Vladimir Legoyda: The Church Building is the Conceptual Dominant of the “Russian Field”

“His Holiness often mentioned in his sermons that Russia grew around the holiness of St. Sergius, around the churches built by him and his disciples.”
Natalya Mihailova | 05 July 2014

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow organized by the “Russian Field” Slavic culture festival, which has been specially timed to coincide with the 700th anniversary of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Vladimir Legoyda, Chairman of the Synodal Informational Department, stressed that the church building has always been the conceptual dominant of Russian culture.

“In one book on contemporary architecture, I read that the conceptual dominant of the modern city is its business center. I like that the ‘Russian Field’ goes against this current trend. The conceptual dominant of the ‘Russian field’ is the church building, and there probably cannot be any another,” Legoyda stated.

“It is remarkable that the architectural traditions of Moscow, which have always been dominated by such well-known churches as St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Kremlin cathedrals, and the Christ the Savior Cathedral, continue – and continue in the form of such a wonderful holiday, when people build churches together,” he added.

Vladimir Legoyda also thanked the organizers of the “Russian Field” festival, especially the City Administration of Moscow, for the fact that this holiday was specially planned to coincide with the 700th anniversary of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

“His Holiness often mentioned in his sermons that Russia grew around the holiness of St. Sergius, around the churches built by him and his disciples,” stated the head of the Synodal Informational Department.

“Russian culture has been able to grow and evolve because many centuries ago, this humble monk founded a monastery in the forests around Moscow, which later became Russia’s prominent cultural and spiritual center,” Legoyda concluded.

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