• >
  • Around the World >
  • Europe >
  • Russia: Easter 2011 >
  • The pilgrimage to Moscow day by day
  English
  • Community
  • At the Wellspring of Faith
  • Coming to Taizé
  • Around the World


 
Other articles
  • Easter Celebrations in Taizé and Moscow
  • A Pilgrimage to Moscow
  • The pilgrimage to Moscow day by day
  • Pilgrimage to Moscow: Saturday 23 April
  • Pilgrimage to Moscow: Sunday 24 April
  • Message from Metropolitan Hilarion
  • Words of thanks of Brother Alois to Metropolitan Hilarion
  • Short film of the pilgrimage
  • Russia: Easter 2011: What did you experience in Moscow during the pilgrimage?
  • Regular prayers in Australia
  • Canada: Prayers
  • NZ: Prayers in Aotearoa-New Zealand
  • UK: News from Britain
  • UK: Prayers
  • USA: Prayer Contacts
  • Small Provisional Communities
    • Small Provisional Communities
    • Small Provisional Communities before 2018
    • News from the Small Provisional Communities
    • A Taizé Provisional Community on the Outskirts of Lyons
    • A Month in Morocco
  • Meeting in Cape Town
    • Cape Town 2019: Next African stage of the Pilgrimage of Trust
    • Cape Town 2019: Practical information
    • For churches in Cape Town
      • Practical steps for host churches
    • Background and reflection
      • Taizé and South Africa
      • Cape Town 2019: A reflection on silence
      • Archbishop Tutu and Taizé
      • Visiting the Eastern Cape province
      • “Giving birth to a new people” - Jaco Botha
      • “All began with a step of trust...” - John de Gruchy
      • Reflection: “Next year gathering can be a place of healing..." Ntombekhaya
  • Africa
    • South Africa: Regular prayers
    • Africa 2009 - 2017
      • Algeria: A meeting at Tlemcen: August 2011
      • Burundi May 2009: Building new relationships
      • Democratic Republic of Congo: A visit to Goma
      • Meetings and retreats in Nairobi : program for 2017
      • Mauritania: A journey from Dakar to Nouadhibou
      • Rwanda: Visits in November 2010
      • A Brother Visits South Sudan
      • Two Taizé brothers in South Africa
      • In South Sudan, summer 2013
      • Tanzania: Meetings in June 2010
      • Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso: Visits and meetings
      • Visits in Uganda
    • 2016: Meeting in Cotonou
      • Cotonou 2016: Photos
      • Benin: International young adult meeting in Cotonou
      • Cotonou 2016: Echoes of the Preparation in Bénin and Neighbouring Countries
      • Video clip: The preparation of the meeting in Cotonou
      • Spring 2016: The Preparation Continues in Cotonou and Elsewhere
      • Cotonou 2016: Looking for Paths of Hope Together
      • Cotonou 2016: Hope and joyful gratitude
    • 2012: Meeting in Kigali
      • Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth
      • How to prepare for the meeting
      • Kigali: Echoes from the Meeting
      • Preparation of the meeting
        • Practical information
        • Rwanda 2011: A new stage towards the meeting in Kigali in 2012
        • Kigali: The preparation in March
        • February-March 2012: Travel Log
        • June 2012: Travellog
        • Rwanda, September 2012 : News of the preparation
        • Kigali : Testimonies from Young People
        • Kigali Meeting: The last stage of the preparation...
      • Contacts
      • Photos
      • From Kigali to Rome
    • 2008: Meeting in Nairobi
      • With 7000 young Africans in Nairobi Taizé creates a sign of peace
      • The meeting in Nairobi: Day by day
      • Nairobi: Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Photos: Meeting in Nairobi
    • Africa 2006 - 2008
      • February-March 2006 : In East Africa
      • February 2007 : In East Africa
      • November 2007: A visit to South Africa
      • April-May 2007: In West Africa
      • Malawi: "A house that’s complete"
  • Americas
    • Argentina: An important small step forward in reconciliation
    • Prayers with songs from Taizé in Panama
    • Bolivia October 2009: Meetings in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Cochabamaba and El Alto
    • Pilgrimage of Trust in the Caribbean
