Celebrating a Rural Russian Renaissance.

Recently the V International Conference was held with the theme of “Rural Churches. Unforgettable.” This year it is dedicated to the 550th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersk Monastery. Representatives of the Diocese and the museum community, as well as historians, gathered to discuss the preservation of rural churches as the basis of village life.

For example, although the church in the village of Polonoe is not very old, it was only built in 2007, local residents say the coming of the church brought new life and meaning into the village, as this brief video illustrates.

"The temple is like an anchor on a ship, if it has no anchor, it is without support, it flows through the sea of life," said Lyubov Kazantseva . 

"My husband and I once decided that this is our church, because nowhere was there such simplicity, kindness, and prosperity," said Marina, the head of the Sunday school.

"Everyone needs this temple: small, big, elderly. It is like a beacon of spirituality", said Priest Mikhail Osipov, rector of the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Helper of Sinners.”

And these are blessings brought to this village by the very new church. Older parishes also understand such blessings. For example, St. Nicholas Cathedral in Izborsk will soon be 700 years old. It still has a parish, the church lives, and this, according to the priest, gives hope that the Russian tradition will also live on. 

"Here, in the village, Russian traditions, faith and piety are preserved. They are lost in the city, because there people devote too much time to worldly technical achievements, but here in the countryside people are somehow connected with their land, with their traditions, with their ancestors," said Hieromonk Nikon (Gorokhov), rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Izborsk. 

This, say the organizers,  is why an International Conference is dedicated to rural churches every year. Such churches, they say,  embody the unique image of the Russian people: modest, but generous. This year the conference is also accompanied by an exhibition of church and historical painting by Alexander Krylov. 

"Beauty is the essence and main feature of the Russian person and Russian civilization, neither industry, nor huge size, but only devotion to Orthodoxy, a saving power,” said Krylov, artist and Professor at the St. Petersburg Repin Academy of Arts. 

There is a special something about the power, majesty, and beauty of a rural church in its native setting in a Russian village that is difficult to describe. Sometimes they are well preserved, sometimes they bear the scars of Russian history in various ways. But always they inspire and put one in a certain reflective mood. They are the gemstones of the Russian countryside. 
It is hoped that by means of such exhibits and conferences that urban dwellers and the next generation of Russian faithful can be exposed to these treasures that exist just beyond the bright lights and fast pace of the large cities. 

You can read more about this story here. (In Russian)