Spectacular new Church to arise over Lubyanka Sq.

DIscussion and News concerning Orthodox Churches in communion with those who have fallen into the heresies of Ecumenism, Renovationism, Sergianism, and Modernism, or those Traditional Orthodox Churches who are now involved with Name-Worshiping, or vagante jurisdictions. All Forum Rules apply. No polemics. No heated discussions. No name-calling.


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Barbara
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Re: Spectacular new Church to arise over Lubyanka Sq.

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This panel is of New Hieromartyr Hilarion [Troitsky], Archbishop of Verey whose feast day it is tomorrow, December 15/28.

The relics of New Martyr Hilarion were translated to this same monastery, the Sretensky, where he had presided in the tumultuous early Bolshevik years. According to Orthodoxwiki,

"Abp. Hilarion became a thorn in the side of the renovationists. On July 5, 1923, he threw the renovationists out of the Sretensky Monastery as they tried to serve an All-night Vigil for the feast of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, and then after re-consecrating the cathedral, returned the monastery to the Church."
https://orthodoxwiki.org/Hilarion_(Troitsky)_of_Vereya


For New Martyr Hilarion's life :

http://www.euphrosynoscafe.com/forum/vi ... 244#p69244

Brief discussion of his politics here :

http://www.euphrosynoscafe.com/forum/vi ... =5&t=11511

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Barbara
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Re: Spectacular new Church to arise over Lubyanka Sq.

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Finally the day has arrived for the first service here, a Presanctified Liturgy, on the evening of the Day of the Derzhavnaya [ Reigning ] Icon - tomorrow, Wednesday !

However, the formal consecration of the new cathedral will occur on Ascension Day, in order to commemorate the --
ahem -- 10th anniversary of the Moscow Patriarchate - Rocor union [ cough, cough ]
.

Perhaps this timing aims at luring the Rocor-MP Archpastors and clergy to attend the festive occasion, since the MP knows well how important to Rocor are the New Martyrs. After all, if few Rocor-MP personnel show up for the 10th anniversary, that would indicate lackluster enthusiasm for the union, even disenchantment...so this could be a carrot to ensure better Church Abroad attendance.

Nevertheless, this new cathedral is a sparkling jewel. It seems to have been constructed in remarkably short time in a busy dense urban area : quite a feat. Imagine if one wanted to build a church like this in downtown Seattle. The logistics and bureaucracy would take 10 years to resolve, let alone finding the specialized engineering expertise to construct a traditional 5-domed Russian Church !

I am eager to see pictures of the interior when the Church is opened. For the time being, the exterior from a variety of angles
The exquisitely carved bronze entry doors when put in their places should be a marvel. Once word gets out, every Russian Orthodox church in the world will want to commission new sculpted doors of its patron Saints from that talented husband-wife team...

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"In 2015, Sretensky Stavropegic Monastery in Moscow began construction on a new cathedral dedicated to the New Martyrs of Russia. The church is near completion, according to schedule, and will soon be consecrated at a solemn Liturgy...

Many are waiting with great expectation for this day, and soon it will be here.
Dear brothers and sisters!

When we began building the church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ and the New Martyrs, we were preparing to celebrate the first Divine service in it on the one-hundredth anniversary of the tragic events of Russian unrest. On March 2, 1917 (March 15, new style) the conspirators forced the Tsar-Passion Bearer Nicholas II into abdication. One hundred years later we are meeting this day with reflection upon our history, reflection upon the path we have traversed, and with glorification of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Christ the Savior.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill has blessed the consecration of the new church to take place on the feast of the Ascension, May 25, 2017. This day will mark the tenth anniversary of the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. It was precisely on Ascension ten years ago that the document of canonical communion was signed.

But His Holiness the Patriarch has also blessed us to celebrate the first Liturgy on March 15 as scheduled, on the portico of the new cathedral, on a spot specially constructed for the Divine service under the open sky.

