The role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the five Pacific Eskimo villages as revealed by the earthquake

Davis, Nancy Yaw

essay

The role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the five Pacific Eskimo villages as revealed by the earthquake

great Alaska earthquake of 1964 • Washington • Published In 1970 • Pages: 125-146

By: Davis, Nancy Yaw, National Research Council (U.S.) Committee On The Alaska Earthquake.

Abstract
The importance of the Russian Orthodox church to the Pacific Eskimo was revealed in the villagers' descriptions of events during and after the 1964 earthquake. A variety of responses was discovered in the five villages studied, and the range of pervasiveness of the church in village life provided a basis for analyzing the differences in the villages. In one small isolated village the church was revitalized as a result ot the disaster. In a larger, less isolated, and more diversified community the church was strengthened and some internal religious frictions, caused by the presence of Protestant missionaries, were resolved after the disaster. In the largest and least isolated villages the disaster caused the least amount of change in the influence of the Russian church. The frequent and spontaneous references to the Russian Orthodox church, especially during the disaster, emphasized its importance in the lives of the people. The church influenced their willingness to be relocated, their interpretations of the reasons for the disaster and their choice of leaders (p. 125).

Topography and geology

Religious denominations

Missions

Religious intolerance and martyrs

Ethnogeography

Alutiiq

HRAF PubDate

2005