KASATKIN, NIKOLAI I

KASATKIN, NIKOLAI I., Archbishop of Tokyo, missionary, St. (1836–16 February 1912). After attending the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and being ordained priest in 1860, he began his missionary work in Japan in 1861 as chaplain to the Russian diplomatic mission in Hakodate, on the north island of Yezo (Hokkaido). He succeeded in founding a vigorous and indigenous church in Japan with native clergy. At first he limited himself to the study of Japanese language, literature, religion, and culture, because Christianity was still a proscribed religion, and he rejected all attempts to Russify the people. In April 1868 he secretly baptized three Japanese. By 1871, when the Russian Orthodox Mission to Japan was officially recognized, there was a community of twelve Christians with twenty-five catechumens. When the Japanese government made Christianity a tolerated religion in 1873, he moved to Tokyo to establish a seminary for priests and catechists, and created a committee for translation of Christian literature. By 1875 he had 1,000 souls under his care and two of his first three converts had become priests. By 1878 there were 100 congregations with a total of 5,000 members whereupon he was made bishop and his mission was brought under the Holy Synod. By 1904 there were 260 congregations and he was made Archbishop of Tokyo in 1906. At his death there were some 33,000 believers.