Orthodox Christmas Eve

In addition to Dave and I receiving the greatest Christmas present ever, our trip to Russia gave us an opportunity to experience a part of the Russian culture that few foreigners get to see. We were privileged enough to be able to visit two different churches on January 7 for Orthodox Christmas Eve.

The first of the churches was the Belaya Gora (White Mountain) Monastery which is the biggest cathedral in the Urals. It’s situated 120 km from Perm and 80 km from Kungur. The snow was falling heavily and the icy winds were coming straight out of Siberia (and I mean that quite literally).

Stepping inside the cathedral was a surreal experience, that delivered a sense of calm and serenity that I didn’t even realize was so missing in my soul. At the Belaya Gora Monastery a sort of church service was in progress when we arrive in the lower level of the church. There was a priest in full regalia praying and swinging the really big incense burner (I’m sure there is a more reverent way of explaining the incense). A group of 8 monks were chanting/singing in the most incredible copula style that melded the voices to sound as one. It was the most amazing sound I’ve ever heard. The perimeter of the room was decorated in fresh cut spruce trees decorated in white paper angles. The scent of the trees combined with the incense and the bees wax candles filled the air with a heady aroma which defies description. All of this was taking place in the lower level of the cathedral while the main part upstairs was being ready for evening service.

Even monks have to plow snow

The second church we visited was in the town of Kungur, which is south east of Perm.  The church was much smaller the cathedral at the monastery, but filled with people lighting candles and saying prayers.  Our driver Valentin knew someone at the church was granted us access to the bell tower.  The first couple of stories were traversed on winding twisting narrow stone stairs which varied drastically in raise and depth. The stairs open up rather drastically when went above the stone work and continued the climb for a few more stories in the barely enclosed tower while being belted by the arctic winds.  It only took minutes at the top until my everything was cold, but I stuck it out for as long as possible to take these amazing photos.

This is what cold looks like. It was about -20F on the ground and this was three stories up in a bell tower.

Many of the bells have been given patron saints