We set out for our visit to the monastery on what we would call an 8-lane Interstate (4 lanes going each direction). The traffic on these highways is awful, with the lanes packed and stopped or crawling along most of the time. Vlad, again, was working himself around and through – it seemed dangerous, but so far he has kept us safe.
It was good to be out of Moscow and to be able to see the countryside. We drove through forests and past farms. Many of the homes and buildings were less well kept than in the British Isles. We remember the collective farms of Communism and wonder what the balance is between private and government ownership.
We came to a sign, “The Holy Trinity” and found a parking place nearby, after Vlad checked with others to be sure we could park there. The walled town of Sergiyev Posad has grown up around the monastery. The area is 70 kilometers northeast of Moscow. The encyclopedia and Vlad call this a monastery – Marianna insists that it is an educational center instead. According to the Internet, the monastery was closed down by the Soviet government in 1920, and opened again in 1945 during Stalin’s temporary tolerance of the church during World War II.
The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is about 70 kilometers northeast of Moscow, and currently is home to over 300 monks.
We learned that the monastery is celebrating the 700th anniversary of Sergius’s birth this week, so we’d come at a special time, and the complex was quite busy. Pilgrims come from all over Russia to worship – we women covered our heads out of respect – Vlad even told me to blot my lipstick. The worshippers crossed themselves when they entered and left and several times during their worship in the cathedral. Some kissed the feet of the picture of Jesus on the Cross. The monks were singing and it was quite beautiful. Vlad and Marianne took part in the worshipful time, wrote out names of people to be blessed- dead and alive, purchased candles and lit them, and crossed themselves several times at the entrance and inside the cathedral. We went in respectfully, but didn’t join in during the worship except silently. Marianna says that relics of Saint Sergius are kept here.
We walked around the courtyard, had some ice cream and a drink that Vlad said he wasn’t drinking because he has to drive. I gave most of mine to Verle when they weren’t looking – I hope!
We took a more rural route on the drive back to Moscow. It was much more relaxing and enjoyable – no traffic slowdowns and lovely views of forests, farms, and small towns. Though perhaps farther, this route was great to avoid the constant slowdowns on the Interstate.
We stopped at Vlad and Marianna’s “country home” to water the flowers – we hadn’t realized that the place was on the way home. I helped a little bit with watering the flowers. Helicopters flew over from the military base nearby. We met their next door neighbor, Natasha and her husband-Sergei, and her sister-in-law, Marina. Natasha showed us her extensive garden, chickens, and flowers — her large yard was filled with growing things. She evidently markets some of this. Vlad is very kind to help me walking in the dark, opening car doors, etc. When we got back to the edge of Moscow, we stopped at a Global mega-store for supper. We each took a tray and picked out the things we wanted to eat. That was fun – we chose dishes that were apparently Russian food – it was tasty and we were very full by the time we left!
We returned to “our” apartment. Vlad and Marianna each took a shower, since they can’t do that at her folks’ where the hot water is turned off. It was after midnight again by the time we went to sleep,