A refurbishing effort will breathe new life into Anchorage’s oldest standing building, a simple Russian Orthodox log church dating from the era of Russia’s colonization of Alaska.
The old St. Nicholas Church stands in Eklutna, Alaska, on Oct. 12, 2023. A three-year restoration effort began Oct. 13, with the removal of the bell tower. The cemetery at St. Nicholas Church in Eklutna, Alaska, features a mixture of Russian Orthodox conventions like crosses featuring three cross beams and the Dena’ina Athabascan tradition of erecting spirit homes above the graves, on Oct. 13, 2023. A restoration effort has begun on the old St.
The project is paid for by a $350,000 grant from the National Park Service. Preservationists hope it will spur further work not only to inventory the church’s religious icons but also the spirit houses in partnership with the tribe. The Russian Orthodox church was established in Alaska on Kodiak Island in 1794 and missionaries spread the faith, baptizing an estimated 18,000 Alaska Natives. Today, up to 50,000 Alaskans practice the Orthodox faith.
Unique among them is the old Eklutna church, where graves incorporate religious conventions like Orthodox crosses, which have three cross beams with the lowest slanted, with the Dena’ina Athabascan tradition of building spirit homes above graves where the deceased person’s spirit can reside. Some are simple, but others have brightly painted roofs, gables and even chimneys. Vice President Richard Nixon and his family visited the cemetery and its spirit houses in 1958.
In the late 19th century, the entire village moved to its current location about 25 miles northeast of downtown Anchorage because the other side of the inlet became overrun with trappers and gold miners.“My grandfather probably played a part in moving this building ... using a boat going across the inlet,” said Gina Ondola, 79, who came to the bell tower removal ceremony and remembers attending the church for funerals and on holidays.
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