March 15, the day of the “Reigning” Icon of the Mother of God, falls on a Wednesday of Great Lent, and therefore there will be a Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. According to the tradition of Sretensky Monastery, Wednesday Lenten liturgies are served in the evening, at 6:00 PM.

As March is not yet a warm time of year at our latitude, do not forget to dress appropriately. Weather forecasters are not calling for rain that evening. In the Presanctified Liturgy there are prostrations to the ground, so you may bring something with you to lay under your knees....

-- Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk"

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/101755.htm

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Barbara
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Re: Spectacular new Church to arise over Lubyanka Sq.

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The Rocor-Mp Synod substituted a more accurate word when they recapped Bp Tikhon [Shevkunov]'s message above :

"On March 2, 1917 (March 15 according to the New Calendar), traitors forced Tsar Nicholas II the Passion-bearer to abdicate the throne."

Absolutely the word traitors is preferable.

Below the line of asterisks is the full version of Bp Tikhon's sermon at the Presanctified Liturgy on March 15, 2017, with the prologue by Rocor-MP.

It was welcome that the Sretensky prior spoke out in favor of the White resistance to the Communists [ Reds ] :
"in fact many went on to prove their love [ for Russia ], even unto death in the ranks of the White Movement."

Interesting that Bp Tikhon mentioned French Ambassador Maurice Paleologue, a well known figure in French history of the era, but probably less often mentioned in Russian history. Yet apparently he had a major role to play in persuading Russia to enter World War I :

"His most important and controversial role came when he was the French ambassador to Russia in July 1914. He hated Germany and saw that when war broke out France and Russia had to be close allies against Germany. His approach was in agreement with Prime minister Raymond Poincaré who trusted him. He promised unconditional French support to Russia in the unfolding crisis with Germany and Austria. Historians debate whether he exceeded his instructions and thereby helped hasten the war. There is agreement that he failed to inform Paris of exactly what was happening, and the implications of the Russian mobilization in launching a world war"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Pal%C3%A9ologue

Probably Paleologue - not related to the Byzantine royal family but of Romanian descent - was a Mason rather than Catholic, Bishop Tikhon hints. To gain any clue would necessitate careful research of his remembrances, An Ambassador's Memoirs [ 1925 ].

A look at the table of contents reveals coverage of subjects as diverse as Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna's candid feelings about the Tsar to French-Russian cooperation under the French Second Empire to description of the legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh. Sounds like worthwhile reading !


"MOSCOW: March 16, 2017
Bishop Tikhon of Egorievsk Celebrates Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts at the New Cathedral in Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery, to Be the Site of the Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Unity Within the Russian Orthodox Church

On March 15, 2017, the 100th anniversary of the miraculous discovery of the “Sovereign” [Derzhavnaya] Icon of the Mother of God, His Grace Bishop Tikhon of Egorievsk, Prior of Sretentsky Monastery in Moscow, Russia, celebrated the first Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts at the Cathedral of the Resurrection and the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.

In the words Vladyka Tikhon, when they began construction on the cathedral, they hoped to perform the first divine service in it on the day of the 100th anniversary of the tragic events of the the 20th-century’s “Time of Troubles” in Russia. On March 2, 1917 (March 15 according to the New Calendar), traitors forced Tsar Nicholas II the Passion-bearer to abdicate the throne. A century later “we understand this historic event, we make sense of the path we have traveled since, with the glorification of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Christ the Savior,” he said.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia blessed the consecration of this new church to be performed on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, May 25, 2017. That day will also mark the 10th anniversary of the restoration of full brotherly unity within the Russian Orthodox Church, since it was on the Ascension that the Act of Canonical Communion was signed with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

The Patriarch of Russia also gave his blessing to celebrate the first Liturgy on March 15, 2017, on the church portico of the new cathedral on a special structure under the open sky.

