St. Herman of Alaska

St. Herman of Alaska
(Commemorated August 9 & December 13)
(Early life)
A courageous Russian monk with the highly improbable Anglicized name of Herman (from the Greek Germanos and Slavonic German) was the first Orthodox Christian Saint canonized in the New World for his dedicated and heroic efforts in bringing the faith of Jesus Christ to the half-civilized natives of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska.
The man who was to become St. Herman of Alaska was born in 1756, in the city of Serpukhov, which was within the diocese of Moscow, to a pious merchant family, and entered monastic life at the age of 16, at the Monastery of Trinity-Sergius near the Gulf of Finland, about 10 miles from St. Petersburg.
(Healing)
While there he was attacked by a cancer of the face, on the right side of his throat under his chin there appeared abscess (pus). The swelling grew rapidly, disfiguring his face. It became difficult for him to swallow, and the odour was unbearable and he became seriously ill and when it seemed he could not survive, he resigned himself to an untimely end;
He did not appeal to a physician of this world, but locking his cell he fell before an icon of the Mother of God. With fervent tears he prayed, asking of Her that he might be healed. He prayed the whole night. Then he took a wet towel and with it wiped the face of the icon of the Most Holy Mother, and with this towel he covered the swelling. He continued to pray with tears until he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion on the floor. In a dream he saw the Virgin Mary (Panagia) completely healing him.
This miraculous event was a constant inspiration throughout a lifetime of rugged frontier service to the Lord.
(Tonsured a monk)
He was tonsured a monk in 1783 with the name of Herman (a form of Germanos), and was received into Valaam Monastery on Lake Ladoga. After some time, he was allowed to withdraw to the life of a hermit in the forest, and only came to the Monastery for feast days.  
While in the Lord’s service at the Monastery of Valaam, on Lake Ladoga, a spiritual mission was organized in 1793, the Church of Russia sent 10 monks of the Valaam Monastery to preach the Word of God to the native inhabitants of northwestern America, in the remote outposts of the Aleutian Islands, who only 10 years before had come under the sovereignty of Russia. Herman was among the members of this Mission. The monks crossed all of Siberia and, almost a year later, first saw Kodiak Island in September 1794.
The frigid wastes of the bleak islands, as well as Alaska, were inhabited by the descendants of the nomadic tribes that had crossed the Bering Sea, many of them presumed to be from the Siberian area of Russia. For that reason, the Aleuts had a sense of kinship with the Russian missionaries.
The monks set about their work, and found the native Aleut people so receptive to the Gospel of Christ that in the first year about 7,000 were baptized and 1,500 marriages performed.
Despite severe hardships, the missionaries covered huge distances, on foot and in small boats, to reach the scattered fishing settlements of the Aleuts. In general they found a warm reception, but many of the pagan shamans opposed their message and sometimes stirred up the people against them. It was thus that the (Priest-monk) St. Juvenaly (Juvenal) was killed in 1796, becoming the first martyr of North America.
A monastic centre was formed on Spruce Island of the Aleutian chain and was named New Valaam by Fr. Herman. It was from this spiritual centre that Fr. Herman served the people of Alaska, as well as the islands, for 40 years, during which time his fellow monks dwindled in number until the sole survivor was the venerable Fr. Herman.
His work for the good of the Aleuts and Alaskans was carried on alone until it was augmented by replacements from Mother Russia. Under the direction of Fr. Herman, the natives were taught how to make the most of the tillable land that their short summer season would allow.
Each passing day saw Fr. Herman converting people to Orthodox Christianity, who after 18 centuries, still had not heard the name of Jesus Christ.
Seemingly abandoned by the rest of the world, these hardy souls came to know the meaning of faith, with churches in which they could worship and schools in which their children could be educated. Even the traders and mariners who had once considered this desolate land a stopping place where they could replenish their supplies, now remained for a time to visit with an enlightened colony. Fr. Herman and his Monastery were visited because of his reputation for piety and hospitality as well.
Reached capacity: