Michael Oleksa

Early life and education Oleksa was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on March 16, 1947. He graduated from Emmaus High School. Oleksa then attended Georgetown University, graduating in 1969. He then began attending St. Vladimir's Seminary in Yonkers, New York, and graduated in 1973 with a Master of Divinity.

Career

In 1970, he accepted an invitation from the Alutiiq village of Old Harbor on Kodiak Island in Alaska, where he served as priest with the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1972, he moved to Kwethluk, where he met his wife and continued his work as a missionary priest in various small communities along the Kuskokwim River. His work made its way into some of Juneau School District's senior high curriculum, and all three of the University of Alaska campuses. Prior to his death, he initiated the process to have Olga Michael recognized as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church. Funeral services were held in Saint Innocent Cathedral in Anchorage from on December 4th and 5th, with the burial taking place at Saint John Antiochian Cathedral in Eagle River, after the funeral.

Selected publications Alaskan Missionary Spirituality. 1987. Paulist Press, Mahway, New Jersey. 3-35. Another Culture / Another World. 2005. Association of Alaska School Boards. Juneau, Alaska. “Civilizing” Native Alaska: Federal Support of Mission Schools, 1885–1906. January, 1991. Prepared for the National Education Association. Washington, D.C. Evangelism and Culture. 1995. International Review of Mission. Authentic Witness Within Each Culture. Section 1; Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 1996). LXXXIV No. 335, October 1995. The World Council of Churches. 387–393. Father John Veniaminov and Father Jacob Netsvetov. July, 1975. Digital Typography. www.asna.ca. I Didn't Even Need a Passport! February 2006. Lit Site, Alaska Traditions. Icons and the Cosmos: The Missionary Significance. 1983. International Review of Mission. Issue 1 – Witnessing. Vol. LXXII No. 285, January 1983. The World Council of Churches. 42–123. Giving and Receiving. Fall, 2005, AGAIN, The Ancient Christian Faith Today, Vol. 27, No. 3, Page 34. Orthodox Alaska: A Theology of Mission. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, Crestwood, New York 10707. 1998 Orthodox Missiological Education for the Twenty-First Century. 1996. The Book, the Circle, and the Sandals.Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York. 83–90. Orthodoxy in Alaska: The Spiritual History of the Kodiak Aleut People. 1981. St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly. Volume 25, Number 1. Overwhelmed by Joy. 1983. International Review of Mission. Conversion. Vol. LXXII No. 287, July 1983. The World Council of Churches. 415–420. Six Alaskan Native Women Leaders: Pre-Statehood. 1991. Alaska Department of Education, Juneau, Alaska The Creoles and Their Contributions to the Development of Alaska. 1990. In Smith, Barbara Sweetland and Redmond J. Barnett (eds.) Russian America: The Forgotten Frontier. Tacoma, WA: Washington State Historical Society. 185–195. The Death of Hieromonk Juvenally. 1990. Russia in North America: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Russian America, Sitka, Alaska. August 19–22, 1987. Limestone Press, Fairbanks, Alaska. 322–357. The Legacy of St. Vladimir: Byzantium, Russia, America. 1988. Papers presented at a Symposium commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, New York. 243–258. The Orthodox Church and Orthodox Christian Mission From an Alaskan Perspective. 2001. International Review of Mission. Ecclesiology and Mission (I). Volume XC No. 358, July 2001. The World Chilkat Valley News, Feb. 16, 2006, Haines, Alaska. "Priest Brings Multicultural Message" by Christa Sadler Conflicting Landscapes American Schooling/Alaska Natives. Co-authored with Clifton Bates. The Kuskokwim Corporation 2008. Distributed by Univ. Alaska Press and University Press of Colorado.