Transfiguration of Our Lord Church
Historic Russian Orthodox Chapel Overlooking Cook Inlet
Transfiguration of Our Lord Church in Ninilchik, Alaska is one of the most recognizable and photographed Russian Orthodox churches in Alaska. The parish was founded in 1846, and the current golden-domed chapel was built in 1901 on a bluff overlooking Cook Inlet. Services continue here today, and the chapel and its historic parish cemetery remain a place of pilgrimage and living history of Russian Alaska.
The chapel does not have a resident priest and, like many small Alaska parishes, is served by diocesan clergy - priests travel in to hold regular and feast-day services, including the patronal feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord each August. The preservation organization ROSSIA is currently carrying out major restoration work on the building, stabilizing the bell tower and roof to protect the chapel from the harsh coastal climate.
Next to the church sits an old parish cemetery with distinctive gravemarkers that the local community works hard to preserve. While the chapel itself is usually only open during services, the view of it from the bluff above the inlet is worth the trip to Ninilchik on its own.