2007 Press Releases
Alaskan Icons Photo Exhibit Opened in Yekaterinburg
April 25, 2007
A photo exhibition of Orthodox Icons written by artists from the indigenous peoples of America was opened at the Sverdlovsk Oblast Regional Studies Museum April 25th. The exhibit consists of 36 photos of icons and 12 text panels, describing the history of the Russian Orthodox Mission to Alaska in the 18th -19th centuries. Although small, the exhibit provides an idea of the great influence that the Russian missionaries had over the indigenous peoples of Alaska, their courage and sacrifice in educating and baptizing the natives, raising orphans and preserving the native languages.
The opening was inaugurated with the masterful performance of the Episcopal Choir of the Church-on-the-Blood, conducted by Yevgeniy Yazykov. The Archimandrite Zacchaeus, Representative of the Orthodox Church of America, spoke at the opening underlining the unity of all Orthodox Christians whatever their national or ethnic origin.
The U.S. Consulate in Yekaterinburg has had the generous help of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art and of the Library of Congress in bringing Russian audiences this exhibition. Most of these materials were brought to the American public’s attention on the occasion of the 200th Anniversary of Orthodoxy in the Americas in 1994. The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General in Yekaterinburg brought them together for a Russian audience for a related celebration, the 200th Anniversary of Russian-American Diplomatic Relations. During this commemorative year, 2007, the exhibit will be shown around the major cities of the Urals and Western Siberia, prior to be sent to the Russian Far East, St. Petersburg and Moscow.
