ROSSIA Readies for a Busy 2023 Summer Season

For the past 20 years, Russian Orthodox Sacred Sites in Alaska (ROSSIA) has been striving to restore and preserve the historic Russian Orthodox churches in Alaska. Thanks to various funding sources and private donations, here are highlights of this summer’s projects.

St. George the Martyr Russian Orthodox Church:  ROSSIA was awarded a $12,000 Rasmuson Tier 1 grant for roof and water damage repairs at the St. George Orthodox Church on St. George Island in the Pribilofs.

One of only seven National Historic Landmark Russian Orthodox churches in Alaska, St. George the Martyr was built in 1936 by Aleut parishioners with earnings from the fur seal trade.

The roof of the church began leaking from the bell tower and windows of the cupola some time ago. The parishioners have been unable to combat the leak and keep the water from seeping into the internal walls, damaging the dry wall, floors, and warping the front door.

This grant will allow experienced historic preservation contractors to patch the roof, repair the front door, begin drying the inside entry, and create a plan to replace the roof and damaged dry wall, as well as secure the infrastructure of the narthex and bell tower.

Old St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church-Eklutna:  The National Park Service (NPS) recently announced the distribution of $1,395,234 in historic preservation grants for the State of Alaska. 

ROSSIA was awarded a $350,000 Historic Preservation Fund Grant-in-Aid to restore the Old St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Eklutna, built ca. 1870. 

Many years ago, a new foundation was built, and the church was moved several feet over on top of the new foundation. To maintain its structural integrity, Bishop ALEXEI, Bishop of Sitka & Alaska, has approved moving the church back to its original location on a more secure foundation with new heating and electrical systems. 

This project is funded in part by the Historic Preservation Fund, as administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior.

The Ascension of Our Lord Orthodox Church in Karluk was chosen as one of this year's Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties in Alaska by Preservation Alaska. For the past four years, ROSSIA has been working with Orthodox clergy, plus national, state, local and university representatives to find a new permanent location for the oldest extant Russian Orthodox church in Alaska built in 1888. 

In 2021, when the church was a mere 8 feet from the edge of the cliff high above the mouth of the Karluk River and Shelikoff Strait on Kodiak Island, it was lifted from its foundation and moved about 80 feet inland for a temporary placement. The new location under consideration will be approximately five acres in size to accommodate not only the church, but also a new cemetery for graves that will need to be relocated as the cliff continues to erode due to climate change.

We have already experienced the benefits of this church being listed seven times on Alaska's Most Endangered Properties. The listings drew attention from national, state, private donors, and local entities who combined forces to move the church in the nick of time before it was lost forever.

We believe that listing it again for 2023 will produce the same energy and force to move the church to its final resting place upriver and closer to the contemporary village of Karluk where it can continue to be a place of worship and beacon of light to the community.

Unalaska Bishop’s House:  Over the past three years, work concentrated on restoring theexterior of the historic Bishop’s House adjacent to the Holy Ascension Cathedral of Our Lordand National Historic Landmark in Unalaska with the addition of a fire suppression system, new roof, and new paint.

This summer Interior work is scheduled to be finalized with sheetrock, painting, heating, plumbing, electrical and woodworking to restore this house to a point where it can be used by the parish for meetings and overnight guests.  The family of Patty Lekanoff has graciously volunteered to do all of the interior decorating, complete with period furniture.

St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church Rectory-Juneau:  ROSSIA has been providing preservation planning and funding assistance to the St. Nicholas parish since 2002.  The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the long-term plan is to restore the church to its 1894 appearance while rehabilitating the rectory (1898) to continue supporting day-to-day parish activities such as parish hall, museum displaying photographs, liturgical artifacts and vestments, restroom, kitchen, office, and gift shop) with electrical and mechanical updates.

ROSSIA recently received a $5,000 National Trust for Historic Preservation grant to support the final design element needed which is electrical engineering.   Upon completion, the church and rectory will be ready for a complete restoration starting next year.

Be sure to visit the ROSSIA website to learn more about its work and how you can help.