The San Francisco Episcopal See Until its Move to New York

Archpriest Nicholas DOMBROVSKY

In 2007 the Western American Diocese marks the 135th anniversary of the move of the episcopal seat from Sitka, in Alaska, to the city of San Francisco. We offer our readers an article written by an Archpriest of Holy Virgin Cathedral, Father Nicholas Dombrovsky, in 1972, on the occassion of the 100th anniversary of this event.

As we commemorate in 1972 the 100th anniversary of the move of the episcopal seat from Sitka, in Alaska, to the city of San Francisco our thoughts and our curiosity draw us to contemplate the events now a century old in order to learn at least some modest information about the first Russian church in our city as well as about the apostolic endeavors of the saintly people that served here as bishops. On the basis of the data taken from the magazine Orthodox American Herald ["Pravoslavnyj Russkij Vestnik"], for 1902, as well as from the collection of articles entitled, Seventy-fifth Jubilee of the Russian Orthodox Parish of San Francisco, California, published in 1943, and from the Jubilee Collection commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church in North America which was published in New York in 1944, I shall attempt to give a short historical sketch concerning both the church building itself which became from 1872 the cathedral seat of the bishop of Aleutians and Alaska, and their graces, the bishops who occupied this episcopal throne from its establishment here until it was moved on September 1, 1905, to the city of New York.

The first Russian Orthodox church in San Francisco was opened in 1868 at 504 Greenwich Street and was dedicated to the memory of Grand Duke St. Alexander Nevsky. In accordance with the request of the Russian consul in San Francisco, M. Klimkostrem, His Grace, Paul, the bishop of Novo-Arkhangelsk, the vicar of Metropolitan Innocent – who was at that time in charge of the American mission, appointed two permanent clergymen for the San Francisco church, both from the cathedral in Sitka, priest Nikolai Kovrygin and psalm reader Vasili Shishkin. In two years the church was moved to Jackson Street and consisted of two adjacent rooms. Later, in 1871, the church was once again moved to a more suitable place at the corner of Pierce Street and Union. There it stayed for about ten years. It was that church on Pierce Street that became the first cathedral of Bishop Ioann, the first ruling bishop of the Aleutian-Alaskan Diocese.

In 1881, the second bishop who ruled the San Francisco Diocese, Nestor, bought a parcel of land with a spacious three-storey building at 1715 Powell Street where he moved the church and the episcopal throne. The new location of the church and residence of the ruling bishop were adapted to the missionary needs of the time. For twenty four years the episcopal throne was located on Powell Street until it was moved in 1905 to the East Coast of the U.S.A. The San Francisco church itself lasted twenty five years, all until the terrible earthquake in 1906 during which fire destroyed almost the entire city including the church and all the premises on Powell Street.

The church on Powell Street was twice reconstructed during its 25 years of existence, and once it was damaged by fire. It is curious to note that every time the church was consecrated it was renamed. Thus, for example, in 1888, after it was enlarged, it was consecrated in the memory of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. In a year, a fire in the church destroyed all of its interior. During the following six months everything was restored and fixed, and the church was consecrated in memory of Saint Basil the Great. Finally, during the time of Bishop Nikolai the church was remodeled once more and consecrated to the Holy Trinity.

After the earthquake and the ensuing fire the new Holy Trinity cathedral was built on the corner of Green Street and Van Ness in 1909 on the parcel of land acquired by Archbishop Tikhon, the future Patriarch of All Russia, during his stay in San Francisco.

And so, during the 38 years of the existence of the church in San Francisco, until the earthquake, the church occupied rented premises for 13 years, and then 25 years on the parcel of land which it owned. As for the episcopal throne, it remained here 33 years until it was moved to the East.

The parishioners of the San Francisco cathedral in those times were Russian businessmen who lived here as well as those Russians who moved here from Alaska after the sale of Alaska to the U.S. The membership of the Russian church here also included, besides the Russians, Serbs, Greeks and Syrians.

Such are the brief pieces of information about the first Russian church in San Francisco during that time period. That church, in effect, served as a blessed Russian Orthodox candle from which with the passage of time other lights of Orthodoxy were lit in many other parts of America.

