Church of St Cyril
Cyril founded the monastery and this church contains his tomb. It was unusual for us to be allowed inside photos, so I took this opportunity. All Orthodox churches have the altar on the eastern side of the building. The priest's area is behind the eastern wall of icons and it's accessed through a central double door. Always on the right side of the door (when viewed from the congregation) is an icon of Christ, and on the other side is a Madonna icon. The most important icon in the church is the second on the right, beside the Jesus icon. The congregation stands for the service (there are no chairs) which goes from 90 to 180 minutes. There are no hymns or singing. The service is usually conducted in a medieval form of the language which is quite different to modern Russian. Robyn with Mindy from California.
Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynas... ... read more 
