Candles flickered among Orthodox icons as a four-person choir sang inside Unalaska’s Church of Holy Ascension last weekend.
Archbishop Alexie of the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska traveled to Unalaska to honor Julia and Arnold Dushkin for their years of service to the church.
On Oct. 11, the couple received the Diocesan Gramota, the highest distinction an archbishop can award to an individual within the diocese.
The large, framed certificate features icons of other Alaska saints, including Saint Peter, Saint Innocent, and Saint Olga.
Archbishop Alexie traveled to Unalaska with a priest, a deacon, a subdeacon and a choir director for the ceremony.
The Church of Holy Ascension often operates without a priest or deacons on site. Julia helps keep it running by cleaning the building, welcoming visitors for tours and leading services.
“Oftentimes, you know, we don't have the luxury of having having a priest out here, and she'll do reader services or even even funerals for the for the departed,” Archbishop Alexie said. “And so, she's you know, here in times of, you know, sorrow and joy, very much doing you know the work of the church.”
Julia is from Unalaska while Arnold is from Nikolski, and both have been part of the Russian Orthodox Church since childhood.
The couple spends summers in Nikolski, helping keep church services going there during the warmer months.
During their visit to Unalaska, the archbishop and deacons also held a service to bless and send off the Deadliest Catch crabbing fleet.
The recognition of the Dushkins was followed by a community potluck.
