The Wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of Our Lady of the Sign

The New Stone Church is called the “Birth of the Mother of God”

As you can see from the photos the Church was built in the same shape and style as the old Church that was tore down by the communists. This is a beautiful Church that stands in the middle of the monastery courtyard in the same location and it even reuses the old recovered basement. They have started repairs on the Church roof that use to be the monastery’s main Church. They have removed the roof completely. I just hope that they are able to keep and replace the original ceiling icons as they were like walking into an open bible. I really miss not being able to pray in this old Church this summer!

The Holy springs have not changed much from last year. There was a new wood-dipping tank installed at the Saint Nicholas Spring. These seven springs are very special holy places but all can be updated and repaired. The trail to these springs should be widened and two springs need to be repaired so that you can even get Holy water from them. Now that the original Church courtyard has been renewed I’m looking forward to these Holy Springs to being renewed, as they are so important to this monastery’s original site.

The new fountain was installed in the courtyard. It’s just behind the Bell Tower in the trees. I meet a young man there that was cleaning the fountain. He was from St. Petersburg and to my surprise he spoke a little English. I asked how long he was staying at the monastery and he said “God willing I will always be here.” As it turned out he was waiting for Abbot Benjamin to return to ask for a blessing to join the monastery. Anyway the new fountain area is beautiful with the sound of the running water, the two park benches next to the fountain, the new green grass in the courtyard, and most of all the view of the new Stone Church standing tall below you on the edge of the hill overlooking the valley below.

We missed the Kursk Root Icon Procession this year just as we did the year before. I miss this special day and hope that I can join in again on another year. I’ll never forget my first procession I was at. I was standing on top of the hill looking down at around 30,000 people attending the service at the Holy Spring and thought about how it must have felt for the people when Jesus was teaching. I was far away from the center but felt full of the over flowing of the Holy Spirit on that special day.

We also missed the return of the Kursk Root Icon on both of it’s visits to it’s home roots but so many others in the Kursk Region were able to venerate there Holy Icon when it was back to the monastery. I understand this will be happen ever summer now. The Kursk Root Icon had its own special procession when it visits. I hope it can spend more time in the Kursk Region as it has so many faithful Orthodox Christians that want to venerate this Holy Icon and with longer visit it would cut down on the long lines and wait times for the sick and elderly that want to also could attend.

The security at the monastery is now at all four gates. There is a guard at the main front gate and a guard at the bottom gate by the spring. They watch for dress code violations and control any beggars. They also control foot traffic and help with questions but they mostly control the quality of everyone’s visit. The other two are at the driving gates one that goes to the Church and the other that goes down to the Holy Springs. On busy days I also saw a guard in the courtyard and by the Bell Tower.

Father Aristarkh is the new priest for the Budanovka Village newly built Church that was just completed you can just verily see this Church across the valley from the monastery courtyard. I was different not seeing around the monastery during the day. He is still member and dose services at the monastery, but spends most of his time helping people from this village area. Fr. Seraphim is now a priest. Ft. Ioasaf became a priest last summer. Both have stared as novices and now are priests here at the Korennaya Monastery.

The Saints Joakim & Anna Church completed its new addition of four steeples to it’s roof. Now it looks as it did when it was first built. Fr. Vladimir from the monastery is helping the nuns at the Skite and helps Fr. Peter at the Sts. Joakim & Anna Church. They also have built a building so that the Church can start a new Orthodox School.

It was a very hot summer in Russia this summer. We almost bought a fan to help us stay cooler this summer but I didn’t think that our whole six weeks in Russia would be so hot but it was this summer. We finished up with most all of our remolding repairs this summer and even had to replace the main water line that comes into the house, as it broke the week after we left Svodoba.

We had a special delivery over our back gate this summer. Someone put a puppy in a plastic bag and thru it over our tall back fence. I was sitting on the back porch and watched the bag fly into the tree branches and fall to the ground knocking the air out of the puppy. We keep the puppy for a few weeks and keep looking for a permanent home for him. We almost found a home a few time but nothing was working. This was a special smart puppy with a good deposition. On our last day we were telling Fr. Aristarkh about our dog problem and he said that he needed a guard dog at the Village Church. I’m sure the puppy and new Church grounds will be a nice match.

In Christ,
Misha...