This week we went to a very very very old church in Chernigev. I forget the name of it but I'll post pics on Facebook. It is an active, working church compound with several buildings. It was built in 1000AD. We went to the top of a very tall tower and overlooked the city which was very beautiful. We then went into the main sanctuary which was very quiet and very ornate. People walked around and looked at the icons on the walls, made the sign of the cross and bowed. It was very solemn. There were priests and worshipers singing and we just walked around semi-unnoticed with our guides and observed.
Afterward, we went to the catacombs. The catacombs is an underground church that was built in 1100AD when Chernigev was attacked by the Mongols. It is a very vast network of tunnels and rooms dedicated to worship. Monks lived in there all their lives in these caves and there are still bones in nooks where they were buried almost 1000 years ago. It's very interesting and claustrophobic. It's also pretty amazing that it was ever built in the first place.
We are really starting to pick up the language here by the way.
On Tuesday we will travel to the capitol city of Kiev. So, look for those pics next week. Alright, well, until next week: We love you and miss you.
Danny
