Born in 1916 in the Alaskan tundra, “Matushka Olga” was celebrated in a liturgical glorification ceremony in her home village last month by the Orthodox Church in America – the first North American Orthodox woman saint.
Olga was native Alaskan, a member of the Yup’ik people, she lived with her family and community in the village of Kwethluk, in Southwestern Alaska. The community engaged in subsistence living, reportedly cleaning and persevering fish and herding reindeer as a child.
Born as Arrsamquq, she took Olga was her Confirmation name. She married an Orthodox priest and became known as “Matushka,” an honorific often given to priests’ wives, referring in Russian to a spiritual mother.
Olga had 13 children (only eight lived to adulthood) and helped birth many more as a midwife. She was known for her generosity and simplicity, consistently helping those who needed it, from women suffering from trauma and abuse to the elderly and the sick.
In his canonization homily, Orthodox Archbishop Alexei Trader said of Olga,
The world praises loud greatness, but heaven treasures quiet holiness. Saint Olga claimed no titles, sought no fame — yet her compassion became her crown, her humble prayer her strength. And now the Church proclaims what many already knew in their hearts: Arrsamquq from Kwethluk was a Saint, our Saint Olga, Tanquilriaput Arsamquq.
It has been said that Olga had a spiritual gift of knowing when her help was needed without being told. After her death, people have recounted this same sort of prayerful help from Olga, especially when they were seeking healing.
Roman Catholic connection to Orthodox Saints
The Orthodox Church of America came from the Russian Orthodox Church, but is now independent. The Yup’ik people of which Olga was a part had a long relationship with the Orthodox Church, which started evangelizing in Alaska around the beginning of the 19th century.
The process for canonization – also called glorification – in the Orthodox church is a bit less structured than the Roman Catholic process. It often begins as a grassroots devotion and there is ultimately a formal declaration of sainthood by the Orthodox Synod. There can be miracles through the intercession of the saint, but they are not required for canonization as they are in the Roman Catholic Church. Additionally, there are no intermediary stages of recognition such as Servant of God, Venerable, and Blessed.
The Roman Catholic Church’s relationship with Orthodox saints is nuanced. Before the Great Schism of 1054, of course, the churches held saints in common. After the Schism, there have been times when the Catholic Church will recognize the holiness of Orthodox saints, though they don’t canonize them. This is especially true if an Orthodox saint is a martyr, as the Catholic Church recognizes that they died for the faith. (The impetus these saints give to the unity of the Churches is called the "ecumenism of blood.") One example of these are some Orthodox martyrs who died under Soviet persecution.
A notable development in the recognition of saints came in 2023, when Pope Francis declared that the 21 Christian martyrs, including 20 Copts killed by Daech in 2015 in Libya, would be included in the Roman martyrology. Video footage of their slaying at the hands of Daech -- they were dressed in orange jumpsuits on a Libyan beach -- was seen around the world.
Pope Francis announced their incorporation into the Roman Martyrology on May 11, 2023, in front of Patriarch Tawadros II, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, who was present in Rome. It was historic: The Catholic Church and the Coptic Church have saints of the first centuries in common, but these were the first saints recognized by both Churches since the split of the fifth century.
Saint Pope John Paul II wrote in Ut Unum Sint about the Communion of Saints from various churches as a sign of unity, saying,
Albeit in an invisible way, the communion between our Communities, even if still incomplete, is truly and solidly grounded in the full communion of the Saints—those who, at the end of a life faithful to grace, are in communion with Christ in glory. These Saints come from all the Churches and Ecclesial Communities which gave them entrance into the communion of salvation.
God is near
So the Roman Catholic Church does not recognize Mother Olga as a saint, but the faithful can certainly recognize her witness of holiness. In his glorification homily last month, Archbishop Alexei tells us,
She lived quietly, but her life still speaks. And what does it say? It says: Holiness is possible. God is near — even in sorrow, even in silence. You, too, can become light in this world. Her life was not separate from ours. She bore children, sewed their clothes, cooked for them, prayed for them, hurt with them, hoped for them. But she lived with a different heart — a heart that listened. A heart that gave. A heart that never gave up, a heart full of Christ.
