The Church of Ss. Peter and Paul had its beginnings in the early years of the Russian occupation of the Pribilof Islands. As on may of the islands exploited by the Russians, there was first a chapel, followed by several Churches, replaced as wind and weather dictated. The present Church is the fourth house of worship dedicated to Ss. Peter and Paul on the island and is by far, the most enduring.
There was a chapel on the island as early as 1821, shortly after the Russians begain transplanting Aleuts from Atka and Unalaska to conduct the harvest of fur seals. The transformation of the early simple chapels into lovely, fully adorned Churches began in 1873. By that year the old chapel, built by the Russian American Company in 1840, was ready to be replaced, The Alaska Commercial Company, which managed the seal hunt for the U.S. government, brought in two carpenters to begin dismantling the old structure and building the new. However, in this case, the people themselves paid for the Church and assured a well-designed structure. Hamden McIntyre, a trained architect and skilled craftsman from Vermont, was working on the island for the Alaska Commercial Company. He desiged and supervised the construction of a graceful, attractive Church that presented a dramatic contrast to the plain exteriors of the buildings erected by the Alaska Commercial Company for its Aleut employees and officials. Hipped roofs covered the sanctuary and the nave. A tall bell tower with a clock rose above the narthex. There were three cupolas, each resting on a windowed drum. Though not very large, the Church dominated the village landscape, a graceful well-proportioned building.
Despite its elegant style and imposing footprint on St. Paul, it was not up to the elements of the Aleutian climate. It survived only 30 years. On March 28, 1905 Most Reverend TIKHON, Archbishop of the Orthodox Diocese of the Aleutians and North America, approved the design of the new Church, noting this on the original plans. On June 5 four carpenters arrived to work on the Church and completed the work by mid-October. Consecration awaited the arrival of Bishop INNOCENT (Pustynsky), the new Bishop of Alaska, in the summer of 1907. On July 31, 1907 he and other Orthodox dignitaries disembarked at S. Paul to be met by the entire population of 170. The next day, August 1, the Church was consecrated.
The Church of Ss. Peter and Paul is the oldest structure on St. Paul Island. The Church is a jewel, of which the community is justly proud.
(Taken from The Church of the Holy Apostles Saints Peter and Paul on Saint Paul Island, Pribilof Islands
A History - 1821-2001
by Barbara Sweetland Smith)
