In the border region between Russia and Kazakhstan, the celebrations were presided over by Saint George the Victor and war symbols. The pilgrimage commemorates the rebirth of Russia after the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the integration between European and Asian Russians.
Moscow () – A few days ago the traditional Orthodox pilgrimage took place in the Nizhny Novgorod region, on the border with western Kazakhstan, which crosses the four provinces of Kupinski, Chistoe Ozero, Bagansk and Karasuk. The latter is the seat of Bishop Filipp (Novikov), who also bears the title of Ordynsk, “Bishop of the Horde”. It is an area closely related to the reminiscences of the Tartar Hordes, who had settled between the Volga and the Urals to control the territory of occupied Russia.
The pilgrimage recalls the rebirth of Russia after the Tatar-Mongol yoke, and also the integration between European Russians and Asians, a particularly current theme in the context of Russia’s military and imperialist passions, which have direct references precisely to the territories Kazakhs from the border. The Eparchy of Karasuk, which in Tatar means “small river”, stretches along the banks of the watercourse of the same name, and historically would also have jurisdiction over a part of Kazakh territory, not far from the great Russian republic of Tatarstan. The episcopal see was created while it was still under the rule of the Horde to seal the alliance between the Asian invaders and the Orthodox Church, a factor that allowed the survival of the Rus’.
This year the symbolism of war also had priority in Orthodox devotion, and the pilgrimage, which resumed after three years of interruption due to the pandemic, was dedicated to the memory of Saint George the Victor, along with the feast of “Day of the Border Guards. Bishop Filipp had the column of faithful headed by the hieromonk Melkhizedek (Svistelin), the main military chaplain of the diocese, and the prayers were attended by border soldiers, to whom he imparted a special blessing.
Karasuk is located at the extreme limit of the Nizhny Novgorod region, which is almost 700 kilometers away, in areas where the mix is not only ethnic but also religious. Here the Old Believers, persecuted by the tsars and patriarchs, took refuge, and some pagan cults of Asian origin still survive. The holy martyr who slew the dragon thus inspired the “new revival of the true Orthodox faith”, as Father Melkhizedek put it, wishing the soldiers “a great force in the glorious defense of the Fatherland”, to which must be added all the population.
All soldiers were presented with an icon of St. George along with an image of the Kazan Virgin, who inspired the victory of Ivan the Terrible over the Tatars, and the last issue of the diocesan magazine “Our Eparchy”, dedicated to the reasons for the pilgrimage. In Chistoe Ozero – the “Pure River” – another solemn ceremony was held in honor of a saint of local origin, the monk Ilja of Murom, who died in 1188 in the Kiev Lavra of the Caves. His name is associated with the bylines, legendary stories of the bogatyr, the ancient fighter of the Rus’ against all invading peoples, to whom the name Ilja Muromets was precisely given.
In the village of Blagoveshchensk (“of the Annunciation”), prayers were addressed directly to the “victorious” Virgin of Kazan, and Father Melkhizedek had an extensive conversation with the pilgrims in the communal hall, answering questions and explaining the “things events” that are taking place in these times of the rebirth of Great Russia, accompanied by the head of the border guards, General Sergei Groskraits.
The closing liturgy of the pilgrimage to Karasuk was presided over by Bishop Filipp, who thanked the border guards, recalling that “the service you provide requires great professional preparation, spiritual strength and fidelity to duty and to the oath taken. You not only express your love for your people, but you bear witness to one of the greatest commandments of the Gospel, Blessed is he who lays down his life for his friends”. All the concelebrating clergy wore green ornaments, as the celebration booklet explains, “In honor of the traditional colors of the border guards, which are also the colors of the Karasuk communal flag.”
