St. Michael's Cathedral (Sitka, Alaska) facts for kids
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St. Michael's Cathedral
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Saint Michael's Cathedral in 2008
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 Location in Downtown Sitka
Location in Alaska
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| Location | 240 Lincoln Street, Sitka, Alaska |
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| Area | 0.16 acres (0.065 ha) |
| Built | 1848 |
| Architect | Bishop Innocent (Veniaminov); Sergey Padyukov |
| Architectural style | Russian |
| MPS | Russian Orthodox Church Buildings and Sites TR (AD) |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000165 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | June 13, 1962 |
St. Michael's Cathedral (Russian: Собор Архангела Михаила Sobor Arkhangela Mikhaila) is a famous church in Sitka, Alaska. It's also known as the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel. This church is part of the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Alaska.
It was the very first Orthodox cathedral built in the New World (North and South America). The original church was built in the 1800s when Alaska was controlled by Russia. Sadly, the first building burned down in 1966.
After 1872, the church became part of the Diocese of Alaska. Since 1962, it has been a National Historic Landmark. This means it's a very important place in history. It shows how much Russia influenced North America, especially Southeast Alaska.
Even though the original church was destroyed by an accidental fire on January 2, 1966, it was rebuilt. The new building has green domes and golden crosses. These are easy to spot in Sitka. Some of the icons (religious paintings) inside are very old, from the mid-1600s! Two of them were painted by a famous artist named Vladimir Borovikovsky.
St. Michael's Cathedral is in downtown Sitka. Sitka is on the southwest coast of Baranof Island in Southeastern Alaska. The streets around it, Lincoln Street and Maksoutoff Street, look much like they did over 100 years ago. The Russian Bishop's House is also nearby. This house was home to the first Orthodox Bishop of Alaska, Innocent (Veniaminov). The National Park Service takes care of it as part of the Sitka National Historical Park.
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History of St. Michael's Cathedral
A small chapel was built in Sitka by an employee of Alexander Andreyevich Baranov. Baranov was the main manager of the Russian-American Company. This chapel was ready in time to receive icons saved from a shipwreck in 1813. In 1808, Baranov moved his main office from Kodiak to New Archangel (now Sitka). He chose Sitka because it had better defenses.
Baranov asked for a priest and "the finest of church furnishings" for his new base. In 1816, Father Aleksei Sokolov was the first priest to arrive in Sitka from Russia. He brought important icons with him. The old chapel eventually became run down. So, a new church was built in 1834, also dedicated to St. Michael.
Building the First Cathedral
The main cathedral was designed by Father Innocent Veniaminov. He was a priest from Siberia who had worked in Unalaska, Alaska, for ten years. There, he had designed a church with two domes and started a school. Father Innocent designed the cathedral in a Russian church style. It is known as one of the best examples of this style in North America.
The first stone for the cathedral was laid in 1844. The church was finished on November 20, 1848. The Russian-American Company paid for the building. The bells were made right there in Alaska. Father Innocent himself made the clock that was put in the bell tower.
In 1867, Alaska was sold to the United States. After the sale, soldiers arrived in Sitka. Sadly, they damaged the cathedral, as well as local shops and homes.
Keeping the Cathedral Alive
After Alaska became part of the United States, a group called the Temperance Society and Brotherhood helped take care of the building. In 1909, this group made a small model of the cathedral. They showed it at an event in San Francisco.
When Russia ruled Alaska, rich Russian families gave many beautiful art pieces to the church. Most of these treasures were saved from the fire in January 1966. They are now displayed in the new cathedral. A special gift was the icon of Our Lady of Kazan, also called the Sitka Madonna. This was given by the workers of the Russian-American Company. In 1962, the National Park Service named St. Michael's Cathedral a National Historic Landmark.
The Original Cathedral Building
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The first cathedral was built between 1844 and 1848. It stayed in good condition for over 100 years. It was the oldest church in Alaska when it burned down in January 1966. It was built with local logs and had metal domes. The roofs were first made of wood shingles, then changed to asphalt shingles.
Many important items were saved from the fire and restored for the new cathedral. These included the royal doors from the Ikonostasis (a wall of icons) and the main chandelier. Silk and brocade vestments (special clothes for priests) were also saved.
However, some things were lost forever. These included the handmade bells and a large icon of the Last Supper. The clock in the bell tower was also destroyed. A large library with books in Russian, Tlingit, and Aleut languages was also lost.
The Present Cathedral Building
How the Cathedral Was Rebuilt
The new cathedral was rebuilt using drawings from 1961. These drawings showed the old cathedral in detail. This helped them build an exact copy in the same spot. But this time, they used modern materials that could resist fire.
The new building uses concrete and steel. The outside has vinyl siding that looks like the original finish. The roof is covered with asphalt shingles, and the domes are made of copper. The Cathedral of St. Michael was officially opened again in 1978. The architect who helped was Sergey Padyukov.
The old Chapel of St. John the Baptist was renamed to honor St. Innocent Veniaminov of Alaska. All the icons and religious items saved from the fire were put back in the new cathedral. They were placed in the same order as they were in the original building.
The front of the church looks like a Greek cross. It has a bell tower that is "neither Byzantine nor Gothic" in style. Similar churches can be found in St Petersburg, Russia. These churches were built in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The cathedral has two domes, with one above the main part of the cross.
Cathedral Design and Features
The front of the cathedral is about 67 feet wide, and its length is about 96.6 feet. The outside is painted light blue-grey with white borders. The front (western side) has the bell tower in the middle. It is about 40 feet tall and shaped like a cupola (a small dome). It has eight arched openings, each with a bell. The dome is shaped like a needle and has a triple-bar Orthodox cross on top.
There are fake windows on the top half of the tower for decoration. A round clock with Roman numerals is placed between two fake windows on the north, south, and west sides. A double door in the bell tower leads into the entrance area (called the narthex) of the cathedral. The main part of the church (the nave) is to the east of this entrance. The church's cruciform plan (cross shape) comes from the outer walls. These walls extend out to the west of the two chapels.
The main dome is shaped like an octagon with windows on each side. An onion-shaped dome is built above this main dome. This decorative onion dome has a three-bar cross at its highest point. The back of the cathedral (the apse) is at the eastern end. There are two chapels, one on the north and one on the south side of the nave. Each chapel has a double door, but these are not used.
The cathedral has public areas that are well-lit. Natural light comes from the windows in the dome and two large windows in each chapel. The north and south walls of the nave also have windows. Many fake windows are also used as decorations on the outside.
The inside of the church also has a cross shape, just like the original. The walls and ceiling are covered with rough, natural-colored sail-cloth. This was also how the original cathedral looked. The western part of the nave has a flat ceiling of sail-cloth. This leads to the open dome in the center, which is above the Bishop's Throne. The new cathedral has only four columns, made of steel and concrete and covered with sail-cloth. The original had eight columns.
Inside the Cathedral: Fittings and Art
The inside of the cathedral is decorated with many valuable original Russian religious artworks. These pieces decorated the first cathedral. Two very important icons are by Borovikovsky: Our Lady of Sitka (also called the "Sitka Madonna") and Christ Pantocrator ("Christ the Judge").
The icon screens, which separate the main church area (nave) and chapels from the altars, are hung on the walls. In the center of the nave, there is a raised platform. This is where the bishop's throne is. It has a cushioned seat without a back. This seat represents the Diocese. There is also a beautifully embroidered carpet called an "orlets" used by the bishop during services.
The iconostasis of the main sanctuary, dedicated to St. Michael, has deacon's doors and royal doors. These doors are in the Italian Roccoco style. This style is very fancy, unlike the simple walls. The screen of the iconostasis itself is new. It is carved from wood and painted white with gold borders. It is an exact copy made from a small piece of the original that was saved from the fire.
The icons of Christ the Savior and the Virgin Mary are from the 1700s-1800s and are covered in silver. The icon of the Archangel Michael is on the far right, and St. Nicholas is on the far left. These are made of silver but covered in gold. You can also see icons of the Four Evangelists carved on the four corners of the door. Icons of the Annunciation and the Theotokos (Mother of God) are carved in the center. All these icons have been recently restored.
Paintings of scenes from the Old and New Testaments decorate the walls of the dome and the chapel. These paintings are in the style of Western religious art. They were gifts from Count Viktor Kochubey and Countess Anna Orlova. These people were close to the Russian rulers Alexander I (1800–1825) and Nicholas I (1825–1855).
Besides all the decorations, there are five display cases filled with treasures saved from the fire. Two are in each chapel, and one is in the nave.
See also
In Spanish: Catedral de San Miguel de Sitka para niños
