PILGRIMAGE TO RUSSIA: The Best of Russia July 9-22, 2017 Day 1, Monday, July 10, 2017 visitors by its splendid interior. Arrival to St. Petersburg – Airport Pulkovo. Transfer Day 5, Thursday, July 13, 2017 to the hotel. Check in and time to rest. Dinner. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Day 3, Tuesday, July 11, 2017 Smolenskoye Cemetery where famous Russian Meals: Breakfast and Lunch. Saint and heavenly patron of St. Petersburg, St. Xenia is buried. After our visit to Smolenskoye We will start our day with a visit to Alexander- Cemetery will visit splendidly decorated Cathedral Nevsky Lavra, a beautiful monastery that at one of St. Isaac, one of the world’s largest domed point was one of the biggest and famous in Imperial Cathedrals. Never a parish church, it was built as a Russia. We will tour the grounds of the Monastery, dedication to the Heavenly Patron of Peter the including the magnificent Cathedral of the Holy Great, St. Isaac of Dalmatia. The cathedral is very Trinity that houses relics of St. Alexander Nevsky. Western in style, but adorned with truly Eastern We will continue our day with the exploration of SS. lavishness. In the afternoon we will visit State Peter and Paul Fortress that is located in the very Historical Park "Tzarskoe Selo" (Tsar's village), one heart of St. Petersburg. The day when the ground of the summer residences of the Romanov dynasty was broken to build this first stronghold in the newly with the splendid Catherine's Summer Palace. Built regained Russian lands became the birthday of St. in the second half of the 18th century, it represents Petersburg. After Lunch we will visit the State the glory of Russia's "Golden Age". The interiors of Hermitage, once the Winter Palace of the Russian the palace are fully restored after they were Tsars, which houses one of the world’s largest savagely destroyed during WWII. The amber room collections of Fine Arts. Countless artifacts on that was recently restored once again conquers the exhibit cover the evolution of Art from the Neolithic imagination of visitors. time and Ancient Egypt up until the beginning of the 20th century. Day 6, Friday, July 14, 2017 Day 4, Wednesday, July 12, 2017 Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Meals: Breakfast and Lunch First visit today will be to the Cathedral dedicated to the Icon of our Lady of Kazan, thus known as Our first visit of the day will be to a one of the Royal Kazan Cathedral. At times it is referred to as a suburbs of the city - Peterhof. We will tour Historical smaller Russian version of St. Peter’s in Vatican. It State Park "Peterhof" which includes world-famous is the Bishop’s see of the city of St. Petersburg and Golden Palace that is surrounded by a Park with the place where a miracle working copy of Icon of arcades of golden fountains. After Lunch we will our Lady of Kazan is housed. From there we will transfer to Kronstadt, a working suburb of St. continue with the exploration of the State Russian Petersbur where famous St. John Sergiev, nick- Museum, which houses the most comprehensive named “of Kronstadt” was laboring in Lord’ vineyard collection of Russian Art from its Byzantine Origins for many years. We will be able to visit his up to the present day. Practically adjacent to the apartment where he lived for decades and where Museum stands the famous "Savior of the Spilt he reposed in the Lord. From here, within a short Blood," or Holy Resurrection Cathedral, that was drive there is a colossal Navy Cathedral dedicated built to commemorate Russian Tsar Alexander II to St. Nicholas. Build largely after the plan of St. who was mortally wounded on that very place by Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople, it conquers terrorists. Magnificent by all means, it is nicely decorated on the outside with tablets on which Tsar Day 8. Sunday, July 16, 2017 Alexander’s laws and orders are inscribed, along Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. with the dates of the most important events that had taken place during his reign. The inside of the We will start our day by attending Divine Liturgy in Cathedral is completely covered with mosaics. the Cathedral of St. Sophia. After the service we will There are over 21 thousand square feet of mosaics travel to the outskirts of the city to visit St. George inside and outside the Cathedral. After lunch we will Monastery - arguably the oldest Russian Monastery visit to St. John of Rila Monastery on Karpovka with the Cathedral of St. George dating back to the River. It was founded by Saintly Priest John of 11th century. Then we will continue on to Kronstadt. Here, in the convent he found his resting Vitoslavitsi, the museum of Wooden Architecture place as well. Later