A Time-honored Tradition Revived.

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If someone needed another example of the resurgence and revival of Christianity in Russia, they could not do better than to have been in Sevastopol this past December 13th, when St. Andrew flags were consecrated for the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy in a touching ceremony.

The tradition extends all the way back to 1699, when Tsar Peter the Great mandated the St. Andrew's Cross become the flag of the Imperial Russian Navy. Though this was temporarily halted under communism, Boris Yeltsin restored the flag as the Naval Ensign of the Russian Navy in 1992, and the Service of Consecration was restored in 1997.

In a touching display of true symphonia, or harmony between Church and State, as opposed to separation, the priests consecrate and pray over the flags for the protection of God and the Saint over the sailors, and for victory over Russia's enemies; of which today there are many. The beautiful prayer service is held in the Prince Vladimir Cathedral, the tomb of admirals. The flags are laid out with care while the priest blesses them,  anoints them with holy water, and entrusts them to senior officers from each of the Fleet's ships. This shows the sailors that the Church remembers and prays for them, and in return they are proud to serve the country who cares for them so.

This video has a lot of good footage of the Russian navy featuring this flag

"From the very foundation of the Navy, the St. Andrew's flag has been a symbol of the Russian Navy, a symbol of our victory. And of course, here the religious component and military victories merged in this wonderful flag, which we most often call the St. Andrew's Flag.  Of course, especially in our current events, this is not just a symbol of some history; these are our specific victories, our victories at a certain time in historical significance, this is the hope and faith of the soldiers," said Fr. Mikhail Belov, a priest of the Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt.

St. Andrew was chosen as the patron saint of the Russian Navy for several reasons. He is revered as the disciple Jesus first called, and did so on the water. The symbolism is not difficult to understand; Naval personnel strive to be the first to defend  Russia and their domain is the sea. That the colors blue and white are used in St. Andrew's flags are also familiar colors to mariners. The Chronicle of Nestor also claims he preached Christ around the Black Sea and as far inland as Kiev and Novgorod, thus establishing a tie between him and the peoples of the Kievan Rus.

Read more about this fascinating service here, and here. (In Russian.)

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