Olga Michael

Saint

Olga Arrsamquq Michael
(Russian: Ольга Аррсамкук Майкл)
Matushka
Born(1916-02-03)February 3, 1916
Kwethluk, Territory of Alaska, United States
DiedNovember 8, 1979(1979-11-08) (aged 63)
Kwethluk, Alaska, United States
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
CanonizedJune 19, 2025, Kwethluk, Alaska by the Orthodox Church in America
FeastOctober 27
AttributesWearing a midwife uniform, bowl of water, kuspuk, towel, northern lights
PatronageMidwives, sexual abuse victims

Olinka "Olga" Arrsamquq Michael[1][2] (Russian: Ольга Аррсамкук Майкл; née Arrsamquq, (1916-02-03)February 3, 1916 – (1979-11-08)November 8, 1979), known as Olga Michael,[3] Olga of Alaska,[4] Olga of Kwethluk,[5] or Matushka Olga[6] (Russian: матушка Ольга), was a Native American Eastern Orthodox midwife, matushka, and saint from Alaska.[7][8] In 2025, she became the first North American woman, and the first Yup'ik person, to be canonized as an Eastern Orthodox saint.[8]

Olga Arrsamquq was born in Kwethluk, Alaska to Native American parents of the Yup'ik people in 1916.[9] In 1935, she married Nicolai Michael, a man who would go onto become an Orthodox priest.[3] From there she became a "matushka" (a Russian term for priest's wife), becoming important in religious community.[7] Outside of church life, she worked as a midwife, a traditional healer, and an English teacher.[10][11][12] She became an important figure of advice and counseling, particular among women. Michael died to cancer on November 8, 1979 in Kwethluk.[13]

After her death, a number of people reported seeing Michael in visions or dreams as a comforting figure, sometimes as a healer of prior abuse.[14] Long considered to be a potential Orthodox saint, her eventual canonization was announced by the Orthodox Church in America in 2023.[15][16] She was canonized on June 19, 2025 in Kwethluk, in a ceremony overseen by several prominent members of the clergy.[17] With her canonization, she became the first North American woman, and the first member of the Yup'ik people, to be made an Eastern Orthodox saint.[8]

Life

Early life

Olinka Arrsamquq[18] was born on February 3, 1916 in the village Kwethluk in the Territory of Alaska, in the United States, to Native American parents of the Yup'ik tribe.[9] She was given the baptismal name, Olga, which became commonly used to refer to her.[18][19]

Marriage and role as matushka

Arrsamquq later married Nicolai Michael on January 7, 1935, as part of an arranged marriage in accordance with local custom.[20][3] She came to be known by the name Olga Michael after her husband.[3] Nicolai would found and manage a general store in Kwethluk, along with starting the village's first US Post Office.[21] Her husband, not particularly religious when they first married, later became an Eastern Orthodox priest, being ordained in 1963, and becoming the first priest from the village of Kwethluk.[3][21] He eventually came to the rank of archpriest.[22] After her husband's ordination, Olga Michael became a matushka (meaning "mother" in Russian, as a term of respect)[8], a term for the wife of a priest. With this role, she became central to the community of the local parish.[7] She was known for her generosity, which included baking food for neighbors, and making and giving away clothes to others.[23]

Olga and her husband, Nicolai Michael, had thirteen children, eight of whom lived to adulthood.[24]

Work as a midwife, healer, and teacher

Michael worked as a midwife in the village, helping deliver newborn infants.[10] She also worked as a healer, and incorporated traditional Yup'ik medicinal practices into her methods.[11] Her input and counsel was often sought after in her community, particularly among women.[25] Later in her life, Michael worked as a teacher, instructing adults in learning English as their second language.[12]

Death

On November 8, 1979, she died of cancer in Kwethluk.[13][26] After her death, people in the region reported what they thought were miracles related to the event. These included stories of ground unfreezing suddenly at her burial, flocks of birds flying over her burial at times when they should have already flown south, and a sudden warm spell allowing river travel to her funeral.[27][28]

Reported miracles, canonization and veneration

Reported miracles

After Michael's death, people began to report seeing her in dreams and visions as a healing figure.[14] An Orthodox priest, Michael Oleksa, who had previously written a book that included details about Michael, reported that in about 2003, a non-Christian woman from New York reached out to him about a vision she had regarding Michael. She had a dream of being healed of her prior sexual abuse by a woman who called herself Olga. According to Oleska, the characterization of the woman who appeared in the dream fit traditional Yup'ik ways of living, even though the New York woman claimed to have no prior knowledge of Alaska. The woman eventually converted to Orthodoxy, according to Oleska.[29] The Orthodox Church in America also records numerous miracles, visions, and other phenomena related to Michael.[9]