    • Chile: A new stage in the pilgrimage of trust
    • Haiti: Messages from young people
    • Spring 2014: Pilgrimage of Trust in America
    • Mexico: Faith is alive everywhere
    • Visits in Peru
    • USA: Pilgrimage of Trust in St. Louis
      • Spring 2017: Pilgrims of Trust in Saint Louis
    • USA: Meeting in Pine Ridge
      • Pilgrimage of trust in the USA: Taizé at Pine Ridge: “Our pot is empty - you have to fill it”
      • Photos: Meeting in Pine Ridge
    • 2007: Meeting in Cochabamba
      • Day by day during the meeting
      • Photos: Meeting in Cochabamba
      • Taizé and Bolivia
    • 2010: Meeting in Santiago
      • Taizé and Latin America
      • The evening before Palm Sunday
      • A welcome that is warm, close and simple
      • Celebrating life with the people of Chile
      • In Argentina: An un-hoped for joy
      • For a fraternal world: Meeting in Santiago, Chile
      • In Chile: the pilgrimage of trust continues…
      • Photos
    • 2012: Meeting in Chicago
      • Meeting in Chicago: An interview with two of the brothers
      • Meeting in Chicago: Taizé-Chicago: Three-minute version
      • May 2012 meeting: Taizé in Chicago
      • Photos of the meeting in Chicago
    • 2018: Upcoming Events in North America
  • Asia Pacific
    • Japan, spring 2016: "How to awaken in us the courage of mercy? "
    • India 2018: Visits and prayers
    • Video: An introduction to Taizé
    • Australia: News of prayers, meetings and gatherings
    • Cambodia: Visits of Brothers
    • Taizé and China
    • Taiwan: Meetings with a brother from Taizé in April 2015
    • Hong Kong: Prayers and meetings to "uncover the wellspring of trust in God"
    • Hong Kong: Preparatory Prayers for International Meeting 2018
    • Visit by two brothers to Indonesia
    • Indonesia: October 2011: At the World Christian Forum in Manado
    • Visits of Brother Alois in Asia
    • Japan 2014: Meetings with a brother from Taize
    • Kazakhstan : A visit in August 2010
    • Laos: Young Laotians and the pilgrimage of trust
    • East Malaysia: Easter in Kuching
    • A visit in Mongolia
    • Myanmar: “What is the source from which we draw life?”
    • The Courage of Mercy in the Philippines
    • The Philippines, 2016: Living the Courage of Mercy
    • August 2018: Two brothers in the Philippines
    • India, February-March 2013: Visits to Vasai and Mumbai
    • Sri Lanka: Visits in 2012
    • Thailand: Next prayers in Bangkok
    • Timor Leste: Visits in 2012
    • In Vietnam
    • Regular prayers in Asia
      • Regular Prayer in the Philippines
      • Regular prayer in Macau
      • Regular prayers in Hong-Kong
      • Regular prayers in Indonesia
      • Regular prayers in Singapore
      • Regular prayer in Malaysia
      • Japan: Regular prayers in Japan
      • Regular prayers in India
      • Prayers in Vietnam
    • 2018 Meeting in Hong Kong
      • August 2018: Pilgrimage of Trust in Hong Kong
      • Meeting in Hong Kong, August 2018: Practical information
      • Hong-Kong 2018: Meditations by Brother Alois
    • 2010 Meeting in Manila, Philippines
      • Philippines: Meeting in Manila: "Most simply I am grateful for life"
      • Pilgrimage of trust meeting in the Philippines
      • Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Photos
      • Brother Alois 2010: Liham mula sa Ttsina
      • Brother Alois 2010: Sulat gikan sa Ttsina
    • 2006 Meeting in Kolkata, India
      • Pilgrimage of Trust in Kolkata: On the Road of Trust, Towards a Future of Peace
      • Kolkata: Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Taizé and India
      • Photos: Meeting in Kolkata
    • September 2017: Visits and prayers in India
  • Europe
    • European Meeting in Madrid
      • Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Live stream of the evening prayers
      • Madrid 2018: Photos
      • Messages received for the meeting
      • Madrid 2018: Programme of Workshops
    • The Next Taizé European Meeting Will Be Held in Poland
    • At the end of every year
      • Basel 2017
        • Next European Meeting: At the end of 2018 in Madrid
