It is difficult to describe culture of saints within the life of Orthodoxy. When speaking to Christians who are strangers to such devotions, it is like trying to describe a flavor that is unlike anything else (try describing salt without using the word, “salty”). My family’s direct experience of Orthodoxy began in the early 1990’s. Among our first encounters were the Orthodox saints of North America. St. Herman of Alaska and the martyrs, St. Juvenaly and St. Peter the Aleut were of note. They underscored the fact that Orthodoxy first came to America in Alaska, when it was part of the Russian Empire. We heard stories of its peaceful and grace-filled embrace among the native peoples. There was one, however, that was quite unique in that assembly: “Mathuska Olga.”
We were visiting in a small private chapel served by a retired priest who had spent time in Alaska. We saw there an icon of a native woman with the inscription: Matushka Olga. When we asked about her, we were told her story as well as her popularity in the Alaskan churches. Given that she died in 1979, this was remarkable. It is said that saints are often raised through the popular devotions of the people with canonization being the “crown” of that process rather than its beginning. This is precisely the case with St. Olga.
I offer here a link to her life-story. Today and tomorrow (June 19-20, 2025) the Church will be celebrating the services in which her glorification will be proclaimed to all the world. Information on the services are available here.
She was the wife of a priest, with the affectionate Russian title, “Matushka,” which translates as “dear little mother” (or something to that effect). It is the title used for priest wives in the Russian tradition. She was a midwife among the women in her part of Alaska, and ministrered powerfully to women suffering from abuse and other difficulties.
Alaska is the “holy land” of the American Church. The conditions in the villages have changed very little from earlier times. It is a subsistence lifestyle, supported by hunting and fishing. The humble conditions of the Churches serve as abiding reminders that God has “exalted the humble and meek, and sent the rich away empty.”
Through the years, my family, along with others, have heard the refrain, “the Church will eventually canonize Matushka Olga.” Her veneration has long spread across the whole of America and begun to appear elsewhwere as well. This weekend, the Church fulfills that promise.
We magnify, we magnify you,
O holy and righteous Mother Olga,
And we honor your holy memory,
O healer of those in afflictions
and loving intecessor before the merciful God!
Magnification for Righteous Olga of Kwethluk, Wonderworker, Matushka of All Alaska
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