Canonization

After her 1979 death, Michael had long been considered to have the potential to be made a saint in the Orthodox Church, and a 2015 article from The Canadian Journal of Orthodox Christianity described her as "an unofficial patron saint of battered and abused women".[15][30]

According to Bishop Alexei, head of the Diocese of Alaska of the Orthodox Church in America, numerous believers, particularly Alaskans and including Oleska, has been pushing for Michael's canonization for decades.[24] Oleska compiled numerous accounts of miracles concerning Michael, and sent them to Bishop Alexei. Alexei then presented the accounts to the Orthodox Church in America's Holy Synod of Bishops.[9] On November 2, 2023, Alexei formally petitioned the Synod to canonize Michael.[31] The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America proclaimed on November 8, 2023 that Michael would be glorified (another term for canonization) at a future date.[16]

On November 16, 2024, Michael's grave in Kwelthluk was exhumed in the process of bringing her remains, considered holy relics in the Eastern Orthodox religion, to Saint Nicholas Church in the town, in a religious process known as the uncovering of relics, the last major step before her canonization.[32][33] The canonization took place on June 19, 2025 at St. Nicholas Church in Kwelthluk, and was presided over by the primate of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Tikhon.[17][34] About 300 people traveled to the small village for the ceremonies, including prominent members of the Orthodox clergy.[35] With this canonization, she became the first woman from North America, and the first Yup'ik person, to be canonized saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.[8]

Veneration

The Orthodox Church in America's Diocese of Alaska has proposed building a new, large church in Kwelthluk to house Michael's relics, and as of 2024 were working with the Kwethluk’s tribal council to secure land for the project.[36]

Icons of Olga often show her wearing a kuspuk, and holding items such as a basin of water and a towel (referencing her work as a midwife), or with northern lights in the background.[35] An official icon has her holding the church that is planned to be built to house her relics.[37] Many icons painted of Saint Olga also contain words she was reported to have spoken in a dream, "God can create beauty out of complete desolation".[10]

Michael is commemorated on October 27.[38]

