Eastern Orthodox Christianity traces its uninterrupted line of succession back to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator and Savior of the human race, who in His love commanded His Apostles to bring His message of redemption to all nations. It was this form of the Faith of Christ that the Natives of Alaska first encountered. Having received the Faith from holy men of God such as St. Herman, St. Innocent and St. Iakov, the Alaskan Natives eagerly embraced it, and to this day the Orthodox Church has more adherents among Native Alaskans than have any other churches in Alaska.
St. Herman and his fellow monks protected the Natives of Kodiak from Alexander Baranov, a despotic ruler who was eventually recalled to Russia for his wicked deeds, and who died on the voyage home. Later, during the infamous era when Natives were forcibly enrolled in boarding schools, Orthodox priests in Alaska, comprised mostly of Natives and Creoles, defended the children of their communities against slander by teachers and school administrators.
In more recent times, the Orthodox Faith has been embraced by many thousands of people in Central and South America. In the contiguous United States (known in Alaska as the Lower 48), however, American Indians have had little exposure to the Orthodox Faith.
Our aim is to address this lack. Today, as in the past, there are many American Indians who follow the Lord Jesus. There are yet others who are drawn to the all-compelling reality of Christ, but who are turned off by certain aspects of Western Christianity. To these people we wish to present the Undistorted Image of Christ as it has been handed down in the East.
Orthodox Native America is an online community dedicated to sharing the Orthodox Faith with Native Americans who are interested in it, as well as to establish and strengthen ties between Native peoples throughout the Americas who are already Orthodox.
The materials on the site are primarily in English, but we will also be posting texts written in European languages commonly spoken in Central and South America (for example, Spanish and Portuguese), in addition to traditional Native languages.
Materials on the website are written by both Natives and non-natives. All the material is checked for accuracy by one or more Native American Orthodox Christians prior to posting.
The site is maintained by the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, California, and is managed by Peter Navarro, an Orthodox Christian of the San Ynez Chumash tribe.
The site features a forum moderated by Peter Navarro. Here one can ask questions and discuss the Eastern Orthodox Faith, particularly as it relates to American Indians.
