Istra Redeemed1 min read

 In Culture, Photography, Russia

They say Istra is holy land. 

Every church-going grandmother would say that, but I can’t help but feel pious in Istra. The New Jerusalem Monastery sits in Istra, surrounded by lush forests and halcyonic hillsides. The Istra River is supposed to look like the Jordan River from the bible, but again, that’s what the religious babushki say. 

Patriarch Nikon in 1656 tried to create our own slice of heaven, located in God’s favorite country. Even the Soviets could not secularize a monastery this sacred. In 1941, the Nazis came to Istra and ransacked the church and burned religious texts. Can you believe that? 

I don’t think God liked that because everyone knows what happened next.

Description by Katherine Leung.

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