Dear Bob
How delighted I was to find your discussion forum. Your recollections of your first visit to the Feodorovsky Sobor have stirred my memories.
The first time I visited, it was a ruin - virtually inaccessible due to the mounds of rubble. What I will never forget in the midst of this mayhem, was one man. Dressed in trousers rolled up to his knees, in a dirty, worn vest, a wooden crucifix threaded on string around his neck, a spade with a broken shaft in his hands, he paused on our approach. 'What are you doing?' we asked. 'I'm rebuilding the Church', was his proud reply. With his broken spade he was chipping mortar off the bricks with a view to reconstituting it and relaying the walls. What faith.
Our next visit coincided with the opening of the crypt church. I recall fumbling down those stone spiral stairs in total darkness. The church was black. Soot and tar smeared and stained the walls (the crypt was used as an incinerator by Lenfilm during the Soviet period). The only light came from the flicker of candles and from an electric chandelier which dangled from the ceiling. The electricity was 'borrowed' from the nearest street lamp. A cable wound its was through the trees and into the church with a feeble power supply. The crypt church was packed with people. The choir sang like angels. This visit to the Feodorovsky Cathedral changed my life.
Over the years my husband, myself and many people from throughout Scotland have endeavoured to send aid in various forms to the Feodorovsky Cathedral and community. We have sent containers of clothing, bedding and food. We bought a minibus. This was dedicated to the memory of Tsarevich Alexei and the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. It was purchased to convey the children from an orphanage supported by the Cathedral on trips to the countryside or to the shore of the Finnish Gulf. It is now a general workhorse - transporting priests to cemeteries to officiate at funerals. Even carrying the dead for burials. Funerals are prohibitively expensive. Another practical resource gifted by a small community in Scotland was a computer and printer.
Alongside this, an enterprising young businessman from Pushkin devoted almost all his capital to the reconstruction of the Tsar's Porch, including the commissioning of the Romanov double-headed eagle which once again surmounts this entrance. Valeri has rebiult the steps leading to the Great Doors.had the steps rebuilt. He also returned bells to the belfry.
A chronic problem in the crypt church was the constant threat of inundation due to the collapse of the drains. The late Alexander Kedrinsky - whose grandfather had once been a priest at the Feodorovsky Cathedral - helped trace the drains. These were isolated and replaced - funded by Valeri. Without this unseen yet vital work, we would not be able to worship in the glorious church depicted in Antonio's fine photographs.
The inspiration behind all this work is one man. Father Markel Vetrov, Dean of the Cathedral. Father Markel is a monk priest. An academic, he is also Professor of Church history at the Theological Academy in St Petersburg. In addition to his priestly and academic duties, he has overseen the work of reconstruction as well as the rebuilding of the church community.
We were privileged to have him visit Scotland where he could personally meet and thank just some of the many people who have kindly helped the Cathedral over the years. Without exception, everyone was impressed by this quiet, modest, unassuming and spritual man. I am so fortunate - he is my spiritual father.
My husband, David, and I have been honoured with the Order of St Nicholas. This new order was created in the name of the recently canonised saint and last Emperor of Russia. It is indeed a privilege beyond my imaginings.
Please think and pray for Father Markel, the priests, deacon and the congregation of the Feodorovsky Sobor as they embark on their next mammoth task - the reconstruction of the upper Church.
Christine.
