Missionaries

Although the missionaries depended on the fur trading company for support, they objected to the moral conduct of the fur traders and how they abused the Natives. When complaints to company officials in Alaska did not result in change, the missionaries complained to officials in Russia. One monk, Makary, even went to Saint Petersburg in 1796 to complain about how Natives were treated. In general, relations between fur traders and missionaries were not good. At one point, Baranov placed monks under house arrest for fomenting dissent and forbade their contact with Natives.

St. Herman of Alaska came to typify the Orthodox mission in Alaska. One of the original ten monks to arrive in Alaska in 1794, he would spend the next 42 years doing missionary work on Kodiak Island. He was especially known for his kindness and devoted support of Natives, caring for the sick, standing up against excessive demands from the company, and setting up schools. In 1970, Herman was canonized as a Russian Orthodox saint.