The Holy Resurrection Church represents the Russian Orthodox faith. Its blue domes make it one of the most recognized structures in Kodiak.
The Russian Orthodox presence in Kodiak dates to 1794, not long after Kodiak was founded. The current church is the fourth at this site. It was built in 1945 to replace the previous building that burnt down in 1943. The church building and its detached 19th century belltower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The church was elevated to Cathedral status in 2001.
The photo below was used as last weekend’s One Clue Mystery Photo. It was recognized by….
(One Clue Mystery Photo)
The Cathedral contains the relics of St. Herman, a Russian born monk who came to Kodiak in 1794. He established a bilingual school for the native Aleut people of Kodiak and cared for orphans on nearby Spruce Island. He stood up for natives being mistreated by Russian fur traders. I believe he was the first Alaskan saint.
There are a few graves on the church grounds….
The church was closed during or visit, so we could not see its interior (we tried 2 different days to do so). It seems that it is only open weekdays when a cruise ship comes to town.
