More than 100 years ago, Russian naval officers and sailors came to a Philadelphia shipyard to watch over the construction of their newest battle cruiser, the Variag.

And while they were here, they encouraged and contributed financially to the efforts of Russian immigrants who were forming Philadelphia's first Russian Orthodox parish.

The parishioners of what became St. Andrew's Russian Orthodox Cathedral at Fifth Street and Fairmount Avenue never forgot the crewmen who went on to fight a courageous and fatal 1904 battle against a Japanese fleet.

The sailors' memory - which remains the stuff of legend in their homeland - was honored yesterday by retired Russian Adm. Igor V. Kasatonov as he and Father Mark Shinn of St. Andrew's toured the battleship New Jersey on the Camden waterfront.

Russian, Japanese and American diplomatic, military and religious leaders also plan to mark the centennial of the church - partly founded by the Variag's crew - during solemn services at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.

St. Andrew's, named after the patron saint of the Russian navy, is then to receive the icon and a portion of the relics of St. Feodor Ushakov, a Russian naval commander known for his piety and devotion to the poor. The church will hold its annual memorial service to remember the Variag crew next year.

"I grew up hearing songs about them," said Kasatonov, speaking through an interpreter on the USS New Jersey. "Several generations of sailors were raised in their memory.

"These are our grandfathers and great-grandfathers - not just in the physical sense, but in the moral and spiritual sense," said the uniformed admiral as he stood in the captain's cabin. "All of the sailors of the Variag are greatly respected in Russia."

Father Shinn said his church "wasn't just built by immigrants. It was made possible by the Russian navy. The Variag was the most famous ship of the navy and Russian history."

Father Shinn said the Variag refused a Japanese order to surrender on Feb. 9, 1904, at Chemulpo Bay, Korea, during the Russo-Japanese War. The Russian ship instead attacked the enemy fleet at full speed. It was severely damaged, limped away, and was scuttled by its crew to keep it from falling into enemy hands. About 140 Russian sailors died.

In recognition of extraordinary heroism, the captain of the ship was later decorated by Russia - and the emperor of Japan. The Japanese eventually managed to raise the Variag and retrieved its St. Andrew's flag, preserving it in a glass case.

Father Shinn said the approaching centennial of the battle and the centennial of St. Andrew's are "very important to the Russian people," he said. "There have been many articles in the Russian newspapers and magazines about it."

Yesterday, during an informal ceremony on the battleship, Camden officials presented Father Shinn with a proclamation from Mayor Gwendolyn Faison honoring the 100th anniversary of the church.

Retired Rear Adm. Thomas U. Seigenthaler, president of the Battleship New Jersey Memorial and Museum, then gave Kasatonov an American flag that flew on the ship. And the Russian admiral presented Seigenthaler with a copy of a book on Russia's most sophisticated fighter plane, the SU-27.

"Battleships are vehicles of war, but they are also emissaries of peace," said Seigenthaler, noting the Russian visit and the ship's many past port calls. "Probably more peaceful things have gone on on battleships than wartime things."

Kasatonov and others soon began their tour of the battlewagon, visiting its big guns, crew quarters, sick bay, auxiliary bridge and engine room. He was accompanied by Russian artist Vladimir Surovtsev, who plans to create a monumental bronze sculpture of the Variag.

"I wanted to see a symbol of the Cold War between our countries," said Kasatonov, former head of the Black Sea Fleet who commanded the latest atomic-powered warships.

"Now, I have a tight relationship with the American Navy."