in the afternoon we will transfer that has the finest collection of the wooden architec- to the city of Velikiy Novgorod. ture of the Russian North. There are a lot of wooden churches, houses, barns and wells. These wooden Day 7. Saturday, July 15, 2017 monuments have been brought from various Meals: Breakfast and Lunch. regions of Russia for preservation purposes as well as a display of a variety of wooden architectural Novgorod, is a quiet, clean, typical provincial city of styles. From there we will to another important Russia’s North-West. But its thousand-year history medieval center of Russia – city of Pskov. is it truly unique. After breakfast at the hotel, we will depart for a visit to the main attraction of Novgorod, Day 9, Monday, July 17, 2017 the Medieval Kremlin. The buildings of the Meals: Breakfast and Lunch. Novgorod Kremlin date back to the 11th -16th centuries. The most special of them all is the Today we will start with an exploration of the Holy Cathedral of St. Sophia, built in the 11th century, Trinity Cathedral situated in amidst picturesque and which has survived largely intact through its fortifications of the Pskovan Kremlin. From there we thousand-year history. In addition to the Cathedral, will proceed to the state historical museum with its we will visit several historic and art exhibits in the excellent Icon collection, and a special chamber museums of Kremlin. After Lunch we will visit the with various Medieval ecclesiastical artifacts. Then Market square, the central point of the Medieval we’ll continue to explore the treasures of Pskov – city’s commerce and interaction. A number of among them two splendid jewels – Mirozhsky churches in close proximity to each other serve as a monastery and Church of St. John the Baptist, both tribute to the piety of Novgorod’s tradesmen. From built and consecrated in the 12 century. the Market place, also known as Yaroslav’s court, Day 10, Tuesday, July 18, 2017 we will walk down Il’ina street for a visit of the near- by Transfiguration church (13th century) that still Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. contains some of the original frescoes painted by In the morning, after breakfast we will visit Ancient renown Medieval iconographer Theophanes the Monastery of Pechori (Pskov Cave Monastery) that Greek. Late in the afternoon we will visit monastery Lord spared from Communist desecration. of St. Varlaam of Hutyn’. It was founded by St. Monastery was wounded at the entrance to the Varlaam (+1192) in the 12th century and is one of system of the underground tunnels that at one time the oldest and most revered pilgrim destinations in were channeling the waters of an underground Novgorod. In the evening an optional boat ride on river. For past several hundred years these “God Volkhov River can be organized for you to enjoy the made caves” were used as the monastic cemetery splendid panoramas of the city. and partially as the hermit cells. After pilgrimage to the caves and venerating miracle working icons in Martyr Elizabeth. Just a short walk from here, there the monastery churches and chapels, we will visit is the Tretyakov gallery that houses a very fine ancient town of Izborsk for inspiring walk though the collection of Russian art from the 10th to the 20th ruins of medieval fortress to the icy-cold shower in centuries. In the attached museum church, we will the Holy Springs. Tonight we will embark on the see the miracle-working “patron” Icon of Russia, Our train for an overnight travel to Moscow. Lady of Vladimir. Day 11, Wednesday, July 19, 2017 Day 13, Friday, July 21, 2017 Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Upon our arrival to Moscow, we will travel some Our first stop today will be at the Donskoy miles east to a small village of Semhoz to visit a Monastery – historically important place, the “jail” church built on the place where Fr. Alexander Men, and resting place of the Russian Patriarch Tikhon. famous Russian Missionary and religious writer was From the monastery we will procced to visit to assassinated. From here we will continue to a near Moscow Kremlin. Kremlin (kremlin is a general term by town of Sergiev Posad, to visit famous Holy used to describe strongly fortified central part of the Trinity Lavra (Monastery). The monastic settlement Medieval Russian City). Moscow Kremlin is a true here was established by St. Sergius in the 14th Pride of Russia. Among many other special century and became the single most important attractions here we will visit Uspenskiy (Dormition) spiritual center of all of Russia. We will have time to Cathedral, once the place of the installation of the explore the territory of the monastery, with a number Russian Patriarchs and Crowning of the Tsars.