United States Department of the Interior
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Sitka National Historical Park
103 Monastery Street
Sitka, AK 99835
Cooperative Ecosystem Study Units
And Sitka National Historical Park
Letter of Research Interest (LOI)
Title: Developing an Historic Ecclesiastical Landscape Study for Russian America
from approximately 1840 to 1920
Sitka National Historical Park (SITK) is the only National Park Service Unit that represents the
historical presence and significance of Russian colonial expansion into the northwest portion of
North America and the eventual purchase of the Alaska Territory by the United States in 1867.
One major component of the Russian expansion into Alaska was the evangelical and missionary
work of the Russian Orthodox Church, supported directly by commercial interests and the
Russian Crown. The Russian czars and czarinas made the expansion of Russian commercial
interests into the Alaska territory conditional on corporate support of ecclesiastical and
missionary work. As such, the Russian Orthodox Church established parishes, missions, and
other church-related structures in every village and town in which Russian commercial interests
were represented, as well as into interior Alaska where Russian commercial interests were less
influential. This, in turn, established an ecclesiastical landscape that has continued to influence
the development and social relationships of Alaska.
Sitka National Historical Park protects and preserves the Russian Bishop’s House, the physical,
spiritual, and geographic center of the Orthodox Church’s ecclesiastical landscape from the early
1840s until the mid-1900s. In order to fully appreciate how central this building was to the
ecclesiastical landscape, park managers would like to commission a study of this landscape,
focusing on how the Bishop’s residency in Sitka and travels to and from---and correspondence
with--- parishes and missions throughout the state formed as social landscape that supported both
the Orthodox Church, and Russian commercial interests prior to 1867. Moreover, the study
should explore how that social landscape was transformed through the Alaska Purchase, the
Soviet Revolution, and the World Wars.
Nature of Work Required
In preparation for the 150th anniversary of the Alaska Purchase, Sitka National Historical Park
and the Alaska Regional Support Office would like to gain a better understanding of how the
Russian Orthodox Diocese of Alaska, whose bishop was seated in the Russian Bishop’s House,
functioned in its relationship with the church hierarchy in Russia, as well as with the parishes
and missions in the Alaska Territory. Suitable research topics could include the following:
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Sequential exposition of the expansion/administration of Russian Orthodox missions and
parishes from circa 1840 to 1920
Travels of the Russian Orthodox Bishop throughout Alaska during the period of interest
Financial support and diocecene economics during the period of interest
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Transformations in diocecene economics between 1915 and 1930
Demographic changes resulting from mission establishment and direction from the
Bishop
The initiation and maintenance of education programs through the Russian Bishop’s
direction
Establishment, maintenance, and social implications of Sitka-based, Orthodox-taught
boarding school education for Native Alaskans
Recruitment of Native Alaskans for religious positions and ecumenical education both in
Sitka and in Russia
Historical themes of the expansion of Orthodox faith and the planning and construction
of Russian Orthodox churches across Alaska, many of which are either National Historic
Landmarks or are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The work will include:
 Reading and synthesizing historic works on Russian America, including those written in
languages other than English,
 Researching, transcribing, and summarizing original unpublished letters, manuscripts,
ledgers, reports, and other documents related to ecclesiastical activity of the Russian
Orthodox Church in Alaska during the period of interest,
 Analyzing original and secondary historical documents to develop a time-sensitive and
historical-theme-sensitive publication that interprets a significant, long-term change in
many Native Alaskan societies,
 Developing accurate and accessible (easy for the public to understand) figures, graphs,
and other multi-media products that will convey the importance of the orthodox
ecclesiastical landscape to Alaska,
 Providing recommendations, based on the historical research and identified themes, on a
priority order for preservation of Russian Orthodox sites in Alaska to preserve the
historic ecclesiastical landcape of the state, and
 Producing a report on the historic ecclesiastical landscape of Alaska that uses the
National Park Service guidance on cultural landscape report development, but has a
broader focus that a single site or site complex.
The scope of the landscape study should:
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Include all church structures that are listed, eligible, or likely to become eligible for the
National Register of Historic Places in Alaska,
Define and bound the most significant ecclesiastical landscapes and their relationships
with both historic structures within the landscapes and significant Native Alaskan
landscapes,
Consider interpretation of significant Orthodox Church properties and improving visitor
enjoyment, knowledge, and appreciation of church historic properties, and
Be consistent with and support State of Alaska, Tribal, and National Park Service
objectives to preserve and interpret historic structures and landscapes.
This project requires that the principal investigator(s) have deep knowledge and experience in
conducting landscape-scale historic preservation and planning, knowledge and experience in
Russian American history, and knowledge and experience with completing actionable planning
documents at either the state or federal level.
Project Timeframe
Deadline for responding to this letter of interest is April 30, 2014.
Work Products
The products from this project will include a historical report that will summarize and interpret
the expansion and functioning of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1840 to 1920. The history
can include the precursor period (1741-1840) of Russian expansion into Alaska and the
following period when the church was administered by the Orthodox Church in America (OCA),
but it should focus on the period between 1840 and 1920. Additional products should include
electronic, scanned copies of any primary source documents used in the creation of the report,
author’s notes and document summaries, specific recommendations for enhanced interpretation
of the Russian Bishop’s House, and general recommendations for further study and the
collection of primary reference materials related to the Russian Bishop’s House.
Funds Available
Project funds available are $60,000 to $70,000 that includes the CESU overhead rate of 17.5
percent. The project will be funded by the National Park Service. Only universities within the
CESU network are eligible to apply.
Contact
Responses of interest should be directed before the closing date to Brinnen Carter
(Brinnen_Carter@nps.gov). Additional questions can be answered by contacting Brinnen Carter,
Chief of Resources, Sitka National Historical Park, Sitka, Alaska 99835, (907-738-4960).