As far as the bishops who served the Church in our city are concerned, they were all, in the fullest sense of that word, missionaries, indefatigable workers in their diocese, and enlighteners of the new flocks of Christ’s Church. During the presence of the archierarchical throne in San Francisco the basic work was done on the missionary endeavor of returning to Orthodoxy the Carpatho-Russian Uniates who lived primarily in the eastern part of the United States. Of course, the Uniate parishes did not immediately make their switch to Orthodoxy, but, in any case, the preparatory work for this reunion was undertaken in San Francisco.

Missionary work in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands also continued. The ruling bishop would very often undertake arduous journeys making a circuit among parishes there, appointed priests for the newly created parishes and comunities, took care of the diocesan business through Ecclesiastical Administration, took care that churches were properly maintained and new ones built. They paid special attention to religious and general education of the newly converted Orthodox faithful.

From 1858 on, i.e. from the departure of Bishop Innokentiy, the future Metropolitan of Moscow, to Yakutsk, the Orthodox Mission in Alaska was ruled by vicar bishops, who had the title of ‘Bishop of Novo-Arkhangelsk’ and whose episcopal throne was in Sitka. By the decision of the Most Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, in 1870 the Orthodox Mission in Alaska was elevated to the status of independent diocese, and a bishop, whose title was ‘Bishop of Aleutians and Alaska’ was sent there.

The first archipastor of the newly created diocese was Bishop Ioann (Mitropolskiy), who had a BA from the Moscow Theological Academy. On his way to Alaska, Bishop Ioann in 1870 visited San Francisco, and here took place a meeting of two hierarchs: between Bishop Paul, who was leaving Alaska for Russia and who had been the vicar Bishop of Novo-Arkhangelsk, and the newly arrived bishop who had the title ‘of the Aleutians and Alaska’. At that time the two archipastors (bishops) conducted the first archipastoral divine service in San Francisco. Services at that time took place in the church on Greenwich Street.

It seems that Bishop Ioann took a liking to the city of San Francisco; in addition, there was already a parish and a church here, for, after staying for a year in Sitka and having come to know the diocese and the conditions of life in it, in the summer of 1871 he moved his residence to San Francisco, and, with the permission of the Most Holy Synod, in 1872 he moved his episcopal throne there as well. Thus, this year, it will be 100 since this event took place.

With the transfer of the diocesan seat to San Francisco, church life here was significantly enlivened. Immediately, diocesan offices were set up, the archives and documents of the Alaskan Orthodox Mission were moved from Sitka to San Francisco, the diocesan office staff workers were hired, among whom was a brother of the bishop, Nikolai Mitropolskiy, who passed away in this city in the rank of a protopriest 1n 1922 and was buried in the Serbian Cemetery. The organization of the diocesan seat was entrusted to Protopriest Paul Kedrolivanskiy who had just arrived from Russia.
In contrast to Sitka, the archipastoral throne and the center of the Ortho-dox Mission here, in San Francisco, became more visible to the heterodox religions, to the inhabitants of the city and even the entire nation. Bishop Ioann immediately took that into consideration, and, since he was theologically quite well educated, felt it necessary not to limit his missionary endeavors merely to the propagation of the Orthodox faith among the natives and settlers in the Aleutian islands and Alaska, but to defend the Orthodox faith by scholarly means. For that purpose he labored intensely on the publication of his works: “History of the Ecumenical Councils” and “Something about the History of Religious Sects in America”, in five volumes, as well as others. It was he who translated also the Akathist to Sweetest Lord Jesus.

Thanks to his good relations with government figures as well as with the Orthodox faithful who lived here Bishop Ioann was able in a very short time elevate the prestige of the Russian Church, not only in the eyes of the Russian colony, but among Americans as well. In this endeavor he was greatly aided by the Russian consul, M. Klimkostrem.

For eight years Bishop Ioann served the diocese In San Francisco. In the Fall of 1879 he was recalled to Russia, and in 1880, Bishop Nestor (Zakkis) was sent to replace him. The new bishop came from a noble family and had served in the lay world as an officer of the Russian Imperial Navy. Having been tonsured as a monk and having entered on the path of service to God and Church, he attained to a very high level of spiritual life and self-education.

After a year’s stay in San Francisco Bishop Nestor acquired a spacious, three-storey building at 1715 Powell Street, in which he set up a permanent church/cathedral, bishop’s residence, and the offices of the Diocesan Ecclesiastical Administration.

