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DAR - Sitka Churches, early 20th Century

There were 5 active churches in Sitka in 1903: the Presbyterian church, the Russian Orthodox church, the Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Catholic Church.

The Lutheran Church was in the process of reorganizing; the Catholic Congregation met in a Russian barn that had been converted to a Saloon & Restaurant. In 1926, the old barn was torn down and a small church built on the same
property.

While the Episcopal Church seems not to have been actively engaged in attracting or converting the Tlinget to their religion, both the Presbyterian and Russian Orthodox churches were actively seeking, and competing for, their conversion. None of these churches were integrated, each having separate services, and separate Sunday schools, for whites and natives. The Presbyterian church had started out in Sitka with integrated services, but had separate services by the 1880s.

By 1903, the Presbyterians had built a separate church for the white families.

Influential Sitkans belonged to either the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church, or the Russian Orthodox church. It was not unusual to see political arguments shaped along religious lines.

Photos: Top: St. Michael's Cathedral, photo by Edward DeGroff; 2nd: St. Gregory's Catholic Church, ca. 1942, photo by Frank Duffy; 3rd: St. Peter's by the Sea, ca. 1918; bottom: left, Presbyterian Church on the campus of the Sitka Industrial and Training School (later to become Sheldon Jackson School); right: the "First Presbyterian Church" built after the church on the school campus.

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