See also

References

  1. ^ Boots, Michelle Theriault. "With rare exhumation in Kwethluk, Matushka Olga moves closer to Russian Orthodox sainthood". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2025-08-15. Born in 1916, Olinka Arrsamquq Michael, known as "Matushka Olga," was known in life as a humble and gentle priest's wife who quietly cared for people in her community.
  2. ^ Erickson, Evan (2024-10-24). "Orthodox church lays big plans for the glorification of St. Olga of Kwethluk". KYUK. Retrieved 2025-08-15. This story has been updated with the correct Yup'ik name of Olinka "Arrsamquq" Michael.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Olga of Alaska, A Saint?". American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of North America. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  4. ^ "Olga of Alaska, A Saint?". American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of North America. Retrieved 2025-08-18. she is widely venerated as Blessed Olga of Alaska
  5. ^ Erickson, Evan (2024-10-24). "Orthodox church lays big plans for the glorification of St. Olga of Kwethluk". KYUK. Retrieved 2025-08-18. Orthodox church lays big plans for the glorification of St. Olga of Kwethluk
  6. ^ Erickson, Evan (2024-10-24). "Orthodox church lays big plans for the glorification of St. Olga of Kwethluk". KYUK. Retrieved 2025-08-18. Olinka Arrsamquq Michael, known as "Matushka Olga." She recently became St. Olga
  7. ^ a b c "Righteous Mother Olga of Kwethluk–Tanqilria Arrsamquq–Wonderworker, Matushka of All Alaska". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-08-17. being a matushka—a priest's wife, a helpmate not only to her husband but to the Church. When Nicolai was ordained and began serving as the priest of the Church of Saint Nicholas in Kwethluk, she became the quiet heart of that parish community.
  8. ^ a b c d e Smith, Peter (2025-06-26). "Alaska Native woman, 'everybody's helper,' is Orthodox church's first female North American saint". AP News. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  9. ^ a b c d "Righteous Mother Olga of Kwethluk–Tanqilria Arrsamquq–Wonderworker, Matushka of All Alaska". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  10. ^ a b c Boots, Michelle Theriault. "Orthodox Church makes Kwethluk woman its first North American female and Yup'ik saint". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  11. ^ a b Skinner, Olga J. (December 2009). "The life of my grandmother: Olinka Arrsamquq Michael" (PDF). p. 41. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  12. ^ a b Skinner, Olga J. (December 2009). "The life of my grandmother: Olinka Arrsamquq Michael" (PDF). p. 61. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Righteous Mother Olga of Kwethluk–Tanqilria Arrsamquq–Wonderworker, Matushka of All Alaska". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-08-15. On November 8, 1979, she reposed in the Lord, surrounded by her family in her home in Kwethluk
  14. ^ a b Watson, Samantha (2025-05-22). "Alaska's Russian Orthodox leadership prepares for St. Olga's glorification in Kwethluk". KYUK. Retrieved 2025-08-16. Since her death in 1979, accounts of her appearances in dreams as a healer have continued to distinguish her as a holy figure
  15. ^ a b Skinner, Olga J. (December 2009). "The life of my grandmother: Olinka Arrsamquq Michael" (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  16. ^ a b "The Proclamation of the Holy Synod of Bishops on the Glorification of the Righteous Matushka Olga". www.oca.org. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 2025-08-15. We call upon the faithful to remember Matushka Olga at Memorial Services or Litanies for the Departed when appropriate until the day of her glorification.
  17. ^ a b Peter, Smith (2025-07-05). "Orthodox church's newest saint appeared in people's dreams". The Columbian. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  18. ^ a b Skinner, Olga J. (December 2009). "The life of my grandmother: Olinka Arrsamquq Michael" (PDF). scholarworks.alaska.edu. p. 23. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  19. ^ "Olga of Alaska, A Saint?". American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of North America. Retrieved 2025-08-15. later given the Christian name Olga at baptism
  20. ^ Skinner, Olga J. (December 2009). "The life of my grandmother: Olinka Arrsamquq Michael" (PDF). p. 33. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  21. ^ a b "The Very Reverend Fr. Nicolai O. Michael". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  22. ^ Shimchick, John (1997). "Matushka Olga Michael: A Helper in Restoring the Work of God's Hands". Archived from the original on 26 April 2001. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  23. ^ Boots, Michelle Theriault. "Orthodox Church makes Kwethluk woman its first North American female and Yup'ik saint". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2025-08-17. As an adult, she was known as "Matushka Olga," or "Mother Olga," the honorary term for a priest's wife. In a time of unrelenting change in Alaska villages, she was known for quiet service to her neighbors, according to published accounts of her life. Though the family lived modestly, she baked traditional communion bread and harvested subsistence food to share with hungrier people. She made things from baby booties to ulus, Skinner's history recalls. Her generosity was legendary: Her daughter remembers going to school and seeing children wearing her dresses and other clothing.
  24. ^ a b Boots, Michelle Theriault (Dec 13, 2023). "Orthodox Church makes Kwethluk woman its first North American female and Yup'ik saint". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  25. ^ "Alaska Native woman, 'everybody's helper,' is Orthodox church's first female North American saint". AP News. 2025-06-26. Retrieved 2025-08-17. And Larson, one of St. Olga's daughters, recalled watching women, and some men, seek her mother's counsel. She didn't eavesdrop, but "I used to read their faces," Larson said.
  26. ^ Skinner, Olga J. (December 2009). "The life of my grandmother: Olinka Arrsamquq Michael" (PDF). scholarworks.alaska.edu. p. 1. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  27. ^ Boots, Michelle Theriault. "In a historic canonization, the 'mother of the Kuskokwim' becomes an Orthodox saint". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  28. ^ Boots, Michelle Theriault. "Orthodox Church makes Kwethluk woman its first North American female and Yup'ik saint". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  29. ^ Erickson, Evan (2023-12-15). "St. Olga of Kwethluk to become first-ever Yup'ik saint". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  30. ^ Wigglesworth, Kevin. "Matushka Olga Michael of Alaska" (PDF). The Canadian Journal of Orthodox Christianity. III (I) (Winter 2008 ed.): 7. Retrieved 16 August 2025. This story also illustrates why Matushka Olga has become an unofficial patron saint of battered and abused women.
  31. ^ "The Proclamation of the Holy Synod of Bishops on the Glorification of the Righteous Matushka Olga". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  32. ^ Boots, Michelle Theriault. "With rare exhumation in Kwethluk, Matushka Olga moves closer to Russian Orthodox sainthood". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  33. ^ "Matushka Olga's Relics Uncovered in Kwethluk, AK". www.oca.org. 2024-11-26. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  34. ^ Anchorage, Ak (2025-06-21). "His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon Presides at the Glorification of the Righteous Olga of Kwethluk". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  35. ^ a b Boots, Michelle Theriault. "In a historic canonization, the 'mother of the Kuskokwim' becomes an Orthodox saint". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  36. ^ Erickson, Evan (2024-10-24). "Orthodox church lays big plans for the glorification of St. Olga of Kwethluk". KYUK. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  37. ^ Erickson, Evan (2025-06-24). "Canonized on the Kuskokwim: Orthodox faithful descend on Kwethluk for the glorification of St. Olga". KYUK. Retrieved 2025-08-16. In the new icon, the bowl and towel are replaced by a church they plan to build in Kwethluk in her honor.
  38. ^ "Saint Olga of Kwethluk". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
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