Leaving Russia was nearly as complicated and stressful for me as entering it. Choosing to fly SAS instead of Aeroflot helped, but waiting for hours until the airline’s “desks” open (less than two hours before flight time) added to the anxiety. Without a seat assignment, and with two suitcases to manage (right arm bandaged up)…
After almost giving up the idea of finding a “real operating” church–devoted to God, not a museum, holding regular church services, and offering communion during mass–I stumbled upon one (correction…through God’s leading). While walking up Nevsky Prospekt on Sunday morning I heard bells ringing out to believers at the Catholic Church of St. Catherine (apparently…
I stood on the peripheral of the Palace Square, dressed warmly enough to ward off the freezing cold November temperatures. To my left, the Tsar’s Winter Palace; to my right, the triumphal arch. In the distance, I watched several horse and carriages line up to take tourists for a ride through the city. My mind…
With his birth date on St. Isaac’s feast day (Sept 9), Peter the Great determined to build a monumental church in his city–naming it “St. Isaac of Dalmatia” after his patron saint, Saint Isaac. His first church, built on the banks of the Neva River, crumbled. The second (still lacking an adequate foundation) met a…
The cold air stinging my eyelashes caused the walk to the museum feel much further away than the six blocks on the map. By keeping my chin tucked beneath the scarf wound loosely around my neck I didn’t notice the museum until I rounded a corner to cross the street. There it was–a gigantic “Tiffany…
As I said good-bye to the land of my ancestors, I looked to God for the future of Ukraine. I trust in His divine protection and grace. In all things, our future rests solely upon Him. Psalm 33:19 “…that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for…
Prior to my visit to Kyiv, I imagined 3 days in this beautiful city would be sufficient. It was not. With a limited travel itinerary for the Ukraine, I am happy I included Kyiv but sad to be leaving it. I need to return. Though smaller than London, Paris and Istanbul, the city of…
Saint Sophia’s Cathedral: As one looks towards this cathedral it’s outward beauty is clearly visible but its real beauty lay hidden in its scars. If walls could talk, these hold a novel filled with stories. I struggle to find words adequate enough to describe both the outward beauty of Saint Sophia’s Cathedral and the spiritual…
The highlight of my visit to Kyiv is Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra. After leaving the Park of Eternal Glory on the hillside bank of the Dnieper River, the shining golden domed monastery site, Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra. beckoned to us. Upon stepping through the gate, one could almost feel the quiet presence of all the saints that walked…
Daniel 2:21, “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;” By turning left outside the hotel-apartment in Kyiv and walking two blocks I found myself in the center of Ukraine’s bustling government and commerce area. Khreshchaty (translated “cross or…