In accordance with tradition of Sretensky Monastery, the Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts is celebrated at 6 pm. After the service, Vladyka Tikhon said the following:

'In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:

We all know how special this day is. It is the day that the Queen of Heaven, through the sign of Her “Sovereign” Icon, providentially assumed the scepter of power in our Fatherland, Russia, which had figuratively fallen out of the hand of the last member of the 300-year-old dynasty, Holy Passion-Bearer Nicholas.

When we began to build this church, we prayed that the Lord would bless us to complete it in time for this day, the hundredth anniversary of probably the most tragic events in the history of our Fatherland, the beginning of the tribulations which by the mercy of God our people finally overcame, those sufferings which did not ultimately destroy the nation, the troubles which brought the descendants of so many who had once rejected God ultimately to Christ, to the triumph of His Resurrection.

This church is dedicated to the All-Victorious Resurrection of Christ and in honor of the devoted disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Holy New Martyrs and Confessors. The Lord fulfilled our heartfelt desire. So today, the very anniversary so important to us because it leads to our understanding of the path our country and her people took, we heed the lessons we glean from it, and we grasp the following lesson: Everything is in the hands of God. The Lord can cast us down to Hell, and the Lord can raise us up.

This is what happened with our Fatherland, which was cast down into Hades and once again brought back to the Resurrection of Christ, to the rebirth of life in God for many millions of our compatriots.

Sometimes Divine lessons are difficult to bear. What God teaches us is that dishonor, cowardice and faithlessness of mankind are only temporarily tolerated by God, but that the moment can come when even the most careless people and their descendants are forced to suffer bitter--but ultimately saving--tribulation.

Today we remember the Holy New Martyrs, yet we don't know how many unknown sufferers there were who had at one time been apostates from the Church and from faith, but whose sufferings and the martyr’s path returned them to Christ, maybe in only the final moments of their lives. They returned to Him and realized the goal of their very existence, unification with God, joining with Christ.

This occurred just as it had with the Thief on the cross in Golgotha. Crucified and in the final moments of life, he spoke only a few words from the depths of his heart: “Remember me, o Lord, in Thy Kingdom.” He had performed no great spiritual feats, he led no long life of piety. He had only committed the sins of apostasy, betrayal, cowardice and deceit, as Tsar Nicholas Alexandrovich himself said. So it is likely that many of our compatriots could have likewise said: We are guilty of betrayal, of cowardice and deceit, in relation to the Church, to the Lord, to the historical path of Orthodox Russia, a path we knew and yet rejected.

There are also practical lessons for us all. We celebrate the Glory of the Holy New Martyrs, who were denounced and rejected by this world, mocked and tormented by their contemporaries. Our memory of them is like an earthly icon of their life in the Kingdom of Heaven, a mere faint reflection of the glory they enjoy in Heaven. They were few in number, but it was they who chose the right path, they chose the way of Truth and Life, the way of Christ. All around them they heard shouts of “Abandon Him, leave Him behind and you will live free!” But they responded: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

This is a great spiritual lesson, but also a practical one. This lesson comes not from the Holy Fathers nor great ascetics, but from contemporaries who witnessed the events of 1917. One such eyewitness was not an Orthodox Christian, maybe not Christian at all, the French Ambassador to Petrograd, Maurice Paleologue, who said: “It is remarkable, I don’t know of a more inspiring people than the Russians.”

Those who welcomed the overthrow of the Tsar, confident in their efforts, shouted “Hurrah,” (an earthly form of “Hosannah!”), convincing themselves and everyone around them that finally, everything would change, that all the best and brightest would come forth, that joy and justice would finally reign. Only a few months later, these very same people cried tears of blood, because this nation which they helped turn over to “the most best and worthy of people” was now collapsing. By the summer of 1917, Russia was virtually no more, those who thirsted madly for power, who with smug defiance boldly believed that they knew best, this is what they did to their nation.

