Church of the Holy Ascension Facts for Kids

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Church of the Holy Ascension
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

Church of the Holy Ascension on a sunny day, with red roofs, green onion domes, and a small churchyard.
Location in Alaska
Location	Unalaska, Alaska
Area	1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Built	1826
Architect	Mooser & Piser; Alaska Commercial Co.
MPS	Russian Orthodox Church Buildings and Sites TR (AD)
NRHP reference No.	70000112
Added to NRHP	April 15, 1970
Designated NHL	April 15, 1970

The Church of the Holy Ascension (which means Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Russian) is a very important building in Unalaska, Alaska. Unalaska is the main town in the western Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska. The church you see today was built in 1894. It probably stands where an older church from 1826 used to be. It might even use wood and other parts from that older building.

This church is one of the oldest in Alaska. It's famous because missionaries came here to teach the local Aleut people about their religion. They were so successful that many Aleut people are still Orthodox today. The church is also a National Historic Landmark. This means it's a very special place because of its design and its role in Alaska's history and culture. It is the second most important church for the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Alaska, after St. Michael's Cathedral in Sitka.

About the Church of the Holy Ascension
History of the Church
See also

About the Church of the Holy Ascension

The Church of the Holy Ascension is in Unalaska, Alaska. This town has about 4,000 people. It is on the north side of Unalaska Island, which is the biggest island in the western Aleutian Islands. The church is on a piece of land called the "Russian Greek Mission Reserves." This area is about 1.5 acres (0.6 hectares) big. The bishop's house is also on this land.

What the Church Looks Like

The church is made of wood and has a cross shape. It has a tall bell tower at its western end. The tower is about 52 feet (16 meters) tall. It starts as a square shape and then becomes an eight-sided (octagonal) top. This top has a green onion-shaped dome. An Orthodox cross sits on top of the dome.

A small hallway connects the tower to the main part of the church. The main part of the church is rectangular. It has a hip roof with a smaller dome, like the one on the tower. Two wings, or side sections, stick out from the main part. These wings hold small chapels. The very end of the church, where the altar is, has a lower roof. All the roofs are covered with red wooden shingles. The domes are green.

Inside the Church

Inside, the church has a simple design. The first floor of the tower is an entrance area. The hallway area has storage and stairs. These stairs lead up to a choir loft and the bell tower. The floors inside the church are made of wood and are painted red. A red carpet leads through the main area to the front of the church. This is where the main iconostasis (a screen with icons) and the altar are.

The chapel on the north side is named after Saint Innocent of Irkutsk. The chapel on the south side is named after Saint Sergius of Radonezh. The church has been changed only a little since it was built in 1894-1896. It had a big repair project in 1998.

The Bishop's House

The bishop's house is a short walk from the church. It is a simple, two-story wooden building. It measures about 28 feet (8.5 meters) by 32 feet (9.8 meters). It has single-story sections on its east and west sides. The roof edges of the second story have fancy carved designs.

History of the Church

Russian fur hunters first found the Aleutian Islands in the mid-1700s. A Russian settlement was in Unalaska by 1778. The first known religious building, a small chapel, was built in Unalaska in 1808. But there wasn't a full-time priest yet.

Early Missionaries

The first big effort to teach the local Aleut people about the Russian Orthodox religion began in 1795. A monk named Macarius came to Unalaska and baptized most of the native people. In 1824, Reverend Ivan Veniaminov arrived in Unalaska. He was the first permanent priest. He led the building of a church near where the 1808 chapel was.

Veniaminov later became known as Innocent of Alaska. He worked very hard to help the church grow in western Alaska. He even created an alphabet for the Aleut language. He also started a school to teach the native people to read and write. Veniaminov stayed in Unalaska for ten years. Then he moved to Sitka and did similar work there. He was very good at observing and writing about the local cultures.

Building New Churches

By 1858, the church Veniaminov built was getting old because of the harsh weather. So, a new church was built using wood from the older one. In the 1880s, Bishop Nestor ordered the bishop's house to be built. He had visited Unalaska and had to stay with cannery workers. A school building was also built at that time. It was attached to the bishop's house. The school was destroyed by fire in 1960.

The church you see today was built between 1894 and 1896. This happened after Reverend Alexander Kedrovsky arrived. By this time, Unalaska was the main port in the western Aleutians. It had grown into a small town. It is thought that the north chapel of the current church is where the original 1826 church stood. Wood from the old church was likely used in the new one. There is also a screen with icons in that chapel that might have been made by Aleut artists in 1824.

World War II and After

During World War II, the native people of the area had to move to southeastern Alaska. The church's valuable items were kept safe. This was even though nearly 60,000 troops were stationed at Dutch Harbor and used the church buildings. After the war, the people came back. But the move had a big impact. The church has seen fewer people in the region since the war. Icons from smaller community churches are now kept in the chapel of St. Sergius.

Church of the Holy Ascension facts for kids

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