More from Moscow

So, first off, I realize this is obscenely long, so feel free to browse, skim, read every 17th word, or do whatever else if you get bored of my rambling. I keep this in part for others but also as a way for me to be able to remember, so it goes into more depth than it might otherwise. In any case, this has been quite the week. We have now successfully located and eaten at three shaurma stands, one of which serves shaurma like they make in Dnepropetrovsk. Let's just say the french fries are a must. Hot sauce is also a major plus. These last few days have been really amazing in a lot of different ways. I guess I'll kind of start at the beginning and see where we end up after I blah-blah for a bit. 

Wednesday, we revisited the Temple of Christ the Savior, as the others hadn't yet seen it. I was honestly thinking that I'd rather go off and see something else instead, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to see the temple again, and we'll just say I wasn't disappointed. We got there and looked around for a bit before heading downstairs to the Temple of the Transfiguration of Christ, and we got there right as an evening service was beginning. The priest/cantor stood in the middle of the room, in an area partitioned off from the rest of the hall, and he sang the prayers before the iconostasis, which is basically a veil made of icons, separating the main court of the temple from what would have been referred to as the Holy of Holies in temples of early Judeo-Christian belief. I love listening to stuff like that: Old Slavonic prayers, the Latin liturgies, the Qur'an, the Torah during synagogue-- it all really speaks to me. Though in each of these I understand only a few words every once in while, I love the feeling that I get deep inside, and I love the look on everyone's faces and how their eyes get bright as if there's some hidden light that awakens at the call of the music. There in the temple, the cantor would chant his portions of the service, and then a choir, positioned off to the side, would chime in. I think Russian church choirs are some of my favorite. They're usually only four people-- two men and two women--, but they sing so beautifully, and when I think of what heavenly choruses will sound like, that's pretty much what I envision. Anyway, I was basically a thrall to the music. I could have stayed there forever and never grown tired of listening.

I thought a lot about the temple and about my own religious experiences as the evening service drew toward a close. One of the priests went behind the iconostasis, and as the first priest called out from the main hall, in supplication, the other answered back from beyond the veil of icons. The priests served as intermediaries for the people and in such a way were able to in some sense open a way to communicate with God, here represented by the priest behind the veil. We'll just say that it was really reminiscent of ancient Judaic temple services and other similar ceremonies. My personal path to God has been an interesting one on its own, but recently, my thoughts have been turned more so to the idea of God as the Father of all mankind. I think about all the people around me-- here, I run into a lot of different people from various backgrounds and numerous faiths--, and I can't help but see all the similarities between us. That was one thing that I really looked over while I was on my mission in Ukraine, because we were so focused on making sure that we taught and encouraged true doctrine, but in the process, I think I sometimes let little differences stand in the way of learning a lot about people and helping them to grow closer to God through kindness and love. I think sometimes I was so focused on the little differences that I failed to see the big picture, the fact that God had had a profound impact in so many people's lives, and while I yet hold to my beliefs and feel that they are true, I've recognized that many people have had experiences that are just as meaningful and powerful as those that I've had in coming to God. 

A while back, I started working more seriously on what I consider to be a lifelong project, "Till We All Come in the Unity of the Faith" (Eph. 4:13), which is basically a compilation of quotes and resources intended to illucidate the similarities and the most exalting aspects of each of the major religions or fields of social thought. The more I study, the more I realize how richly God has blessed all people with wisdom and understanding and goodness. I really believe that God has worked through prophets and sages and many other great doers and thinkers throughout time to prepare the way for that time when at last we will come to a unity of the faith and to a full knowledge of God, of His nature, of His love for us. And then it won't be, 'Look at all the ways that we differ,' but rather, 'I never realized you were my brother.'

