Feast Day Of The Theotokos - Mother Of God

Monday, October 14, 2024, we attended the feast day of Mary, known as the Protection of the Theotokos, the Mother of God, one of the most important feast days in the Russian Orthodox calendar.

The church was built in 1885 in the village of Oreanda, a part of Greater Yalta It was constructed with giant blocks of stone that were recovered from the ruins of a palace that was destroyed by fire.

During the Soviet Era the church was used as a storage facility for vegetables, but it survived without being destroyed like many other churches and monasteries.

Oreanda was also a favored retreat for members of the Communist Party. It was here that Leonid Breshnev met with Richard Nixon in 1974.

These churches are magnificent, ornately decorated with icons, mosaics, and paintings that literally take your breath away.

Mosaics in the church were by Antonio Salviatti, a famous Italian master who was responsible for the rebirth of mosaic art in Russia, England, Europe, and the USA.

What is amazing to me are the number of people who regularly attend these feast days, of which there are many, including couples with multiple children. The resurgence of Russian Orthodoxy can be seen everywhere throughout Russia in big cities, small towns, and villages.

The resurgence of the Orthodox religion in Russia after the Soviet Era has been nothing short of amazing. Old, rundown churches and monasteries have been rehabilitated, and hundreds of new churches and monasteries have been built. And, they are packed on Sundays and all major feast days.

I attended today's liturgy along with hundreds of the believers from places like Feodosia, Simferopol, and Sevastopol. Many local bishops and priests from the area also took part in the liturgy.

You may recall that atheism was forced on the Russian people during the Communist years. Nevertheless, many Orthodox Russians had their children and grandchildren baptized secretly and even celebrated underground liturgies. With the fall of the Soviet Union, churches and priests were again available to believers.

After the liturgy and procession around the church took place, buns and compot, a homemade berry beverage, were served to everyone.