Father Jacob
(Netsvetov) of Alaska was born of pious parents in 1802 on Atka Island, Alaska.
His father, Yegor Vasil’evich Netsvetov was a Russian from Tobolsk. His mother,
Maria Alekseevna, was an Aleut from Atka island. Yegor and Maria had four
children who survived infancy; Jacob was the first born, followed by Osip
(Joseph), Elena, and Antony. Yegor and Maria were devoted to their children
and, though of meager means, did all they could to provide them with the
education which would help them in this life as well as in the life to come.
Osip and Antony were eventually able to study at the Saint Petersburg Naval
Academy in Russia, becoming a naval officer and a shipbuilder, respectively.
Their sister, Elena, married a successful and respected clerk for the
Russian-American Company. But Jacob yearned for a different kind of success, a
success that the world might consider failure for “the righteous live forever,
their reward is with the Lord” (Wis. Sol. 5:15). And so, when the family moved
to Irkutsk in 1823, Jacob enrolled in the Irkutsk Theological Seminary and
placed all his hope in Christ by seeking first the Kingdom of God (Mt. 6:33).
Jacob
was tonsured as a Subdeacon on October 1, 1825. He married a Russian woman
(perhaps also a Creole) named Anna Simeonovna, and in 1826 graduated from the
Seminary with certificates in history and theology. On October 31, 1826, he was
ordained to the Holy Diaconate and assigned to serve the altar of the Holy
Trinity-Saint Peter Church in Irkutsk. Two years later, on March 4, 1828,
Archbishop Michael, who had earlier ordained Father John Veniaminov (Saint
Innocent), elevated the godly deacon Jacob to the Holy Priesthood. This,
however, was no ordinary ordination. As if he were a new Patrick, hearing the
mystical call of his distant flock, Father Jacob yearned to return to his
native Alaska. And the all-good God, who “satisfies the longing soul and fills
the hungry soul with goodness” (Ps.107:9) heard the prayer of his servant.
Archbishop
Michael provided Father Jacob with two antimensia: one for the new Church which
would be dedicated to the glory of God in honor of Saint Nicholas the
Wonderworker in Atka, and one to be used for missionary activity. On May 1,
1828 a molieben for travelers was served, and Father Jacob, his father, Yegor,
(now tonsured as reader for the Atka Church), and his matushka, Anna, set out
for Alaska.
Who
can tell of the perils and trials associated with such a journey? Travel in
those days was never easy, either overland or over the waves of the sea.
Nevertheless, aided by prayer and confidence in God’s providence, the Netsvetov
family arrived safely in Atka over a year later, on June 15, 1829. The new
assignment for the newly-ordained Father Jacob would also prove to be quite a
challenge. The Atka “parish” comprised a territory stretching for nearly 2,000
miles and included Amchitka, Attu, Copper, Bering and Kurile Islands. But this
did not deter the godly young priest, for when he was clothed in the garments
of the Priesthood, he was found to be “clad with zeal as a cloak’ (Is. 59:17),
and so he threw himself wholly into his sacred ministry. His deep love for God
and for his flock was evident in everything that he did. Both in Atka and in
the distant villages and settlements which he visited, Father Jacob offered
himself as a “living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1). Having “no worry about his life”
(Mt. 6:25 ff), the holy one endured manifold tortures of cold, wet, wind,
illness, hunger and exhaustion, for to him life was Christ (Phil 1:21). Showing
himself as a “rule of faith,” his example brought his people to a deep
commitment to their own salvation. Being fully bilingual and bicultural, Father
Jacob was uniquely blessed by God to care for the souls of his fellow Alaskans.
When
he arrived in Atka, the Church of Saint Nicholas had not yet been built. So,
with his own hands Father Jacob constructed a large tent (Acts 18:3) in which
he conducted the services. For Father Jacob the services of the Church were
life: life for his people and life for himself. It was in the worship of God
that he found both strength and joy. Later he would transport this tent with
him on his missionary journeys, and like Moses in the wilderness, the grace of
God was found wherever this tent was taken (Num 4:1 ff; 10:17 ff).