Thursday, we had our second round of class, and shortly after, we ventured into the frigid afternoon air to visit the Sculpture Park, a park filled with retired statues from all around the city and, presumably, the Russian Federation. The park was supposed to be near the Tret'iakovskaya Gallery according to our instructions, but after getting lost and asking a really nice guy for directions to the gallery itself, we asked an attendant, and she told us that the park was not in fact nearby. She gave us a map and sent us back into the blizzard (I'm here using the literary device of hyperbole), so we promptly ignored her instructions as any self-respecting young adult would and decided to blaze our own course to the park. We stopped for some pictures on what I'll refer to as Lover's Bridge, but what it really is is just a bridge where people celebrate their marriages by fastening a padlock onto the bridge or (in this case) some sort of sculpture near or on the bridge and then throw the key in the river. Very romantic, I'm sure, but honestly, I will probably insist on it when I get married, too, being the sap that I am at times. The air along the river was legitimately the coldest that I've encountered since I've been here in Moscow, and we were all pretty much ready to just curl up and die. We made it to the park, though, after just under an hour of searching, and it was just about as exciting as a bunch of ho-hum statues in a freezing park can possibly be. There was a fun lover's swing that I naturally swung on because it was designed really well and the engineering was pretty brilliant. Other than that, there wasn't much of note in the park, but I did pass by one of my favorite statues on our way there, so that made it all worth it. The statue was one that I actually mistakenly thought was in St. Petersburg, in that it's a giant metal cast of Peter the Great. Anyway, I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that I wouldn't have to travel to Petersburg to see the statue. We finished off our wintry voyage with a brief jaunt through an underground art market, and that was super neat. I pretty much love Russian and Ukrainian art, so I was in heaven. 

Yesterday, Saturday, was supposed to be a trip to Tret'iakovskaya Gallery (for real this time), but then it just ended up that our scheduled laundry times were right in the middle of the afternoon, so we changes plans and headed off to see the inside of the Kremlin. As some of you might know, in the most recent Mission Impossible movie, the Kremlin was apparently blown up or something, and while I'm sure that the SFX were really neat and all, I am very happy to inform you that the Kremlin is still very much so its former self. So picture this: big, red-brick walls, probably about 30 or 40 feet high; massive, gothic-esque turrets cutting through the gray sky; a huge bridge, one of two main entrances into the fortress, each protected by towering, black iron gates. And within this, the Presidential Quarters, the Armory (now a museum), and Cathedral Square. It is definitely a sight to see. As we went in, they patted us down, and I had to go through the metal detector like five or six times before they decided I was just a dumb, forgetful American who had way too many pockets and couldn't keep track off all of his metal objects. We started out with a quick jaunt around Cathedral Square, where there are a number of really famous and really beautiful temples all in one area. We snapped some pictures together and then realized that our tour of the Armory Museum was starting soon, so we hurried off to that and barely made it in time.

The museum really was spectacular. They call it the Armory, so we were naturally expecting arms from throughout the ages, but there was so much more there: dinner platters, Faberge eggs, thrones, carriages, full suits of armor (and suits of armor for little people as well!), jewels the size of your fist, authentic clothing from various ages, Illuminated manuscripts, the most ornate and posh Bibles you could ever imagine-- it really was all so cool. My favorite part of the whole Armory experience was, of course, the actual Armory, me having always been somewhat of a medieval buff and having more recently developed an interest in Middle Eastern stuff. Anyway, they had huge displays of armor and halbards and early shix-shooter rifles (who knew?) and Saracen sabers and helmets and all sorts of other cool stuff. So, I was pretty much in paradise. Funny that for being pretty much a pacifist, I like that kind of stuff so much. The carriages were really neat, as well. They had stuff going back pretty far, so it was neat to see how they developed as time went on.

We ended our day at the Kremlin with quick jaunts through all of the temple-museums on Cathedral Square. They were really neat, and there was a lot of rich history in the frescoes and mosaics. I still just love the ceiling paintings in Russian Orthodox churches. Oh, and this is going to sound kind of funny, but I stood next to Ivan the Terrible's grave. They had one temple where all the czars were buried (among others), so I got to stand next to the monument that stands over his grave. I  just hope he's happier now than he was in life.

We finished last night off with a rousing talk about worst dates ever, and today was just church and a fireside. I got to accompany the hymns at church, and that went fine, and the fireside was a broadcast of one that I saw earlier this month, but it was a nice reminder. I love getting to see all the youth in the Church here, because it's something that I never really had in any of my areas while I was in Ukraine. Also, they have such a camaraderie-- something that didn't really exist even in my American ward--, and that just gets me excited about the future of the Church here in Moscow. The youth really are so neat, though. They are all super good people, and they're really fun to hang out with. I feel a little bit out of place still, mostly just because I don't know half of them still, but I really like all the people I've met so far. I've only been here a week, but I really do love the people here, the Russians and the Americans alike. I miss home sometimes, but I am really glad to be here, and I'm really glad to be surrounded by such amazing people. Life is pretty great. I just realized that I skipped my internship entirely, but in any case, I have my first real day tomorrow, so I'll put up some stuff on my internship over the next couple of days. Anyway, that's all for now.