Spruce Island and St. Nilus Island, Alaska — August 10–13, 2026

From August 10 through 13, 2026, His Grace Bishop Maxim of Western America visited the Diocese’s Alaskan monasteries on Spruce Island and St. Nilus Island. Accompanying His Grace were Protopresbyter Blasko Paraklis, two parishioners from his parish, and a recently baptized couple from the East Coast.

Vladyka Maxim arrived in Kodiak on Monday evening, August 10. Although the plane did not touch down until 7:30 p.m., the August sun remained high in the Alaskan sky, allowing the pilgrimage to begin immediately. Hieromonk Andrew and Monk Adrian of St. Michael’s Skete met the Bishop and his companions at the airport and drove them into Kodiak. On the way, they stopped at a scenic overlook of the channel, where Kodiak’s fishing fleet was busy seining for salmon.

The pilgrims then continued to Holy Resurrection Cathedral, where Vladyka was welcomed by Archpriest Innocent Dresdow, dean of the cathedral. There, they officially began their pilgrimage by venerating the relics of St. Herman of Alaska.

As evening approached, the group made its way to the harbor and departed for the island monasteries aboard the monks’ skiff. Calm seas made for a pleasant half-hour passage, during which the travelers encountered otters and puffins along the way. The first stop was St. Nilus Island, where Mother Neila, the superior, greeted His Grace at the shore. Vladyka Maxim and the women pilgrims remained with the nuns for the next several days, while His Grace stayed in a remote yurt on the far side of the island, enjoying a few peaceful days amid the quiet beauty of the Alaskan wilderness. Fr. Blasko and the other men continued with the monks to Spruce Island, where they were guests of St. Michael’s Skete.

The following morning, Vladyka spent time with the sisters, discussing a number of subjects, including the growing number of inquirers entering the Orthodox Church in the United States. Around midday, Hieromonk Andrew returned to St. Nilus Island and brought the Bishop and the pilgrims to Monk’s Lagoon, where they visited the holy places associated with the earthly life of St. Herman. Following a picnic lunch, the pilgrims spent the afternoon fishing before returning to the monasteries for Vespers and dinner.

On Wednesday, the feast of the Holy Apostles of the Seventy Silas and Silvanus, His Grace served the Divine Liturgy in the chapel on St. Nilus Island. The serving clergy, monks, nuns, visitors, and island neighbors filled the small chapel. Vladyka Maxim was assisted by Protopresbyter Blasko and Hieromonk Andrew, while the sisters offered the liturgical responses in their melodious chanting.

In his homily, His Grace drew upon the appointed readings from II Corinthians 3:4–11 and Matthew 23:29–39, reflecting upon the contrast between self-sufficiency and dependence upon God:

“Christ’s harsh words to the Pharisees show how they held onto their Jewish ways, making the Law and traditions the foundation of all behavior, in self-reliance. This problem of our existence since the Fall of Adam points to ourselves. We were created to rely on the Author and Creator of life, but we began to rely on ourselves and our limited capacities….

“Passions spring from the dialectic between life and death. We struggle to be sufficient. The virtues are the positive energies of our being, while the passions are the negative energies….

“Man [Jesus Christ] proclaimed Himself to be God. For that reason the Jews rejected Him. They relied on their own Law, which prevented them from seeing the One Who is above the Law….

“The Apostles and all the saints demonstrated that their sufficiency was in the Lord. They lived an ethos of freedom—all was offered to God.”

Following the Divine Liturgy, the faithful gathered in the dining hall of the sisters’ newly completed building complex for a festive meal featuring smoked salmon caught by the monks. At the conclusion of the meal, His Grace answered questions from the monastics and laypeople.

The conversation returned to the increasing number of converts coming into the Orthodox Church and to the responsibilities of the faithful in receiving and catechizing them. Bishop Maxim emphasized that the catechetical work of the Church is a responsibility shared by the whole community:

“There is an ‘inner mission’ for the stronger members of the parish: to help the priest. We need to find our ministries and discover our gifts—everyone is to contribute to the ministry of the Church.”

Expanding upon this theme, His Grace continued:

“We need to be ready to sacrifice some of our own accomplishments in order to use our gifts for the Church…. We need to find the words, the language that speaks to our generation, our culture. The early Church used the language of Greek philosophers. We need to understand the particular culture and mindset of America.”

The fellowship continued throughout the afternoon with conversation, stories, and the singing of American and Serbian folk songs. His Grace presented the monastics with several recent publications of Sebastian Press, including his monumental biography of his spiritual father, Bishop Atanasije Jevtić. The festive day concluded with a tour of the sisters’ fifty-five-acre island.

On Thursday morning, Vladyka Maxim and the women pilgrims crossed over to Spruce Island to visit St. Michael’s Skete. This was His Grace’s first visit to the skete since he consecrated the monks’ Holy Trinity Chapel in 2024. Greeted by the ringing of bells and by many friends of the monastery, Vladyka proceeded directly to the chapel, where he was received by Hieromonk Andrew, the superior of St. Michael’s. Reader John Hartung accompanied the Bishop in chanting the Byzantine melody of the Canon to St. Herman, while the brothers alternated with the Russian melody. A festive meal followed.

This visit marked the final day of His Grace’s time in Alaska. In the afternoon, he, Fr. Blasko, and the other pilgrims bid farewell to the monks and nuns. Fr. Andrew transported them to Kodiak aboard the monks’ skiff, where they were welcomed by Ron and Radmilla Tarailo, Serbian residents of Kodiak. The Tarailos prepared a festive meal for the Bishop and the pilgrims, and the evening’s conversations continued late into the night, finally giving way only to the need for rest before the group’s early flight home.

Reflecting upon the visit, Mother Neila offered the following summary:

“Our Bishop brought joy and hope by his presence, enriching us with practical theological truths on how to serve creatively in this time of growth in the Church in America.”

The monastics and faithful of the Kodiak Archipelago were greatly encouraged by His Grace’s visit and are already looking forward with gratitude to his return in the years to come.