When
his first six months had ended (end of 1829), Father Jacob recorded that he had
baptized 16, chrismated 442, married 53 couples, and buried 8.
Once
the church was constructed, Father Jacob turned his attention to the building
of a school in which the children would learn to read and write both Russian
and Unangan Aleut. The Russian American Company provided some of the support
initially, with the students providing the remainder. This continued until
1841, when it was reorganized as a parish school and ties with the company
ceased. Father Jacob proved to be a talented educator and translator whose
students became distinguished Aleut leaders in the next generation.
Father
Netsvetov led an active physical and intellectual life, hunting and gathering
for his own subsistence needs, preparing specimens of fish and marine animals
for the natural history museums of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, corresponding
with Saint Innocent (Veniaminov) on matters of linguistics and translations. He
labored over the creation of an adequate alphabet for the Unangan-Aleut
language, and the translation of the Holy Scriptures and other appropriate
literature into that language. Saint Innocent praised the young pastor for his
holiness of life, his teaching, and for continuing this work of translating
which he, himself, had begun earlier among the native peoples. After fifteen
years of service, Father Jacob was awarded the Nabedrennik, Kamilavka, and Gold
Cross. Later, he would be made Archpriest and receive the Order of Saint Anna.
These
ecclesiastical awards do not tell of the personal sufferings of this warrior
for Christ. In March of 1836, his precious wife, Anna, died of cancer; his home
burned to the ground in July of 1836; and his dear father, Yegor, died of an
undetermined illness in 1837. Who can utter the depth of sorrow felt by this
God-pleaser? Yet he lifted up his voice with that ancient sufferer and cried,
“shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity? In all
this he did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10). In his journal Father Jacob
attributed all to “the Will of Him whose Providence and Will are inscrutable
and whose actions toward men are incomprehensible.” He patiently endured
hardships and sufferings like the Holy Apostle Paul. He saw in these misfortunes
not a Victory by the hater of men’s souls (i.e. the devil) but a call from God
to even greater spiritual struggles. With this in mind, Father Jacob petitioned
his ruling bishop to return to Irkutsk in order to enter the monastic life. A
year later, word reached him that permission was granted contingent upon the
arrival of a replacement. None ever came.
Instead,
Bishop Innocent soon came to Atka and asked Father Jacob to accompany him on a
voyage by ship to Kamchatka. Who can know the heavenly discourse enjoyed by
these two lovers of Christ as they traveled over the waves? This, however, is
clear, the holy archpastor was able to accomplish three things in Father
Netsvetov. Firstly, he applied the healing salve of the Spirit with words of
comfort; secondly, he dissuaded Father Jacob from entering the monastery; and
thirdly, he revealed to the godly priest the true plan of the Savior for his
life, that he ‘might preach (Christ) among the Gentiles” (Gal. 1: 16) deep in
the Alaskan interior. Father Jacob continued to serve his far-flung flock of
the Atka parish until December 30, 1844. A new zeal had taken hold of him, and
it was then that Saint Innocent appointed him to head the new Kvikhpak Mission
in order to bring the light of Christ to the people of the Yukon. Here, aided
by two young Creole assistants, Innokentii Shayashnikov and Konstantin Lukin,
together with his young nephew, Vasilii Netsvetov, Father Jacob “settled’ in
the wilderness of Alaska.
He
learned new languages, embraced new peoples and cultures, devised another
alphabet, built another church and Orthodox community, and for the next twenty
years, until his health and eyesight failed, continued to be an evangelical
beacon of the grace of God in southwestern Alaska.
Establishing
his headquarters in the Yup’ik Eskimo village of Ikogmiute (today’s ‘Russian
Mission’) he traveled to native settlements hundreds of miles up and down
Alaska’s longest river (the Yukon) as well as the Kuskokwim River region. At
the insistence of Indian leaders, he traveled as far as the middle of the
Innoko River baptizing hundreds of Indians from various, and often formerly
hostile, tribes. “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity” (Ps 133:1). He built the first Christian temple in this region,
and dedicated it to the feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross. Here Father
Jacob, in spite of failing health, joyfully celebrated the Church’s cycle of
services, including all of the services prescribed for Holy Week and Pascha.
