Instructions for Those Who Fast or Prepare for Communion

The first English translation of St. Innocent of Alaska's Instructions for Instructions for Those Who Fast or Prepare for Communion, written during his missionary years among the Aleut peoples of the North Pacific. Where his Missionary Instructions addressed the priest going outward into the world, this text turns inward - toward the individual soul preparing to encounter Christ in the sacramental life of the Church.

Written on the Alaskan frontier in the early nineteenth century and preserved in the 1886 collected works assembled by I. P. Barsukov, these instructions offer practical and pastoral guidance for those beginning or deepening their practice of fasting and preparation for Holy Communion. Gentle in tone and grounded in humility, they reveal the same pastoral heart that made St. Innocent one of the most beloved missionary figures in Orthodox history.

Carefully translated and enriched by historical context, this volume invites modern readers to encounter the interior life of a saint whose concern extended beyond the mission field to the quiet, daily struggle of every Christian seeking a more faithful life in Christ.

Inside this volume:

• The complete Instructions for Those Who Fast or Commune in first English translation
• Historical context situating the text within St. Innocent's Alaska period and the 1886 Barsukov collection
• Pastoral guidance on fasting, spiritual preparation, and reception of Holy Communion
• Insight into the interior spiritual vision of the Apostle to America

St. Innocent of Alaska was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1977 and by the Orthodox Church in America in 1994. His pastoral legacy remains alive across Alaska and the Americas to this day.