Liturgy for the Little Ones (Vladimir Tretyakov, 2009)
The scene depicted is at a chapel attached to a works site in Russia. The children are from the works kindergarten, which, in Russia, is something of a combination day-care centre and early-grades school for kids up to seven years of age (when they go to regular school). Although all concerned know that there is a great deal of work to be still done in the restoration of the Church, a goodly amount has been done already, as this photo indicates. In other words, a very good start has been made, all that remains is for us to keep it up! Also, it indicates how deeply Orthodox Russia is at base, in obvious contradiction to America, which is deeply secular at its heart (as a society, I am not speaking of individuals here). The Church in Russia does not need any help from us in America. Indeed, WE need their assistance in putting things right. Shall we have the humility and wisdom to do so? One hopes so… may we not let crack-brained pseudo-intellectual notions such as “autocephaly” stop us.
