An exhibition dedicated to the historic and spiritual “Great Russian Northern Route” and the heritage of Moscow’s Novodevichy Convent has opened at the Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center in Paris. Titled “The Great Russian Northern Route: The Golden Thread of Centuries,” the exhibition will be open to visitors until February 28, according to the website of the Russian Embassy in France.

Presented across the first- and second-floor exhibition halls of the center, the display explores an educational, pilgrimage, and cultural-historical route stretching more than 5,000 kilometers across 12 regions of Russia—from Moscow to the Solovetsky Archipelago. The route links ancient churches and monastic ensembles, 14 of which are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. A special section of the exhibition focuses on the artistic and spiritual legacy of the stauropegial Novodevichy Convent, which marked the 500th anniversary of its foundation last year.

The exhibition was officially opened by Alexey Meshkov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to France. In his address, he noted that the project begins symbolically at the walls of the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow and connects the Russian capital with the country’s northern regions—one of the key centers in the formation of Russia’s spiritual and cultural traditions. The ambassador highlighted the significant contribution of Abbess Margarita (Feoktistova), the superior of the Novodevichy Convent, to the preparation and realization of the exhibition in France, and emphasized that it was an honor for the Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center to become one of the first international venues for this large-scale church-state project.

In her welcoming remarks, Abbess Margarita said that a substantial part of the exhibition is devoted to the ancient art of gold embroidery, which is now being revived at the Novodevichy Convent. She noted that these techniques were used by craftswomen during the time of Tsarina Irina Godunova, who lived in the convent for many years. According to the abbess, the Paris exhibition launches a broader range of educational and cultural initiatives to be implemented both in Russia and abroad.

As the Novodevichy Convent’s website reports, the exhibition introduces visitors to the convent’s artistic and spiritual heritage, where since the 16th century artisans have created liturgical textiles, shrouds, veils, and icons renowned for their high level of craftsmanship. Following the revival of monastic life in 1994, the return of ancient crafts began at the convent. Today, the gold embroidery and icon-painting workshops continue the traditions of the Moscow school, combining strict composition, delicate work with gold thread, and a restrained color palette.

The Novodevichy Convent is dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos Hodegetria, meaning “She Who Shows the Way” or “Guide.” According to tradition, this name refers to an ancient icon of the Mother of God attributed to the Evangelist Luke and once kept in a Byzantine church. Legend holds that the icon reached Rus’ in the mid-11th century. In the early 16th century, Grand Prince Vasily III founded the Novodevichy Convent in gratitude for the capture of Smolensk and the reunification of Russian lands under his rule. Built between the 16th and 17th centuries, the convent’s walls and towers, as well as its main cathedral—modeled on the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin—stand among the most significant monuments of ancient Russian art in Moscow. The cathedral also serves as the burial place for women of royal and princely families, including Grand Duchess Sophia Alekseyevna, who ruled Russia from 1682 to 1689.