Eklutna Historical Park entrance |
the newer (built 1954 - 1962)
St. Nicholas (Russian)Orhdox Church |
the handyman wielding the power-drill is also
the Priest for this church |
inside the church. This is a fully functional church with Vespers
and Matins on Saturday eve and Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning.
Note: no seats - Orthodox Christians stand for the services, showing
reverence to Christ |
The old St. Nicholas Church was built around 1870's; one of the
oldest log structures in the Anchorage area. It was built by the
Eklutna Indians under the supervision of the missionaries.
The Eklutna residents have preserved the old chapel as an historic
building. |
Icons in this old church date back as far as 200 years ago. |
Graveyard: spirit houses are placed
over the grave 40 days after the burial to house the spirit of the
deceased and their possessions. The colors of the houses are
specific to the families. |
the Three-Barred Cross existed
early in Byzantium - it was adopted by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Upper arm represents the inscription over Christ's head, "This s
Jesus King f the Jews." Long middle bar for the arms outstretched,
and the lower slanting bar represents His footrest. The slanted
position is twofold; 1) it shows that not only was Christ fully God
but that He was fully human and felt pain and agony when he died,
wrenching the bar by drawing one foot up and thrusting one foot
down; 2) the spiritual is that the thief on the right side of Christ
confessed Him, so he went to heaven - and the thief on Christ's left
side did not confess him so he went to Hell - so the significance of
the slanted bar is to always remember to confess Christ. |
Some examples of spirit houses |
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