During his quite short stay in San Francisco as the diocesan bishop, Bishop Nestor devoted quite a lot of time to the defense of the rights and interests of the Russian Church, its clergy and the natives of Alaska. For this purpose he undertook two trips to Alaska.

After the sale of that territory to the United States, certain commercial enterprises, taking advantage of the change in the ruling powers, kept expanding their holdings at the expense of those of the Church and treated Orthodox natives unscrupulously. In addition, the administration of the territory often harmed the interests of the Orthodox Church in Alaska through its official mandates. In order to defend the abovementioned interests, the ruling bishops sometimes even had to contact the White House.

In one of its reports, the Sitka clergy wrote to Bishop Nestor: “When Alaska was sold by our government, the government of the United States of America vouched that the Russian churches and people which remained in America would be preserved and protected in terms of their rights to freedom, private ownership, and religion. However, at present, we have no protection whatsoever …”

The second trip undertaken by Bishop Nestor to Alaska was motivated by his desire to defend the said interests. In May, 1882, he traveled there on board a commercial vessel “Saint Paul” and remained there until autumn. Originally, he considered staying there for the entire winter, but then he changed his mind and set out on a return journey. On his way home there occurred a dire and unexpected event – Vladyka Nestor drowned in the ocean near the coast of Unalaska under unknown circumstances.

For six years the Aleutian-Alaskan Diocese remained orphaned, and all that time the diocese was ruled by the Metropolitan of Saint Petersburg Isidore through a member of the Religious Administration, protopriest Vladimir Vechtomov. And, only in 1888, the Most Holy Synod appointed for America Bishop Vladimir, who arrived to San Francisco, his place of service, in 1889.

Bishop Vladimir (Sokolovskiy), before being appointed to head the Aleutian-Alaskan diocese, served first in the Japanese Orthodox Mission under the guidance of the great missionary and apostle of Japan, Bishop Nikolai (Kasatkin), and then as an inspector at the Theological Seminary of Kholmsk.
Bishop Vladimir arrived here with a group of 18 students of the Kholmsk Seminary and four clergymen: Abbot George Chudnovski, priest-monk Elias, priest Vasiliy Martysh, and priest-monk Iosif Levin (convert from Judaism).

Since he was still young, Bishop Vladimir labored with a special zeal and energy for the benefit of his diocese. Missionary endeavors were especially dear to his heart. He spoke fluently both German and Japanese. In order to maintain his knowledge of Japanese he had a cell attendant who was an Orthodox Japanese with whom he spoke only in Japanese. Of course, soon Bishop Vladimir learned English to the extent that he could conduct services and give sermons in English, and publish in English brochures and fliers on religious subjects. In general, however, services in English during his tenure were conducted by the Serbian priest-monk Sebastian.

A contemporary of Bishop Vladimir writes about him: “In his daily lifestyle Bishop Vladimir was very strict to himself. He rose earlier than all others and worked more than others; he sustained himself mainly by rice, vegetables and fruits. He did not recognize any vitamins. He loved color blue: in his chambers all furniture was painted blue; the corridor which led from the cathedral to the bishop’s quarters on the second storey was decorated in blue, and the interior of the temple and the bell tower were both painted in sky blue color.”

“Bishop Vladimir managed very quickly to get used to the local conditions and customs. Thanks to his excellent knowledge of English, he was at home in the Yankee New World. He loved the climate of California, loved the greatness of its mountain heights, and loved its enchanting, ever green nature. It seemed as if everything was coming up roses for him, but fate willed otherwise …”
Bishop Vladimir liked solemn, beautiful services and served very solemnly himself. Every second Sunday in his presence there were akathist services to the Theotokos which drew many faithful, especially Serbs.

He established at the bishop’s residence a theological school in which students followed the same course of study as in the theological schools in Russia. This school was not very big; its student body consisted of students recruited in Alaska, in the Aleutians, and two students each from Chicago and New Orleans, as well as students from San Francisco. The aim of this school was to prepare candidates to serve as priests in their own localities.

