A RUSSIAN CHRISTMAS EVE SOMEWHAT SPECIAL

We are on the 6th of January 2012. This is the Russian Christmas Eve for Orthodox Russians who follow the Julian calendar.

Moscow Patriarchate has urged the Russian government to hear rumblings of popular discontent

In 2012, the celebration rings out a bit differently from previous years. Arab spring has resonated in the Russian land. The Moscow Patriarchate has gone out of its way to urge the Russian government to hear rumblings of popular discontent raised by the announcement of disputed parliamentary elections results in December.

Russian Christmas Eve in Paris is about to begin

Several thousands of kilometers away, the Russian Orthodox Church outside border gears up to host the festivities.

In Paris, 15th arrondissement, the Church of the Three Holy Hierarchs, seat of the Diocese of Chersonesus of the patriarchal Russian Orthodox Church, is discreetly nestled between two buildings. Celebrations for the Russian Christmas Eve are about to begin.

Russian diaspora families are praying before the icons dotting the confined space of the parish

It is nine thirty in the evening: the Church has just opened its doors. Russian diaspora families came in numbers. They are now praying before the icons dotting the confined space of the parish. The four walls of the church are entirely lined with icons.

A few minutes later, orthodox Slavonic chants can be heard. Bishop Nestor of Chersonesus, responsible for the administration parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in France, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal, shares his views in Russian language on the elapsed year in the world. He describes 2011 as a “single year”. His homilies are punctuated with captivating polyphonic choirs.

At two o clock in the morning, after standing and praying for more than four hours, Russian families are gradually leaving the church.