        • Basel 2017: Next European Meeting of Young Adults in Basel
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Basel 2017: Photos
      • Riga 2016
        • A novel European meeting at Riga in Latvia
        • Riga 2016: Film
        • A short history of Latvia (1)
        • A short history of Latvia (2)
        • Riga: Photos
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Valencia 2015
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Photos
      • Prague 2014
        • Prague: Some clips on the European Meeting
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • The meeting from day to day
        • Photos
      • Strasbourg 2013
        • Strasbourg: 30,000 young Europeans make “a large community of friendship” visible
        • Strasbourg meeting: Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Words of welcome from representatives of the Churches of Alsace and Ortenau
        • Strasbourg: Echoes from the Strasbourg Meeting
        • Photos
      • Rome 2012
        • Rome, January 2013: Some weeks after the European Meeting
        • The meeting from day to day
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • 45 000 young people in Saint Peter’s Square to pray with Pope Benedict
        • Rome 2012: The faith of a scientist - one of the afternoon workshops
        • Photos
      • Berlin 2011
        • Meeting in Berlin: 30 000 young adults on the road towards a new solidarity
        • The Meeting Day by Day
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Photos
      • Rotterdam 2010
        • 30 000 young people invited to reflect on joy and solidarity
        • The Meeting Day by Day
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • “The party is over but the legacy remains.”
        • Photos
      • Poznań 2009
        • Photos
        • “Poznań, capital of European Christian youth”
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Brussels 2008
        • From the newspapers
        • Meeting in Brussels: Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Two addresses by Cardinal Danneels
        • Photos
      • Geneva 2007
        • Geneva elated to have welcomed the 40,000 young adults of Taizé
        • Photos
      • 2006: 40,000 young Europeans fill up with hope
      • 2005: Milan filled with the spirit of Brother Roger
      • 2004 Lisbon: The Urgency of Peace
      • 2003 Hamburg: The Face of the Church as Communion
      • 2002 Paris: A Larger Europe Breathes the Good News
      • 2001 Budapest: Hospitality, A Face of God
      • 2000 Barcelona: Sharing a Hope
    • Lviv 2018
      • Lviv 2018: Provisional programme
      • Lviv 2018: Practical information
      • Lviv 2018: Prayers with songs from Taizé
      • Meeting Booklet
      • Lviv 2018: End of April, First Taizé Meeting in Ukraine
      • Lviv 2018: A first meeting of Taizé in Ukraine in the spring sunshine
      • Lviv 2018: Pictures
      • Lviv 2018: Meditations by Brother Alois
    • Albania: “Visits from abroad”
    • Austria, March 2011: Meeting in Vienna
    • Austria: Meeting in Graz
      • Graz 2018: Graz 2018: Sharing the Future
      • Graz 2018: Practical Information
      • Graz 2018: program and songsheet
    • Belarus, September 2014: Discovering the Source of a Unity Beyond Borders
    • Autumn 2016: A Visit to Belarus
    • Bosnia-Herzegovina: After the meeting in Sarajevo
    • Bulgaria: 2010: Welcomed as long lost friends
    • Croatia: “Something that they want to share with others”
    • Czech Republic: Preparing “Vigils of Trust” in Prague, November 2012
    • Denmark: Visits in May 2010
    • Estonia 2012: Renewing trust
    • Hamina, City of Peace
    • Finland : A Chain of Friendship
    • Finland: Meeting in Helsinki
    • Germany, 2012: A visit to Cologne
    • France, All Saints 2016 : The testimony of refugees in Taizé
    • Present day Greece: a land of contrasts
    • Spring 2016: On the island of Lesbos with those who had to leave everything
    • April 2016: A Volunteer on a Boat Saving Refugees in the Mediterranean
    • Hungary: Accompanying the refugees
    • Hungary Octobre 2009: Meeting in Pécs, October 2009
    • Ireland: News from Ireland
