FOR THE GROUPS OF PILGRIMS AND CHURCH COMMUNITIES 8 Days / 7 Nights

Speaking of Russia, many people speak of some special kind of Russian spirituality. It is impossible to separate Russian self-consciousness from more the thousand years of Christianity in Russia. It is well known how much religious ideas influenced great Russian writers, such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Even in the darkest days of Stalin's Big Terror those ideas remained a source of comfort and inspiration for many of the Russian people. The tour is specially designed for the practicing Christians or for the people interested in the Orthodox Christian religious tradition.

The program of the tour:

Day.1		Arrival to Moscow. Transfer to the hotel. The traditional Russian 'Bread & Salt' welcome. Check-in. Dinner at the hotel. Sightseeing tour of Moscow by night.
Day 2		Breakfast. Sightseeing tour of the city (sequential to the previous evening tour). The tour of the Kremlin (including visit to one of the cathedrals). The tour of the metro.
Day 3		Breakfast. Departure to Gus-Khrustalny (the historical center of the crystal-work industry, 270 km off Moscow). A stop in town of Gzhel home of traditional Russian blue and white porcelain of the same name. Here we are visiting a workshop and the museum of the Russian cobalt chinaware. Arrival to Gus-Khrustalny. 'Bread & Salt' welcome by the Community members at the Trinity Church. Accommodation at the hotel (or at the Community members' homes). Attending service in a Russian Orthodox church.
Day 4		Breakfast. Attending the service in a Russian Orthodox church. The tour of the town including a visit to the crystalware factory and the factory's museum. Visit to the Church of St.George followed by church bell-ringing performance. Lunch at the Community. Meeting the students of the Orthodox Seminary. Visit to a farm enterprise. Dinner at the hotel (or at the Community members' homes). Attending service in a Russian Orthodox church.
Day 5		Breakfast. Departure to Vladimir, the Medieval pre-Mongolian capital of Russia. Sightseeing tour of the city, including the Golden Gate and the cathedrals of 12 century. Departure to Susdal, the best preserved and one of the most beautiful of the old Russian cities. The tour of the town, including the museum of the historical wooden architecture, city kremlin (citadel) and ancient Evfimiev Monastery of the Saviour with its famous Medieval frescoes and collection of the church treasures. Bell ringing perfomance. Lunch. Return to Gus-Khrustalny. Dinner with Community members.
Day 6		Breakfast. Attending service in a Russian Orthodox church. Departure to Moscow. We stop on the way at Sergiev Posad for the tour of the St.Trinity Monastery. Founded by one of the most revered of the Russian saints St.Sergius in 14 century, the Trinity monastery is among the main pilgrimage sites for the Russian Orthodox believers, and one of the residences of the Russian patriarch. That makes it a kind of the Russian Vatican. Arrival to Moscow. Check-in. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 7		Breakfast. The trip to Kolomenskoye, the ancient Tsars' summer residence, with beautiful architectural ensembles of various periods of Russian history, which is on the UNESCO Heritage List. Return to Moscow. Walking along the Arbat street, the favorite hang out and promenade for the Muscovites and popular artists and performers. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 8		Breakfast. Transfer to the airport. Departure.

 
Recommended period of travel: the Russian Orthodox Christmas / the Russian Orthodox Easter.

The price of the tour is quoted by request.