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Fall 2006 |
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Tuning Forks and Fresco: Fr. Ilya’s tours fulfill lifelong dreams
Carl had to buy tuning forks! “These would have come in handy on our journey,” Carl said as he lovingly ran his hand over his new purchase. Carl’s beautiful, baritone voice made him a natural to lead several members of the group in singing Orthodox hymns in churches and holy sites as they made their way through the cities of Russia’s famed Golden Ring. “We got a lot of pleasure out of singing “Oh Lord, Save Thy People” when no one was around except our tour.” A descendant of Russian immigrants, some who came to America from territories located along the Czech border and others from the vicinity of the Ukraine, Carl had signed on to Fr. Ilya’s adventure, hoping to gain some understanding of his ancestors. He had grown up singing Old Church Slavonic in the choirs of St. Nicholas in Akron and St. Theodosius in Cleveland, Ohio. When the tour group attended Divine Liturgy in Moscow, Novgorod and other cities along the way, it all came flooding back to him. “I knew exactly where we were in the service; I could sing along with the choir and understand what I was singing. I truly felt at home in that familiar music, though thousands of miles away from where I first learned it.”
The struggles of this humble priest touched Carl’s heart; it symbolized the re-birth of the Orthodox faith all over Russia after decades of suffering under a cruel burden of communism. “I hated to leave that place. I wanted to stay there and help him,” he said. It is Carl’s dream to return to Suzdal and devote at least two months of his labor assisting Fr, Innocent with his dream. Fr. Ilya’s tours to Russia, Eastern Europe, Greece and the Holy Land are like that. Far from being the typical tourist sleds of comfort through exotic cultures and far away places, they connect people with their dreams. Cathy McDonald, a veteran of Hexaemeron’s icon-painting workshops, was another of Fr. Ilya’s pilgrims on the journey with Carl. She beautifully describes her experience in the following essay.
While attending a Hexaemeron icon workshop, Fr. Ilya Gotlinsky made a presentation about the heritage of Russian iconography. When he mentioned that he was taking a group to Russia again the following summer, I knew that this was it! Little did I know what an experience of a lifetime this trip would be for me! It was three weeks of intense, exhaustive and overwhelming spiritual beauty. After a few days, I realized that there was no way that I would remember all the things I was hearing or seeing, so I decided to just let myself be awash in the experience of the beauty and resurrection of the Russian Church. I was astounded with the rebirth that was everywhere. Fr. Ilya was an amazing guide. I really loved that he wanted to show us everything he possibly could in the amount of time we had. We could always be tired at home, so most of us just wanted to keep going and experience as much as we could. We journeyed from the cities to very out of the way places in the countryside of Russia. I feel so blessed that we were able to see the real Russia, so much more than you could ever see on a typical tourist itinerary. We were privileged to have experts in the fields of iconography, fresco and restoration with us all the time. What was interesting too, was that although most of the group was of the Orthodox faith, there were also a few of us Catholics, Lutherans and an Episcopalian priest as well as an Ecumenical nun. The mix was great and made for some quite lively discussions! Father Ilya could always keep the peace and keep us going and going and going! I was awestruck with the beauty and history of the churches, monasteries and convents. The importance of faith in the lives of the Russian people was plainly evident. To learn of and see the sacrifices that the Russian people have made was humbling. I learned so much history from Fr. Ilya as well. I know I drove him crazy with all my "western" questions, but he always answered me with kindness and love. We were privileged to meet many humble and holy priests, nuns and iconographers. The work they are all doing for God and the Church was inspiring. I have told Father Ilya that I don't know if I will ever be able to thank him enough. I may just have to keep saying thank you for the rest of my life! My trip to Russia was a dream come true and a great spiritual growth experience. Want to get in on the adventure? Check out Fr. Ilya’s plans for 2007. Fr. Ilya Gotlinsky announces two tours for the 2007 spring and summer seasons: Pilgrimage to Ancient and Holy Greece and the Russian Icon. PILGRIMAGE TO ANCIENT AND HOLY GREECE: The Pilgrimage to Ancient and Holy Greece includes visits to the cities of Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, archeological parks of Corinth, Delphi, Olympia, Mystras, and the islands of Corfu and Aegina. Our tour-pilgrimage will target the remains of Byzantine Civilization, the major ruins of Greek Antiquity, and most importantly, will enable participants to venerate the relics of numerous saints and to worship at places that were so dear to the early Church and are still so important to Christians. The tour will include accommodations (with breakfasts), some extra meals, all transfers by private motorcoach, tours, and all entry fees. Sign-up deadline for Pilgrimage to Ancient and Holy Greece is February 1, 2007. THE RUSSIAN ICON The Russian Icon tour is a comprehensive study tour that includes all the major collections of Russian icons and many less famous, generally overlooked, but yet very important monuments and collections of the Russian Medieval Sacred Art. The itinerary for the current tour is fully and personally prepared by Fr. Ilya Gotlinsky and is a thematically modified version of two different itineraries of tour-pilgrimages that Fr. Ilya has led over the past several years. The itinerary features visits to Moscow, most cities of the Golden Ring (from Sergiev Posad to Rostov the Great), Vologda, Ferapontovo, St. Petersburg, Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod and Pskov. Travelers will get an in depth course not only on the History of Russian Sacred Art and Architecture, but also on the History of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian State. We work directly with museum staff and clergy along the way, many of whom we have longstanding and personal friendship which enables us to see and to do much more than tours prepared by travel agencies. Sign-up deadline for the RUSSIAN ICON is March 15, 2007. For a full itinerary of these tours, costs, accommodations and travel arrangements, contact Fr. Ilya Gotlinsky at: 53 Baxter Street, |
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When Carl Lizak stepped off the plane in New York this summer after spending three thrilling weeks in Russia with Fr. Ilya Gotlinsky and 31 other pilgrims, he was a man obsessed with an uncommon goal!
Carl’s favorite places, however, were the little out of the way villages where he made a deeply sentimental connection with his heritage. “Seeing those little houses of every color with lace curtains and flower pots in the windows, I felt like I was staring into my grandmother’s kitchen. It made me realize that my grandparents had only changed the location of their home from Russia to Ohio. Everything else stayed the same: the Sunday dinners, their Old World customs and, of course, their Orthodox faith.”
But it was in Suzdal that Carl caught sight of a dream that he hopes, in some small way, to make his own. The tour group attended Liturgy in a little wooden church in the outskirts of the city. The next day, they returned to meet Fr. Innocent, a priest of retirement age. After showing them around the grounds of the abandoned monastery, Fr. Innocent stripped to a tee-shirt and pants and began moving earth and stone. With few resources except his strong faith, it is Fr. Innocent’s dream to return the site to an active monastery with an icon studio.
The trip to Russia was the fulfillment of a lifetime dream for me. From my very youngest days, I had always had a fascination with all things Russian. I truly wanted to go there. My family could never understand why I had this interest since it really was not connected to my background or experience in any way. I am an Irish, Roman Catholic New Yorker. Well, as God usually does, the seeds were planted early. In my adult life, God began to put people and places in my path which led me to iconography.