Bishop Vladimir also exhibited a great zeal in building churches, defending the interests of the Orthodox Church, and made visits all over the diocese. It was he who completed the great missionary task of uniting to Orthodoxy the first Uniate parish of Minneapolis, in the state of Minnesota. The rector of that parish, protopriest Aleksei Tovt, came to San Francisco at the end of 1890 and was converted to Orthodoxy here, and afterwards, having returned home, he began to lead his spiritual children. his parishioners, to Orthodoxy as well. In March 1891, having learned that the entire parish is ready to accept Orthodoxy, Bishop Vladimir personally traveled to Minneapolis in order to conduct the office of receiving converts into the Orthodox Church. That significant event served as an impetus for other Uniate parishes to convert back to the faith of their ancestors. Thus, the beacon of Russian Orthodoxy began to spread its light in the eastern part of the United States.

A rather unpleasant event which took place during Bishop Vladimir’s stay in San Francisco was the fire which took place on 9 May, 1889, which destroying not only the cathedral part but the bishop’s residence in which lived Vladyka himself, the clergy, and the students. It took six months to restore the cathedral church and the residence. During the restoration, bell towers with seven blue cupolas, with a sprinkling of stars, were added to the original three-storey stone building. The architectural sight presented by this restored building was so much to the liking of the citizens of the city, that American newspapers, “Examiner” and “Chronicle”, proclaimed it “the pride of the northern half of San Francisco”. The blessing of the restored church took place on the day of the Protection of the Theotokos, and the church was dedicated to Saint Basil the Great.

Not very long, only three years, did Bishop Vladimir head the American Diocese, due to the slander against him perpetrated by priest-monk Iosif Levin, who was hoping in this manner to obtain the leadership of the San Francisco episcopal throne for himself. Although the Most Holy Synod did not believe the accusations raised by this informer/slanderer, it nevertheless at the end of 1891 recalled Bishop Vladimir to Russia and appointed him to take the Ostrogozhski episcopal throne in the Voronezh Diocese. Bishop Vladimir ended his life already after the Revolution, in 1933, in Spaso-Andronievsky Monastery, in the Rogozhski part of Moscow, defending to the end the canonical path of the Russian Church.

After Bishop Vladimir, in the same year of 1891, Bishop Nikolai (Ziorov) arrived in San Francisco. Before his elevation to bishop and assignment to America, after he finished in 1875 the Moscow Theological Academy with an MA in theology, he first taught in Ryazan Theological Seminary, then he taught In Vologda Seminary and performed the duties of an inspector there, and finally he worked as an inspector in the Mogilev Seminary. After he was tonsured as a monk and was ordained as a priest, in 1887, he was the rector of the Moscow Seminary and later of the Tbilisi Seminary.

Bishop Nikolai exhibited an exceptional talent for episcopal duties. He was an enlightened person, very energetic, and very erudite. Although he was by nature very temperamental, occasionally very strict and irritable, he was also easily appeased and quick to shift his anger to mercy.

One of his very valuable and exceptional character traits was his ability to choose the right people to work with. He was able to recruit people from various parts of Russia for missionary work, especially people from the places where he had worked as well as from his place of birth.

During his first year in San Francisco he made a trip to the various parishes in Alaska and the Aleutian islands, and traveled also to the East in order to familiarize himself about the situation of the existing Russian parishes there and to explore the possibility of establishing new ones.

During his seven year tenure as bishop in America 26 formerly Uniate parishes were received into Orthodoxy by him, many fraternal societies were established united under the Orthodox Society for Mutual Aid, and two missionary schools were opened, first one in Minneapolis and later on another one in Cleveland. Vladyka also managed to obtain 30 scholarships from theological seminaries in Russia for the best students of the various missionary schools in the United States. He organized a press which published “American Orthodox Herald” [Amerikanskiy Pravoslavniy Vestnik], newspaper “Light” [Svet], and other publications of religious educational nature. Thinking that the question of schools was of utmost importance he paid much heed to and did much work for the establishment of parish schools. He was also solicitous to the clergy for whom he managed to obtain old age pensions through the statute enacted by the Siberian Committee on North American Mission.

Bishop Nikolai also organized the celebration of two centennial jubilees: in 1894 the centennial of the establishment of the Alaska Mission, and in 1896 the one hundred year anniversary since the birthday of the first bishop of Alaska – Innokentiy Veniaminov, who consequently became the Metropolitan of Moscow. These celebrations bore witness before the Russian people and the Russian Orthodox Church about the vitality of the Orthodox Mission in America and the degree of organizational efficiency of the Diocese.

