1755 - St. Herman is born into a family of
merchants in the town of Serpukov, southeast of Moscow; his Christian and his
family name are unknown.
1771 - At the age of 16, he enters the Monastery of
St. Sergius, near St. Petersburg.
1776-1777
- Attracted by the spiritual fame of Abbot Nazarios, St. Herman enters the
ancient Valaamo Monastery on Lake Ladoga in Russian Finland.
1793 - St.
Herman volunteers to be part of the mission to Russian America being recruited
by Abbot Nazarios at the direction of Gabriel, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg.
12/25/1793
- The eight monks from the Valaamo, Koniev, and St. Alexander Nevsky
Monasteries leave St. Petersburg bound for Kodiak, Alaska.
9/24/1794
- The arrival in Kodiak of the first
formal Orthodox mission, known as the "Kodiak Mission." Their journey
is the longest missionary journey in the history of the Orthodox Church.
11/21/1794
- Founding of the Holy Resurrection Church in Kodiak.
1795 - Priest-monk
Makarios is sent to the Aleutian Islands; priest-monk Juvenal is sent into the
interior of the mainland. The same year, Juvenal is martyred on Lake Iliamna.
1796 - Priest-monk
Makarios returns to St. Petersburg with some Aleuts in order to complain of the
brutality of the Russian traders and hunters towards the Aleut people.
1799 - The
head of the Kodiak Mission, Archimandrite Joasaf, returns to Irkutsk in Siberia
and is consecrated Bishop of Kodiak. Deacon-monk Steven and two unnamed cantors
accompany him; on the return trip they are joined by priest-monk Makarios. They
all perish in shipwreck on the high sea. A third cantor is drowned at a later,
undetermined date. The Kodiak Mission, five years after its arrival, includes
one priest; one deacon; and two monks.
1800 - The
head of the Russian establishment, Alexander Baranov, in a letter addressed to
the "monk steward Herman" forbids the missionaries to have any
contacts with the native peoples, blaming the missionaries for native unrest
and accusing them of trying to stir up a revolt of the natives against the
Russians.
1801 - The
missionaries attempt to proclaim the oath of allegiance to the emperor against
the wishes of Baranov. At the end of a violent scene, in which St. Herman
attempts to intervene, Baranov orders them to their home and places them under
virtual house arrest, forbidding the natives to see them; for more than a year,
there are no public services in Kodiak. The missionaries send a collective
complaint to the Holy Synod in St. Petersburg.
1804 - Arrival
of Father Gideon from St. Petersburg, charged to oversee the Kodiak Mission and
to restore order.
1806 - The
deacon-monk Nectarios leaves America.
1807 - Father
Gideon leaves America.
1811 - The
Holy Synod in St. Petersburg closes the Kodiak Diocese. The Bishop of Irkutsk
is given responsibility for Alaska, and missionaries henceforth depend directly
on him.
1816 - Arrival
in Sitka of the first priest, Father Alexis Sokolov.
1816 - Martyrdom
of Peter the Aleut in California at the instigation of Roman Catholic
missionaries.
1819 - Simeon
Yanovsky, son-in-law of Alexander Baranov and his successor as general manager
of the Russian American Company, a freethinker, meets Father Herman and is
converted; he becomes his spiritual son.
1819 - Epidemic
at Kodiak; St. Herman ministers to the sick and dying at great personal risk.
1820 - Formal
closure of the Kodiak Mission.
1820 - A
20-year-old Aleut woman, Sophia Vlassov, becomes St. Herman’s disciple and
works at the school which he establishes.
1820 - A
priest sent out from Irkutsk deals brutally with St. Herman, tearing up his
cabin in search of alleged treasure hoarded by the saint. A new period of
persecution by the Russians is begun.
1823 - Death
of the monk Joasaf at Kodiak.
1824 - Arrival
in Unalaska of the young priest, John Veniaminov.
1824 - Arrival
in Kodiak of the priest, Frumenti Mordovsky; departure of Father Athanasios.
1825 - Arrival
at Attu (Aleutian Islands) of the first Aleut priest, James Netsvetov, one of
the greatest Orthodox missionaries in Alaska.
1831 - The
administrator of the colony, Ferdinand von Wrangell, meets St. Herman in
Kodiak; the persecution ends.
1834 - Father
John Veniaminov is transferred to Sitka and begins his mission among the
Tlingit peoples, whom he admires and respects.
12/13/1837
- St. Herman resposes on Spruce Island, where he is buried by his faithful
disciples.
1867 - Bishop
Peter of Sitka gathers information in the first formal inquiry into St.
Herman’s life.
1894 - The first official biography of St. Herman is
published by the Valaamo Monastery.
1903 - he Great Russian Encyclopedia compares St.
Herman to the desert fathers of the Church.
1969 - The
Great Council of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America announces its intent
to canonize St. Herman.
8/9/1970 –
St. Herman is canonized in
ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Resurrection, Kodiak, Alaska.
Source: https://oca.org/fs/chronology-life-st-herman-of-alaska
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