The resurrection took place – Picture of the day – Kommersant

On the night of April 15-16, an Easter service was held at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in which Patriarch of All Rus’ Kirill, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and numerous parishioners took part. Special Correspondent “Kommersant” Andrey Kolesnikov noted the details that alarmed him.

Security measures were tougher this year than last year, but not so much that on the way to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior only think about it.

The situation in the temple itself was almost no different from what it was a year ago. True, in the very center there was, as always before, a huge red Easter egg, which was loved by parishioners because photographs with it informed the holiday in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior of a special Easter mood that cannot be confused with anything.

Yes, above, above the altar, there was another large red egg, on both sides of which, after the procession, a neon inscription began to flicker, almost a running line, like on the TASS building with the news: “Christ is Risen!”

But it really was the news of the day (or, rather, of the night), albeit predictable.

By the cameras placed in the hall, it was possible to understand from whom the equipment was rented. So, even the camera on the shoulder of the operator, who walked around the very hall during the service, was branded with bright stickers “Match TV HD” and “Match TV”. Well, the spectacle was also dynamic and colorful, and the cameras that are used to recording hockey playoff goals were in demand here.

The activities of journalists in the temple as a whole did not cause complaints from the parishioners, they understood that without journalists about the holiday, the general believing public would not have a proper idea, and they did not grumble.

Moreover, with a high probability, they themselves could have been shown to the general public, and they were preparing for this and were ready.

Only one grandfather with whitened gray long beard, resting his hips on the red velvet rope of the sector marked “Press”, reprimanded the correspondent who had just received a call:

– What are you doing! Conversations in the Temple! Stop! Put down the phone! Put away!

The correspondent explained to him that this was a production area, that people were working, not celebrating, and that they would have to endure.

A few minutes later, grandfather, taking out his phone, indignantly explained to someone that, you hear, the prayer has already begun, and one cannot calm down here and speaks out loud in such a place. Strictly speaking, he was the only one here now.

In one part of the sector, the cord was removed to allow late correspondents to pass through, and parishioners persistently began to seep sideways towards us through the gap. It was, of course, more spacious, but only before they began to do so. However, on such a day, the tongue did not turn to make comments to them. In the end, judging by the way everyone here on both sides of the cord was busy and even frantically filming and sending photos and videos to all parts of the world, these people could be recognized as carriers (at least in their pockets) of new media.

On the sole, to the left and right of the altar, there is a place for guests. On the right, if you stand facing the altar, in recent years, Vladimir Putin and Sergei Sobyanin have usually been located (Dmitry Medvedev has not been seen here for a long time). On the left are ordinary VIP guests.

This time there were, admittedly, not many of them, and they were, one might say, unrecognizable. Only the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Leonid Slutsky, who took a place in front, stood out. His predecessor Vladimir Zhirinovsky, it should be said, also tried not to miss the Easter and Christmas services, but preferred to stand among the parishioners: it seems that conversations with him and attention were dear to him, against which the attention to all the other characters of this holiday faded, including and historical combined. So, one day, having felt, perhaps, a lack, in his opinion, of this attention, he simply began to distribute money to people (I then, I will insist, resisted). And was properly noticed as a result.

The State Secretary of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, Dmitry Mezentsev, preferred to remain in the shadows on the sole, like some others who later asked not to note their merits in hitting this small but fundamentally important podium.

The closer the beginning of the service was, the higher the photojournalists seemed to rise on their ladders, obscuring the parishioners, it seems, even the dome of the temple.

The responsible correspondent of the TV company Russia Today in German also climbed up his ladder and spoke loudly about something in his own, so incomprehensible, but genetically hard to resonate in the soul, and only the often repeated “Zelensky” and “Zelensky” were heard, and in such a tone , as if reading a verdict that had no chance of becoming acquittal. The parishioners looked up at him, but also condemningly.

The parishioners, of course, were different. So, at the very rope stood a priest, as it turned out later, Andrey Spitsin, who enthusiastically explained to the rest the essence of what was happening. And being close to him was just great: everything became clear.

“Understand, Christ does not evaluate the actions of Judas,” said the priest. – He directly says that it would be better for him not to be born at all!

– How?! – gasped the parishioner. – At all?

He was embarrassed by such harshness.

– At all!

– And where is it written?

– In the gospel, everything is in the gospel… – Andrey Spitsin reassured the parishioners.

“And Jesus,” another parishioner asked him carefully, “what is he like?”

“I’ll tell you a parable,” Andrey Spitsin nodded. – Someone is running around the temple and yelling “Lord, for what?!! What did I do to you? It’s not fair, Lord!” And the people in the temple get nervous, of course, and finally ask the monks, “Who is this?” And the monks answer: “This is Jesus.” In general, everything is too complicated… Freedom, responsibility…

One of the most attentive listeners of the priest was a man who deftly squeezed through the journalistic rope, whose name was Konstatin Shcherbinin. He asked Andrey Spitsin a lot of leading questions, and he told me that he himself was here primarily with Andrey Aleksin, the author of the hits “Alcoholic” and “Underage Sluts.”

– Andryukha, how many views does “Alcoholic” have? he asked his friend. – 100 thousand? .. Ah, 500 million! .. Yes, Revva took it for himself, but the author is definitely Andryukha. And I’m from the Marriable Billionaire program. The same as “The Bachelor”, but children choose … I’m not a billionaire, of course, although there is money, that’s what they called me to make it more interesting to watch. Of course I didn’t argue!

Behind these conversations, time for the envy of many flowed more than imperceptibly.

And now the service has already begun, and they got up in the procession, and left. Several people immediately fell from the VIP-tribune behind the patriarch, and he went out into the street under the cameras, surrounded by civilians, whom many later mistook for employees of the FSO (but there were also such people), and they were surprised that in such numbers even for the procession, here times have gone … And it’s just Leonid Slutsky also decided to pay tribute …

As before, while all the main characters left the temple, Vladimir Putin entered it. A couple of minutes before the president, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin appeared, with whom Vladimir Putin, standing with a candle in his hands, talked for a long time and even enthusiastically about something, let’s hope, Easter.

They returned, and “Christ is Risen!” was heard, and repeatedly.

After a while, a strange detail came to light. Usually, immediately after the entrance to the cross, those who came from Jerusalem appear at the altar in the blessed fire (as a rule, Vladimir Yakunin protects it in the hands), for which the parishioners have prepared numerous icon lamps, into which they distribute it to everyone. This is a great part of the holiday.

But this time there was no blessed fire yet. He didn’t show up later either. After one in the morning, it was announced that the plane with the delegation of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation had just landed at Vnukovo-3. I wonder where he flew for so long.

So even Vladimir Putin was left without the blessed fire, which had never been in the power of God in so many years, and after standing a little longer, he left at 0.44 Moscow time, carefully extinguishing the candle.

Sergei Sobyanin came out with him.

Yes, the Holy Fire was not enough.

Thank God, by the very end of the service they still brought me up.