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St. Michael's Cathedral ((ロシア語:Собор Архангела Михаила) ''Sobor Arkhangela Mikhaila''), also known as the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel ((ロシア語:Собор Святого Архангела Михаила) ''Sobor Svyatogo Arkhangela Mikhaila''), is a cathedral of the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Alaska, at Lincoln and Matsoutoff Streets in Sitka, Alaska. The earliest Orthodox cathedral in the New World, it was built in the nineteenth century, when Alaska was under the control of Russia. After 1872, the cathedral came under the control of the Diocese of Alaska. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1962, notable as an important legacy of Russian influence in North America and Southeast Alaska in particular. An accidental fire destroyed the cathedral during the night of January 2, 1966, but it was subsequently rebuilt.〔 The new building’s green domes and golden crosses are a prominent landmark in Sitka.〔 Some of the icons date to the mid-17th century;〔 two icons are by Vladimir Borovikovsky. St. Michael's Cathedral is located in the downtown business district in Sitka, on the southwestern coast of Baranof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of Southeastern Alaska. Its surroundings along Lincoln Street and Maksutoff Street, which ends at the cathedral, have not altered much during the last more than 100 years.〔 Harrigan Centennial Hall on Harbor Drive lies behind the cathedral, while Pioneers' Home is to its left. The restored Russian Bishop's House, home of the first Orthodox Bishop of Alaska, Innocent loan Veniaminov, is also nearby, operated by the National Park Service as part of the Sitka National Historical Park. ==History== In 1808, Alexander Baranov, the Chief Manager of the Russian-American Company, shifted his headquarters of operation in North America from Kodiak to New Archangel (Novo-Arkhangel'sk) in Southeast Alaska, as it had better fortifications, and renamed it Sitka. Veniaminov built a church there at this time.〔 In 1816, Fr. Aleksei Sokolov (1787–after 1833) was the first priest to arrive in Sitka from Russia. He brought the festival icon of St. Michael and the silver-plated icon, which is to the right of the main ikonostasis and the festival icon of St. Michael is in the Chapel of Our Lady of Kazan on display in a showcase. An older, dilapidated church was replaced by a new building in 1834, also dedicated to St. Michael. The cathedral was founded by Fr. Ioann Veniaminov, a Siberian-born priest who had worked in Alaska for ten years at Unalaska and had designed and built a two-domed church, and also established a school.〔 He designed it in the Russian ecclesiastical architectural style, for which it has been noted as one of the finest examples of its kind in North America. The foundation stone for the cathedral was laid in 1844, and on 20 November 1848, the Cathedral of St. Michael became a reality. The Russian-American Company funded the project, the bells were forged in Alaska, and the clock fixed in the bell tower was made by Innocent himself.〔 In 1867, Alaska was sold to the United States; Army Major General Jefferson C. Davis arrived in Sitka with several hundred soldiers who pillaged the cathedral, as well as local businesses and residences. A Temperance Society and Brotherhood formed within the cathedral was instrumental in maintaining the building during the lean years after the Alaska Purchase. In 1909, the society made a scale-model replica of the cathedral and exhibited it at the Smithsonian exposition in San Francisco. During Russian rule in Alaska, patronage from Russian aristocracy brought in significant artistic treasures, which were mostly retrieved from the fire of January 1966 and are now on display in the new cathedral.〔 A notable gift was the icon of Our Lady of Kazan, also called the Sitka Madonna,〔 from the workers of the Russian-American Company. In 1962, the National Park Service inscribed St. Michael Cathedral as a National Historic Landmark.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St. Michael's Cathedral (Sitka, Alaska)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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