These pilgrimages are designed to build deeper bridges of cultural and spiritual understanding between American Christianity and the Orthodox faith in Holy Russia, introducing participants to the theology, spirituality, and principles of the Orthodox Church in Russia. In community, we will experience the arts and practices of Russian religious tradition. We will be enriched by entering into spiritual practices of a different kind of witness to Christ; personalized itineraries to monasteries, artists’ studios, iconography schools, seminaries, orphanages, cultural centers will each offer unique immersion experiences.
Itinerary
Dates and itinerary below offer a sample of the 2011 pilgrimage. The most recent pilgrimage to St. Petersburg took place in 2017; Sept. 27th-October 3rd.
Tuesday, Sept. 27th – departure.
Wednesday, Sept. 28th – arrival in St. Petersburg late afternoon / lodging arrangements and dinner at restaurant (hotel night).
Thursday, Sept. 29th – breakfast, City tour (including afternoon excursion at St. Isaac’s), lecture on “Nevsky Prospect – Showcase of Religion” and dialogue, dinner at restaurant (hotel night).
Friday, Sept. 30th – breakfast, lecture “Mysticism of Russian Writers (the 19th – early 20th century)”, morning at the Hermitage, mid-afternoon visit to artist Anna Kajdan, dinner at restaurant, transfer to St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery stay.
Saturday, October 1st – breakfast, visit at St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra and grounds, visit with Fr. Gennady at Trinity Izmailovsky Cathedral with late lunch at his church (will see church renovations and hopefully a visit to his orphanage), ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre (monastery stay night).
Sunday, Oct. 2nd – option to attend liturgy at St. Alexander Nevsky, breakfast and transfer back to the hotel, Norm and Deb deliver a PowerPoint presentation on iconography, visit the Russian National Museum, dinner at restaurant at about 5 pm, ballet at the Mariinsky theatre (hotel night).
Monday, Oct. 3rd – breakfast, excursion to Peterhof, afternoon visit to Maria„s Children (art project pro-gram for orphanages), dinner, prepare for next day‟s excursion to Novgorod.
Tuesday, Oct. 4th – breakfast, all-day excursion to Novgorod (9h00 to 21h00), dinner in Novgorod, return to hotel stay (hotel night).
Wednesday, Oct. 5th – breakfast, lecture “Religion and Politics of Nowadays” and dialogue, guided tour at Sts. Peter and Paul Fortress, return visit to St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra and icon studio**, visit to St. Petersburg Children’s Hospice, celebration and good-bye dinner at restaurant with Russian colleagues and friends (hotel night).
Thursday, Oct. 6th – breakfast, excursion to Pavlovsk / Catherine’s Palace, visit to Fr. Valery Schvetov and his church The Miracle Worker St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Pavlovsk with late lunch at his church, open evening for last minute shopping (hotel night).
Friday, Oct. 7th – breakfast, departure.
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