Orthodox Priest. A native of Kiev, Ukraine, Honcharenko graduated from the Kiev Theological Seminary in 1853 and soon after was ordained an Orthodox priest. Becoming a strong opponent of the corruption and oppressive treatment of peasants by the Russian Orthodox Church and Czarist government, he began writing for Alexander Herzen's periodical, Kolokol. When the Russian government discovered his actions, they ordered his arrest and he was forced to flee Europe, arriving in the United States in 1865 and eventually settling in San Francisco in 1867. Following the 1867 purchase of Alaska by the United States from Russia, Fr. Honcharenko founded a newspaper he called the Alaska Herald. The first Russian language newspaper in the United States, he would publish the paper until he sold it in 1872. In addition, he also published "The Russian and English Phrase Book" for United States Army personnel stationed in Alaska and "The School and Family Russo-American Primer" to help Alaskans learn the English language. In 1873 he moved across the San Francisco Bay and established a farm in the hills outside of Hayward, which he named Ukraina, where he would live until his death in 1916. Today Ukraina is part of Garin Regional Park and is considered a California State Historical Landmark.
Orthodox Priest. A native of Kiev, Ukraine, Honcharenko graduated from the Kiev Theological Seminary in 1853 and soon after was ordained an Orthodox priest. Becoming a strong opponent of the corruption and oppressive treatment of peasants by the Russian Orthodox Church and Czarist government, he began writing for Alexander Herzen's periodical, Kolokol. When the Russian government discovered his actions, they ordered his arrest and he was forced to flee Europe, arriving in the United States in 1865 and eventually settling in San Francisco in 1867. Following the 1867 purchase of Alaska by the United States from Russia, Fr. Honcharenko founded a newspaper he called the Alaska Herald. The first Russian language newspaper in the United States, he would publish the paper until he sold it in 1872. In addition, he also published "The Russian and English Phrase Book" for United States Army personnel stationed in Alaska and "The School and Family Russo-American Primer" to help Alaskans learn the English language. In 1873 he moved across the San Francisco Bay and established a farm in the hills outside of Hayward, which he named Ukraina, where he would live until his death in 1916. Today Ukraina is part of Garin Regional Park and is considered a California State Historical Landmark.
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