Official actions
Bellringers honor of St. Herman of Alaska
12.11.2013 09:37
http://juneauempire.com/
On Aug. 8, in honor of St. Herman of Alaska, church bells sung out in unison in Russia and America. The simultaneous bell ringing took place at 10 a.m. Juneau time at the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, which was 11 a.m. for participants in Fort Ross, Calif., and 10 p.m. for their counterparts in the old Russian town of Totma, located about 500 miles northeast of Moscow.
In Totma, the Russians also celebrated the foundation of their city and by tradition they have chosen this day for simultaneous bell ringing with Fort Ross.
Fort Ross was founded in 1812 by Ivan Kuskov, who was born in Totma and worked as Alexander Baranov's right hand man in Russian America. Today, Fort Ross is a national park where visitors can learn about the daily life of the early Russian settlers.
Hank Birnbaum, the park interpretive specialist who led the ceremony, wrote: "Surely, the bell's ring carried far ... a clear, pure tone ... a call of unity ... and a call to remember our shared history, our Russian-American heritage."
Juneau was included in the bell ringing as another Totman is currently visiting our city. He is Vladimir Kolychev, the president of the Russian American Historical Society of Moscow. Vladimir is researching the Bering-Chirikov Expedition, during which 15 Russians sailors were tragically and mysteriously lost on the outer coast of Yakobi Island in 1741.
Joining Kolychev at St. Nicholas was James Simard, the director of the State Historical Library, and Tlingit leader Andrew Ebona, as well as other church members. Each took a turn in striking the toll.
The bell itself was cast by a wealthy merchant, Mikhail Stukolkin, in St. Petersburg during the 19th century. It is a perfect match to its southern sister at Fort Ross, which was also cast by Stukolkin.
A reception followed in the church bookshop and phone calls were made to bell ringers in Fort Ross and far away Totma.
As the clouds began to part one could only think, is there anything more beautiful than the deep timbre of St. Nicholas' Bell.
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