Walk Like a Russian (oh whey oh)

August 15, 2008 5:41 PM

This year alone, over 20,000 Russian Orthodox pilgrims followed an icon of St. Nicholas from Kirov to Velikoretskoye on foot. The 180km-long pilgrimage through the Russian countryside dates back to the 14th century. Sergey Kozmin's photos. Some extra info here.
posted by ersatz (6 comments total)

Picture 5 could be in Missouri, if it weren't for the flag waving out the van window.
posted by schyler523 at 9:21 PM on August 15, 2008

Outstanding.
posted by Jahaza at 3:22 AM on August 16, 2008

Awesome, thank you.
posted by fourcheesemac at 6:03 AM on August 16, 2008

Nice one, thanks ersatz!
posted by carter at 11:06 AM on August 16, 2008

Nice post! I'm not sure why the second link says "Questions abound about the existence of similar practice in the Christian East"; Russian Orthodoxy has a long tradition of pilgrimage both within Russia (see this NY Times article about a pilgrimage to the monastery/Gulag site Solovki) and to the Holy Land.

Picture 5 could be in Missouri, if it weren't for the flag waving out the van window.

I'm not sure what that flag is, but the photo is labeled Монархисты "Monarchists."
posted by languagehat at 11:21 AM on August 16, 2008

Thanks, it only took me 9 months to get to my first.

I'm not sure why the second link says "Questions abound about the existence of similar practice in the Christian East"

I found somewhat silly the "pilgrimages: not only for Catholics" angle, but included the blog entry to provide some context. The Holy Land and Mount Athos are two striking examples of Orthodox pilgrimages that continue to the day.
posted by ersatz at 3:51 PM on August 16, 2008