بعد سفر دام 14 شهرا وصلوا الى جزيرة اونالاسكا ولم يجدوا فيها سوى كنيسة مهدمة لا يصلي فيها احد بسبب عدم وجود كاهن مع ان عددا كبيرا من السكان كانوا قد اقتبلوا المعمودية على يد مرسلين سابقين. بنى الاب يوحنا كنيسة بيديه بمساعدة السكان وكان يعلمهم النجارة والتعليم المسيحي في نفس الوقت. تعلّم بسرعة اللغة المحلية وابتدأ يترجم اناجيل الآحاد والأعياد والصلوات الطقسية. كان يسافر من جزيرة الى اخرى على متن قارب صغير يعظ ويعمّد ويكتب ملاحظات حول الحيوانات والنبات وعادات الشعب. وكان يعامل الكل بمحبة ابوية وصبر كثير. في السنوات الاربع الاولى دوّن قواعد اللغة الأِليوتية التي كانت حتى ذلك الوقت محكية فقط، ونشر الانجيل والتعليم المسيحي وكتاب الصلوات، ووضع كتابا عنوانه “الطريق الى ملكوت السموات” وهو كتاب بسيط عميق يبيّن ان الطريق التي فُتحَت بالمعمودية هي وحدها تؤدي بالتأكيد الى الفرح الأبدي مع المسيح. اشتهر الكتاب حتى انه طبع 47 مرة وتُرجم الى عدة لغات.
After ten years there was not a single pagan left in Unalaska. Father John traveled to Sitka, a Russian settlement on the land of the Tlingit warrior tribe who were resisting the Christian message. Here, too, Father John learned the language and customs of the people and discovered a rich culture. But when half the people died from smallpox despite the prayers of the witches on their behalf, and no Russians were harmed, the people were convinced to be vaccinated against smallpox and began to respect the Russians and accept Father John’s teaching. After building the Church of the Archangel Michael, Father John spent his time writing, translating, doing carpentry, mechanics, and making musical instruments. Handicrafts were a unique evangelistic way of teaching people the faith and a profession from which he earned a decent living, and they helped bring Father John closer to the people. Father John also took an interest in establishing schools and providing books for the students.
لما توسعت البشارة سافر الاب يوحنا الى روسيا بغية استدعاء كهنة وتدبير المال لبناء الكنائس. في موسكو التقى المتروبوليت فيلاريت وهو من أبرز الشخصيات الكنسية في روسيا في ذلك الوقت – وقد أُعلنت قداسته السنة الماضية – وكان لأخبار الاب يوحنا الوقع الحسن عند المجمع المقدس الذي قرر دعم الرسالة في ألاسكا.
Meanwhile, when news of the death of Father John's wife reached him, Metropolitan Philaret pressured him to accept the episcopate, and he was ordained bishop of Kamchatka (the outskirts of Siberia) and Alaska with the name Innokendius, and the church took care of his six children. He returned to Sitka three years later with helpers and many donations, and began building churches and schools and founding a seminary. He then made a long pastoral tour of his vast diocese, traveling in a dog sled over the snow or on foot; he and his companion would stop for many days in a snow shelter because of storms, share food with the natives, sleep in their tents, preach to them, and build churches.
In 1850, the Yakut country was added to his diocese, so he began to learn their language, translate the Bible and the Mass, and preach. When the Russian Council elected two bishops to assist him, he extended the tour to Mandatory lands, reaching China from the north. He would pass through the villages, appoint servants, and tend to the needs of the people. He had grown old and his eyesight had weakened from traveling in the snow, so he decided to ask the Holy Council to relieve him of his service so that he could spend the rest of his life in a monastery. However, the Council surprised him by electing him as the successor to Metropolitan Philaret, Archbishop of Moscow.
For ten years he held the first position in the Church of Russia, achieving a spiritual revival and organizing institutions, especially the Russian Missionary Society. When he lost his sight permanently, he remained active in church administration, celebrating the Mass and prayers that he knew by heart. God took him in 1879 shortly before Easter Mass, and for 58 years he was a faithful servant of the Word. He was declared a saint in 1977 in America. The Church celebrates his feast on March 31.
It is worth mentioning that the saint of God was struck with blindness in the last days of his life, yet he managed the affairs of the Russian Church. He performed divine services relying on God’s grace and memory.