Re: Feodorovsky Gorodok

[Antonio_P.Caballer]

Hello Elisa!
Some of the Village buildings are restored and in use by the Church. Those that look to the Cathedral are in desperate state, There´s nothing inside, not even upper floors, and i saw last summer that Maria and Anastasia´s Hospital´s roof had collapsed(?) since my last visit. It´s too terrible, but ther´re no funds. The cathedral as far as i know is being restored with the private efforts of the twon people and the Church, deserving our greatest praise.

[Antonio_P.Caballer]

Hello Elisa!
Well, you can give them money , i did it, and they will use it for the thing they consider is better, i suppose. May be for the Church or for the restoration. Anyway it will be useful.

[Forum Admin]

Please be careful about HOW you give money to them. The only way to make sure that your money really gets to the Feodorovski Sobor it to get it directly to them.  If you pass it through a legitimate charity in the USA they will deduct money for their own overhead and expenses and you can't be sure how much the Church will actually receive.

Also, unfortunately there are crooks and thieves who masqurade as 'charities' - from the news we have all heard how they lurk on the Internet waiting to find their next victim. Is the Charity registered nationally and independantly verified as legimate, including 501c(3) status actually granted? "Pending" 501c(3) status can mean that they applied but were denied, and they just keep re-applying and keep getting turned down, thus is always "pending". Only actually granted status as tax deductible means they are subject to IRS scrutiny and review and public accountability of how they spend their money. But even with 501c(3) granted they can spend money on their overhead, decreasing the amount of your gift.

Probably the best thing we could do is try and organize something ourselves here in the forum and have someone we know and trust take it directly to the Feodorovski this summer.  That way, 100% of what is donated gets to the FS. We will donate get things rolling. volunteers?

[NAAOTMA]

I would love to volunteer to help on this project. I don't know if it would be appropriate or not, but I will be in St. Petersburg this summer between 7/27 and 8/1 so if I can be of help in anyway please let me know.

I am also planning on taking flowers to some places. One of the places I would very much like to leave flowers would be at Mr. Kuchumov's gravesite. Could you please let me know which cemetery he is buried in? I just feel I need to do this.

This is going to be a very emotional trip.  Melissa K.

[christine martin]

The 'Forum Administrator' is absolutely correct.   It is essential not to send money to Russia.   If you do the recipient is liable to be forced to pay tax of 40% of the donation.

The only way to transfer funds is to do it personally in hard currency directly to the individual or organisation you wish to benefit.

Christine Martin

[BobAtchison]

Thank you for warning everyone!  That tax applied to everyone - there is no tax deduction for charities or churches - unless something has changed.  Is that still true, Christine?

How has the Feodorovski Sobor doing?  How is Father Markel - he has endured so much over these last years... could you give us an update?

Bob

[Christine Martin]

Dear Bob

Firstly, I am not aware of any tax exemptions.   Our experiences have proved otherwise - unless there have been recent changes which I would doubt.

Secondly, I have sent some info to the Feodorovsky Sobor site.   Father Markel has not been very well recently.   I will make enquiries regards his health and return as soon as I have news.

Christine.

PS - I am having computer problems - please bear with me.

[BobAtchison]

Here's an aerial view of the Gorodok and the Sobor.

Bob

[Sarai_Porretta]

Thanks for posting that picture. What is the building in the foreground/bottom of the picture? Was it the girls' hospital? I can't remember exactly what it looked like right now.

[BobAtchison]

Yes, that's what it is Sarai - you have good eyes!

Bob

[Scott]

The palace is "due left" of the cathedral.

Scott

[Allison]

Dear Joanna:  

Your such a dear, thanks for sharing this link with all of us, the photos were great!!  

Allison

[KayTanaka]

Dear Christine,

Thank you for your post and for checking on Father Markel's health.  He has been shouldering such a great responsibility.  Since I last saw him, he has remained so deeply in my heart. I often think of him and the kindness he showed me at the Fyodorovsky Cathedral where he insisted on showing me the unfinished St. Seraphim Crypt.  The magnificent designs which now grace its ceilings were but outlines on paper and Alexandra's chapel just gray walls. When I departed from the Fyodorovsky with Father Alexei to visit the first church in Russia built in honor of the martyred Family, Father Markel gave me a miniature blue porcelain candle holder which I cherish.

In September there is a lovely person I know who will be visiting the Fyodorovsky and I am sure she will ask for Father Markel and then tell us how he is.  But I am hoping that you can tell us sooner.  In the meantime, he is now, as always, in my prayers.

Many Blessings,

Kay

[Antonio_P.Caballer]

Hello Joanna,

Maria´s and Anastasia´s hospital was not painted, it had the grey color of the stone used for the construction. The deacon house is a totally different building. The building in the aerial photograph is Maria´s and Anastasia´s hospital. The perimeter of the gorodok is walled and there were also buildings inside the perimeter. Many colors were used in the gorodok, the overall effect very different from the sad look it has today.

[BobAtchison]

Years ago I went through some of the interiors of the the buildings within the Gorodok that had been recently restored and were then being used as offices.  They were cold and empty - rather Soviet feeling.  Then there was talk that the interior pavillions were going to be sold off to rich Russians as villas, but that never happened.  Someday I'll bet the whole complex will be restored.  Right now there is so much money pouring into Russia through high oil prices we can hope the government will have more to allocate to the Gorodok and Cathedral.