ANCHORAGE, ALASKA: 1 July 2025
Bishop James of Sonora takes part in the glorification of Righeous Olga of Alaska

The official glorification of Righteous Olga of Alaska took place in Anchorage, AK, on June 30, 2025. Hundreds of pilgrims arrived in the tiny remote Alaskan village of Kwethluk, where mother Olga's husband, Father Nikolai, served as a priest and where she was buried after her righteous death in 1979. She is the first Orthodox Native American to be canonized among the saints. Among the pilgrims were four surviving children of Righteous Olga, as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Fr Nikolai and Mother Olga had a total of 13 children, 8 of whom lived to adulthood.

"One of the sons of St Olga, James O'Michael, currently lives in a nursing home in Bethel after suffering a stroke that left him paralyzed," reports the Anchorage Daily News. On Friday morning, a team of medical professionals transported him upriver, which in itself was a challenging task requiring the use of portable stretchers. Upon arriving in Kwethluk, James was carefully taken out of the pickup, carried down the stairs into the church (where his mother, now honored as 'the Mother of all Alaska,' worked selflessly for many years and grew in virtue) and transferred to a wheelchair. His daughter held her father's head close while the people arriving at the temple paused to kiss him on the forehead or quietly greet him...

The celebrations in Kwethluk and then in Anchorage – the largest city in Alaska – were presided over by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, the primate of the Orthodox Church in America, along with a whole assembly of hierarchs, including His Eminence Archbishop Alexis of Sitka and all Alaska (Trader) of the OCA, the initiator of the canonization of Mother Olga, and His Grace Bishop James of Sonora (Corazzo) from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). The festivities began on Thursday evening with the all-night vigil at the Church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker in Kwethluk, during which the glorification of the righteous took place. That evening, the hymn in honor of the saint was sung for the first time. The next morning, eight hierarchs served the Divine Liturgy, which was led by Metropolitan Tikhon, and the sermon was delivered by Archbishop Alexis.

“Today the Holy Church in Alaska joins the choir of Heavenly powers, glorifying our beloved Mother. Yes, now Heaven rejoices; now the earth listens. The earth does not cry out, but listens. For silence is deeper than any words. The tundra also listens. The rivers stand still. Even the summer sky becomes quiet. A new saint has been revealed. Not from a distant country, not from forgotten times, but right here and now, in Kwethluk. From the heart of our land, from the soul of our people, Saint Mother Olga has been revealed,” proclaimed the archbishop. “The world loudly praises greatness, but Heaven appreciates quiet, humble holiness. Righteous Olga did not seek any titles, nor did she strive for glory. It was her compassion that became her crown, and her humble prayer that was her strength.

“And now the Church proclaims what many have already known deep down: our Mother Olga from Kwethluk was a saint! Our Holy Olga! She lived quietly, but her life speaks volumes. What does it speak of? That holiness is possible. That God is near and that even in sorrow, even in silence you can become a light to this world,” he added.

After Liturgy, the residents of Kwethluk invited the hierarchs, clergy, and pilgrims to share a festive meal at the local school. In the evening of the same day, the archpastors and clergy headed to Anchorage, where the celebrations continued at the cathedral in honor of St Innocent of Moscow (OCA).

In Anchorage, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, who temporarily manages the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA and Canada, joined the hierarchs of the OCA and the ROCOR. The canonization ceremony of Righteous Olga made a profound impression on many people. One pilgrim named Maria wrote: "There are moments in life that leave a mark deeper inside you than memory - moments that settle forever in the soul. Participating in the canonization of Holy Mother Olga in Kwethluk became one of those moments for me. It was something more than just observing a ceremony; I stood in the presence of something deeply holy, profoundly human, and indescribable."

Prayers, unity, respect for ancestors, tears, the earth — all of this intertwined so completely that it cannot be conveyed in words. Trying to explain it is like trying to describe the Northern Lights in one sentence: you can describe the colors, but not the awe. What I experienced was a moment when heaven and earth touched, and I was simply present for it, humbled and grateful...

Dmitry Lapa