Saint Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska

Orthodox icon of Saint Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska on thick plywood 20mm, which does not sting and keeps its shape over time. Preparation with acrylic stucco and have been used acrylic colors. It has been covered with varnish to keep the colors undiluted in time and humidity. Hanging clip included on the back of the icon.

St. Jacob was born in 1802 on Atka Island, Alaska. When the family moved to Irkutsk in 1823, Jacob enrolled in the Irkutsk Theological Seminary. Jacob was tonsured as a Subdeacon on October 1, 1825. He married a Russian woman named Anna Simeonovna, and in 1826 graduated from the Seminary with certificates in history and theology. On October 31, 1826, he was ordained to the Holy Diaconate and assigned to serve the altar of the Holy Trinity-Saint Peter Church in Irkutsk. Father Jacob yearned to return to his native Alaska. On May 1, 1828 a molieben for travelers was served, and Father Jacob, his father, and his matushka, Anna, set out for Alaska. The Netsvetov family arrived safely in Atka over a year later, on June 15, 1829. Both in Atka and in the distant villages and settlements which he visited, Father Jacob offered himself as a “living sacrifice”. When he arrived in Atka, the Church of Saint Nicholas had not yet been built. So, with his own hands Father Jacob constructed a large tent in which he conducted the services. Later he would transport this tent with him on his missionary journeys. Once the church was constructed, Father Jacob turned his attention to the building of a school in which the children would learn to read and write both Russian and Unangan Aleut. He labored over the creation of an adequate alphabet for the Unangan-Aleut language, and the translation of the Holy Scriptures and other appropriate literature into that language. Father Jacob continued to serve his far-flung flock of the Atka parish until December 30, 1844. St. Innocent appointed him to head the new Kvikhpak Mission in order to bring the light of Christ to the people of the Yukon. He learned new languages, embraced new peoples and cultures, devised another alphabet, built another church and Orthodox community, and for the next 20 years, until his health and eyesight failed, continued to be an evangelical beacon of the grace of God in southwestern Alaska. He died on July 26, 1864 at the age of 60. His feast day is on July 26.