Arkhangelsk, Russia, June 15, 2018
Photo: arh-eparhia.ru A new pilgrimage route, “Arkhangelsk North of Special Purpose,” in honor of the victims of Russia’s bloody 20th century, will soon open, reports the Arkhangelsk Diocese.
The project won $7,950 (500,000 rubles) in the international grant competition “Orthodox Initiative 2017-2018.” The pilgrimage route will cover Arkhangelsk, Solovki, Letnyaya Zolotitsa, Yarenga, Cape Hare, Petrominsk, and Luda.
The project is aimed at spreading knowledge about the feat of the Arkhangelsk New Martyrs of the 20th century and at preserving the memory of these tragic pages of the history of the Russian North.
The authors of the project explain the sad history behind it:
There is a period in the rich history of our country that many would like to forget. After the revolution, the Arkhangelsk North became a territory “of special purpose”—there were forced labor camps, concentration camps, and special settlements here. People who were objectionable to the new authorities were brought here from all over Russia to be destroyed. The revolution brought huge losses, blood, and political atheism to Russia. 100 years ago, our little homeland became a “northern Golgotha.”
The first to go on the “History of the Gulag on the Summer Coast of the White Sea” expedition will be researchers, priests, and public figures. They will study the places of stay and execution of the victims of repression and gather educational materials on the victims of those terrible times.
The priests will celebrate molebens at the former Gulag sites, where millions perished.
The participants in this first expedition will also make a film telling about the expedition and its results, which will attract public attention to the topic of the New Martyrs of the Arkhangelsk North and to the new pilgrimage route. It is also planned to produce a book and a mobile exhibition based on the pilgrimage.
The pilgrimage route will include a map guide, with all territories and names associated with the camps and special settlements in the North will be depicted, as well as the sites of memorial crosses and churches, with brief information on the repressions in those places.
The “Orthodox Initiative” contest has been held since 2005, initiated and organized by the Charitable Foundation of St. Seraphim of Sarov with the purpose supporting civil initiative and encouraging active people to work for the benefit of their neighbors and the preservation of cultural and moral traditions. The contest has continued under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of Social, Educational, Informational, Cultural and other initiatives since 2010.
Seven new crisis centers for women were opened throughout Russia as a result of the competition last year. An informational video guide for the deaf and hearing-impaired is also being produced as a result of the competiton.
Follow us on Facebook!
