Historical Origins and Early Years

Sitka Lutheran Church was established in 1843 as the first Protestant church in Alaska, built through the efforts of Arvid Adolf Etholén, the eighth Russian governor of Alaska, and his devoutly Lutheran wife Margaretha. The church served the approximately 150 Lutheran workers from Finland and the Baltic states who had come to work for the Russian-American Company in New Archangel (now Sitka). The original building was constructed opposite the Russian Orthodox Cathedral and was deliberately designed without a steeple so it wouldn't "look like a church" due to Orthodox restrictions. The church featured many Finnish elements, including an altarpiece by Berndt Godenhjelm, a pulpit made from Sitka spruce by Finnish shipwrights, and a pipe organ gifted by Governor Etholén.

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Decline and Abandonment

After the Alaska Purchase in 1867, the church's congregation dwindled as most of the Finnish and Baltic German workers returned to Europe with the closure of the Russian-American Company. The last pastor left in 1865 due to ill health and was never replaced, leaving the congregation with only lay preachers. The church fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1888, with the lot remaining empty for 54 years. Before demolition, the church's furnishings and organ were preserved and moved to a Presbyterian mission museum, while the Godenhjelm altarpiece was relocated to St. Michael's Cathedral.

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Revival and Modern Era

The church was revived in 1940 when the United Lutheran Church in America re-established the congregation and built a new Mission Revival-style building, completed in 1942. This second church burned down in 1966 during a fire that destroyed much of downtown Sitka, leading to the construction of the current contemporary-style building in 1967. After surviving another serious fire in 1993, the church has been restored with many of its historic elements returned, including the Godenhjelm altarpiece (restored and returned in 2004), the original chandelier, and the historic Kessler pipe organ, making it one of the few functioning swallow's nest organs in North America.

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Sitka Lutheran Church Wikipedia Page