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(Old) Saint Seraphim Russian Orthodox Chapel

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Old
1936
  • (Old) Saint Seraphim Russian Orthodox Chapel (Jet Lowe)

Also on the Kuskokwim River, 65 miles northeast of Bethel, the old church at Lower Kalskag, located precariously close to the eroding river bank, is a small log chapel. In the classic form, it is divided into three distinct parts—sanctuary, nave, and vestibule—all covered with gable roofs. The nave is square, measuring 19½ feet on the exterior. The logs are hewn, dovetailed at the corners. The bells and the iconostas have been removed to the new church.

Lower Kalskag was first populated as a summer fish camp a few miles downriver from Kalskag. When the Russian Orthodox founders of Kalskag were joined by Roman Catholic Eskimos, conflicts developed. In the 1930s the Russian Orthodox villagers moved downriver, turning their seasonal fish camp into a year-round village.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Alison K. Hoagland
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Data

What's Nearby

(New) Saint Seraphim Russian Orthodox Church

Citation

Alison K. Hoagland, "(Old) Saint Seraphim Russian Orthodox Chapel", [Lower Kalskag, Alaska], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/AK-01-WE022.

Print Source

Buildings of Alaska, Alison K. Hoagland. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993, 276-276.

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