    • Italy: March 2011: Prayers and visits
    • Mantova, September 2012: Brothers and volunteers visit a sorely tried region
    • Riga, September 2014: To the Baltic Countries as Pilgrims of Peace and Trust
    • Latvia 2012: Seeking signs of hope
    • Lithuania: Meeting in Vilnius in May 2009
    • Malta: “A silent cry that no one hears”
    • Moldova, February 2016: Come Back in the Spring!
    • Norway, Spring 2013: "We are truly one in Christ"
    • Pilgrimage of trust in Norway: Weekend meeting in Oslo and Trondheim
    • Sweden: Pilgrimage and apples
    • Taizé in Brussels: New paths of trust
    • Poland, October 2014: „Days of Communion” in Katowice
    • WYD 2016: Praying with the Songs of Taizé in Kraków
    • Portugal: Evening prayer in Porto
    • Romania, Easter 2016: Pilgrimage to Bucharest
      • Pilgrimage to Bucharest
      • Getting ready to take part
      • Celebrating Easter in Bucharest: Day by Day
      • Echoes from participants: To the Wellsprings of the Romanian Orthodox Tradition
      • Pictures from the Pilgrimage
    • Romania: Brother Alois’ visit in May 2008
    • Russia: Pilgrimage to a second springtime
    • Russia, Easter 2015: A Pilgrimage to Moscow, in the Light of the Resurrection
    • Russia: Easter 2011
      • Easter Celebrations in Taizé and Moscow
      • A Pilgrimage to Moscow
      • The pilgrimage to Moscow day by day
      • Pilgrimage to Moscow: Saturday 23 April
      • Pilgrimage to Moscow: Sunday 24 April
      • Message from Metropolitan Hilarion
      • Words of thanks of Brother Alois to Metropolitan Hilarion
      • Short film of the pilgrimage
      • Russia: Easter 2011: What did you experience in Moscow during the pilgrimage?
    • 2016: Continuing pilgrimage in Russia
    • Ljubljana, May 2012: A mosaic of encounters in the midst of the Slovenian springtime
    • Spain: Meeting in Seville: May 2009
    • Sweden 2016: Refugees, coffee and prayer
    • Sweden 2016: Prayer with Brother Alois in Lund
    • Istanbul, January 2013
      • Taizé and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
      • Pilgrimage, day by day
      • A word of welcome by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
      • Meditation by brother Alois
      • Photos of the pilgrimage
      • Young People’s Impressions
    • Turkey: Prayers in Istanbul
    • UK: Birmingham 2017
      • Echoes of Birmingham 2017
      • Workshops
      • Birmingham 2017: St. Chad’s Sanctuary
      • Birmingham 2017: Changing Tunes
      • Birmingham 2017: “Bringing Hope”
      • Birmingham 2017: Meeting Christ in the discarded
    • UK: Weekend in Edinburgh
      15-16 March 2014
    • Ukraine, October 2014: Faces of Hope
    • Ukraine, April 2015: An Eastertide Pilgrimage, between suffering and hope
    • Europe 2006 2007 2008
      • Austria: A journey through Austria
      • Bosnia-Herzegovina and Taizé
      • Denmark: “The great day of prayer"
      • Germany: In the North of Germany
      • In Greece and the Republic of Macedonia
      • Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina
      • In Latvia and Estonia: 2008
      • Russia: Brother Alois in Moscow in 2006
      • Russia: In Moscow in 2006: Taizé’s gratefulness for the Russian Orthodox Church
      • Russia: A visit in October 2006
      • Russia: A visit in November 2007
      • In Spain: 2008
      • Sweden: 2007 Meeting in Stockholm
      • Sweden: 2007 Stockholm meeting day by day
      • UK: 2006: Prayers in Bradford Cathedral and Westminster Abbey
      • Ukraine 2006: Just before the elections
  • Middle East
    • Lebanon 2019: International Ecumenical Youth Meeting in Beirut
    • 2017: Pilgrimage of Trust in Egypt
    • Egypt 2017: Taizé on Pilgrimage to Egypt with Coptic Christians
    • Egypt 2017: Pictures of the pilgrimage
    • 2017: A Christian-Muslim initiative of hope in northern Lebanon
    • A Jew’s prayer for the children of Gaza
    • Prayers in Jerusalem
    • Israël, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon: Journal of a pilgrim of trust
    • Lebanon 2013: Visit of a brother
    • Autumn 2015: Two Brothers in the Middle East
Russia: Easter 2011
 

