Sunday, 28 October 2007

Saturday, 27 October 2007

St. Nicholas "V Klyonnikakh"


On Saturday I went here to vigil. It's one of the 3 churches in Moscow that Matushka Irina (Holy Epiphany) wrote down for me before I left, as recommended churches, and to give the priests there her regards, because she and Fr. Roman knew these priests. The "klyonnikakh," I'm told, is some kind of tree. Almost all the churches here have some sort of nickname, to distinguish them from other churches of the same name. It's also called "Marosyeika," from the name of the street that it's on.




On the ground level, as you go in, there is the candle-counter/bookstore, then further down the hall are the incorrupt relics of St. Alexei Mechov, who was the rector of this very same church in the early 20th century and who was clairvoyant. He died in 1923. His son, St. Sergii, was a New Martyr. It was just awe-inspiring to think that the very church you were standing in had not one but two saints!




As I was about to walk up the stairs to get to the actual church, I had a sudden attack of homesickness. Just then I looked up at the frescoed wall, and what did I see but a very large fresco of St. John the Russian! After that, I felt there must be something right about this and felt more at home. I went upstairs for Vigil and put up candles for family and friends there. I met a very nice young lady named Vera who pointed me to the nearest Metro station after vigil.



Sunday morning, I went there again for Liturgy. The church is rather unusual, in that it is in several sections, separated by walls with arches in them. So you have the altar area and about 20 feet in front of it, contained, I think, in the taller section you see in the right-hand side of this picture. The rest of the church extends back from it--as you look at this photo.... towards the left. So as you're in one section, you can hardly see into the others. The whole church is beautifully frescoed (new). I got to meet the rector briefly, Fr. Alexander Kulinov, an older, very kindly priest. There is a choir loft there. Next week I hope to in-choir (joke) whether they might allow another singer (me).


After church, Vera and three of her friends and I stopped briefly at McDonald's (!) because one of them wanted a lot of coffee without a lot of money. But they then took me to a more Russian place called Moo-Moo. Though it has a "cow" theme, inside it was a brick-cellar location very reminiscent of the old Deli 1 in Portland--or maybe of the cafe under the Roma. It serves an array of traditional Russian food. So I had some Greek salad, of course ;), a very interesting concoction where they carefully removed the leg of the chicken and left the skin intact--re-stuffing it with the chopped chicken meat mixed with who-knows-what, and then a great Russian blin filled with tvorog, or farmer's cheese, with raspberry jam on top. Yum! They give you free caramels with your tea--these are unlike any I've had before--soft like butter rather than the hard stuff in the U.S. that will break all your fillings!



During the long lunch we had, one young man was telling lively stories. One was about this lady who decided to donate her library to the church. The priests and his helpers thanked her, then opened the boxes of books. To their surprise, they saw titles like "Marxism" or "Applied Atheism"! One by one they looked at each title and exclaimed, "Blasphemous!" and threw each book away right over their shoulders into the trash!



Another amusing story he told was about, I believe, his own little son, who is only 3 years old, and who has two older sisters, with, of course, one more person of the feminine gender, his mother. With Daddy at work, the little boy hears only the women/girls speaking all day. So one day Daddy comes home and the little boy says, "Папа, сегодня я пошла с Мамой в магазин." Papa replies, "Вот--ты--мальчик! Скажи: "Я поШЕЛ!" :)



After Mu-Mu, we went to the famous Sretensky Monastery. This is the one that Archimandrite Tikhon, who visited Holy Epiphany on the occasion of the translation of Metropolitan Philaret of NY's vestments to Moscow, is from. First we went to its bookstore, which is a whole separate building. Me! In that bookstore! Ah, yes, you can imagine. Actually, I only bought a calendar or two, a beautiful Orthodox date-book for 2008, and a likewise, a beautiful miniature book of the Sayings of the Optina Elders. And the November issue of Slavyanka Magazine. And one little item for my future grandchild. Books in Russia are unbelievably INexpensive, so going to the bookstore here doesn't mean losing your paycheck. Unless of course you stayed long enough.... ;)

Sretensky Monastery is right in the middle of the city--just across the street are stores and businesses. But it's surrounded by the traditional high wall, and inside--it's another world! Here is a picture of one of the icons that adorn the outside of the wall at various intervals: this one is of St. Alexis the New Royal Martyr.













Inside the Monastery walls...


beautiful grounds with gardens all over....



(yes, roses in late October)














a monument ...



















to "the Orthodox
Christians who were tortured and killed in this place in the years of revolt and trouble. Consecrated 8 September 1995 by His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' Alexii II."

We went inside briefly. There was another, very small gift shop/bookstore in the front, where I found a beautiful glass Holy Water bottle with a cross on top, and also a little vial of perfume oil from some bush called "Siryen."










It's already at least 4 o'clock, so we say good-bye to the Monastery and go out the main gate... and back out into the "world" --what a jolt after the peaceful gardens!