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Dear Parish Faithful,
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| Icon by Archbishop Job, of beloved memory |
As we commemorated the 50th anniversary of St. Herman of Alaska's glorification yesterday, August 9, I would like to share some more about this wonderful saint who labored for the sake of Christ in Alaska. For the moment, our webservant put together this fine collection of passages from St. Herman himself and some other very good material.
It should be of great interest to all of us just how non-judgmental St. Herman is toward sin and sinners. He has a deep insight that sin is always overcome by the great love of God. And that our struggle with sin is part of a greater spiritual struggle that is sustained by the grace of God and has "our homeland" in sight as a final goal.
- Fr Steven
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St Herman on 'The Way of a Christian'
"A true Christian is made by faith and love of Christ. Our sins do not in the least hinder our Christianity, according to the word of the Savior Himself. He said: I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; there is more joy in heaven over one who repents than over ninety and nine just ones. Likewise concerning the sinful woman who touched His feet, He said to the Pharisee Simon: to one who has love, a great debt is forgiven, but from one who has no love, even a small debt will be demanded. From these judgements a Christian should bring himself to hope and joy, and not in the least accept the torment of despair. Here one needs the shield of faith.
"Sin, to one who loves God, is nothing other than an arrow from the enemy in battle. The true Christian is a warrior fighting his way through the regiments of the unseen enemy to his heavenly homeland. According to the word of the Apostle, our homeland is in heaven; and about the warrior he says: we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph.6: 12)].
"The vain desires of this world separate us from our homeland; love of them and habit clothe our soul as if in a hideous garment. This is called by the Apostles the outward man. We, traveling on the journey of this life and calling on God to help us, ought to be divesting ourselves of this hideous garment and clothing ourselves in new desires, in a new love of the age to come, and thereby to receive knowledge of how near or how far we are from our heavenly homeland. But it is not possible to do this quickly; rather one must follow the example of sick people, who, wishing the desired health, do not leave off seeking means to cure themselves."
(From a Letter of St Herman, dated June 20, 1820)
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The Importance of St Herman for Orthodox Christians in America Today
"The first saints God raises up in a country contain a special message about what Orthodoxy must be like for that nation...
"So what is the lesson the Lord wants American Orthodox like us to learn from St. Herman? He was a meek and humble monk, not even a priest, but a strong witness against injustice and a confessor of the true Faith. These are the qualities, I believe, that Orthodoxy in America must emulate. But so far, we aren't. We are obsessed with jurisdictional administrative issues, while the inner life of the Church—which leads to repentance and deification through humility—is largely neglected at the official, organizational, level...
"We need a 'revival' inspired by St. Herman!”
- Schema-Hieromonk Ambrose (Young)
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Archbishop Job’s connection to St Herman
The icon of St Herman of Alaska accompanying this post was painted/written by His Grace, Bishop Job of Chicago (formerly, Fr. John Osacky), and presented to Holy Resurrection Church (in Kodiak, Alaska, where the relics of St Herman are kept) by him at the time of the glorification of St. Herman on August 9, 1970.
This depiction of St Herman, holding a blessing cross and standing on an outcropping with the inlet waters and Alaskan mountains behind him, became therefore one of the classic iconographic forms for the depiction of the saint, and many have been done in this style since 1970.
Learn more about St Herman on our extensive resource page om our parish website...