The pilgrimage to Moscow day by day

From Wednesday 20 to Monday 25 April 2011

In Moscow, from Wednesday 20 to Monday 25 April 2011, six parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church welcomed Brother Alois, four other brothers of the community and 240 young adults from 26 countries, who took part in the Orthodox liturgical life from Wednesday of Holy Week to Easter Sunday.
It was the first time that Taizé had led a pilgrimage to Russia. On Holy Thursday, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, president of the Department for Relations between Church and Society, met with all the pilgrims. On Good Friday, all the participants went to Butovo, to the south of Moscow, where over 20,000 people were killed during the Stalinist Great Terror in 1935-36. The Russian Church has made this place into a memorial to the New Martyrs. Many bishops, priests and lay people died there.
Saturday morning, the pilgrims were greeted by Metropolitan Hilarion, president of the External Affairs Department of the Patriarchate of Moscow. Saturday evening, they took part in the celebration of the night of Easter in each of the six parishes. The pilgrimage concluded on Sunday with Solemn Easter Vespers, presided over by Patriarch Kirill I in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

One of the brothers had gone ahead for the final preparations; he writes from Moscow:

Friday 15 April

JPEG - 13.1 kb

Today is the last day of the Great Lent for the Orthodox. The weekend, with its feasts of Lazarus Saturday and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem on Sunday, already gives a taste of the Easter Celebration. This morning, we took part in the final Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts - vespers, followed by matins and then a shortened liturgy with the distribution of the gifts consecrated at the last Eucharist. The prayer of St Ephraim is said several times during the service. At the end of each phrase, the congregation crosses themselves, kneels and bows their heads to the ground.

This evening was the final meeting for the parish coordinators, in the parish of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, Joy of all the Afflicted. Six parishes will welcome the pilgrims. What is striking is their willingness to improvise and welcome all. The coordinators are all young people, and they helping with the blessing of their priest. Their trust is very moving. For most of the parishes, it will be the first time they welcome young adults from other countries.

Saturday 16 April

Lazarus Saturday. The raising of Lazarus was the last and greatest of the signs worked by Jesus. It shows him as the giver of life, which paradoxically leads to his death. Both historically and liturgically, it is appropriate that this sign is a prelude to Holy Week and Easter.

This morning, liturgy in the church of the Assumption just off Tver Street in central Moscow. It is here where we will welcome the pilgrims on Wednesday. There is a real sense of festivity after the forty days of Lent. As the priest speaks, he reminds us that Christ calls each one of us out of our tombs to bring us to new life already at the present time.

In the afternoon, a meeting with the volunteers who will help on Wednesday and throughout the pilgrimage. A month ago we had a meeting attended by 70 young people; practical tasks were assigned. This time there are more tasks to see to! Some will meet the pilgrims at the airports and station to guide them to the central welcome point. Others will act as shuttles between the welcome point and the host parishes. And then there is a tea team, teams who will explain the programme, give out the tickets and assign people to their parishes. …

As we explain to those who will look after the first welcome, we can grasp how long these young Russians have been waiting for the opportunity to receive young adults from abroad in their parishes, such is their joy.....

