On November 18, 2024, the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Russian Abroad in Moscow hosted the official opening of the exhibition «Russian Presence in the Holy Land» and the premiere screening of the film «Ascent to Jerusalem» (12+).
Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media will organize in 2024-2025 in four Russian cities a series of exhibitions «Russian Presence in the Holy Land». The project is dedicated to the tradition of pilgrimage to the holy places of modern Israel, Palestine and Syria. This is a unique opportunity to familiarize with little-known facts of Christian pilgrimage, religious traditions and the history of the Russian presence in the Holy Land, to reveal the deep spiritual meaning of travel to the shrines.
The exhibition presents unique museum objects — rare photographs, stereophotographs of the XIX century, lithographs, icons, coins and books from private and state collections. The exposition offers viewers to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of Russian pilgrimage, as well as to familiarize themselves with the life and spiritual life of pilgrims of the past centuries.
On behalf of the organizers, the chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media made a welcoming speech V.R. Legoyda. He thanked the creators of the project and shared his personal experience of the pilgrimage: «I will never forget my first visit to the Holy Land and the procession on Good Friday. It is one of the most powerful moments in my life. We were walking in the way of the Savior. Bright sunshine, and you walk through a crowd with everything — from curiosity to hatred, — and you realize that in the same way, two thousand years ago, people walked alongside Christ in the most important moments of human history. This living connection to the Gospel touched me deeply. I am glad that today we can see these wonderful stereo photographs, which help us to immerse ourselves in that era and understand what the pilgrim's journey was like in the past. I thank everyone for participating in this event and congratulate you on the opening of the exhibition and the premiere of the movie»"
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The Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Russian Abroad became for the first time a venue for an exhibition devoted to the theme of pilgrimage. V.A. Moskvin, Director of the House of Russian Abroad, emphasized the significance of this event: «When I looked at the exposition, I remembered how during excavations before the construction of this complex of buildings pilgrimage relics were found here, and they were not isolated, which speaks of the special role of pilgrimage. The exhibition presents not only photographs, but also museum objects from private collections. As a museum worker, I ask myself the question: why don't we have such collections ourselves? These artifacts — a link to our history and culture».
The basis of the exposition «Rus'.
The basis of the exposition «Russian Presence in the Holy Land» is made up of unique photographs taken by photographers of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, as well as copies of rare photos from the collection of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society. At the opening ceremony S.Y. Zhitenev, Candidate of Cultural Studies, Deputy Head of the IPPO Scientific Section, made a welcoming speech. He also read out the address of the Chairman of the IPPO S.V. Stepashin.
S.V. Stepashin.
«This wonderful exhibition is organized by the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media, is an important initiative in the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage and Russian pilgrimage in the Middle East. The Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, the oldest public organization in Russia, supports this work with great enthusiasm, seeing in it a significant contribution to strengthening the spiritual ties between our country and the peoples of the Middle East region. I would like to mention with a kind word the documentary-animated movie "Ascent to Jerusalem", created especially for this exhibition. I hope that the exhibition and the documentary will inspire you to new discoveries and reflections!
The culminating event of the evening was the All-Russian premiere of the documentary-animated film «Ascent to Jerusalem» created by the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media in cooperation with the film studio «Foma Kino». After the screening, the audience actively discussed the picture with the director Alexandra Andronova: «In the XIX century in Jerusalem were cut through a special gate for Russian pilgrims, and it was not by chance — Russian pilgrims were at that time the most numerous group, exceeding in number all other travelers to the Holy Land. And this is an amazing fact! For me, the movie was an attempt to answer important questions: what is the meaning of pilgrimage for our contemporaries? What significance did it have for our ancestors? How does the holy city transform thanks to Christian pilgrims? And, of course, do these pilgrims change themselves as they ascend to Jerusalem?
The film «Ascent to Jerusalem» will be shown to a wide audience on the federal TV channel «Culture» in 2025.
The film «Ascent to Jerusalem» will be shown to a wide audience on the federal TV channel «Culture» in 2025.
The exhibition «Russian presence in the Holy Land» will last in Moscow until November 29, then it will be moved to St. Petersburg, in 2025 it will be presented in Arzamas and Sarov.
The project is supported by the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
The project is supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives.
Address: 2, Nizhnyaya Radishchevskaya St., Moscow. Entrance is free.
Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media/Patriarchy.ru
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