It turned out that leading a sovereign Russian nation proved very, very difficult. The nation collapsed and fell into the hands of the forerunner of the Antichrist. Who betrayed Russia and turned Russia and her people over to the forces of evil? Those confessed endless love for Russia. But one could say that they did not lie. All those who participated in the disgraceful betrayal—soldiers, aristocrats, thinkers, intelligentsia, the common people, shouted in the streets: We are doing this for Russia’s sake! We are prepared to die for her! And in fact many went on to prove their love, even unto death in the ranks of the White Movement.

In the end, it was these people who had limitless love for Russia who had betrayed her, turning her over to the man who said: “But as for me, dear sirs, I spit on Russia.” These were the words of a man whose remains lie even today in Red Square. This is what those who had such great love for their Fatherland did, who at the time were called the best and brightest of the nation.

This lesson must remain impressed in our minds and our hearts. We cannot ever let something like this happen again. Now, thank God, preconditions for such an event do not exist. But in the blink of an eye, everything can change, if the members of the Church of Christ prove to be nothing but imposters. Then the Spirit of God will abandon them.

Today, on this wonderful, splendid evening of the Feast of the Lord, let us pray that the Lord does not lead us into temptation, that He deprives us of all wickedness, that He preserves us a small flock of His Church. In this wonderful new church we all prayed for, built in honor of the New Martyrs, will host the Liturgy of the Lord for many years. Let us pray that the Divine Supper will be celebrated here by your children and your children’s children!

On behalf of my brethren, I wish to thank you all for today’s prayers. I thank the monks of our monastery for their efforts in building and adorning this church. I acknowledge all the buildings, architects, wonderful artists and engineers for their work. I thank every one of you who through your efforts and your prayers have made today such a remarkable divine service here.

It is hardly an accident of fate that the first divine service here in Sretensky Monastery, on the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple in 1994, was also held outside (we remember it well). And the first service at this new cathedral is by an act of Providence likewise being held outside, under the open skies--in the great temple of the world God created in which we all live.

I wish to thank you all, to thank the choir, and all the seminarians, and again, all the parishioners. May God give you all aid and strength in faith, and the Intercession of the Queen of Heaven. Amen. -- http://www.monasterium.ru"

http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2017/2017 ... turgy.html

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Barbara
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Re: Spectacular new Church to arise over Lubyanka Sq.

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Report on the Presanctified Liturgy held Wednesday evening with stunning photography of the new New Martyrs Cathedral :


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"Two thousand Orthodox Christians gathered this evening at the Lord’s Mystical Supper. The priests barely had time to confess all those preparing for Communion. The service was celebrated by the deputy abbot of Sretensky Monastery Bishop Tikhon of Egorievsk and concelebrated by the monastery clergy. The service was sung by the Sretensky Seminary choir.

"This joyous event was accompanied by weather warm for March. After the service, the brethren of the monastery invited all present to a meal, and none declined. After all, the majority who came to the evening Liturgy had been fasting since midnight."

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/foto/set1637.htm


Being a stavropigial Monastery, presumably Patriarch Kirill is the Abbot of Sretensky, which comes from a Slavonic word for meeting [ Sretenie ], referring to the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord.

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Barbara
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Re: Spectacular new Church to arise over Lubyanka Sq.

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The new Cathedral dwarfs the Vladimir Mother of God Church next to it in this view.
Note the Stalin-era ugly skyscraper on the horizon at far left

"On May 25, the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, the great consecration of the new Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church in Moscow’s ancient Sretensky Monastery...

The All-Night Vigil will be celebrated in the new church the night before, beginning at 5:00 PM. The meeting of the patriarch and the rite of consecration will take place at 9:00 AM on Thursday morning, followed by the Divine Liturgy for the great feast of the Ascension at 10:00.

By tradition, the first to enter the new church will be those who took part in its creation: builders, architects, engineers, iconographers, stone masons, metalworkers, and other laborers who worked on the erection of the new cathedral for more than three years. All will be given the opportunity to explore the new cathedral following the service.

