www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall "Outside of Russia"

Yeah, that does explain it.

I've lived in both Soviet Russia, post-Soviet Russia, and the United States. And you know there's nothing respectable about sitting in the free and cozy latter and throwing sticks at the former over the ocean.

I was born in Moscow in 1978 to a family of nonbelievers. I was baptized secretly at the Our Lady of Tikhvin in Moscow due to insistence of my great grandmother, a peasant from Vladimir Region, who said - you must baptize the girl or I can't pray for her. My mother could lose her job. She told me that the priest tried to make it very quick and unnoticeable, in the corner of the church when a lot of people were present, so as not to attract attention. I have no date, no certificate, no pictures.

When I was four, my family moved to Southwest Moscow. There were a few old village churches in the area, all of which were closed.

The first church in Moscow to be given back to the Church was the St. Michael the Archangel church in Troparevo. Prior it had been used as a storage facility. It was 1989. As soon as it opened, renovations began. The church was so crowded. Once in winter, I almost fainted in the church due to all the candles and people inside.

I took two buses to that church. Since then, others were reopened, and one brand new one built right on my street, in a little field where I used to play as a child.

St. Michael's was the church where I bought my first icon (Our Lady Comfort of all the Afflicted), was first told to fix my headscarf, took my first communions, made my first confessions, tried joining the choir, and asked endless questions. Father used to call me "the curious one."

Here is what St. Michael's looked like prior to renovation - I also remember it:

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A sign on the door announcing the very first service - February 23, 1989 - Day of the Defender of the Homeland, very fitting for St. Michael:

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And now:

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Wow, St Michaels was one of the first Churches I visited in Moscow! But for a reason that I cannot logically explain, with all the wonderful Churches now up and running in Moscow, I am drawn to Kazanskaya Sobor on the north east corner of Red Square. When I am in Moscow, that is where I will be for the daily Liturgy.

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Beautiful!

If one day I can afford it, I will go to Moscow, then tour Russia and the Golden Ring. I left Russia in 1994 and since then visited twice: 2 weeks in 1997, and 2 weeks in 2005.

Here is the church of St. Anastasia that they built on my street, in the little field by the woods where I used to play.

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Thank you so much dear Mariya for sharing your story and memories of Russia.

May God bless you and your homeland forever!

Your sister in Christ,
Alice

Thank you Alice, God bless you too.

Well, my dream was to eventually travel throughout the whole Carpathian region through Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Belarus, Russia, etc... I know that's not very realistic, but seeing how things are in my neck of the woods with all the different Eastern Catholic and Orthodox parishes within blocks of each other, I thought, well, might see what the Church is like throughout Trans-Carpathia, and see what things are like in the old world.

Russia has nothing to do with Carpathian Mountains.

Oh, my bad, Russia was the Ural Mountains, but I thought they did connect somewhere on the northern edge of the Carpathians. Much like western parts of the Carpathians connected with the Alps.

Oh okay. By the way did you know that in the Urals they make icons decorated with local stones of various colors? Looks like this:

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Wow. Almost more like a collage, I'm sure you won't see that in anything other than Russian Orthodox Churches.

I wouldn't bet on it, I have the impression that all sacred art is becoming very creative in unprecedented ways, worldwide.

Mariya, speaking of Icons. Do you know where the wonderful embroidered Icons are coming from? I am not talking about the hand made ones but the machine made ones. One of our parishioners returned from Russia with a roll of them and didn't have anyone back home that could send more. They were not from the usual suspects like Sofrinos. She reposed in the Lord before we could get more.

Machine made? Hmm, I know it will keep the cost down on the church that needs them, but, I'm pretty much a traditionalist, and think that hand-painted icons are still the best way to go about it.

For Russians of the Northern Thebaid they are traditional. Processional banners were and still are made with them. That is why I asked about the machine made ones, we already have handmade ones with all the gold, silver and stones. I need a less costly and less time consuming method as the old artisans die out.