russian Orthodox Sacred Sites in Alaska

Alaskan Orthodox texts (Aleut, Alutiiq, Tlingit, Yup'ik)

Russian Orthodox Churches in Alaska, Watercolors
Alaska's Digital Archives {{coord, 61.2183, -149.755, display=title

Eastern Orthodoxy in Alaska Organizations based in Anchorage, Alaska

Deaneries

Bishops

See also

References

External links