I know you're shocked about the title, but it's true. I, Natalie Feingold, went into a church. In Russia. On our free day Nikita took me to the top of the church to ring the bells; apparently now they only ring them when they have Easter service. I guess Russian Orthodoxy has become more like modern Christianity in America than previously thought.
Actually, I've been having a lot of interesting conversations about religion here. Over a few glasses of wine (naturally), some of the men started a discussion about religion. Misha, a Kitezhian, said that here religion is something you do on your own. There are some people here that are actually quite religious but you'd never really know. And there are a lot of people that just don't give religion very much attention in their daily lives. Bill, a long-time returning volunteer from France, started speaking very passionately about his own atheism. At first I was surprised that he was so confident talking a subject that is largely taboo in America, but most of the other people at the table ended up agreeing with him, or at least having a lighthearted debate. Honestly, I never realized what little role religion played in Russia, though considering the history of communism, which disavowed all religion, it really makes sense. Misha even ended up showing us clips from the Bill Maher movie Religulous, which makes fun of all religions. It's a great movie, and I was happy to be shown it from a native Russian.
So there's my brief journey into the religion in Kitezh. And in case you're wondering, I'm just here blogging away as some of the boys play Call Of Duty. (Boys are boys everywhere.) So please, enjoy these pictures from my quick church excursion!
Actually, I've been having a lot of interesting conversations about religion here. Over a few glasses of wine (naturally), some of the men started a discussion about religion. Misha, a Kitezhian, said that here religion is something you do on your own. There are some people here that are actually quite religious but you'd never really know. And there are a lot of people that just don't give religion very much attention in their daily lives. Bill, a long-time returning volunteer from France, started speaking very passionately about his own atheism. At first I was surprised that he was so confident talking a subject that is largely taboo in America, but most of the other people at the table ended up agreeing with him, or at least having a lighthearted debate. Honestly, I never realized what little role religion played in Russia, though considering the history of communism, which disavowed all religion, it really makes sense. Misha even ended up showing us clips from the Bill Maher movie Religulous, which makes fun of all religions. It's a great movie, and I was happy to be shown it from a native Russian.
So there's my brief journey into the religion in Kitezh. And in case you're wondering, I'm just here blogging away as some of the boys play Call Of Duty. (Boys are boys everywhere.) So please, enjoy these pictures from my quick church excursion!
View of the church. It was built by a priest who visits here from time to time and has only been to described to me as "very strange."
Inside the church. It was quite beautiful and way more intricate than I expected from the outside.
From the roof looking down over the main road through Kitezh. Aw, it's home!
Nikita ringing those bells!
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