Written by the Very Rev. John Matusiak Managing Editor, The
Orthodox Church magazine. The Orthodox Church in America traces
its origins to the arrival in Kodiak, Alaska of eight Orthodox
missionaries from the Valaamo Monastery in the northern Karelia
region of Russia in 1794. The missionaries made a great impact
on the native Alaskan population and were responsible for
bringing many to the Orthodox Christian faith. Today, the
Orthodox Church in America numbers some 700 parishes, missions,
communities, monasteries, and institutions throughout the United
States, Canada, and Mexico. In the 1820s, Father John Veniaminov
arrived in Alaska and also conducted missionary work. Among his
many accomplishments was the translation of Scripture and the
liturgical services into the native dialects, for which he also
devised a grammar and alphabet. Around 1840 Father John was
elected to the episcopacy, taking the name Innocent. The Church
continued to grow among the native Alaskans, but Bishop Innocent
also visited Californ