Alaska w dobie rosyjskiej kolonizacji i jej języki liturgiczne

As a follow up to the Russian colonisation of Alaska in the XVIII century, in 1794 eight monks from the Russian monastery Valaamo together with saint Herman came to island Kodiak in order to evangelise the indigenous people. Already the first missionaries from Russia in the first decades of the XIX century translated the liturgy into the vernacular languages of Alaska, particularly father John Veniaminov (future bishop Innokenty) translated the catechism, liturgical books, the Gospel of saint Matthew and others into Aleutian. Bilingual (Russian and Kodiak-Aleutian) elementary schools were founded. In 1841 the theological seminary was transferred to New Archangelsk in order to educate future priests and translators. Father Netsvetov celebrated also bilingual (i.e. in Church Slavonic and vernacular dialects) liturgies in order to attract new faithful to the Orthodox Church. Since in 1867 Alaska was sold to the Americans, protestant and catholic missionaries came and the Aleutian schools were closed. Still in the XX century the number of the Orthodox in Alaska increased and until this day in Alaska the liturgy is celebrated – apart from the dominating English – also in the vernacular languages (of the Eskimos and Indians), Church Slavonic (often influenced by Russian) as well as in the other languages of the faithful.