John was born in August 1797 in the province of Irkutsk (Siberia) to poor parents, Eusebius and Thekla. When he was still a small child, at the age of five, his father fell asleep and his upbringing was taken over by his uncle, Hieromonk David, who sent him to the theological seminary in Irkutsk province. In 1817, at the age of twenty, he married Catherine and then – in the same year – was ordained a deacon. With this degree of priesthood he served the Church of Christ for four consecutive years, at the end of which he was ordained an elder. A milestone in the life of St. Innocent was the moment when the Holy Synod of the Church of Russia sought volunteer priests for the purpose of enlightening Alaska and the islands surrounding it.

Only a heart that danced to the rhythm of Divine Love could accept this holy invitation. A heart like John’s. And the family? What would happen to his wife, his child, his widowed mother?

This is exactly where the greatness of man lies. John did not think of abandoning his loved ones. But he managed to turn his personal ideal into a family ideal. He succeeded in transfusing the flame of his heart into the hearts of his own, so that all of them finally considered the missionary cause, the cause of God, their family affair. . So, in May 1823, with his family members as his fellow travellers-his wife, son, brother and mother-he set off via Siberia for Alaska, a journey that lasted more than a year. In Alaska, John discovered “nuggets” of Christians, baptized but abandoned for decades by the official church. Immediately, he began his missionary work utilizing a dilapidated chapel. He rebuilt churches, established missionary services, hospitals and schools. He learned the Aleut language and attempted translations of liturgical texts and Bible passages. Then, as another Cyril, he compiled the first grammar and the Aleut alphabet. He produced studies on the physiognomy of the region and the native inhabitants of the Unalaska Islands as a valuable manual for his successors to identify and understand them.

But which places and what kind of means did the Saint use to carry out his missionary activity? With sledges dragged by dogs, kayaks, and also by walking, he marched through the frozen land, touring from village to village and island to island, in order to warm and illuminate the cold and dark hearts of the people, darkened by idolatry. Not a single native remained in the error of idolatry after ten years of Elder John’s ministry. Although his family responsibilities were increasing, for he had had seven children, he continued his ministry unhindered. He even took the gospel to a remote island inhabited by Indians. It took him five years to Christianize them, but by God’s grace and patience he accomplished his goal. His successful, fruitful and ever-growing missionary effort forced him to return temporarily to Russia in search of co-workers. In Moscow he faced an unexpected and unpleasant trial, both for him and for his work. Elder Catherine rested, leaving him a widower with seven children. But he did not abandon his work. He did not hesitate to lean on the Divine mercy for himself and his family. He obeyed the exhortation of Metropolitan St. Filaret of Moscow and became a monk by the name of Innocent. Immediately after his deafness, he was elected bishop by the holy synod and entrusted with the spiritual care of the entire mission in America! He returned to Alaska, now as bishop, and continued unabatedly to devote himself to the work of cultivating souls in the field of the frozen continent. The account of his work exceeded all expectations. He built 9 temples, 37 houses of prayer and acquired a congregation of more than 15,000 believers. At the age of seventy, St. Innocent, despite all the health problems that plagued him and while he was considering continuing his missionary efforts by retiring to a monastery to offer his prayers until his death, was elected Metropolitan of Moscow. For ten long years – until his saintly death – as Metropolitan of Moscow he sacrificed himself with the same systematic and unparalleled zeal for important ecclesiastical issues, such as the operation of charitable church institutions, the education of priests, support for foreign missionary work and numerous others.

Married missionary?

Studying the life of Saint Innocent, feeling his ardent missionary desire and his miraculous work, while at the same time he was married and had a large family, my mind is tormented by “logical” questions. If a married family man and his family make the decision to minister the Church of Christ to the nations, in what society will their children be raised? Will they bear the weight of the difficulties and temptations they will encounter? Can parents deprive their children of goods such as home, education and comforts for which, later on, they are very likely to turn against them? I think we all humans – our children, our wife and even ourselves – are “fed up” with words that are so easily spoken. But we lack works, works that push us beyond the beautiful but passion-filled glass world we have created, works that please the Lord. We hesitate to jump into the “vacuum of the Divine embrace”, unable to entrust without limits and conditions not only our own life but that of our entire family into the hands of God, confident that we are doing His will, just as St. Innocent did. We lack the Divine “madness” of our complete abandonment to the mercy and care of Divine Love. So, I wonder, why not a married missionary? The memory of St. Innocent Veniaminov is commemorated on March 31.

Apolyticon

Thy grave, Savior. Sound of the first Alaskan light, Moscovia the cleos,
wise teacher, Innocentia the Divine,
you have conquered the ice and destroyed the error,
Christ the Sun, in the midst of the night you have exalted:
Since all the Church of God, in agreement, glorifies you.