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Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Richmond District
Russians have been in the bay area since Catherine II extended her seal hunting expeditions south from Alaska in the 1760s. One of the most famous San Francisco love stories is that of Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, Chamberlain of Tsar Alexander I. In 1806 Rezanov sailed into the bay looking for provisions for his settlement in Sitka. Presidio Commander Arguello welcomed him and over time Rezanov met, fell in love with, and proposed to the Captain's daughter, Concepcion. After the initial shock the Arguello's agreed to the marriage. Rezanov then sailed to St. Petersburg to gain consent from the Russian emperor and the Pope for the mixed Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic wedding. But on the trip Rezanov caught pneumonia and died. Concepcion waited for five years until word of his death reached her. A young Russian officer told her that Rezanov's last words had been of her and he returned a locket Concepcion had give Rezanov before his voyage. Thereafter Concepcion declined all thoughts of marriage and joined the Dominican sisterhood where she remained until her death in 1857. [ MAP H-4 ]