In an open letter to parishioners of Sretensky Monastery in 2013, abbot Bishop (then Archimandrite) Tikhon (Shevkunov) wrote of the construction project:

The need for a new and spacious church in our monastery is long overdue. No one knows as well as you that frequently the multitude of parishioners does not fit within the one surviving Cathedral of the Meeting [Sretenie] of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and is forced to listen to a broadcast of the service while standing outside.

....the Brotherhood of the Sretensky Monastery asked that it be called the Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia on the Blood, on Lubyanka, timing its consecration for February 2017. In terms of goals and objectives, the following requirements for the future project were given particular emphasis:

“The church should reflect the idea of the House of God, traditional in Russian ecclesiastical architecture, as well as the struggle and triumph of the Russian New Martyrs’ spiritual victory.” This task was of the greatest importance for the planners.

Speaking of the winning design, Archimandrite Tikhon continued,

The image of the church it presented is unusually luminous and majestic. That the author placed the church on a stylobate (continuous base) visually emphasizes the idea of a memorial."

*******************************

Note from Barbara : I am not as enthusiastic about the style of the frescoes covering the walls inside of the Church, judging from this one picture provided. My first thought was : Ravenna. These frescoes almost look like mosaics to my eye.
But more photos will be provided after the consecration which will allow us to better view the Cathedral's interior.

The marble floor is gorgeous.

It would be helpful to get a listing of the New Martyrs who circle the dome overhead, left to right.

Probably soon there will be postcards showing this and other scenes, interior and exterior, from this jewel of a Church.
The Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia should by all rights become one of the premier sights for visitors to Moscow as well as a prime destination for religious pilgrims. It should help foreigners and Russians alike to become better educated about that terrible chapter in the country's life and to admire the heroism of those New Martyrs and Confessors who suffered for their Orthodox faith in the face of the most terrible persecution imaginable by Soviet Communists.

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Barbara
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Re: Spectacular new Church to arise over Lubyanka Sq.

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A bit more information emerges from this article about the state-of-the-art Cathedral :

"Moscow, May 24, Interfax -

"....The church is 61-meter high. The newest technologies were used in its building. The system of ventilation and air-conditioning was installed to provide microclimate inside. Digital equipment is used to control lightning, heating, audio and video broadcasting systems.

The cathedral is covered with stone thread [ facing ? ] from Vladimir limestone. Ancient cathedrals of Moscow, Suzdal and Vladimir are made from the same stone.

The educational center and the youth center will occupy two floors at the stylobate part. Two museums - the Museum of New Martyrs and the Museum of the Turin Shroud will be set up at the church.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=13815

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Re: Spectacular new Church to arise over Lubyanka Sq.

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Video of the entire consecration service, 3 hours 39 minutes long.

At the end, Bp Tikhon received the Order of St Danil of Moscow for his work. Which Class the order was I could not understand in Russian. The news will be out soon to clarify.

Putin gave a speech which, from the excerpt on Interfax-Religion, sounded wishy washy. No great pronouncements like "It's time to teach the heroism of the New Martyrs in schools where Orthodoxy is taught or offered".

Or best of all, " In time for the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution this November 7, let's atone for the sins of our nation by wiping from the face of the earth that Halloween haunted house at the Kremlin Wall, reconsecrate the ground and the wall itself to get out all the Devils hanging around there forever -- and build a chapel to the New Martyrs and All Russian Saints in place of the shrine to the Communist destoyers of the land ".

Instead, the leader of the RF merely said that this era should not be forgotten or ignored but remembered. The way the translation read, it sounded so lackluster. That could be read either way. The Communists would not mind if he just left it there, ambiguously. After all, holdout Soviets want their era remembered - but in a positive way.
Putin still does not take a hard enough line against Communism as far as one can discern.

He presented a 19th century Icon of St John the Forerunner to the newly consecrated Cathedral, which Bishop Tikhon accepted and took into the altar.

My belief is that the head of the Sretensky Monastery will soon be elevated to Archbishop, then Metropolitan.


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