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WHAT WAS POSSIBLE 200 YEARS AGO, IS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE TODAY
Our route is set to repeat in general the path taken by the Valaam monks in 1794. They took the traditional route of the Russians, who had earlier reached America: 3500 miles in carriages from Moscow to Irkutsk in Eastern Siberia, then about 1000 miles down the Lena river to Yakutsk, after that some 600 miles by horse to the port of Okhotsk and, at last, the remaining 1500 miles to Kodiak island by ships across the Pacific ocean. The mission's travel took 7 months.
Modern transport allows us to reduce the time of travel to one month, while visiting the main places of interest along the way.
Besides the places directly connected with the history of the Russian America, the piligrims will visit all the most interesting places in Moscow and St.Petersburg, the ancient city Vladimir, will take part in the celebrations of the 100th of the canonisation of St.Seraphim of Sarov - one of the greatest Russian saints, who lived in the 19th century, and have the unforgettable night on the coast of the cleanest world's lake Baikal.
We'll meet you at the airport in St.-Petersburg. The first accommodation after the arrival - on the board of the comfortable steam-ship (2-bed cabins with douche), which during one night will take the group to the Valaam island. On the same steam-ship the group will return back to St. Petersburg.
The further route is planned so that the majority of the will be spent in a train, in 4-beds compartments. Four nights will be in the **** hotels: in Moscow, Vladimir and in Magadan, one - in the hotel for the piligrims in the Triniti-Sergius Laura (the central and most imporatant monastery of Russia); two nights in the parish house on the shore of the lake Baikal, and two - in the youth camp near the Diveevo monastery (Nizniy Novgorod) and on the shore of the lake Baikal (the last two can replaced by nights in the hotel for surcharge 20 $).
For each night that willn't be spent in the hotel the participants will be provided with the sleeping accessories (sleeping bags in in the tents) and douche or sauna (banya).
Where in the 18th century the carriages shot up the dust on the roads among the endless Siberian forests, now there is a great Transsiberian railway. The town of Irkutsk is in the middle of the railway, which connects Moscow with Vladivostok, the port on the Japanese sea. Nowadays, the pilgrims will arrive at the town of Irkutsk by train with some stops at different cities on the way. After the town of Irkutsk there will be no more railway on the pilgrim's route. The town of Yakutsk, founded in the 17th century as the trans-shipping point on the way to the Pacific Ocean, even now is linked with the "mainland" except by air only via the Lena river. In the days of old, vessels floated along the Lena from the village of Kachug on the upper part of the river. The pilgrims will travel the 200 miles from Irkutsk to Kachug by bus. Unfortunately, time doesn't allow us to travel one-thousand miles down the river. The mission will visit the birthplace of St. Innocent of Moscow, the village of Angha near Kachug, after which it will proceed by air (maybe, it will be possible to make stops on the way or, at least, to cover part of the way by river). After visiting Yakutsk, the remainder of the journey will be covered by air again. The ancient city of Okhotsk, a port on the sea, bearing its name, has now brought meaning to the modern city of Magadan, 300 miles to the East of Okhotsk. Once a week an Aeroflot plane flies from Magadan to Anchorage, Alaska.
Thus, today the participants of the mission will be spared the danger and discomfort of the absence of roads. However, it is not planned to create the "green-house" conditions of a usual commercial tour. One of the aims of the pilgrimage, as seen by the organizers, is that for the pilgrims to receive an unbiased idea of real life in Russia today and the status of the Orthodox Church there at present. The pilgrims will stay overnight at parish houses or at homes of Orthodox families (Russian believers will not refuse their hospitality to us while we shall try to make our stay not burdensome to our hosts). One would hope that the pilgrimage will not turn out to be just a passive getting acquainted with remarkable sights on the mission's way. Wherever it is possible, we shall preach the truth of Orthodoxy to everyone who will be desirous to listen to us. The Orthodox believers will be happy to see in the pilgrims from the United States their brothers in the faith, and non-believers will be convinced that America is a country of not just supercomputers and Hollywood hits...
Having taken off from Magadan August,8 in the evening the plane will cross the Pacific Ocean and will arrive in Anchoridge on the same day - August, 8, in the morning. There is an opportunity to get on the same day on the Kodiak island and to take part in the celebration of the memory of st. Herman of Alyaska. We are in contact with the orthodox Church in Alaska. Inform us beforhand- and we'll buy you the plane ticket (the price of the ticket Anchoridge-Kodiak - 200 $ beforehand will be ordered, the cost of trip isn't included in the final sum for the pilgrimage) and a room at the hotel will be booked.
In case of any changes in the programme - if the dates will be changed and there will be no possibility to visit certain places - the activities will be replaced by equally exciting ones. |
