Anga, Irkutsk Province, Russia, September 5, 2024
Bp. Alexei and Fr. Daniel Charles on the far left. Photo: OCA Diocese of Alaska
A group of pilgrims from Alaska and California, under the leadership of His Grace Bishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska (Orthodox Church in America), recently arrived in Irkutsk, Russia (3,230 miles east of Moscow), to venerate holy places associated with the great missionary St. Innocent of Alaska.
The pilgrimage to Russia comes just two weeks after the Alaska Diocese celebrated the 
Alaska: Pilgrimage marks 200th anniversary of arrival of St. InnocentThe pilgrimage celebrations were led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington and All America and Canada, who was invited by the local hierarch His Grace Bishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska.
“>200th anniversary of the arrival of St. Innocent, with services in Unalaska led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington and All America and Canada.
OCA Diocese of Alaska
In particular, Bp. Alexei, Fr. Daniel Charles, and the other pilgrims will visit Anga, Irkustk Province, where St. Innocent was born in 1797, reports the Irkutsk Diocese.
Tomorrow, the American delegation will present the film 
Sacred Alaska. An interview With Filmmaker Simon ScionkaWhen they became Orthodox it was real for them. It was not forced, it made sense to them. As a people, they pass it down from generation to generation and continue to do so now.
“>Sacred Alaska at the Anga Youth House and will tell about the preaching of Russian missionaries among the peoples of Alaska in the 18th-19th centuries.
OCA Diocese of Alaska
According to the Diocese of Alaska, Bp. Alexei and the delegation have already had opportunity to venerate the relics of 
Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of IrkutskThe proximity of the Chinese border, the expanse and sparsely-settled dioceses, the great number of diverse nationalities (Buryat, Mongol, and others), mostly unenlightened by the Christian Faith, the lack of roads and the poverty—all this made Saint Innocent’s pastoral work burdensome and his life full of deprivations.
“>St. Innocent of Irkutsk and the wonderworking Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
OCA Diocese of Alaska
On Sunday, September 1, they joined in a diocesan-wide procession with the relics and Icon with 60 priests, four bishops, a host of deacons and altar servers, and more than 1,000 faithful. Later that day, the OCA delegation was take on a tour of churches where St. Innocent used to serve.
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