St. Yakov, the son of a Russian father and an Aleut mother, devoted himself to what was best in both his cultures: holy Orthodoxy and the time-hallowed native traditions that were consonant with it. However, his horizons were not defined by his descent. True, he received his seminary training in Russia and then served a parish based on his mother’s native island of Atka. But later in his priestly career St. Yakov became a missionary to various native peoples of the Yukon, Yu’pik and Athabascans, who spoke other languages and followed other customs. His life reminds us that we should treasure whatever is good in our heritage, both our shared Orthodox heritage and our individual ethnic and family heritage. But more than this, he reminds us that we should be ready to heed the call of Christ, even when that call summons us to a strange land. After all, in this world all Christians are strangers in a strange land, and our true home is not here but in heaven.
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