In the period from June 2 to 11, 2025, students of the Moscow Theological Academy (MDA) from the Philippines and several African countries traveled to the shrines and sights of Kuban and the Caucasus.
10 students from the Philippines, Benin, Malawi, Kenya, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were accompanied by Priest Anatoly Kolot, Deputy Rector of the Academy for Grants, and A.S. Terentyev, a specialist from the International Department of the Academy.
The trip took place with the help of the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage and on the initiative of the International Department of the Academy.
The organization of the trip was handled by the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Throughout the trip, the group was accompanied by Stella Tomusiak, a senior specialist at the Pilgrimage Department of the Moscow Patriarchate Pilgrimage Center.
On the first day, the group arrived in Sochi and visited the city's oldest temple, the Cathedral of Archangel Michael, as well as the remains of the city's fortress walls and the seaport. The day ended with a boat trip.
The second day began with a visit to the church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, built by the Greeks, after which the pilgrims participated in the Divine Liturgy, which took place on the foundation of a medieval Byzantine temple near the Kryon Nero spring. Traditionally, divine services at this place are held once a year, on the day of commemoration of Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine and Empress Elena. After a shared meal, the group went to the Trinity St. George Convent in Lesnoye village. Abbess of the monastery Abbess Drosida (Sorokopud) told about the history of the monastery and about the life of the nuns, and also showed the cathedrals and temples of the monastery.
The students and sisters of the monastery marched through the monastery in a procession led by Priest Anatoly Kolot.
On the same day, the group visited Rosa Khutor (Krasnaya Polyana), where they climbed the mountains by cable car and had the opportunity to enjoy the mountain landscape.
On the third day, the pilgrims arrived at the Krestovaya Pustyn monastery in the village of Solokh-Aul, where they were met by the abbot of the monastery, Abbot Lev (Rodent). In the monastery, Father Anatoly served a prayer service in front of the venerated icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Troeruchitsa". On the same day, the group visited the remains of a medieval Byzantine church in the village of Loo, where they celebrated the glorification of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, who is revered as the patron saint of this holy place. For all three days in Sochi, the group was accompanied by an Orthodox guide, Polina Koninina.
The fourth day began with a transfer to Gelendzhik, where the students of the Academy visited the Ascension Cathedral. The rector of the cathedral, Priest Anthony Pulnov, spoke about the history of the temple and its shrines. After that, the group took the lifts to the poklonny cross on the mountain. The cross is 33 meters high, and under it is the chapel of St. Seraphim of Sarov. All that day in Gelendzhik, the group was accompanied by Priest Sergiy Gusev, a cleric of St. Andrew's Cathedral.
On the fifth day, the group visited St. Andrew's Cathedral, after which they went to Novorossiysk. There, the Academy's students saw the famous cruiser Mikhail Kutuzov and visited Malaya Zemlya, the site of the heroic feat of Russian soldiers who held this small piece of land for 225 days during the Great Patriotic War. At this place, the students prayed for the repose of the defenders of Russia and proclaimed their "Eternal Memory."
On the same day, the group visited a champagne factory in the village of Abrau-Durso, after which they went to Anapa.
On the sixth day, the group visited the Gorgippia Archaeological Museum, Onufrievsky Church and the church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir in Anapa. After that, the students arrived in the village of Taman, where they worshiped the venerated list of the Kozelshchanskaya Icon of the Mother of God in the Church of the Intercession. This is the first temple that was built by the Zaporozhian Cossacks who migrated to the Kuban, and the very image of the Virgin that they brought with them. The rector, Archpriest Viktor Kolmyk, told the pilgrims about the temple. After that, the group was given a guided tour of the excavations of the Hermonassy-Tmutarakan archaeological complex, as well as an excursion to the Ataman ethnocomplex, which is a representation of a traditional Cossack village. Travelers especially remembered visiting the blacksmith's farmstead (farmsteads are called courtyards of Cossack villages). All the days in Gelendzhik, Novorossiysk, Anapa and Taman, the group was accompanied by an Orthodox guide Olga Sytnik.
