Saint
Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of Alaska
New Calendar July 26 Old Calendar August 8
Why they are a saint
Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of Alaska is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on July 26. He is honored as a saint for a life of holiness recognized by the Church; little else about his life has come down to us.
Limited historical information is available about this saint.
Life
Saint Jacob Netsvetov was born in 1802 on Atka Island, Alaska, to a Russian father from Tobolsk and an Aleut mother. After the family moved to Irkutsk in 1823 he studied at the Irkutsk seminary, married Anna, and was ordained deacon in 1826 and priest on March 4, 1828, by the same archbishop who had ordained Saint Innocent. He returned to serve the Atka parish, enduring the death of his wife in 1836, the burning of his home and the death of his father.
In 1844 Saint Innocent appointed him to head the new Kvikhpak Mission on the Yukon, where he learned new languages and brought the light of Christ to the peoples of the Alaskan interior through great hardship. Falsely accused by an assistant, he was summoned to Sitka and quickly cleared; in failing health he served a Tlingit chapel there in his last year and died on July 26, 1864.
Sources: OCA Lives of the Saints. Retold in our own words.
Traditional patronage
The cited source names no specific patronage.
Patronage / why chosen as patron
Orthodox Christians usually take Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of Alaska as a patron when they bear the name Jacob at baptism, or were born or baptized near the feast on July 26. OCA/Alaskan Orthodox faithful also honor his as one of their own.
Prayer
O holy Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of Alaska, pray to God for us.
A short general prayer to a saint, not a liturgical text. No public-domain troparion for this saint is included.