St. Tikhon of Moscow Orthodox Church

Orthodox Church Overlooking Turnagain Arm

St. Tikhon of Moscow Orthodox Church is a parish of the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska, founded in Anchorage in 2003. The first services were held in a small house chapel downtown, and in 2008 the current church, built on land overlooking Turnagain Arm, was consecrated. The parish is named for St. Tikhon of Moscow, a missionary bishop to Alaska and North America who later became Patriarch of Moscow and a confessor of the faith during the early years of persecution after the 1917 Russian Revolution.

The church grounds include not just the church itself but a fellowship hall with classrooms, a baptismal chapel, and a rectory, along with a belfry dedicated to the memory of the people of Chenega Village who perished in the 1964 Alaska earthquake and tsunami - a moving and rare memorial to a tragedy that touched Orthodox communities across the region. A parish bookstore operates on site as well.

The parish keeps an active liturgical life and regularly hosts hierarchical services with the Archbishop of Sitka and Alaska in attendance. Parishioners describe the community as warm and welcoming, and the interior of the church - with its hand-painted icons, frescoes, and carved iconostasis - leaves a strong impression even on first-time visitors.