Excursion for the blind was held in the oldest temples of the city

On the eve of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the support of the Khabarovsk Regional Specialized Library for the Blind and with the help of the staff of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, the Grodekovsky Museum organized a tour with elements of a typhlocommentary of the temples for blind people.

The participants got acquainted with the interior and exterior arrangement of the Orthodox church, as well as with the history of the two oldest churches of the city - the Nativity of Christ and St. Innocent of Irkutsk.

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photo by N. Romanova

With the blessing of the rectors of these churches, Archpriest Oleg Khutorsky and Hieromonk Sophrony (Medvedev), the tour participants had a unique opportunity to feel the atmosphere of the holy places through sounds and tactile sensations. They listened to the singers on the choir of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, touched the bells, heard the chime of the bells, and tried themselves as bell ringers, thanks to the guidance of Olga Kudryashova.

The excursionists also touched the iconostases of two temples, the covers and ciotes of the shrines. And how the shrines and temples themselves look like, it was possible to understand thanks to the guide's typhlo-commentary and relief-graphic images provided by the library for the blind.

Also in the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ the participants of the excursion received wafers and were sprinkled with holy water by the clergyman of the Cathedral, Priest Alexander Ivanov.

The parish priest Igor Burets took a censer from the altar and lit incense, explaining that the smoke of incense - incense - aspiring to heaven symbolizes the prayers of the faithful. Such a warm meeting in the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ was thanks to the secretary of the rector Lyubov Kutuzova. 

Tactile sensations play a key role in the perception of the world for blind people. This approach allowed blind and visually impaired people to experience and understand the beauty and significance of the Orthodox churches of Khabarovsk.

This event was an important step towards the integration of visually impaired people into the cultural life of the city.

The excursion was conducted by I. Vakulenko, guide of Grodekovo Museum