Jacob Netsvetov (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Яков (Иаков) Егорович Нецветов), Enlightener of Alaska, was an Alaskan Creole from the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

who became a priest of the

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church, the second-largest Christian church in the world * Oriental Orthodox Churches, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a confessional Presbyterian denomination loc ...

and continued the missionary work of

Innocent Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is prior to the sense of legal guilt and is a primal emotion connected with the sense of self. It is often confused as being the op ...

for

Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tli ...

. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is celebrated on July 26, the day of his death.

Early life

Netsvetov was born Jacob Netsvetov in 1802, on

Atka Island Atka Island (, ) is the largest island in the Andreanof Islands of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The island is east of Adak Island. It is long and wide with a land area of , making it the 22nd largest island in the United States. The nor ...

, part of the Aleutian Island chain in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. He was the eldest child of four children that survived infancy, born to Yegor Vasil'evich Netsvetov from

Tobolsk Tobolsk (, ) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1587, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, and was the historic capita ...

, Russia, and Maria Alekscevna, an

Aleut Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...

from Atka Island. His father was a manager for the

Russian-American Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the Shelikhov-Golikov Company, United American Company. Emperor Paul I of Russia chartered the c ...

."Saint Jacob Netsvetov", Canadian Orthodox History Project
/ref> His surviving siblings were, in order of age, Osip (Joseph), Elena, and Antony.

Education and ordination

Netsvetov enrolled in the

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

Theological

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

"Repose of St Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska", Orthodox Church in America
/ref> at an early age. Osip and Antony were enrolled in the

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Naval Academy and became a naval officer and a ship builder respectively. His sister Elena married a clerk from the Russian-American Company. On October 1, 1825, Netsvetov was

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

d a sub-

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

. He married Anna Simeonovna, a Russian woman who may have been, like he was, of a Creole background, and in 1826 he graduated from the seminary with certificates in history and theology. Upon his graduation, he was ordained a

on October 31, 1826, and assigned to the Holy Trinity-St. Peter Church in Irkutsk.

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Michael ordained Netsvetov to the priesthood on March 4, 1828, making Netsvetov the first native Alaskan to be ordained to the priesthood."Saint Jacob Netsvetov", Orthodox Christian Network
/ref> At this time he made plans to return to his native Alaska to preach the Word of God. Upon departing, Archbishop Michael gave Netsvetov two antimensia, one for use in the new church that Netsvetov planned to build on Atka, and the other for use in Netsvetov's missionary travels. After a

molieben A Paraklesis () or Supplicatory Canon in the Byzantine Rite, is a service of supplication for the welfare of the living. It is addressed to a specific Saint or to the Most Holy Theotokos whose intercessions are sought through the chanting of the ...

, Netsvetov and his party set off for Alaska on May 1, 1828; the travelers included Netsvetov, his wife Anna, and his father Yegor who had been tonsured as a reader for the new Atka Church. This journey took over a year to complete, and they arrived in Atka on June 15, 1829.

Missionary work in Atka

Netsvetov's new Atka Parish covered most of the islands and land surrounding the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

, including

Amchitka Amchitka (; ;) is a volcanic, tectonically unstable and uninhabited island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island, with a land area of ro ...

, Attu, Copper, Bering, and

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

. Netsvetov was both

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

and bicultural, which helped him establish himself in a diverse community. While the St. Nicolas Church was under construction, Netsvetov used a large tent to hold services. He continued to use the tent after the church was completed, in order to preach in remote locations. By the end of 1829, six months after arriving at Akta, Netsvetov had recorded 16

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

s, 442

chrismation Chrismation consists of the sacrament or mystery in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, as well as in the Assyrian Church of the East initiation rites. The sacrament is more commonly known in the West as confir ...

s, 53

marriages Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

, and eight

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

s. With the completion of the church on Atka, Netsvetov turned to educating children, teaching them to read and write both Russian and Unangan Aleut. Initially the Russian-American Company helped support the school, but in 1841 the school was re-organized as a parish school. Many of his students would later become Aleut leaders. Netsvetov also helped in collecting and preparing fish and marine animal specimens for museums in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and St. Petersburg. He corresponded with

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and translation matters. He worked on an Unangan-Aleut alphabet, translations of the scriptures, and other church publications. In addition to praise from Innocent he began to receive awards for his services. In time he was elevated to archpriest and received the Order of St. Anna. Netsvetov's wife Anna died in March 1836, and his home was destroyed in a fire in July of the same year. His father, Yegor, died the following year. After these events he petitioned his bishop in order to return to Irkutsk and enter a

monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

life, a request that was approved a year later contingent on the arrival of his replacement. However, the church did not provide a replacement. On December 30, 1844, Innocent appointed him head of the new Kvikhpak Mission along the

Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S ...