Sunday 17 April

The Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem – “Palm Sunday” in the West, but “Willow Sunday” in Russia. Spring is almost making an appearance and in the streets stalls with catkin branches can be seen outside the churches. In the metro, you see people carrying these sprigs. It is a form of popular religion. It shows how religious action is no longer alien in what was not so long ago an atheist society. Already last night at Vespers, the priests were blessing the branches, and joyfully sprinkling the congregation with water! Today this is repeated and the churches are full. Everyone holds a candle in their hand.

Celebration in a parish church in a village outside Moscow from which the first groups came to Taizé in the early 1990s. Prayer at the grave of the courageous priest who built up the congregation through the difficult years. The sun is shining.

Wednesday 20 April

JPEG - 20 kb

It is hard to describe the beauty of this day: one of those special moments when something that so many people have been hoping for and praying for for so long is suddenly fulfilled. 240 pilgrims from 26 different countries welcomed by six different Orthodox parishes in Moscow. Who could have imagined such a thing just a few decades back?

The Church of the Dormition, a stone’s throw away from Red Square, wedged between MacDonald’s and the Ministry of the Interior, opened its doors. The presence of the icons in the church, people coming in off the street to light candles before them and praying a moment - all that created a unique atmosphere in which to welcome these young people who have come with the desire to understand something more about the Russian Orthodox Church. An immediate sensation of the peace of heaven on earth, in contrast to the bustle of this vibrant city.

The patience and kindness of our Russian hosts shone out throughout the day. No pilgrim can be welcomed without tea and some food. Those who came at the last hour were greeted with the same joy as those came at the first. And the young people in the parish preparation teams planned everything so well. No family was left without guests. A real miracle! So much to be thankful for. There is nothing more to add. The pilgrimage has begun

Thursday 21 April

What a joy to be among the 300 or so people taking part in the Holy Thursday liturgy at the parish of St Tatyana, the church attached to the Moscow State University, just opposite the Kremlin, at 7.30 am.

JPEG - 14.3 kb

Olga writes about today’s morning service:
"Thursday is the day of the institution of the Mystical Supper. In the morning, the liturgy of Holy Thursday is celebrated in every church. On that day, even those who are at work or study try to make time at least for these morning hours to participate in this special liturgy. Once a year, on this day, the prayer “When the glorious disciples” is sung. Everybody receives communion while singing “At Thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant; for I will not speak of Thy Mysteries unto Thine enemies, neither like Judas will I give Thee a kiss, but like the thief will I confess Thee: remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom”. The whole day is marked by the sign of that special participation in the Last Supper on the eve of the suffering of Our Lord"

After the liturgy, it was time to meet with the 20 or so pilgrims welcomed by the parish. The priest welcomed us all for lunch. Hospitality, even in Lent, passes first of all by the table in Russia! Speaking to the pilgrims, the priest expressed his happiness at their presence and was open for all their questions.

In the afternoon, everyone travelled by Metro to the church of Fr Vsevolod Chaplin, President of the Department for Church-Society relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. He spoke first of all of the immense suffering of Russian Christians in the Communist era. Very openly, he told about the challenges facing the church today. "Every Christian must be brave enough to bear witness to their faith wherever they are. The Church is not just for the rich or for the poor - it is for everyone." And he was ready to answer everyone’s questions.

JPEG - 16.1 kb

Speaking with the pilgrims, everyone is happy. Such a welcome has been given by the families and in the parishes. Despite journey fatigue and the two hours time difference, there were only smiles today. The Russian heart is large indeed.

Back to Olga;
"Evening comes and the service of the Twelve Gospels begins. Everybody is standing with lighted candles. The twelve Gospel passages are being read – from Gethsemane through to the Sealed Tomb. The bell is rung with the number of strokes corresponding to the passage being read from the Passion of Our Lord.

In the past, people used to bring the burning candle home from church to light an icon-lamp. This pious tradition is still alive nowadays, though to keep it, if you live a long distance from the church and use public transport, has become more difficult. Those who bring home “the Thursday candle” make a sign of cross with it under the door frame. The candle soot leaves an image of the cross behind."

People walking through the streets after the service carrying candles - it all seems so normal here, even if there are others doing completely different things. It’s the first time that I’ve felt the Resurrection already during Holy Week. You can’t avoid it here. The church is being reborn, and people as well.

