Orthodoxy and the Alutiiq

Erik Wander/KMXT

The Alutiiq Museum is currently holding an exhibit that explores the connections between Alutiiq traditions and the practice of the Russian Orthodox faith and the service of community priest Archimandrite Gerasim Schmaltz.

Marnie Leist is the registrar at the museum. She said the exhibit is the result of local donors of pictures, objects, recordings and other artifacts from Father Gerasim’s life.

— (Exhibit 1 55 sec. "It actually came about … meant to the Alutiiq people.")

Leist described what the orthodoxy meant to the Alutiiq people and the role the church played in their lives as a symbiotic relationship.

— (Exhibit 2 46 sec. "After the Russian conquest … and church wardens.")

The Alutiiq Museum’s "Orthodoxy in Alutiiq Life" exhibit opened in January and continues through April.

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