Bishop David Visit for Pentecost

His Grace, Bishop David of Sitka and Alaska was invited to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost with His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin on June 8, 2014 at Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco.

The ties between Alaska and California go back to 1812 when the Russian America Company established a settlement on the California Coast to support the colony in Alaska with agricultural goods that could not be grown in the cold climate of Alaska. Russians with the help of Aleut hunters also hunted otters and other fur-bearing mammals up and down the coast as far south as Catalina Island near Los Angeles. It is also known that St. Innocent visited the Spanish Mission of San Jose while on a pastoral visit to the fort.

His Grace visited Fort Ross while in Northern California and had an opportunity to see the chapel and other structures that are maintained by the Parks Department of California. Archbishop Benjamin and the diocesan clergy make a pilgrimage to Fort Ross each Fourth of July to celebrate the Liturgy in the little chapel and sing a memorial service for those who are buried in the nearby cemetery. Information as to the time of services for this year’s celebration will be posted on the diocesan website shortly.

His Grace was presented at small gift of liturgical items for his cathedral in Sitka.

Archbishop Benjamin was until recently the locum tenens for the Diocese of Alaska and administered that diocese in addition to the Diocese of the West from the time of Bishop Nikolai’s retirement to the recent consecration and enthronement of Bishop David. It is hoped the bonds between the two dioceses will remain close and strong in the years to come.