Friday 22 April

JPEG - 18.5 kb

Today we made the trip to Butovo, at the end of the Metro, in the southern suburbs of Moscow. The pilgrims seem no longer daunted by working out the station names in Cyrillic. Everyone was there for 9.45 to catch the bus that took us to the Polygon, at the site of the firing range, where more than 20,000 people were shot during the Great Terror of Stalin between 1935 and 1937, as it is called in Russian. Do we today understand how much Russian people suffered themselves during the Soviet times? Here we were confronted with that reality.

At the Church of the New Martyrs, members of the parish were waiting to take us around the site and explain to us what had happened here. Over 1,000 clergy and religious were shot here. The archives of the NKVD show exactly who was killed and when. There are several mass graves, marked by mounds on the site. The original wooden church, built in 1995, stands literally on the blood of these martyrs. What a place to spend Good Friday! What a challenge to the way in which we live our faith today. And these were innocents; people who in no way deserved or sought their martyrdom.

We took part in the Vespers of Good Friday, followed by the Matins of Holy Saturday. These are very beautiful services, rich in symbolism, as Olga writes;
"And so we reach Friday. On this day there is no liturgy – the Lord himself is nailed to the cross.
The day when the Lord died is the most mournful of the year. One can feel it even in the weather, even in nature. But in the depth of the sorrow for the One who died, a hope for the coming Resurrection is hidden.
On that day, the service of the Presentation of the Shroud takes place. The image of Christ in the coffin is brought into the middle of the church. The service of burial, the Burial of the Shroud, follows, as the believers process behind the coffin around the church."

As we processed out of the church of the New Martyrs singing "Sviaty Bozhe, Sviaty Krepki, Sviaty Byesmyertnikh, Pomiluj nas" (Holy God, Mighty God, Eternal God, have mercy on us) all the pilgrims were able to join in – since we sing this frequently in Taizé. What a force! Different traditions united in song following the shroud of Christ who gave himself on the cross for each one of us. There is the symbol that opens a path for us. And it was as if, coming out of the dark of the church and entering into the light of the evening, we were already entering into the light of the Resurrection. Such was the emotion. This is a time of blessing.

Last updated: 23 April 2011

Daily Bible Reading

Sat, 23 February
Jesus said: Be like people waiting for their master to return, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks.
Luke 12:32-48
more...

For the Diary

22 - 26 March, Lebanon:
International Ecumenical Youth Meeting in Beirut
25 - 29 September, South Africa:
Next African stage of the Pilgrimage of Trust
 Search events

Podcasts

2019-02-20 : Alleluia 7 + Psalm 17 /Is 48,16-21/ De noche/ Prayer by Brother Alois /Laudate Dominum
IMG/mp3/taize_podcast_2019-02-20.mp3
20 February 2019
2019-02-13 : Alleluia 11 + Psalm 145 /Psalm 25/ Señor, que florezca/ Prayer by Brother Alois /Laudate Dominum
IMG/mp3/taize_podcast_2019-02-13.mp3
13 February 2019
more...

New CD: «LAUDAMUS TE»


Community

  • Some Recent News
  • Visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to Taizé
  • Vocation and History
  • Brother Roger, Founder of Taizé
  • Other people on Taizé
  • Brothers living in other places
  • The Brothers’ Work
  • Solidarity: Operation Hope
  • Anniversaries 2015: Towards a new solidarity

At the Wellspring of Faith

  • Prayer
  • Songs
  • Meditations and Reflections

Coming to Taizé

  • Youth Meetings
  • Specific information for 2019
  • Travel to Taizé
  • UK School & College Weeks
  • UK University Weeks
  • Testimonies by young adults
  • Multimedia
  • Some Recent News

Around the World

  • Small Provisional Communities
  • Meeting in Cape Town
  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Europe
  • Middle East

Copyright © Ateliers et Presses de Taizé

This website

[ top | Sitemap | Home]

  • Contact
  • News by email
  • Times of prayers at Taizé