Because of all his accomplishments in the Alaskan Mission, the period of his tenure as bishop in San Francisco was called “the golden age of the Mission” by many people, and his work was compared to the missionary work of Metropolitan Innokentiy in Alaska.

In 1898, in the eighth year of his apostolic endeavors in the American Mission, Bishop Nikolai decided to return to Russia, and there he was appointed to the episcopal throne of Tavricheski.
Further work in building up and strengthening Orthodox Mission here was entrusted into the hands of Bishop Tikhon (Belyavin), the future Patriarch of All Russia. By birth he was from the town of Toropets, Pskov District. His father’s family was also a clergy family. His theological education he received in Pskov and in Moscow. He took his monastic vows in 1891 and was ordained a bishop in 1897. He was sent to America in 1898.

“When I speak of Bishop Tikhon I cannot help trembling from admiration. He was a giant among the Russian Orthodox hierarchs; he was, indeed, worthy of honor and respect by all the Christian world… By nature he was kind, sympathetic and unusually receptive. His personal character was quiet, compassionate, slow to anger, and he always tried to maintain an expression of calm in his face, and this calmness he spread into the souls of all those who came into contact with him. His every word, which he uttered in a quiet voice, carried with it a sense of quiet, holy peace.

Outwardly, he was exceptionally radiant and elegant, making a very likeable impression on others. His noble and expressive face reflected the greatness of his soul; he appeared refreshed and alert. I am describing him such as he was in America. He was simple both in society as well as in administrative affairs; he often wrote his decisions personally without any consistorial formalities whatsoever… During the time of Bishop Tikhon all people were united through shared positions, interests, feelings and thoughts; throughout the Mission there reigned blessed peace, concord, friendship and love.” Thus did one of his contemporaries in America, Professor Pavel Zaichenko, describe Vladyka’s character.

Being blessed with the strong talent for administrative duties Bishop Tikhon, with great success, with unflagging energy and enthusiastic zeal, continued the task of strengthening and developing the Mission. Following the example of his predecessors he likewise often undertook trips around his diocese, to Alaska, and also to the various states of the U.S. as well as to Canada.

In order to give a picture of some of the difficulties he encountered during such trips we only need to cite a few excerpts from the descriptions of witnesses. “On the sixth of May, 1900, at two in the afternoon, His Grace Tikhon departed for Alaska on board steamer Homer belonging to the Northern Commercial Company. This time His Grace wished to visit the Kuskokwim Mission. That mission was established by Bishop Nikolai. Since the only means of transportation to this mission is travel by dog sled, that means that Vladyka, now that it is summer, has to endure all the difficulties of a traveler by foot: crossing marshy tundras, and in especially difficult spots, even to learn the skills of a load carrier… The lack of any means of transportation during summertime to this mission prevented the previous archipastors from visiting this corner of the diocese.”

Priest Ioann Orlov noted in his travel diary: “In 1905 through God’s providence I made a journey, as a travel companion to Bishop Tikhon and Father Ioann Korchinski, from the Russian Mission on the Yukon (Kuigpag) through portages over tundra, crossing lakes and small rivers, to the Kuskokwim River and to my Pavlovsk Mission… Myriads of mosquitoes tormented us during the whole trip. During the stops for the night and tea breaks all of us along with Vladyka gathered dry pieces of wood for the fire. Occasionally, on this trip we were able to shoot a wild duck or a goose. Vladyka helped me to clean the feathers off the game. I served as a hunter and cook for our group. Whenever we had to go through the forest Vladyka would send me ahead with a rifle in case we encountered bears or other wild animals.”

Prof. Zaichenko noted down the following in the journal about his trip with Bishop Nikolai: “We arrived to the church cabin. (This is in Mikhailovsky Redoubt.) In this very poorly constructed dwelling there were strong drafts from the windows, from the walls, and from under the floor; the ceiling was ‘decorated’ by a fringe made of spider webs. Its interior was primitive, filthy, and cold. The wind blew inside without impediment. The air reeked of rotten fish and stinky deer hide of the outer garments. From the direction of the sea one could hear the roar of raging surf; the cabin shook from time to time with every strong gust of wind. Vladyka was in a dark mood and could not sleep the entire night. As for me, even though a sense of disgust tormented me, I fell onto the dirty bunk and immediately fell fast asleep like an exhausted soldier.”