On Sunday, Holy Trinity Day, the seventh day of the trip, the students of the Academy went to Krasnodar, where they participated in the Divine Liturgy at the Catherine Cathedral and partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
The cathedral houses the relics of the Holy Martyr Alexander Fleginsky, who was brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918. After the Liturgy and the festive Vespers with kneeling prayers, the group visited the Yekaterinodar Theological Seminary, where the students were warmly welcomed by the acting rector, Priest Andrey Kretov. The students of the Academy were shown the Trinity Cathedral of the Seminary, and the head of the study, Priest Vyacheslav Kuprienko, told about the exhibits of the Church History Cabinet. Representatives of the MDA were also able to see classrooms, a library, a gym and rooms of the seminar dormitory. The day ended with a walk through Krasnodar Park, which entrepreneur S.N. Galitsky presented to the city.
On the eighth day, the Day of the Holy Spirit, the group went to Adygea, where they joined the general patriarchal celebration in the St. Michael Athos Transcuban Cenobitic men's desert in the village of Pobeda. The students of the Academy received the blessing of Archbishop Tikhon of Maikop and Adygea, and the abbot of the monastery, Archbishop Gerasim (Bunyaev), spoke about the history of Orthodoxy in the Adygea land and about the shrines of the region. A tour of the monastery was conducted by Hieromonk Savva (Tacius), a cleric of the Trinity Cathedral of Maykop, a graduate of the Moscow Theological Academy. In the Trinity Cathedral of the monastery, pilgrims paid tribute to the memory of the founder of the monastery, Archimandrite Martiria (Ostrovykh). After that, the travelers went to Pyatigorsk.
On the ninth day, the pilgrims visited the Dormition of the Second Athonite Beshtaugorsky Monastery in Lermontov, where the group was met with the blessing of the abbot of the monastery, Abbot Mikhail (Gichko), Dean Hieromonk John (Galumov). On the same day, they visited the Pokrovsky Cathedral in Mineralnye Vody, where they honored the memory of Hieroschemonk Theodosius of the Caucasus (Kashin). After that, we got acquainted with the Peter and Paul Temple complex and St. George Convent in Yessentuki. With the blessing of Abbess Barbara (Shurygina), the dean of the monastery, nun Elena, met the pilgrims at the monastery. A tour of the monastery was conducted by Nun Elizabeth (Budaeva). In addition to the temples, the international students of the Academy were shown icon painting workshops, and the girls from the orphanage at the monastery performed a love song for Russia for the foreign guests. On the same day, the group visited the Spassky Cathedral of Pyatigorsk, consecrated in memory of the miracle of Christ's healing of the paralytic at the Sheep Font. A tour of the temple was conducted by the cathedral's cleric, Priest Dmitry Velikorodny. On this day, the group was accompanied by the head of the Pilgrimage Service of the Pyatigorsk and Cherkess diocese, L.G. Logvinenko.
On the last, tenth day of the trip, MDA students were able to walk along Yuri Gagarin Boulevard, see the famous Lake Proval and the sculptural image of the eagle, the symbol of Pyatigorsk. In the afternoon, the travelers set off from Mineralnye Vody to Moscow, after which they successfully arrived at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which has already become their native place for everyone.
The participants of the trip would like to thank E.I. Skopenko, Executive Director of the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage, and the staff of the foundation for the opportunity to implement such a cultural and educational project, as well as Hierodeacon Sergiy (Turkeev), General Director of the Moscow Patriarchate Pilgrimage Center, Ya.V. Galchenko, Deputy General Director, and the staff of the center for the excellent organization of this trip.
The participants of the trip express their gratitude to Metropolitan Vasily of Yekaterinodar and Kuban, Archbishop Theophylact of Pyatigorsk and Cherkessia, Archbishop Tikhon of Maykop and Adygea, Bishop Herman of Sochi and Tuapse, and Bishop Sergius of Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik for the blessing to visit the monasteries and temples of their dioceses, and also thank the hegumens and abbesses of monasteries, the abbots of cathedrals and temples, and the acting rector. Yekaterinodar Spiritual Thank the seminaries for the warm welcome.
Special thanks to Stella Tomusiak, Senior specialist of the Pilgrimage Department of the Moscow Patriarchate Pilgrimage Center, for caring for a group of MD students.