Finally,
in 1863, the evil One, who “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he
may devour” (I Pet 5:8), sought one last time to get the better of the
righteous one. So the devil, the father of lies, (John 8:44), inspired an
assistant of Father Jacob to level spurious and slanderous charges against his
master. This resulted in a summons to Sitka, issued by Bishop Peter. The godly
pastor was quickly cleared of all charges, but due to his ever-worsening
health, he remained in Sitka for his final year serving a Tlingit chapel. He
died on July 26, 1864 at the age of 60 and was buried on the third day at the
entry of the chapel. During his final missionary travels in the Kuskokwim/Yukon
delta region, he had baptized 1,320 people—distinguishing himself as the
evangelizer of the Yup’ik Eskimo and Athabascan Indian peoples.
This
brief history has recounted the basic chronology of the saint’s life and
labors, but we must not neglect to relate his other deeds, that the light be
not “hidden under a bushel” (Mt.5:15). In 184 1, Father Jacob encountered a
group of women from his flock in Amlia who had fallen victim to certain demonic
influences and teachings. Blaming himself for the seduction and fall of his
spiritual children by the evil one, he informed the leader among them that he
was going to pay them a visit.
Upon
arriving, he found one of the women paralyzed, semi-conscious and unable to
speak. He ordered that she be removed to another house apart, and on the next
day when this was accomplished, he lit the lampada before the icons of the
beautiful corner, vested himself in his priestly epitrachilion (stole),
sprinkled holy water throughout the room, and began the first prayers of
exorcism. He then left.
During
the night he was notified that the woman had begun to speak but incoherently.
He came immediately to her and performed a second exorcism. This time, she
sprang out of her bed and stood next to the saint, joined her prayer to his,
and accompanied them with prostrations. When the prayers were finished, Father
Jacob again sprinkled her with holy water and gave her the precious cross to
kiss. She regained full consciousness, a state of health and true reason—that
is, even the false teachings of the evil spirits had no more part in her.
Once
in November of 1845, Father Jacob was preaching in the village of Kalskag,
where the local chief was also the head shaman. He spoke for all of the
villagers and resisted the Word of God forcefully. But the saint, calm and full
of the Holy Spirit, continued to sow the seeds of right belief and piety. After
many hours, the chief fell silent and finally came to believe. The villagers,
in solidarity with their leader, also joyously expressed their belief in the
Triune God and sought Holy Baptism.
Father
Jacob was a physician of bodies as well as souls. He often cared for the sick
among his flock even to his own detriment. During the winter of 1850-1851 the
saint was himself ravaged with illness. Yet he cared for the sick and dispensed
medicine to them every day. Father Jacob’s preaching often brought together in
the Holy Faith tribes who were traditional enemies. One example from his journal reads:
“Beginning
in the morning, upon my invitation, all the Kol’chane and Ingalit from the
Yukon and the local ones gathered at my place and I preached the word of God,
concluding at noon. Everyone listened to the preaching with attention and
without discussion or dissent, and in the end they all expressed faith and
their wish to accept Holy Baptism, both the Kol’chane and the Ingatit (formerly
traditional enemies). I made a count by families and in groups, and then in the
afternoon began the baptismal service. First I baptized 50 Kol’chane and
Ingalit men, the latter from the Yukon and Innoko. It was already evening when
I completed the service. March 21, 1853.”
So
it was that this apostolic man, this new Job, conducted himself during his
earthly course. There are many other deeds and wonders which he performed, many
known and many more known only to God. Few missionaries in history have had to
endure the hardships which Father Jacob faced, yet he did so with patience and
humility. His life of faith and piety are the legacy which he leaves to us, his
spiritual children in America, and indeed to all Christians throughout the
world.
Source of entire
article: https://oca.org/saints/lives/2010/07/26/102091-repose-of-st-jacob-netsvetov-the-enlightener-of-the-peoples-of-a
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