These lines from the memoirs of Prof. Zaichenko incontrovertibly witness to the difficulties of making the circuits of the diocese as well as to the self-denial on the part of Bishop Tikhon, and to the same degree, of his predecessors.

Through the efforts of Bishop Tikhon, instead of the missionary school in Minneapolis, a theological seminary, which had the goal of preparing local men as candidates for the priesthood, was opened there, and, in 1906 a seminary was opened in Sitka, in the Alaskan Vicariate. In 1905, Saint-Tikhon’s Monastery was established in South Canaan in Pennsylvania along with an attached orphanage. He also assisted in the establishment of a girls’ school with an orphanage in Alaska. He devised a plan for missionary activities in the Alaska territory as well as in the United States, thanks to which in 1900 the Aleutian-Alaskan Diocese was renamed as the Aleutian and North American Diocese. In connection with this there soon followed the establishment of two vicariates: in 1903, the Alaskan Vicariate with its seat in Sitka (former Novo-Arkhangelsk), and the second one in 1904 with its seat in Brooklyn, state of New York.

Finally, on 1 September, 1905, thanks to the petition to the highest church authorities by Vladyka Tikhon, who was by then archbishop, the seat of the ruling bishop of the diocese was moved from San Francisco to New York. That event exerted a great influence on the growth of Orthodox parishes in the Eastern states.

At the end of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth emigration to the United States from the western regions of Russia as well as from Galicia, Hungary, Bukovina, and other places increased significantly. The newly arrived emigrants spread out primarily in the eastern part of the United States and began their lives in the new homeland by setting up churches and coming together by organizing parish communities. Without a doubt, the presence of the ruling hierarch and Church governing authorities in their vicinity helped the development of the parish and church life for the new arrivals.

Even after the move of the episcopal seat to New York, the San Francisco church retained the title of cathedral.

In 1907 Archbishop was appointed to head the Yaroslavl Diocese. Thus, in 1905, with the departure of the future patriarch of the much-suffering Russian Church, the first period of the presence of the episcopal seat in San Francisco came to an end.

In conclusion I shall cite some statistical data about the Aleutian and North American Diocese, taken from the “American Orthodox Herald” (“Amerikanskiy Pravoslavnyj Vestnik"), published in 1902, which will more convincingly testify about the fruitful endeavors of the Russian Orthodox Mission in America under the leadership of the bishops who had their episcopal thrones in San Francisco.

In 1902, the Diocese had: 28 churches (in the United States 30, in Alaska Territory 17, in Canada 1) and 61 chapels… The clergy of the diocese consisted of 3 archimandrites, 2 protopriests, 7 monk-priests, 31 priests and one monk-deacon. The number of actual parish members of the Diocese reached 30,000. Broken down by tribes and nationalities these were: Russians from Russia – 1,012 people, Galicians – 2,450, Ugrorussians [ Hungaro-Russians?] – 4,264, Bukovinians – 1,500, Serbs and other Slavs – 2,500, Greeks – 600, Arabs – 5,500, for a total of 17,826 souls. In Alaska territory: Creoles – 2,179 people, Indians – 2,124, Aleuts – 2,720, Eskimos – 5,101, other tribes – 24 for a total of 12,166 souls.

In 1902 there were 1,279 baptisms, 628 funerals, 400 weddings, and 880 conversions to Orthodoxy (from the Uniate church – 595, from Roman Catholicism – 51, from Protestantism – 24, from Judaism – 5, from paganism – 205).

There were 55 church schools in the Diocese; of these three were missionary schools with shelters [orphanages, dorms for students?] in Sitka, Unalaska and Minneapolis, 10 one-class church parish schools (with shelters in Kodiak both for male and female students, and in Nuchek and 42 literacy schools. As for the number of students in these schools, there were 1,000 students of both sexes.
The Diocese also had 51 church parish brotherhoods in the United States which made up the Orthodox Mutual Aid Society whose honorary chairman at the time was Bishop Tikhon. In Alaska such brotherhoods existed in eight parishes, and in one parish in Canada.

Here I shall end my report about one of the richest pages in the history of the missionary endeavors of the Russian Orthodox Mission in America.

Archpriest Nicholas DOMBROVSKY
San Francisco, 1972.

Translated from the Russian by Priest Anatole Lyovin