Religious Tourism, Russia

Ipatievsky Monastery, Kostroma

Russia, like no other country in the world is rather attractive in terms of religious tourism. Scattered all over its vast territory is a great number of Orthodox churches and monasteries. No wonder it is often referred to as the Golden-Domed, since nearly every (without exaggeration!) Russian town and city alike is lit by the glow of its gilded domes. Most of the Russian churches and monasteries are in the UNESCO World Heritage List. They are the true masterpieces of ancient architecture, which have reached us from times immemorial and are now the most remarkable Russian landmarks. However, during our religious tours you'll be able to not only get the aesthetic pleasure from contemplation of ancient architecture but also visit a number of Christian holy sites. It is not a secret that most of the early monasteries were built on the so-called sacred places, near holy water springs, where according to legends people saw the images of the Virgin and other holy elders. Many temples keep miraculous shrines - the images of saints or chests with their relics. Each of these shrines has a story associated with the healing of the sick or saving entire cities from enemies' attacks. And of course, there is a unique story for every Orthodox church and monastery, connected not only with miraculous events but also with the history of the Russian land Ipatiev Monastery (Kostroma) used to serve as the hiding place from the Poles of the future founder of the Romanov dynasty - Mikhail; the Novodevichy Convent (Moscow) was the prison of the sister of Peter I, the Princess Sophia. Besides, the monasteries were the centers of the ancient sciences, books and manuscripts storages (in the late 1790s the famous monument of Russian culture, "The Lay of Igor's Warfare" was found in the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Yaroslavl); other temples were the medieval galleries of fine arts which managed to preserve for us the wonderful frescoes of the ancient painters. Having said all of this, we are offering you a fascinating tour around holy places, which will give you not only spiritual enrichment but also lots of visual pleasure.