. With his nephew Vasili Netsvetov and two young Creole assistants named Innokentii Shayashnikov and Konstantin Lukin. Netsvetov established his headquarters in the

Yup'ik The Yupʼik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yupʼik, Central Yupʼik, Alaskan Yupʼik ( own name ''Yupʼik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; Russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an ...

village of Ikogmiute. From there, he traveled hundreds of miles along the Yukon and

Kuskokwim The Kuskokwim River or Kusko River ( Yupʼik: ''Kusquqvak''; Deg Xinag: ''Digenegh''; Upper Kuskokwim: ''Dichinanekʼ''; (''Kuskokvim'')) is a river, long, in Southwest Alaska in the United States. It is the ninth largest river in the Unit ...

Rivers, visiting the inhabitants of settlements along the way. For the next twenty years he learned new languages, met new people and cultures, invented another alphabet, and built more churches and communities. At the invitation of the native leaders, he travelled as far as the

Innoko River The Innoko River (; (Deg Xinag: ''Yooniq'') is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows north from its origin south of Cloudy Mountain in the Kuskokwim Mountains and then southwest to meet the larger river across from ...

, baptizing hundreds from many formerly hostile tribes.Orthodox Church in America
/ref> An assistant lodged charges against him in 1863.
/ref> To settle the case, his Bishop Peter called him to Sitka where he was cleared of all the charges. As his health worsened, he remained in Sitka serving at the

Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...

chapel. During his last missionary travels in the Kuskokwim/Yukon delta region he is remembered for baptizing 1,320 people and for distinguishing himself as the evangelist of the Yup'ik and

Athabascan Athabaskan ( ; also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large branch of the Na-Dene language family of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, ...

peoples.

Hymns

Troparion A troparion (Greek , plural: , ; Georgian: , ; Church Slavonic: , ) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organised in more complex forms as series of stanzas. The wi ...

(Tone 4) ''O righteous Father Jacob,'' ''Adornment of Atka and the Yukon Delta;'' ''You offered yourself as a living sacrifice'' ''To bring light to a searching people.'' ''Offspring of Russian America,'' ''Flower of brotherly unity,'' ''Healer of sickness and terror of demons:'' ''O Holy Father Jacob,'' ''Pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved.''

Kontakion A kontakion (Greek , ''kondákion'', plural κοντάκια, ''kondákia'') is a form of hymn in the Byzantine liturgical tradition. The kontakion form originated in Syriac hymnography and gained prominence in Byzantium during the 6th century, ...

(Tone 3) ''O Holy Father Jacob,'' ''Teacher of the knowledge of God,'' ''You revealed your love for your people,'' ''Taking up your cross and following Christ,'' ''Enduring hardships like the

Apostle Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

.'' ''Pray on our behalf to Christ our God'' ''To grant us great mercy.''

Death

Saint Jacob Netsvetov's death was from natural causes while he was serving as a priest at Saint Michael's Cathedral on July 26, 1864 at the age of 60 and was buried at the Holy Trinity Church, Sitka. His legacy still goes on as many Russian descendants living in Alaska have family names that spring from 1800-1875 and follow the teachings of Saint Jacob Netsvetov in their day-to-day life.

References

Sources

* Holy Synod of Bishops OCA, ''The Life of Saint Jacob Netsvetov'', Oyster Bay Cove, New York, March 1994.

External links

The Life of Saint Jacob NetsvetovAlaskan Orthodox texts (Aleut, Yup'ik)
by St. Jacob Netsvetov
Saint Jacob Netsvetov's grave and final resting placeSaint Jacob Netsvetov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Netsvetov, Jacob Alaskan Creole people 1802 births 1864 deaths 19th-century Christian saints Alaska Native people Aleut people American saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodoxy in Alaska Saints from the Russian Empire